Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

TODAY WE'RE ON AN EPIC ADVENTURE OVER THOUSANDS

OF MILES TO WITNESS ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR

MIGRATIONS ON EARTH; THE FLIGHT OF THE MONARCH

BUTTERFLIES.

WE'RE FLYING HIGH ALONGSIDE MILLIONS OF TINY

INSECTS AS THEY COMPLETE A JOURNEY LIKE NONE OTHER ON

EARTH.

WE'LL WATCH THEIR AMAZING TRANSFORMATION,

VISIT THEIR HIDDEN HABITATS AND DISCOVER

THEIR IMPORTANT PLACE IN OUR ECOSYSTEM.

AND WE'LL HEAR THE AMAZING STORY OF HOW A YOUNG BOY'S

CURIOSITY GREW INTO A LIFETIME OBSESSION.

AND HOW THE GREAT MYSTERIES OF THE MONARCHS

WAS SOLVED.

♪ MUSIC - INTRO ♪

DYLAN: STARTING IN SEPTEMBER,

MILLIONS OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES LEAVE THE

FIELDS AND FORESTS OF CANADA AND MIGRATE

THOUSANDS OF MILES TO THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL

MEXICO.

THE VERY NEXT SPRING, THE CHILDREN OF THOSE

BUTTERFLIES WILL MAKE THE LONG JOURNEY BACK JUST AS

THEY HAVE DONE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW SMALL A BUTTERFLY IS,

COMPARED TO THE GREAT DISTANCES THEY MUST

TRAVEL, THEIR JOURNEY SEEMS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.

THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW THE SECRETS OF THIS

INCREDIBLE MIGRATION WERE FINALLY UNCOVERED.

♪ MUSIC ♪

FRED: IT HAS BEEN SAID SINCE DARWIN'S TIME THAT

EVOLUTION IS WRITTEN ON THE WINGS OF BUTTERFLIES.

MY DESTINY WAS WRITTEN ON THE WINGS OF ONE.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: FRED URQUHART SPENT A LIFETIME

UNRAVELING THE SECRETS OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY.

AS A YOUNG BOY IN THE 1920'S NEAR TORONTO,

FRED WONDERED WHERE ALL THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

WERE FLYING TO EACH FALL.

HE COULD NEVER HAVE DREAMT THAT EACH YEAR,

THESE MONARCHS WOULD JOIN MILLIONS OF OTHERS ON AN

EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY SOUTH,

TO A REMOTE AND DISTANT HIDEAWAY.

TODAY, WE BEGIN OUR MONARCH STORY IN A

DIFFERENT TIME AND PLACE.

EVERY SPRING THE MIGRATION OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

BEGINS HERE, IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY AND FURTHER

SOUTH, IN MEXICO.

IT'S ONE STAGE IN A YEAR LONG CYCLE THAT WILL TAKE

AT LEAST THREE GENERATIONS.

EACH GENERATION MUST SURVIVE THROUGH THE

STAGES.

A CATERPILLAR, CHRYSALIS, AND ADULT BUTTERFLY.

AMONG THE SPRING FLOWERS, THIS FEMALE HAS FOUND A

PLANT CALLED MILKWEED.

MOST VARIETIES OF MILKWEED CONTAIN SOME LEVEL OF

POISON.

ANIMALS AVOID IT...

... BUT IT'S THE ONLY PLANT MONARCHS LAY THEIR EGGS ON.

INSIDE THIS EGG IS A HUNGRY CATERPILLAR.

AFTER HATCHING, IT SNACKS ON ITS EGG CASING.

THEN MILKWEED IS ALL IT EVER EATS.

MILKWEED IS BITTER TASTING;

THE CATERPILLARS CAN TOLERATE IT BECAUSE IT

MAKES THEM AN UNPLEASANT MEAL FOR PREDATORS.

LESS THAN 1% OF EGGS IN CATERPILLARS WILL SURVIVE

TO BECOME ADULT BUTTERFLIES.

THIS IS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES.

WE WILL CALL HER DANA, FROM HER LATIN NAME DANAUS

PLEXIPPUS.

DANA AND HER OFFSPRING MUST STAY LUCKY FOR

GENERATIONS TO SURVIVE THE YEAR AHEAD.

FRED: BY THE 1940'S, I HAD BECOME A SCIENTIST.

AND FINDING WHERE THE MONARCHS WENT HAD BECOME

MY QUEST.

I HAD THE IDEA THAT STICKING TAGS ON

BUTTERFLIES MIGHT WORK.

BUT NO ONE BACK THEN HAD EVER TAGGED INSECTS.

SO I KEPT ON TESTING DIFFERENT GLUES THAT MADE

TINY TAGS TO TRY TO IMITATE THE BUTTERFLY.

