Original subtitles

Along the coast of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,

humpback whales are on the move.

Every year, these magnificent animals travel from Alaska

in search of warmer waters.

The Hawaiians call these 40-ton mammals "kohola."

Up to 12,000 make the epic journey.

Hawaii is a much-needed sanctuary to this endangered species.

A unique setting where ocean and lava collide.

Hawaii is the only place in the U.S.

where humpbacks breed and nurse their young.

Born with very little fat, calves would soon freeze to death

in the cold waters of Alaska.

Mothers come to these clear, shallow waters to avoid predators.

But there's a catch.

There's no food here.

The moms go hungry,

losing up to 40 percent of their weight raising their calves.

It's a sacrifice that pays off.

Humpback populations are increasing.

The park is just one place to see these giants of the deep.

But they are not its biggest attraction.

Two massive volcanoes are.

The first is Kilauea.

One of the most active volcanoes on Earth.

The lava lake inside this crater can be more than 750 feet deep.

Its lava flows can reach the sea ten miles away.

Kilauea is so big that even its vents and craters are huge.

Starting in 1983, one of these vents erupted for 35 years.

It produced so much lava that it covered the coast road,

burying it more than 100 feet deep.

To the west is the second volcano

and it's the biggest on the planet.

This is Mauna Loa,

rising more than 56,000 feet above its base,

much taller than even Mount Everest.

The park exists thanks to eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years,

where hardened lava forms a solid foundation for life.

Close to the source, poisonous gas fumes escape from hot vents,

called "fumaroles."

This landscape is often swept clean by molten lava.

It's one of the most barren and toxic environments on Earth.

Nature has had to adapt to living in this land of fire.

A wingless lava cricket.

After an eruption,

she is the first creature to take up residence

in this hostile landscape.

The ultimate pioneer.

No larger than a fingernail, she survives by eating morsels of food

that blow in with the ocean breeze.

Nobody knows where she comes from,

where she goes, or how long she lives.

In many ways, she's a mystery.

At some point known only to her, she'll leave.

The lava cricket isn't the only unusual resident

that has adapted to this extreme environment.

On these inhospitable slopes

there isn't any soil, only hardened lava

where the 'ohi'a lehua tree takes root.

It is one of the first plants to do so after an eruption.

Growing from tiny windblown seeds,

this incredibly rugged tree anchors its roots in cracks and crevices.

When toxic volcanic gases blow its way,

the plant closes its breathing pores, called "stomata,"

in essence, holding its breath.

The Hawaiians revere these trees.

When they speak of people who are skilled, strong, and beloved,

they refer to them as "pua lehua" or lehua blossoms.

They grow up to 100 feet tall and can live over a thousand years.

Over time, the tough, volcanic specialists

will grow from gangly individuals into incredible tropical forests.

Eighty percent of Hawaii's native trees are ''ohi'a lehua.

Another reason for their success is their aerial root systems,

which draw in moisture from the Pacific's tropical air.

With roots in the air and digging deep into the lava below,

the 'ohi'a tree ensures its survival

and provides a home for other creatures.

The forests are a biological treasure,

a sanctuary for rare and fantastical native species.

Some are endemic, like the happy face spider,

found only in Hawaii.

Unlike many spiders, she doesn't wait to catch her prey in a web

but, instead, actively hunts for food.

When she senses an insect nearby,

she throws a sticky silk over it just like a lasso,

and hauls it in.

There are also a few unwelcome visitors.

Like the Jackson's three-horned chameleon.

This species was brought to Hawaii from East Africa in the 1970s.

It is considered an invasive species.

Hunting native snails, insects and spiders,

it poses a threat to the delicate balance of this magical forest.

But there's another native creature here that fights to keep the balance.

This caterpillar is a special resident

in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Commonly known as an inchworm.

These little herbivores have evolved to blend in amongst the 'ohi'a blossoms.

But the cute little inchworm has a killer cousin.

Which has a dramatically different approach to getting food.

It's not pollen or nectar he's after.

These are some of the only carnivorous caterpillars on the planet.

He latches on to the branch with his rear prolegs

and waits for a victim to come close.

With six front tarsal claws ready to snatch his prey,

he sits perfectly still

until something triggers his rear sensory bristles.

Faster than the blink of an eye, he eats his prey alive.

A magical forest, growing on lava,

that's home to a carnivorous caterpillar might sound like fiction,

but this park is where legends, lore, and real life combine.

Trees, rocks, plants, and animals

can all have connections to deities and spirits.

Nowhere is that connection stronger than within the heart of Kilauea,

in the Halema uma u Crater.

Tradition holds this is the home of the goddess Pele.

According to legend, Pele is the daughter

of the Earth Mother Papa and Sky Father Wakea,

two of the most ancient and revered of all Hawaiian gods.

