1 00:02:03,389 --> 00:02:08,884 This is a place of unseen danger and subtle beauty. 2 00:02:09,662 --> 00:02:13,496 It is a mysterious swamp called "Okefenokee"... 3 00:02:13,633 --> 00:02:16,158 the realm of the Alligator. 4 00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:05,715 Okefenokee... 5 00:03:05,852 --> 00:03:09,811 a forbidding place once thought to harbor deadly diseases. 6 00:03:09,956 --> 00:03:12,117 It sheltered fugitives 7 00:03:12,258 --> 00:03:15,887 and inspired fear and superstition. 8 00:03:31,044 --> 00:03:35,708 Today Okefenokee Swamp is a well-know wildlife refuge. 9 00:03:35,848 --> 00:03:38,043 But even for people like biologist-photographer. 10 00:03:38,184 --> 00:03:41,881 Dr. John Paling, it is not entirely welcoming. 11 00:03:42,021 --> 00:03:47,084 "Whenever I go back to Okefenokee now, I've got mixed feelings about it". 12 00:03:47,227 --> 00:03:50,628 > From the air when you go across it, it looks just so beautiful 13 00:03:50,763 --> 00:03:54,255 and so serene and so natural and so appealing. 14 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,200 And yet it can be a place of such contrasts 15 00:03:58,338 --> 00:04:02,741 that it seems almost as if man was never intended to be there for long. 16 00:04:08,681 --> 00:04:13,550 Okefenokee Swamp is a 438,000-acre natural basin. 17 00:04:13,686 --> 00:04:18,248 A mosaic of islands, forest, marshes, and open water. 18 00:04:18,391 --> 00:04:21,519 It's famed for its alligators and as the home of Pogo, 19 00:04:21,661 --> 00:04:23,356 The comic-strip possum. 20 00:04:23,496 --> 00:04:26,294 Although it overlaps the Florida state line, 21 00:04:26,432 --> 00:04:29,868 most of Okefenokee lies in southeastern Georgia. 22 00:04:31,004 --> 00:04:33,529 Okefenokee's population of Seminole Indians 23 00:04:33,673 --> 00:04:36,369 was driven out in the 1830s. 24 00:04:36,509 --> 00:04:41,310 It was soon infiltrated by white settlers called "swampers." 25 00:04:49,622 --> 00:04:52,887 By the 1930s the swampers were well established here, 26 00:04:53,026 --> 00:04:57,429 Showing off alligator nests and eggs for visiting photographers. 27 00:04:58,264 --> 00:05:00,289 The swampers were a breed apart. 28 00:05:00,433 --> 00:05:04,529 Many had few needs or interests outside Okefenokee. 29 00:05:04,671 --> 00:05:09,802 Those who knew them admired their simplicity and self-reliance. 30 00:05:34,434 --> 00:05:36,265 Soon after the turn of the century, 31 00:05:36,402 --> 00:05:39,997 virgin stands of cypress brought an invasion to the swamp. 32 00:05:40,139 --> 00:05:42,903 This and earlier schemes to build a ship canal 33 00:05:43,042 --> 00:05:45,203 through the swamp and even to drain it 34 00:05:45,345 --> 00:05:47,745 threatened to destroy Okefenokee. 35 00:05:48,681 --> 00:05:53,516 But much of Okefenokee's prime timber was cleared in less than 20 years. 36 00:05:53,653 --> 00:05:56,816 Soon the swampers were alone again. 37 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,994 In 1937, Okefenokee was declared a national wildlife refuge. 38 00:06:13,139 --> 00:06:16,040 The human residents would eventually leave. 39 00:06:17,176 --> 00:06:18,643 One old-timer said, 40 00:06:18,778 --> 00:06:21,212 we have the swamp and that's good. 41 00:06:21,347 --> 00:06:23,747 But the swampers are all gone. 42 00:06:23,883 --> 00:06:26,647 It's just a shame we can't have both. 43 00:06:39,198 --> 00:06:41,598 More than fifty years after they were abandoned, 44 00:06:41,734 --> 00:06:45,101 relics of the old logging camps still can be found. 45 00:06:45,238 --> 00:06:47,638 Now deep in regrowing forest, 46 00:06:47,774 --> 00:06:50,766 they're objects of curiosity for biologists like 47 00:06:50,910 --> 00:06:53,105 Kent Vliet and John Paling. 48 00:06:53,246 --> 00:06:54,440 This is an old train. 49 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:55,672 Oh, this is? 50 00:06:55,815 --> 00:06:57,214 The engine was up front... 51 00:06:57,350 --> 00:06:59,511 and there would be water in this old cylinder. 52 00:06:59,652 --> 00:07:03,918 After working here for several seasons Paling, born in England, 53 00:07:04,056 --> 00:07:06,820 has become intimately familiar with this Georgia swamp. 54 00:07:06,959 --> 00:07:08,290 And there's something even more dramatic over here. 55 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:09,554 Come and have a guess sat this. 56 00:07:10,863 --> 00:07:12,160 What do you make of this? 57 00:07:12,965 --> 00:07:14,956 That's some sort of a chassis. 58 00:07:15,101 --> 00:07:16,125 Right. 59 00:07:16,269 --> 00:07:19,033 Is that what they carried the logs on? 60 00:07:19,172 --> 00:07:20,639 Nope. Try again. 