DYLAN: BACK IN TEXAS, DANA HAS MADE IT.

NOW SHE MUST MEET NEW CHALLENGES.

AS THE SEASON ADVANCES, THE DRY TEXAS HEAT SLOWS

THE MILKWEED GROWTH.

DANA AND HER FELLOW SURVIVORS MUST FLY,

FOLLOWING THE SPRING BLOOM.

THE SOUTHERN MONARCHS SURGE NORTH,

LAYING EGGS AS THEY GO.

UP TO 3 GENERATIONS OVER 6 MONTHS CAN SWELL MONARCH

NUMBERS TO AS MANY AS HALF A BILLION.

FRED: BY THE EARLY 1950'S, I HAD FINALLY SOLVED THE

TAGGING PROBLEM.

THE NEWLY INVENTED STICKY LABELS BEING USED ON

GROCERIES WERE THE ANSWER.

IT WAS SO DARN DIFFICULT TO PICK OFF.

WE TESTED THEM ON MONARCHS;

THEY WORKED.

WHILE TEACHING, I HAD FOUND ANOTHER LOVE,

NORA, A FELLOW BUTTERFLY PATH.

OUR CHALLENGE NOW WAS TO FIND A WAY TO TAG THEM ALL

ACROSS THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS.

AS NORAH SAID, "WE NEED A BIG IDEA TO KEEP UP WITH

THESE LITTLE CRITTERS."

DYLAN: DANA IS FLYING NORTHEAST FROM TEXAS.

ON THE WAY, SHE LAYS EGGS ON MILKWEED BORDERING

FIELDS.

AS FARMS GET BIGGER, THESE BORDERS DISAPPEAR,

AND WITH THEM THE MONARCH'S NURSERIES.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: BUT DANA ESCAPES AND LIVES ON UNTIL ALL HER

300 OR SO EGGS ARE LAID.

THIS IS NOW DANA'S DAUGHTER.

LIKE THE GENERATION BEFORE,

SHE FEEDS ON MILKWEED AND THEN BECOMES A BUTTERFLY

AS WELL.

LIKE THEIR PARENTS, THIS NEW GENERATION OF

BUTTERFLIES WILL USE THE SUN,

LIKE AN INSECT GPS AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE SKY.

BUTTERFLIES CAN KEEP TIME, FINE TUNE THEIR FLIGHT

PATHS, SMELL WITH THEIR ANTENNA,

AND TASTE WITH THEIR FEET.

THESE ADAPTATIONS AND PERHAPS MORE WE HAVE YET

TO DISCOVER MAKE THE MONARCH A MASTER OF

MIGRATION.

COMING UP NEXT, FRED AND NORAH ENLIST THE HELP OF

BUTTERFLY LOVERS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA TO UNLOCK

THE SECRETS OF BUTTERFLY MIGRATION AND ANSWER ONE

OF THE GREATEST INSECT MYSTERIES OF ALL TIME.

DON'T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY,

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

BUTTERFLIES ARE FOUND ALL AROUND THE WORLD,

AND MANY SPECIES UNDERGO MASSIVE MIGRATIONS EACH

YEAR.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE BRITISH PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLIES

TRAVEL MORE THAN 9,000 MILES FROM AFRICA ALL THE

WAY TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

GIVEN THAT BUTTERFLIES ARE ONLY ABOUT 4 INCHES LONG,

THAT DISTANCE ON A HUMAN SCALE IS EQUIVALENT TO

TRAVELING MORE THAN 160,000 MILES, OR ABOUT

TWO-THIRDS OF THE DISTANCE TO THE MOON.

SOON AFTER FRED AND NORAH URQUHART FOUND THAT SMALL,

STICKY LABELS USED IN GROCERY STORES COULD HELP

IDENTIFY MONARCH BUTTERFLIES,

THEY CAME UP WITH ANOTHER BIG IDEA.

FRED: WE FORMED THE INSECT MIGRATION ASSOCIATION.

WE ASKED FOR VOLUNTEERS, THEY WERE KNOWN AS CITIZEN

SCIENTISTS AND OUR TAGGING EFFORTS AS THE GREAT

BUTTERFLY HUNT.

BY THE 1960'S, WE HAD OVER 4,000 HELPERS.

DYLAN: THE DAUGHTER OF DANAUS PLEXIPPUS FINDS A

SAVE HAVEN IN THE FIELDS OF AN ABANDONED FARM.

AMONGST THE FLOWERS, SHE ALSO FINDS A MATE.

TOGETHER, THEY WILL CREATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF

MONARCHS.

IT'S FINALLY SUMMER AND THE BUTTERFLIES HAVE

COMPLETED THE FIRST HALF OF THEIR MIGRATION ACROSS

NORTH AMERICA TO ARRIVE IN A NEW TORONTO SUBURB.