Pele is known as, "she who shapes the sacred lands."

Ancient legends inspire people today and shape much of life throughout Hawaii.

For over 1,000 years, Hawaiians have cherished this land.

They continue to strive to find balance, to protect their home,

including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Dr. Sam Ohu Gon is an advocate for integration

of Hawaiian values and knowledge.

DR. SAM OHU GON: Our traditions place great value on nature.

The park is a protected place,

but that protection extends beyond the park,

to all of the islands of Hawaii.

It's a sacred part of who we are, as a people.

Hawaiians call their ancestor gods "aumakua,"

and they can take the form of native plants and animals.

Such a form as a kino lau, a physical manifestation of a deity.

When the gods are also your family

and the elements of nature their physical presence,

your relationship with nature is fundamentally transformed.

Of all the Hawaiian traditional values,

the one most globally recognized today is aloha,

empathetic compassion, love.

The aloha that you extend to family extends further in Hawaiian thought,

to all of the elements of nature around you and your "aina."

the lands of your place.

This emerges as aloha aina, a deep appreciation

and love for all the features of the land,

such that you realize that you are not whole without your place

and that the fate and health of your place is your own fate, your own health.

Hawaiians believe that this applies across all lands,

on every island, and around the world.

That connection extends to all of the creatures on Earth,

no matter where they call home or how far they roam.

A green sea turtle, called "honu" by Hawaiians,

is making her way to the park.

The honu is an aumakua,

a friendly spirit that watches over and protects Hawaiian families.

After 20 years at sea, she's heading for the shallow

and inviting waters along Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

She's been lucky so far.

Only one in a thousand baby turtles survive to adulthood.

But her greatest fight may lay ahead.

A tiger shark off the coast of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

is looking for a hefty meal.

A green sea turtle is just the ticket.

Out-swimming the shark isn't an option.

But a clever defense might save her life.

Turning on her side makes her too big a meal for the shark

to get its jaws around.

She's not tiring

but the shark is using up a lot of energy.

Brains win out over brawn and the turtle continues on her journey.

Green sea turtles have been protected throughout the United States since 1978.

But the park was founded long before then.

It was established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson,

in order to protect these wild and wonderful landscapes.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the oldest national parks in the U.S.

But Hawaiians were here first.

The park is filled with a rich cultural tradition.

It's thought that early Hawaiians carved these petroglyphs

more than 500 years ago,

using stones to etch the images deep into the cooled lava.

The carvings in the park

form the largest concentration of petroglyphs anywhere in Hawaii.

On land, people, plants, and animals learned to live alongside lava.

But it also shapes life in the ocean.

During an eruption, flowing lava creates channels underground.

These channels are lava tubes,

created when molten lava cools on the surface

but continues to flow underneath.

Along the edges of the park, where lava meets the sea,

these lava tubes offer a different type of opportunity

for some of the ocean's fiercest sea dwellers.

Here, in the confines of the tubes, white-tip reef sharks find safety

from larger predators, like the tiger shark.

They look like they're asleep, but are simply in a deep state of calm,

something that's easier to achieve in the safety of the lava tubes.

Amidst the labyrinth exists another species that's found a clever way

to survive in this fish-eat-fish world.

The Hawaiian cleaner wrasse.

He provides an invaluable service that the other reef dwellers

take full advantage of.

Like his name suggests, he cleans all of the residents, big and little,

relieving them of unwanted parasites, broken scales, or mucus.

The fish crowd around him, jostling to be next.

His striking colors and the way he moves is a signal to other fish.

That he is here to help.

But, can every fish be trusted?

The Hawaiian cleaner wrasse

now undertakes a somewhat terrifying task.

Even the scariest of ocean dwellers rely on him to help them survive.

What the reef shark might gain as a meal is nothing compared to what it gets

by staying clean of parasites.

All life here is connected, creating unique opportunities

in the heart of the most fiery wonders within the park.

When 2,000-degree lava meets the sea, things get explosive.

The heat from the lava raises the water temperature.

Minerals disperse.

A vital food source for the ocean's smallest organisms:

plankton.

These tiny creatures are the precursors to much of the wildlife

that we know in the sea.

Plankton includes a wide range of organisms such as bacteria,

algae, and microscopic animals.

In one teaspoon of sea water,

as many as a million single-celled plankton can be found.

Without them, entire marine ecosystems could collapse.

And along the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii,

the abundance of plankton attracts a creature that seems out of this world.

For divers with the desire for a unique underwater experience,

there's a once-in-a-lifetime encounter to be had.

The "hahalua" is also known as the reef manta ray.

Despite a formidable wing span of up to 14 feet...

they surprisingly only eat tiny plankton.

These gentle giants pose no threat to people.

Reef mantas have the largest brain size of any fish.

They are highly intelligent,

and recent experiments show, self-aware.