61 00:07:20,773 --> 00:07:23,003 Don't forget we're on an island in the middle of Okefenokee, 62 00:07:23,142 --> 00:07:24,074 so try again. 63 00:07:24,210 --> 00:07:27,111 Some sort of swamp buggy or something like that? 64 00:07:27,246 --> 00:07:29,043 It's a car. They had three cars on the island. 65 00:07:29,182 --> 00:07:30,672 Really? That's a heavy... 66 00:07:30,817 --> 00:07:32,079 Heavy duty, isn't it? Heavy chassis... 67 00:07:32,218 --> 00:07:33,879 But look how well the metal's been preserved. Yeah. 68 00:07:34,020 --> 00:07:35,248 And there's another thing to pick out too. 69 00:07:35,388 --> 00:07:37,117 You see why it's so good? 70 00:07:37,256 --> 00:07:38,120 It's British 71 00:07:38,257 --> 00:07:39,656 Right-hand drive. 72 00:07:39,792 --> 00:07:42,488 It's Durant car that they brought over 73 00:07:42,628 --> 00:07:44,994 on the trains for three people. Is that right? 74 00:07:45,131 --> 00:07:47,497 Yeah. There were three cars that would chug up and down. 75 00:07:47,633 --> 00:07:49,066 And this thing is preserved so well. 76 00:07:49,202 --> 00:07:52,103 Many cars that are ten years old don't have a chassis as good as that. 77 00:07:52,238 --> 00:07:53,569 that's a very heavy chassis. 78 00:07:53,706 --> 00:07:55,571 Right. I think it was just to take people up and down. 79 00:07:55,708 --> 00:07:58,336 There's a big turpentine still at the end of the island too. 80 00:07:58,478 --> 00:08:00,946 And there was a cinema, there was a barber ship. 81 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:02,308 All gone now. It's amazing. 82 00:08:02,448 --> 00:08:03,415 Yep. 83 00:08:03,549 --> 00:08:04,675 Trains. 84 00:08:04,817 --> 00:08:06,717 When the logging company finished up business, 85 00:08:06,853 --> 00:08:08,480 they just tried to get all the people off 86 00:08:08,621 --> 00:08:12,523 when the National Parks Fish and Wildlife took it in 1937. 87 00:08:12,658 --> 00:08:16,059 Although parts of Okefenokee can be traversed on foot, 88 00:08:16,195 --> 00:08:18,629 it is better explored by boat. 89 00:08:22,902 --> 00:08:26,133 The waters of Okefenokee look like polished ebony, 90 00:08:26,272 --> 00:08:28,706 dark but highly reflective. 91 00:08:28,841 --> 00:08:32,971 It is a landscape of mirrors, fascinating and surreal. 92 00:08:42,388 --> 00:08:45,152 Kent Vliet is from the University of Florida. 93 00:08:45,291 --> 00:08:50,058 He's an expert on Okefenokee's most famous resident, the alligator. 94 00:08:51,931 --> 00:08:53,398 You know there's one right in front of us, John? 95 00:08:53,533 --> 00:08:55,694 Yep. I can see that one. 96 00:09:04,443 --> 00:09:08,709 The ability to "call" alligators by making certain curious sounds 97 00:09:08,848 --> 00:09:12,340 is a valuable skill for inquisitive biologists. 98 00:09:15,321 --> 00:09:16,413 It's coming. 99 00:09:17,990 --> 00:09:19,389 Whoa, hey. 100 00:09:21,661 --> 00:09:24,061 Do they have binocular vision? Can they see three dimensions? 101 00:09:24,196 --> 00:09:29,691 Only a little small fraction of their total visual field 102 00:09:29,835 --> 00:09:32,599 just in front of their nose is binocular Is he coming too close? 103 00:09:32,738 --> 00:09:34,103 No, he's fine. 104 00:09:36,242 --> 00:09:36,435 Wow. 105 00:09:39,645 --> 00:09:41,442 Why do they have the yellow ring around their eyes? 106 00:09:41,581 --> 00:09:43,344 Is there a function that's known for that? 107 00:09:43,482 --> 00:09:45,746 A number of aquatic animals have 108 00:09:45,885 --> 00:09:50,117 coloration around the eye like that hippopotamuses do. 109 00:09:50,256 --> 00:09:55,523 It might have something to do with magnifying the light going into the eye 110 00:09:55,661 --> 00:10:00,530 Sort of the reverse of a football player putting black grease under the eye. 111 00:10:00,666 --> 00:10:02,031 To make you see better in fact. 112 00:10:02,168 --> 00:10:04,033 He's going to go down. There he goes. 113 00:10:05,705 --> 00:10:07,332 How long will they stay under water? 114 00:10:07,473 --> 00:10:09,873 They can stay under a good long time. 115 00:10:10,009 --> 00:10:13,968 When they're resting in the afternoon, they go down for at least 15 minutes. 116 00:10:14,113 --> 00:10:15,341 He's up again, look. 117 00:10:15,481 --> 00:10:16,971 Yeah, there it is. 118 00:10:18,851 --> 00:10:20,876 In the wintertime they may stay down for days. 119 00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:22,078 Nobody knows. 120 00:10:22,221 --> 00:10:22,915 For days and days? 121 00:10:23,055 --> 00:10:24,579 You mean they really... You mean they hibernate? 