All language subtitles for America.the_.Beautiful.S01E06.Waterland.720p.DSNP_.WEB-DL.DDP5_.1.H.264

Welcome to North America.

The most diverse
continent on Earth.

The only place where you can find
every landscape from polar ice cap...

to baking desert, and
everything in between.

Whatever the neighborhood, there
is a hero who can make it a home.

Smart, tough,
brave, you name it.

They all have what
it takes to thrive

in the wildest, most
beautiful continent on Earth.

The southeast corner of the USA.

For over a thousand miles,

between Washington,
D.C., the tip of Florida,

and onwards to Louisiana,

a coastal plain sits
just above sea level.

A magical place where the
boundary between land and water

is ever changing.

And life must slip
between two worlds.

The steamy swamplands
of Louisiana...

as rich in life as a
tropical rainforest.

And some of that life...

can be found in
surprising places.

This black bear has been holed
up in her tree all winter.

When she went to bed, there
was dry land all around her.

But it's rained way more
than usual this year.

Now her tree is an island.

Weird thing to wake up to.

Being cut off from dry land
has given her a problem.

Because now, this bear's
got a family to feed.

These little guys were
born just three months ago.

They're each drinking a
quart of milk every day.

To keep them fed,
she's gotta eat.

And that means...

crossing gator-infested water.

She's scouting the most
direct path to dry land.

She can swim, but
her cubs can't.

So now she's got to try something
which nobody has ever seen before,

let alone filmed.

She has no other choice but to
carry her cubs through the swamp.

She can't grip him too tightly.

But if she loses her grip...

the stakes couldn't be higher.

She must take the risk,
or her cubs will starve.

The swamp floor is a
mass of gnarly roots.

One slip, one stumble,

and he's got an easy meal.

She's reached the
point of no return.

That's one cub on dry land.

Now she needs to finish the job.

Cub number two

doesn't want to leave
the safety of the tree.

It's the only home
he's ever known.

Mission accomplished.

This mother proves herself
a true Waterland hero.

Around here, you gotta be able
to move from land to water...

and from water to land.

The barrier islands
of South Carolina.

Part of a chain of
sand dune islands

running for 200 miles
up the Atlantic coast.

Behind is a maze of mud and
water shaped by the tides.

The setting for a
southern spectacle

not seen anywhere
else in America.

The tide is dropping,

and predators are swimming into
the maze from the open sea.

They know these inlets
are full of fish.

And here, these bottlenose dolphins
have figured out how to catch them...

on land.

They have just three hours
before the tide rises

and covers the exposed
mud once again.

A youngster joins the group
to learn how it's done.

They find their prey
by echolocation,

sound waves that help
them see in muddy water.

They work together to corral
the fish close to the bank.

Now for the smart part.

They swim side by side,
creating a bow wave.

Which pushes the mullet
up onto the mudbank.

Now it's an easy meal
for the dolphins.

And freeloading pelicans.

It's a great play...

but you've got to herd the
fish to just the right spot.

Avoid the banks with
sharp oyster shells.

Steep banks are no good. Most fish
just bounce back into the water.

Nice catch.

And with flat banks, you
risk getting stranded.

Not many fish so far, and
the tide is rising again.

There's only one
mudbank left uncovered.

This is the perfect spot.

It's showtime.

And the rookie? Well, he's
nearly got the hang of it.

A good fishing trip after all,

for these super-smart heroes
that move from water to land

and back again.

Inland, the wetlands stretch
as far as the eye can see.

And their undisputed ruler...

is the American alligator.

It's mating season.

Time to get ready to rumble.

This male gator is
moving into the arena.

Where the males will
compete with each other

for the hearts of the females.

Not a physical contest.

A sonic one.

As he exhales,

the gator creates a rumble
so deep, it's infrasonic.

Lower than we can hear.

So instead, we see it.

The sound waves make
the water dance.

Sound travels more
efficiently in water than air.

So the rumble sends out
the gator's dating profile

far along the waterways.

The bigger the gator,
the bigger the rumble,

and the further his
love song will travel.

But in this battle of the bands, you
need to beware of jealous rivals.

The underside of a
gator has no armor.

So rumbling males
are vulnerable.

Male gators can lose limbs,

be blinded, or even killed
in breeding season battles.

The biggest male is unharmed, and
his deep voice has worked its charm.

A female has traced
his call back to him.

And now these ten-foot predators
reveal their tender side.

Foreplay, reptile style.

A few weeks after this romance,

the female will
have eggs to lay.

Above the waterline, the
ruler is more secretive.

This deer is right
to be nervous.