This trait is also shared by dolphins, primates, and elephants.

So it puts the manta in a pretty select club.

Inside the park, Pele wakes up.

When her mind is set to destroy,

there's little that can escape her wrath.

But once in a while, Pele's mercy can create a sanctuary

that is unlike any other place on Earth.

This is a kipuka forest,

woodland spared by lava flows,

now extremely isolated.

Its seclusion creates the opportunity

for unimaginable islands of habitat.

This forest has been cut off by continual lava flows

going back at least 8,600 years.

Life has evolved independently from other areas on the island.

Thanks to a process known as adaptive radiation,

the isolation of these kipukas is behind the incredible number

of unique species that live here.

From as few as 250 original insect species,

Hawaii is now home to more than 7,500.

Species may be found here that exist nowhere else on Earth,

not even in forests a few miles away.

But there is a looming threat.

Rapid 'Ohi'a Death is a foreign fungal disease

that the native trees are defenseless against.

Even with the protection of the park,

up to 90 percent of all infected trees die.

Losing the 'ohi'a forest would be disastrous,

not only for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,

but for the creatures that depend on them.

Including a bird,

considered to be one of the most spectacular examples

of evolution on the planet.

Meet the scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper.

There's been at least 59 different species of honeycreepers

throughout Hawaiian history.

Some scientists suggest they all descended from a single ancestor.

The flowers of the 'ohi'a tree are their main source of food.

That curvy beak is a special adaptation

that allows better access to nectar deep within.

What may have started out as one species of bird

evolved into dozens of different types,

each in their own little world.

Where once there were 59 species, only 17 exist today.

The rest are sadly extinct.

And there's another bird found here who's custom built for this place.

This is a cousin of the scarlet honeycreeper.

He doesn't feed on nectar.

He eats insects.

An incredibly rare bird,

there are approximately 1,000 left in the wild.

The Hawaiian woodpecker.

He locates his prey with his lower beak, using it like a pick-axe to dig.

The curved top beak gives him reach to extract the tasty larvae inside.

Once again, the park nurtures life in the least expected places.

The 'ohi'a lehua tree has another surprise in store.

Not only do its roots in the sky help to capture precious moisture...

they also delve deep beneath the ground too.

Emerging into an alien world.

Below the surface of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,

there is a hidden and mysterious world like no other.

Deep inside the lava tubes that criss-cross underground.

The roots dangle through the cave ceiling.

They help to transport and provide an essential ingredient for life:

water.

While the lava tubes may seem like they'd be barren of life,

it turns out these roots provide an environment for rare insects.

Cave biologists from around the U.S.

have been studying the communities of animals living in the lava tubes.

Recently, a research team discovered a remarkable number of new species.

The new discoveries hint at what may yet be found.

We're still learning how these hidden places are connected

and essential to life above ground.

Where some lava tubes are seemingly inaccessible,

others welcome us into their mysterious depths.

This tunnel was created over 500 years ago by a river of molten lava

that exceeded temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is "Nahuku," or Thurston Lava Tube,

one of the most visited sites in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

It's part of the network of tunnels

that spans more than 40 miles from Kilauea.

Descending 3,600 feet beneath the surface,

it is the longest and deepest lava tube network on the planet.

The park has more than half a million visitors every year,

but humans are not the only species to keep coming back.

After thousands of miles and more than 20 years at sea,

a female green sea turtle returns to the park's inshore waters.

This is her homecoming debut.

But first, she needs a bit of a clean-up.

Over the years, her shell has become covered in algae.

It doesn't hurt her but it does slow her down.

Up until now, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Today, she's in luck.

Yellow and black tangs offer a unique cleaning service.

It's a symbiotic relationship.

The turtle gets cleaned and the fish get a meal.

Before long, she'll find her way back to the beach where she was born.

There she'll lay her eggs and continue the circle of life.

As some residents return, others leave.

Winter break is over.

It's time for the humpbacks to begin their migration

back to the cooler waters of Alaska.

Their numbers have grown.

Their time in Hawaii has been productive

and the calves are strong enough to embark on the 3,000-mile journey.

The humpbacks keep in constant contact through complex vocalizations.

Some of their low-frequency calls

can travel through water up to 10,000 miles.

Next year, the whales will return to this special place,

like so many visitors to the park choose to do.

The park was born from lava, and it's how it continues to grow.

Eruptions of Kilauea and Mauna Loa produce new layers of land

that make the island bigger.

But the park is so much more than just volcanoes and lava.

Every day in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

can reveal something new and unexpected.

The land and its inhabitants live in a precious balance.

Ancient Hawaiians knew it, and we recognize it today.

By understanding how important this place is to all of us,

we become part of something bigger than just the park,

something essential, memorable, legendary.

Captioned by Point.360