122 00:10:24,724 --> 00:10:27,090 Well, yeah, in the sense it is a hibernation. 123 00:10:27,226 --> 00:10:29,456 Their metabolism slows down so much 124 00:10:29,595 --> 00:10:33,998 when they're that cold that they just require almost no oxygen. 125 00:10:34,133 --> 00:10:35,225 And they don't eat, obviously, if they... 126 00:10:35,368 --> 00:10:38,804 No, they don't eat for several months during the winter. 127 00:10:39,338 --> 00:10:42,171 I should think the average member of the public that comes to Okefenokee 128 00:10:42,308 --> 00:10:45,505 and sees an alligator thinks they have really arrived in prehistory 129 00:10:45,645 --> 00:10:49,206 Back in the Age of the Reptiles. 130 00:10:55,855 --> 00:10:58,119 The study of alligator social behavior 131 00:10:58,257 --> 00:11:01,124 has occupied Kent Vliet for several years. 132 00:11:01,260 --> 00:11:03,524 At his laboratory in Gainesville, Florida, 133 00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:06,359 he works with a wealth of accumulated data. 134 00:11:06,499 --> 00:11:12,267 We've learned that alligator behavior is very, very complex. 135 00:11:12,405 --> 00:11:15,306 It's much more complex and much more sophisticated 136 00:11:15,441 --> 00:11:18,535 than the behavior of other reptiles that have been studied. 137 00:11:18,678 --> 00:11:22,739 And so our dealings with alligator behavior have been to try to 138 00:11:22,882 --> 00:11:26,875 document the types of behaviors they show and analyze these, 139 00:11:27,019 --> 00:11:30,318 Not only in simple terms of alligator behavior, 140 00:11:30,456 --> 00:11:34,415 but as they might represent the primitive beginnings 141 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:39,998 from which the more complex behaviors of birds and mammals have evolved. 142 00:11:44,537 --> 00:11:47,028 Most of Kent's observations have been made at 143 00:11:47,173 --> 00:11:49,505 the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. 144 00:11:49,642 --> 00:11:52,236 Several hundred alligators are on display here 145 00:11:52,378 --> 00:11:54,369 for the enlightenment of tourists. 146 00:11:54,513 --> 00:11:58,210 The farm affords easy access to an otherwise elusive animal. 147 00:11:58,350 --> 00:12:01,183 before that just to see if the place would work out. 148 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,585 Are there many differences between these gator-farm alligators 149 00:12:04,724 --> 00:12:06,191 and the ones you get in the wild? 150 00:12:06,325 --> 00:12:10,352 Well, captive animals look a lot different from wild animals. 151 00:12:10,496 --> 00:12:12,259 The most noticeable difference... 152 00:12:12,398 --> 00:12:15,265 Is that the head of a captive animal is much broader. 153 00:12:15,401 --> 00:12:17,926 You don't have this beautifully elongated snout. 154 00:12:18,070 --> 00:12:21,665 That's because captive animals spend so much time on land basking, 155 00:12:21,807 --> 00:12:24,799 and at least in old animals like these 156 00:12:24,944 --> 00:12:26,343 the head weighs so much 157 00:12:26,479 --> 00:12:29,107 that is just tends to flatten itself out over the years. 158 00:12:29,248 --> 00:12:31,409 It spreads out and becomes much broader 159 00:12:31,550 --> 00:12:33,518 Is that what squeezes the teeth out too Yeah... 160 00:12:33,652 --> 00:12:34,710 because they're all showing very obviously here? 161 00:12:34,854 --> 00:12:37,152 They're very toothy animals 162 00:12:37,289 --> 00:12:40,156 Also all the scales on their back are worn down... 163 00:12:40,292 --> 00:12:42,590 much more so than a wild animal would be. 164 00:12:42,728 --> 00:12:46,425 And that's just because these animals live in very high densities on farms, 165 00:12:46,565 --> 00:12:47,691 and they crawl over each other. 166 00:12:47,833 --> 00:12:51,291 they just kind of buff each other down all the time. 167 00:12:56,842 --> 00:13:00,039 Since 1981 Kent Vliet has made a detailed study 168 00:13:00,179 --> 00:13:02,579 of alligator behavior in the mating season 169 00:13:02,715 --> 00:13:04,649 from April into June. 170 00:13:05,484 --> 00:13:08,749 But Kent was not happy with his original vantage point. 171 00:13:08,888 --> 00:13:13,587 It was secure, but didn't provide an accurate water-level view. 172 00:13:13,726 --> 00:13:19,187 He decided to enter the lake a procedure not without certain risks. 173 00:13:19,765 --> 00:13:21,232 It is possible, when you're in the lake 174 00:13:21,367 --> 00:13:24,632 that a big male will decide he doesn't want you there 175 00:13:24,770 --> 00:13:29,434 and actually come up and try to get you out of his territory. 