ONE OF THEM ZEROES IN ON A GARDEN.

IT'S BEEN PLANTED, ESPECIALLY TO ATTRACT AND

FEED BUTTERFLIES.

IT'S AN OASIS OF FLOWERS PROMISING ALL SORTS OF

NECTAR AND MILKWEED.

SHE WILL NOW LAY HER EGGS, EGGS WITH A TRULY

REMARKABLE DESTINY.

FRED: BY 1967, OUR UNIQUE FAMILY OF CITIZEN

SCIENTISTS WERE WRITING IN FROM ALL OVER NORTH

AMERICA.

NORAH: THIS IS ONE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED WE SENT TO

BUFFALO.

FRED: BUFFALO, BUFFALO, BUFFALO,

BUFFALO.

WE SENT OUT TAGS TO EVERYONE WHO WROTE TO US.

WHEN THE TAGGED BUTTERFLIES WERE FOUND,

THEIR DETAILS WERE RETURNED.

WITH THIS INFORMATION WE WERE ABLE TO BEGIN TO PLOT

THEIR FLIGHT PATHS.

THANK YOU, DONE.

DYLAN: EMERGING FROM THIS EGG,

IS DANA'S GRANDDAUGHTER.

HATCHING IN THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN,

SHE IS THE THIRD GENERATION SINCE THE TEXAS

MEADOWS.

EACH OF THESE MONARCHS IS PART OF A SUPER

GENERATION, DESTINED FOR A SPECTACULAR JOURNEY.

IN TWO WEEKS, SHE WILL BE 2,000 TIMES LARGER.

DANA'S GRANDDAUGHTER FINDS A SAFE PLACE FOR HER NEXT

STAGE.

LIKE ALL MONARCH CATERPILLARS,

SHE HAS CELLS THAT CAN DEVELOP INTO AN ADULT

BUTTERFLY.

IN THE NEXT 15 HOURS HER FINAL CATERPILLAR SKIN

SPLITS AND BENEATH, A NEW SKIN HARDENS INTO A

CHRYSALIS.

INSIDE, SPECIALIZED CELLS NOURISH NEW TISSUE GROWTH.

FED OXYGEN BY HUNDREDS OF FINE BREATHING TUBES,

HER BRAIN, HEART, AND DIGESTIVE TRACT CHANGE

SHAPE AND SIZE.

NEW POWERFUL FLIGHT MUSCLES DEVELOP AND

COMPOUND EYES FORM.

LONG LEGS AND STURDY WINGS COMPLETE THE

TRANSFORMATION.

BUT SHE WILL BE DIFFERENT, A SUPER BUTTERFLY DESTINED

TO LIVE 8 TIMES LONGER AND FLY MUCH FARTHER THAN HER

MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER.

THE ANGLE OF THE SUN IS GETTING LOWER IN THE SKY.

THE DAYS ARE SHORTER AND COLDER.

SHE SENSES THESE SIGNALS, IT'S TIME TO FLY SOUTH.

COMING UP NEXT, THE MONARCHS ARE COMING TO THE

END OF THEIR MIGRATION, BUT THEIR TRAIL SEEMS TO

DISAPPEAR IN THE HILLS OF TEXAS.

WILL FRED AND NORAH EVER FIND THEIR HIDDEN BREEDING

GROUNDS?

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: BY THE 1970'S, FRED AND NORAH URQUHART

AND THEIR TEAM OF BUTTERFLY ENTHUSIASTS HAD

UNRAVELED MANY MYSTERIES OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY.

BUT ONE BIG SECRET REMAINED;

THE LOCATION OF THEIR HIDDEN WINTER BREEDING

GROUNDS.

FRED: FOR YEARS WE CHARTED THE DIFFERENT FLIGHT PATHS

OF THE MONARCHS.

A CURIOUS PATTERN BEGAN TO EMERGE.

MOST OF THESE MONARCHS WERE FLYING SOUTHWEST INTO

TEXAS, BUT THAT WOULD MEAN THEY WERE ALL GATHERING

THERE UNNOTICED.

HOW ON EARTH COULD THAT BE?

WELL, THERE WAS ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.

WE MOVED OUR RESEARCH TO TEXAS FOR THE WINTER OF 1970.

AND DURING EVERY SPARE MOMENT,

NORAH AND I WERE ON THE ROAD.

WE SEARCHED HIGH AND LOW FOR LARGE GATHERINGS OF

MONARCHS.

BUT IT WASN'T TO BE, WE FOUND NAUGHT.

DESPITE SPENDING 2 DECADES TAGGING WITH ALL THOSE

GOOD PEOPLE HELPING US, I STILL HAD NO EVIDENCE OF

THE MISSING MONARCHS.