A stealth hunter lives
in this Florida forest.

An expert at using
dense cover to hide.

One of the rarest
mammals in the world...

found nowhere but here.

Only brief glimpses of this animal
have ever been seen in the wild...

before now.

A Florida panther.

Once this big cat, supremely
well-adapted to these forests,

thrived here.

But by 1970, there were
just 20 left in the wild

because of a change they
weren't adapted for.

The clearance of
their home, for ours.

Since then, though,

amazing conservation efforts
have brought the panthers back.

A green ribbon of
protected wilderness,

the Florida Wildlife Corridor
weaves between cities

and connects patches of forest
the length of the state.

Where highways cut
through the corridor,

underpasses allow cats
to cross in safety.

Now, there are over 200
panthers in Florida once again.

Joining up forest is good for the
region's biggest land animal too.

There's 40,000 across the South.

And they're not shy
about leaving their mark.

This black bear's rubbing
off his thick winter coat,

so he can stay cool
through the summer.

He's 400 pounds.

And eight feet tall.

But there's a tree for everyone.

The youngsters watch and
learn from the experts.

By midsummer, it will
be over 100 degrees.

You could say "unbearable."

For females without cubs, this
is more than a way to stay cool.

While rubbing off their coats,
they're rubbing on their scent.

Inviting males from
miles around...

to a private rendezvous.

In the Waterland,

the summer can be the most
challenging time of the year.

Even for the most
resourceful inhabitants.

This raccoon is a single mom.

She and her kits are up early
to avoid the midday heat.

Though sleepyhead here
didn't get the memo.

The mud is full of
juicy invertebrates.

Tasty.

Raccoon paws are four times more
sensitive than most mammals'.

They can virtually
see with their hands.

So Mom's eyes are free to
scout for their next meal.

An alligator nest
mound packed with eggs.

Just one problem.

The owner's still home.

She mated with her rumbling
male three weeks back

and has fifty eggs in the mound.

She could finish a
raccoon in one bite.

But she hasn't spotted the
thieves, and she heads off to hunt.

The raccoons grab their chance.

No surprise that it's
sleepyhead bringing up the rear.

Gator eggs are full of protein.

Perfect for a growing family.

This has to be a
smash-and-grab raid, though.

They need to finish
their breakfast

before the gator
returns from hers.

Bellies full, the bandits
leave the scene of the crime.

All except sleepyhead.

This is no time for
sleeping on the job.

The security's heading home.

Last-minute getaway.

It'll be another year before
the gator mom can breed again.

It's hard slipping
between two worlds.

Sometimes, it's better
to live in just one.

The ancestors of
one southern giant

switched from land to water
a few million years back.

A manatee, cousin
of the elephant.

These thousand-pound vegetarians
are relaxing in a Florida spa.

Warm water springs bubble up

and keep these hot tubs
at a balmy 72 degrees.

The warmth can be a lifesaver.

Especially for a nursing calf.

This little guy wouldn't have
survived the winter in the cool ocean.

So Mom brought him
to the pool party.

Nearly half the world's manatees
come to Florida springs each year.

Some swimming over
500 miles to get here.

This pool hosts the largest
gathering of all. Over 800 manatees.

Now, the party's over.

They've eaten all
the food around here,

and the ocean's
warming up again.

Time for the annual
migration back to the coast.

Just a quick kiss goodbye.

Mom needs to keep her
calf close to her side.

The ancient migration routes
are much more dangerous

than they used to be.

Because of a man-made killer.

Slow-moving manatees

are vulnerable to boats
that break the speed limit.

The propellers of
speeding vessels

kill many manatees every year.

When a mom is killed,

it's big trouble for the calf.

Orphaned, he'll only
survive a few days alone.

But manatees do something that
only a handful of other animals

in the whole world do.

Mothers adopt orphaned calves.

This mom produces
enough milk for two,

and can lead both calves on
the rest of their migration.

The favorite destination for many is
the coast of Everglades National Park.

In between the
mangrove-fringed islands,

the warm shallow seas nourish
huge beds of seagrass.

The manatees' favorite food.

Each manatee can eat up to 15
percent of its body weight every day.

Here in the Waterland, the biggest
meadows are down on the seabed.

And after sunset,

the most beautiful light
displays are not in the sky...

but under the water.

These lights are created
by microscopic life-forms

that thrive in their millions...

in the warm summer seas.

These tiny creatures
flash with light,

known as bioluminescence,

when fish try to feed on them.

It doesn't seem to put off the
mullet that are out feeding tonight.

Though the fish aren't
the only predator in town.