176 00:13:29,575 --> 00:13:32,339 We've had very few problems when I was swimming in the lake, 177 00:13:32,478 --> 00:13:38,007 but there's always the potential for an alligator getting hold of you 178 00:13:38,150 --> 00:13:39,708 and doing some real damage. 179 00:13:42,087 --> 00:13:46,023 Kent has found that alligators here at the farm are fairly harmless 180 00:13:46,158 --> 00:13:48,353 especially during mating season. 181 00:13:48,494 --> 00:13:50,189 And, to increase his knowledge, 182 00:13:50,329 --> 00:13:54,197 he puts this opinion to a highly meaningful test. 183 00:14:01,473 --> 00:14:04,965 We learned early on in our research 184 00:14:05,110 --> 00:14:07,738 that we needed to get off the boardwalks 185 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,680 and go down and look at alligators at an alligator's eye level. 186 00:14:11,817 --> 00:14:14,809 Alligators communicate to each other visually by the way 187 00:14:14,954 --> 00:14:17,582 they hold their bodies out of the water. 188 00:14:17,723 --> 00:14:21,056 And we got down into the water to better understand 189 00:14:21,193 --> 00:14:24,629 how alligators are talking to each other in a visual sense. 190 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,449 Kent has taken a lot of kidding about being up to his eyebrows 191 00:14:44,583 --> 00:14:48,542 in alligators and "seeing eye to eye" with his study subjects. 192 00:14:48,687 --> 00:14:52,919 But he feels that because he can understand an alligator's body language 193 00:14:53,058 --> 00:14:56,585 he can ward off trouble before it becomes a real threat. 194 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,774 I look for animals that are obviously directing themselves toward me 195 00:15:12,912 --> 00:15:14,743 as aggressive animals. 196 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:16,438 The way they tilt their head 197 00:15:16,582 --> 00:15:18,573 and how high they hold their body out of the water 198 00:15:18,717 --> 00:15:21,345 are all indications if they're being aggressive or not. 199 00:15:21,487 --> 00:15:23,682 Not all the animals that come towards me are aggressive. 200 00:15:23,822 --> 00:15:27,019 Many are curious, but I still have to treat them all about the same. 201 00:15:27,159 --> 00:15:29,491 I can't let them get too close to me. 202 00:15:29,628 --> 00:15:34,258 I carry a large, about five-foot-long cypress pole with me, 203 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:36,766 And if an animal does get too close, 204 00:15:36,902 --> 00:15:41,999 I just nudge it away and try to keep it out of strike range. 205 00:16:12,938 --> 00:16:17,807 The meaning, if any, of an alligator's impressive yawn is not understood; 206 00:16:19,378 --> 00:16:20,811 But other behavior like this 207 00:16:20,946 --> 00:16:23,847 head-slapping display has been deciphered. 208 00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:25,610 It is an assertive gesture, 209 00:16:25,751 --> 00:16:29,118 advertising an alligator's social position. 210 00:16:32,424 --> 00:16:35,052 In courtship season the alligators stage 211 00:16:35,194 --> 00:16:38,095 "bellowing choruses" almost daily. 212 00:16:38,230 --> 00:16:42,599 Both sexes bellow, but they make somewhat different sounds. 213 00:16:46,538 --> 00:16:48,529 Just before a male bellows, 214 00:16:48,674 --> 00:16:53,338 he produces subsonic signals that make the water around him dance. 215 00:16:53,479 --> 00:16:58,178 In the wild these signals may dram females from a great distance. 216 00:17:13,232 --> 00:17:16,360 Courtship is a quiet and oddly tender process 217 00:17:16,502 --> 00:17:20,495 that Kent has sometimes been able to witness at close quarters. 218 00:17:21,740 --> 00:17:26,370 Courtship is usually initiated by one animal swimming slowly up to another. 219 00:17:26,512 --> 00:17:29,242 And this is a very important stage of courtship 220 00:17:29,381 --> 00:17:31,372 because they have to communicate 221 00:17:31,517 --> 00:17:35,283 to each animal that they have non-aggressive intentions. 222 00:17:35,421 --> 00:17:36,410 And secondly, 223 00:17:36,555 --> 00:17:41,549 they go into a period of touching one another along the face and neck. 224 00:17:41,693 --> 00:17:46,892 And they really orient to each other's head and neck. 225 00:17:47,032 --> 00:17:51,526 in the third phase of courtship these touching behaviors 226 00:17:51,670 --> 00:17:53,035 become more exaggerated 227 00:17:53,172 --> 00:17:56,335 and the animals start pressing each other down under water. 228 00:17:56,475 --> 00:18:00,377 And these are real tests of strength between the two animals. 