IT WAS LIKE A BUTTERFLY BLACK HOLE.

DYLAN: YEARS LATER, BACK IN CANADA,

FRED AND NORAH RECEIVED A LETTER THAT CHANGED

EVERYTHING.

IT CAME FROM KEN BRUGGER AND HIS WIFE,

CATALINA.

AS A YOUNG GIRL, CATALINA WAS ENCHANTED BY THE

MONARCHS THE RESTED ALONG COOL RIVERSIDES NEAR HER

HOME TOWN IN MEXICO.

IN NOVEMBER 1975, KEN AND CATALINA WERE VISITING A

FESTIVAL CALLED THE DAY OF THE DEAD.

A TIME TO HONOR DEPARTED LOVED ONES AND A TIME WHEN

THOUSANDS OF MONARCHS DRIFT THROUGH THE

CEMETERIES.

LOCALS BELIEVE THE MONARCHS ARE THE RETURNING

SOULS OF CHILDREN COMING TO SAY HELLO.

DID THE FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLIES POINT THE WAY?

EARLY ONE WINTER MORNING IN 1975,

KEN AND CATALINA SET OUT FOR THE MOUNTAIN TOP OF

CERRO PELON.

AND DISCOVERED ONE OF THE HIDDEN SANCTUARIES WHERE

THE BUTTERFLIES SLEEP THROUGH WINTER.

♪ MUSIC ♪

♪ MUSIC ♪

FRED: KEN AND CATALINA HAVE FOUND THE MONARCHS.

NORAH: THAT'S WONDERFUL.

FRED: HIGH UP IN THE MOUNTAINS.

MILLIONS OF THEM.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, AFTER YEARS OF SEARCHING

FRED AND NORAH FINALLY ARRIVE AT THE BUTTERFLY

BREEDING GROUNDS IN MEXICO.

DON'T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY WILL CONTINUE RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: EVERY AUTUMN, MONARCH BUTTERFLIES HEAD

SOUTH IN THE MILLIONS.

FLYING FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO TEXAS.

WITH EXTRAORDINARY AIM, THEY FUNNEL ACROSS THE RIO

GRANDE INTO MEXICO.

THEIR TARGET IS JUST A FEW FORESTED PEAKS,

PEAKS THAT ELUDED FRED AND NORA FOR DECADES.

WHEN THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES ARRIVE IN THE

MOUNTAINS OF MEXICO, THESE TINY CREATURES WILL HAVE

COMPLETED ONE OF THE LONGEST MIGRATIONS ON

EARTH.

THIS IS THE MOUNTAINSIDE THAT OFFERED SANCTUARY TO

THEIR GREAT GRANDMOTHERS EXACTLY ONE YEAR BEFORE.

IT IS THE PERFECT PLACE.

FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO BE WARMED BY THE SUN,

YET COOL IN THE MOUNTAINS OF EVERGREEN FORESTS WITH

JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MOISTURE.

IN THIS FRAGILE MICROCLIMATE,

DANA'S GRANDDAUGHTERS WILL SLOW DOWN.

THEY CLUSTER TOGETHER FOR WARMTH AND PROTECTION,

LIVING OFF THEIR FAT RESERVES UNTIL SPRING.

ON JANUARY 9TH, 1976 THE URQUHARTS MADE THE TREK TO

MEXICO DESPITE THE WARNINGS FROM FRED'S

DOCTOR.

FRED: WHAT A GLORIOUS, INCREDIBLE SIGHT.

FOR ONE TRULY MAGIC MOMENT,

TIME STOOD STILL.

I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING;

ONE OF OUR TAGS.

I WAS HOLDING INDISPUTABLE PROOF OF AN INCREDIBLE

JOURNEY.

ONE FRAGILE WING-TOSSED SCRAP OF LIFE SYMBOLIZE

BOTH THE MARVEL OF THE MONARCHS AND THE PRICELESS

REWARDS OF FINALLY RESOLVING THE AGE OLD

SCIENTIFIC MYSTERY.

DYLAN: IN 1998, FOR THEIR LIFETIME OF WORK WITH

BUTTERFLIES, FRED AND NORAH URQUHART WERE

AWARDED THE ORDER OF CANADA.

THE AWARD CREDITED THEM WITH ONE OF THE GREATEST

NATURAL HISTORY DISCOVERIES OF OUR TIME.

FRED AND NORAH HAVE PASSED AWAY,

BUT THEIR LOVE AND LEGACY REMAINS,

CARRIED ON THE BEAUTIFUL WINGS OF BUTTERFLIES.

I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED TODAY'S JOURNEY,

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC - CREDITS ♪