The dolphin, lighting up the lagoon
in search of a mullet midnight feast.

In the summer, night brings
relief from the heat.

On the coastal dunes, the
hardest working hero in the South

is starting her shift.

This beach mouse has lots of
food to collect before sunup.

Luckily, she's got
a great partner.

Beach mice are one of very few
mammals that mate for life.

They work together to gather
energy-rich seeds of sea oats.

But the mice have a deadly foe.

A red rat snake.

Roaming the dunes, trying to
pick up the mouse's scent trail.

He's just inches away.

How the mouse avoids detection
was a mystery until recently.

Even in near darkness, the
snake has super senses.

His forked tongue tastes
the air to sniff out prey.

But he can't get a
fix on his target.

The mouse escapes again.

With a storm looming,
she heads home.

And reveals the
answer to the mystery.

She's a collector
of old snake skins.

As she walks through, the
snake scent rubs off on her...

disguising her own scent.

But the beach mice
aren't safe just yet.

The snake has found
the mouse hole.

In the burrow, there's
no evading the hunter.

Unless you've planned ahead.

Every beach mouse burrow
has a secret back door.

The snake is foiled again.

While the mouse rejoins her
faithful partner in a backup burrow,

dug for exactly these occasions.

They'll sleep through
the day ahead,

their burrow sheltering them from
something far deadlier than a snake.

Morning reveals an
apocalyptic force of nature

building far out in
the Atlantic Ocean.

Under the searing summer sun,

water is evaporating faster and
faster from the sea's surface.

Winds blow the rapidly
growing storm clouds

towards land.

The warmer the water, the more
powerful the weather system.

The biggest grow from
tropical storm...

to hurricane.

The leading edge
of the hurricane

pushes rain clouds in front
of it towards the coast.

A year's worth of rain
can fall in a single day.

Good time to move
inland, if you can.

The system begins to rotate
counterclockwise around its eye...

forming a storm cell
hundreds of miles across.

The winds drive the sea water
in the storm's path forwards,

creating a surge
up to 20 feet high.

When the eye wall,

the most dangerous part of
the hurricane, makes landfall,

winds hit over 160
miles per hour.

Hurricanes cause billions
of dollars of destruction

and untold heartbreak

across the southeast
of our continent.

As ocean temperatures rise, these
storms are becoming more frequent

and more ferocious.

Our best hope for
the future may lie

with the coastal defenses
that nature provides.

Beneath the sand dunes,

some of our heroes are
unknowingly doing great work

to keep storm damage at bay.

Every time our beach mice
move to a new burrow,

they leave their
store of seeds behind.

So these guys are super efficient at
spreading sea oats all along the beach.

Over time, the abandoned
oats germinate.

As they grow, they bind
the sand grains together...

making the dunes
bigger and stronger.

These dunes absorb the
impact of wind and waves

and protect coastal
towns and cities

from the devastating force
of storms and hurricanes.

Where there are no dunes,

mangrove forests line hundreds
of miles of southern coastline.

Their network of twisted
roots is incredibly strong.

A barrier sheltering manatees and
other residents from extreme weather.

Where the mangrove forests
are left to flourish,

just like the sand dunes,
they protect our homes,

including the city of Miami.

The Waterland is more than
just a barrier against danger.

It's the perfect home, if
you can go with the flow.

Every year, the great swamps
soak up the floodwaters.

This year, those
waters are deep,

but the gator mom built her
nest above the high waterline.

And this time, she kept it
safe from raiding raccoons.

Now, two months after
the eggs were laid,

the youngsters are
calling from inside...

telling Mom they're
ready to hatch.

They break through
the leathery shell

using a tiny egg tooth

on the tip of their snout.

The emergence of the first
encourages the rest to get going.

All 50 eggs can hatch
within a day or two.

At just seven inches long,
they're gonna need protection.

Luckily for them, alligator
babies have bodyguards.

Their mothers are the most
caring in the reptile world.

She'll guard them for months,
possibly up to a year.

Great parenting is one of the reasons
gators can thrive in this Waterland.

A place they've called home
since the time of the dinosaurs.

Some things remain much the
same as they were back then.

On late summer mornings,

hatchlings still use
dragonflies for target practice.

With mixed success.

And they still kick back
when the day gets too hot

to do too much of
anything at all.

These days, there are
millions of gators

across the southern U.S.

But last century, they were
hunted to near extinction.

So it's down to us humans
to make sure that this

will be a scene that continues
to play out into the future.

These giant reptiles
with a sensitive side

are true emblems of the South.

A place for heroes of
both water and land,

where nothing is
quite what you expect.