229 00:18:00,512 --> 00:18:05,643 And these will be accentuated until one animal is capable of pressing the other 230 00:18:05,784 --> 00:18:08,776 under water and ultimately circle around 231 00:18:08,921 --> 00:18:12,857 and mount on that animal and begin riding it around 232 00:18:12,991 --> 00:18:17,860 and ultimately roll over to one side and attempt to mate with that animal. 233 00:18:27,773 --> 00:18:29,104 However they behave, 234 00:18:29,241 --> 00:18:33,473 alligators have reproduced quite successfully in Okefenokee. 235 00:18:33,612 --> 00:18:38,015 Here, until the 1970s they were badly hit by poachers. 236 00:18:38,150 --> 00:18:43,782 Now, stiff laws protect a population that has grown to about 12,000. 237 00:18:46,391 --> 00:18:51,090 In summer, bubbling gases are like the heartbeat of Okefenokee. 238 00:18:54,133 --> 00:18:56,328 Beneath the dark waters is a thick layer 239 00:18:56,468 --> 00:18:59,596 of decomposing vegetation called peat. 240 00:18:59,738 --> 00:19:03,174 The gases it creates sometimes lift large patches 241 00:19:03,308 --> 00:19:06,004 of peat to float on the surface. 242 00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:09,581 Old-timers called this a 'blow-up'. 243 00:19:13,252 --> 00:19:17,655 Over time, the floating mats of peat are covered with vegetation. 244 00:19:17,789 --> 00:19:21,088 Some sink again, but others become floating islands 245 00:19:21,226 --> 00:19:25,060 and eventually support bushes and even trees. 246 00:19:30,802 --> 00:19:34,761 Ultimately, the trees take root and new land is created 247 00:19:34,907 --> 00:19:39,344 small wooded islands known locally as houses. 248 00:19:45,350 --> 00:19:49,878 Okefenokee is an Indian word that means 'land of the trembling earth' 249 00:19:50,022 --> 00:19:52,786 John Paling shows how fitting the name is 250 00:19:52,925 --> 00:19:55,860 when he lands on a young floating island. 251 00:20:10,409 --> 00:20:14,072 I actually enjoy walking on "trembling earth", if I admit it. 252 00:20:14,213 --> 00:20:18,309 It's one of these strange experiences like walking on a bowl of jelly. 253 00:20:33,232 --> 00:20:36,167 The waters of Okefenokee are highly acid, 254 00:20:36,301 --> 00:20:40,567 about as acidic as strong tea and much the same color. 255 00:20:40,706 --> 00:20:44,198 Conditions favor the growth of insect-eating plants 256 00:20:44,343 --> 00:20:47,141 that are found here in great variety. 257 00:20:50,515 --> 00:20:55,817 This pitcher plant lures insects to its hollow tubular leaf with nectar. 258 00:21:01,193 --> 00:21:04,185 Once inside, few insects escape. 259 00:21:18,143 --> 00:21:20,805 They're fooled by light from the translucent windows 260 00:21:20,946 --> 00:21:23,073 that line the back of the tube. 261 00:21:24,316 --> 00:21:27,251 They exhaust themselves trying to get out. 262 00:21:29,721 --> 00:21:33,020 Eventually the insects fall to the bottom of the tube. 263 00:21:33,158 --> 00:21:38,118 There they are dissolved by acid secretions and the plant absorbs them. 264 00:21:44,536 --> 00:21:47,232 Another deadly attraction is the sundew 265 00:21:47,372 --> 00:21:50,569 Its leaves are adorned with brightly colored stalks 266 00:21:50,709 --> 00:21:52,609 tipped with shiny droplets 267 00:21:52,744 --> 00:21:56,111 apparently a sweet meal for passing insects. 268 00:22:19,671 --> 00:22:22,868 But hungry insects soon become entangled. 269 00:22:24,309 --> 00:22:29,713 Escape is impossible when the plant finally closes to digest its victim. 270 00:22:49,701 --> 00:22:52,932 Along the edges of islands and in shallow marshes 271 00:22:53,071 --> 00:22:56,438 insects are snared in such deadly traps. 272 00:22:56,575 --> 00:22:58,099 When it's all over, 273 00:22:58,243 --> 00:23:02,839 there will be nothing left of them except their indigestible husks. 274 00:23:39,084 --> 00:23:44,545 As night falls Okefenokee's gloom and its grandeur deepen. 275 00:23:44,689 --> 00:23:46,782 One hundred million years ago 276 00:23:46,925 --> 00:23:51,225 the alligator's ancestors thrived in prehistoric swamps. 277 00:23:51,363 --> 00:23:56,062 As far as we know, they looked much as they do today. 278 00:23:59,371 --> 00:24:02,670 The eyes of the alligator are highly reflective. 279 00:24:05,010 --> 00:24:08,411 They shine with an eerie glow in the night. 280 00:24:31,203 --> 00:24:36,300 John Paling and Kent Vliet conduct a nighttime search for baby alligators 281 00:24:36,441 --> 00:24:40,343 Disturbing alligators here in the refuge is strictly outlawed. 282 00:24:40,479 --> 00:24:45,678 Even scientists like Vliet need special permission just to touch one. 283 00:24:52,390 --> 00:24:55,154 Let's cut off the engine for a minute and get some peace. Okay. 284 00:24:58,830 --> 00:25:00,730 Wow! That makes a difference, doesn't it? 285 00:25:00,866 --> 00:25:02,857 Let's pole from here. It's beautiful in here. 286 00:25:06,905 --> 00:25:08,930 Nice and quiet without that outboard. 287 00:25:09,074 --> 00:25:10,268 Sure thing. 288 00:26:07,532 --> 00:26:09,432 Do you see any gators yet, or not? 289 00:26:09,568 --> 00:26:12,093 I haven't seen any in this small stretch here. 290 00:26:12,237 --> 00:26:14,728 I'll just flash the light around there 291 00:26:17,208 --> 00:26:18,675 Is that one over there? 292 00:26:18,810 --> 00:26:21,244 Yeah. That's one back in the water lilies. 293 00:26:21,379 --> 00:26:23,210 Let's try and get a bit closer to it, can we? 294 00:26:23,348 --> 00:26:25,816 I'll pole some more if you'll keep paddling on that side. 295 00:26:38,263 --> 00:26:43,895 Unlike the closely related crocodile, alligators rarely attack man. 296 00:26:44,035 --> 00:26:47,493 There are only about a half dozen fatalities on record, 297 00:26:47,639 --> 00:26:52,099 and there has never been a serious incident in the Okefenokee Refuge. 298 00:26:52,744 --> 00:26:57,340 Even so, there's a certain tension whenever they're about. 299 00:27:04,756 --> 00:27:05,745 Do you see one? 300 00:27:10,962 --> 00:27:12,361 I'll keep going. Say when. 301 00:27:13,031 --> 00:27:14,896 Okay, Just a little closer. 302 00:27:17,836 --> 00:27:19,030 You got one? 303 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,698 The captured baby gives a continuous cry of alarm. 304 00:27:25,844 --> 00:27:27,903 John and Kent work quickly. 305 00:27:28,046 --> 00:27:30,412 They want to minimize stress on the baby 306 00:27:30,548 --> 00:27:34,006 and avoid trouble with its mother who might be nearby. 307 00:27:34,152 --> 00:27:37,019 Forty-two-and-a-half centimeters. 308 00:27:37,155 --> 00:27:37,678 Forty-two? 309 00:27:37,822 --> 00:27:40,484 Uh huh. Forty-two. Good. 310 00:27:41,226 --> 00:27:42,090 What's it reading? 311 00:27:42,227 --> 00:27:44,855 It's just at 200 grams. 312 00:27:44,996 --> 00:27:47,260 Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it 313 00:27:47,899 --> 00:27:50,595 My god! She's really cruising. 314 00:27:50,735 --> 00:27:52,225 Is it the call of the baby? 315 00:27:52,370 --> 00:27:54,770 Yeah. The baby's just continually calling. 316 00:27:54,906 --> 00:27:56,601 Well, hang on. Her jaws are open a bit 317 00:27:56,741 --> 00:27:58,800 Her teeth are showing. Kent, are you sure it's okay? 318 00:27:58,943 --> 00:28:01,343 I don't think it's a good idea to stay here. 319 00:28:01,479 --> 00:28:02,707 Do you want to put the baby back, or what? 320 00:28:02,847 --> 00:28:06,044 Probably what I should do is just tap her on the nose and see if it scares her. 321 00:28:06,184 --> 00:28:10,746 They are often a little more brave at night than they are in the daytime. 322 00:28:10,889 --> 00:28:12,618 Watch! She's coming, Kent. 323 00:28:12,757 --> 00:28:15,021 Boy, she really concentrates on that... 324 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,027 She just localizes right on the distress call. 325 00:28:18,163 --> 00:28:19,858 I think I had better push her off. Are you sure? 326 00:28:19,998 --> 00:28:21,659 She's a little too close. 327 00:28:23,601 --> 00:28:24,898 This is not safe. 328 00:28:25,036 --> 00:28:26,060 She's not safe? 329 00:28:26,204 --> 00:28:27,228 No. 330 00:28:27,372 --> 00:28:30,239 How about just putting the baby back? Don't you think that's the best idea? 331 00:28:30,375 --> 00:28:33,469 Yeah. We're definitely at a disadvantage. 332 00:28:42,454 --> 00:28:46,390 So Kent builds a record of alligator growth in different areas. 333 00:28:46,524 --> 00:28:49,652 Females grow to an average of seven to eight feet, 334 00:28:49,794 --> 00:28:54,788 While males may be up to 14 feet and weigh 850 pounds. 335 00:29:09,447 --> 00:29:13,281 Not all of Okefenokee's wonders are found in the marshes. 336 00:29:13,418 --> 00:29:19,084 John Paling explores a pine forest in search of the red-cockaded woodpecker. 337 00:29:19,224 --> 00:29:22,751 The birds are endangered and difficult to find. 338 00:29:22,894 --> 00:29:24,759 They live in groups of three or more, 339 00:29:24,896 --> 00:29:27,228 and each of these so-called "clans" 340 00:29:27,365 --> 00:29:30,664 requires about 200 acres of home range 341 00:29:32,871 --> 00:29:35,738 This small woodpecker, only seven inches in length, 342 00:29:35,874 --> 00:29:39,002 has become famous for its finicky habits. 343 00:29:39,144 --> 00:29:41,772 It will only make holes in old pine trees 344 00:29:41,913 --> 00:29:46,782 that are usually infected by a certain disease red heart fungus. 345 00:29:48,419 --> 00:29:51,217 The fungus softens the tree's inner core, 346 00:29:51,356 --> 00:29:54,416 making the woodpecker's work easy. 347 00:30:00,064 --> 00:30:04,023 When a clan of woodpeckers finds trees that suit them exactly, 348 00:30:04,169 --> 00:30:06,637 They may remain here for life. 349 00:30:27,392 --> 00:30:29,360 The woodpecker's keep busy, however, 350 00:30:29,494 --> 00:30:32,861 carrying out a fascinating scheme for survival. 351 00:30:35,733 --> 00:30:38,463 They constantly make fresh holes in the trees, 352 00:30:38,603 --> 00:30:41,868 causing them to exude a thick coating of resin. 353 00:30:42,006 --> 00:30:44,099 It's a sharp and smelly substance, 354 00:30:44,242 --> 00:30:46,676 the main ingredient of turpentine. 355 00:30:49,714 --> 00:30:52,911 The woodpecker's nest hole is surrounded be resin. 356 00:30:53,051 --> 00:30:56,145 And it's always located on the western side of the trunk 357 00:30:56,287 --> 00:31:00,121 where the heat of the sun will help keep the resin moist and fresh. 358 00:31:00,859 --> 00:31:03,521 The reason for all this only becomes clear 359 00:31:03,661 --> 00:31:07,757 with the appearance of a predator like this corn snake. 360 00:31:30,722 --> 00:31:34,624 Sometimes this snake can be an amazing tree climber. 361 00:31:36,494 --> 00:31:41,932 It can climb straight up and reach bird nests 30 feet above the ground. 362 00:32:43,027 --> 00:32:44,324 Eggs or baby birds 363 00:32:44,462 --> 00:32:48,398 inside the woodpecker's nest are seemingly easy prey. 364 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,696 But now the resin comes into play. 365 00:32:51,836 --> 00:32:54,566 To the snake it's a powerful irritant. 366 00:32:54,706 --> 00:32:57,436 Frequently is stops the snake entirely 367 00:32:57,575 --> 00:32:59,133 Even if the snake persists, 368 00:32:59,277 --> 00:33:02,542 it still tries to avoid contact with the resin. 369 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,241 Often the snake ends up retreating the hard way. 370 00:33:34,645 --> 00:33:36,374 Such moments of threat and drama 371 00:33:36,514 --> 00:33:39,972 frequently interrupt the tranquility of Okefenokee. 372 00:33:40,118 --> 00:33:44,953 The predator in one situation can become prey in the next. 373 00:37:06,924 --> 00:37:10,951 A baby alligator in pursuit of a diving katydid. 374 00:37:12,196 --> 00:37:16,098 Hiding underwater, the katydid is safe temporarily. 375 00:37:16,234 --> 00:37:20,398 But after two minutes or so, it must come up for air. 376 00:37:48,566 --> 00:37:49,863 It's midsummer. 377 00:37:50,001 --> 00:37:54,199 John Paling and Kent Vliet search for alligator nests. 378 00:37:54,338 --> 00:37:58,536 At this time of year dozens of nests are concealed in the swamp. 379 00:37:58,676 --> 00:38:01,338 The best way to find one is to look for the trail 380 00:38:01,479 --> 00:38:03,106 the female alligator has made 381 00:38:03,247 --> 00:38:05,875 when coming and going from the nest. 382 00:38:06,017 --> 00:38:07,279 They should be pretty clear. 383 00:38:07,418 --> 00:38:11,013 If they're used often like a trail to a nest is, 384 00:38:11,155 --> 00:38:12,622 they're pretty obvious. 385 00:38:15,426 --> 00:38:17,485 This looks like one right here. Left? 386 00:38:17,628 --> 00:38:20,995 Right by these yellow flowers in this clump here. 387 00:38:21,132 --> 00:38:23,794 Let's shove the nose of the boat in here. 388 00:38:23,934 --> 00:38:24,901 Yeah, this is one. 389 00:38:25,036 --> 00:38:26,765 Oh, I can see it. 390 00:38:26,904 --> 00:38:32,069 Yeah. It does look like it's used pretty frequently too. 391 00:38:32,209 --> 00:38:33,471 That one looks really packed down. 392 00:38:33,611 --> 00:38:37,172 I think it's probably one leading to a nest. 393 00:38:38,716 --> 00:38:43,244 Alligator trails form a network of natural pathways through the swamp. 394 00:38:43,387 --> 00:38:45,981 They were often followed by early explorers. 395 00:38:46,123 --> 00:38:47,613 But there's a drawback. 396 00:38:47,758 --> 00:38:51,057 Alligators like to lie submerged along the trails. 397 00:38:51,195 --> 00:38:53,663 It's all to easy to step on one. 398 00:39:20,825 --> 00:39:25,057 In the nesting season the female alligator is on the defensive. 399 00:39:25,196 --> 00:39:30,224 She herself has nothing to fear, but her eggs are highly vulnerable. 400 00:39:31,569 --> 00:39:34,265 Scavengers often attack the nest. 401 00:39:34,405 --> 00:39:37,067 Wait a minute. Here's the nest. 402 00:39:37,208 --> 00:39:38,732 It's been attacked, hasn't it? 403 00:39:38,876 --> 00:39:41,276 No, I think they've been eaten. 404 00:39:42,079 --> 00:39:45,776 Something's gotten into the nest and eaten the eggs. 405 00:39:45,916 --> 00:39:47,281 Oh. What would have eaten these then? 406 00:39:47,418 --> 00:39:50,080 Probably either raccoons or black bears 407 00:39:50,221 --> 00:39:53,122 Black bears eat a lot of alligator nests here. 408 00:39:53,257 --> 00:39:57,318 But I mean raccoons and bears wouldn't swim and wade through this stuff? 409 00:39:57,461 --> 00:39:59,190 Well, there could be one living in this island, 410 00:39:59,330 --> 00:40:01,355 or he may have moved from island to island. 411 00:40:01,499 --> 00:40:04,559 It's hard to say if it was a black bear or a raccoon though. 412 00:40:05,136 --> 00:40:08,128 Sometimes black bears will pick off the end of an egg 413 00:40:08,272 --> 00:40:10,968 and just eat the insides out of it. 414 00:40:11,108 --> 00:40:11,904 I don't know how they do it. 415 00:40:12,042 --> 00:40:15,273 They may just use a claw and just pop the top off and eat it. 416 00:40:15,413 --> 00:40:18,974 This is sort of like an island. How does the mother make it? 417 00:40:19,116 --> 00:40:23,746 I think this nest is either sunk from its own weight 418 00:40:23,888 --> 00:40:27,654 after she built it or the water level in the swamp has risen some. 419 00:40:27,792 --> 00:40:34,459 These things just scrape up all the dirt and vegetation around them. 420 00:40:34,598 --> 00:40:36,930 You see there's peat in here 421 00:40:37,067 --> 00:40:39,535 and a lot of plant matter that holds it together. 422 00:40:39,670 --> 00:40:43,834 And also the rotting plant matter heats the eggs. 423 00:40:43,974 --> 00:40:46,966 It creates heat as it rots, and it actually keeps the eggs warmer 424 00:40:47,111 --> 00:40:49,238 than they would be just with the sun on them. 425 00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:52,008 Could she still be around now these have been eaten? 426 00:40:52,149 --> 00:40:53,480 I think she probably came back 427 00:40:53,617 --> 00:40:55,244 and realized that it had been disturbed 428 00:40:55,386 --> 00:40:57,786 and just lost interest and left. 429 00:40:57,922 --> 00:40:58,946 Let's find another one then. 430 00:40:59,089 --> 00:41:01,956 Okay. That's really too bad. 431 00:41:14,839 --> 00:41:18,434 Often the female alligator is not far from the nest. 432 00:41:18,576 --> 00:41:23,172 And when she discovers an intruder, she can be highly aggressive. 433 00:41:31,155 --> 00:41:35,182 John Paling once faced such a confrontation unexpectedly 434 00:41:35,326 --> 00:41:37,123 when filming a nest. 435 00:41:54,545 --> 00:41:57,343 This was, in Paling's understated words 436 00:41:57,481 --> 00:42:00,917 a moment "of surprise and serious concern". 437 00:42:01,051 --> 00:42:06,421 It ended only when he backed off, leaving the nest to its rightful owner 438 00:42:24,842 --> 00:42:27,140 The fierce protection given the nest 439 00:42:27,278 --> 00:42:31,078 plays a vital part in the life of the redbelly turtle. 440 00:42:32,816 --> 00:42:37,116 The female turtle tries to lay her eggs in the alligator's nest. 441 00:42:37,254 --> 00:42:38,482 If she succeeds, 442 00:42:38,622 --> 00:42:39,714 the mother alligator 443 00:42:39,857 --> 00:42:44,351 will unwittingly stand guard over the turtle eggs as well as her own. 444 00:42:55,539 --> 00:42:56,665 Risking attack, 445 00:42:56,807 --> 00:42:59,833 the turtle invades the nest and lays her eggs 446 00:42:59,977 --> 00:43:03,208 taking advantage of the warmth and moisture. 447 00:43:43,887 --> 00:43:47,448 Leaving her eggs behind, the turtle tries to get away. 448 00:43:47,591 --> 00:43:50,025 It's just as risky as getting in. 449 00:43:54,765 --> 00:43:59,998 Most adult turtles in Okefenokee bear the marks of encounters like this. 450 00:44:00,137 --> 00:44:01,900 Often they are not harmed. 451 00:44:02,039 --> 00:44:06,066 It's as if alligators recognize the turtle after one futile bite. 452 00:44:06,210 --> 00:44:09,611 Finding it hard to crack, they then leave it alone. 453 00:44:15,085 --> 00:44:17,315 The female turtle has done her part. 454 00:44:17,454 --> 00:44:21,584 She leaves her eggs in the alligator's protection and will not return. 455 00:44:29,233 --> 00:44:33,932 For otters, turtles are handy and long-suffering playthings. 456 00:44:39,943 --> 00:44:44,209 Otters are perhaps the most entertaining inhabitants of Okefenokee 457 00:44:44,348 --> 00:44:47,840 And playfulness is believed to be one strong indication 458 00:44:47,985 --> 00:44:49,850 of animal intelligence. 459 00:45:20,818 --> 00:45:24,811 Violent thunderstorms often rake Okefenokee in summer. 460 00:45:24,955 --> 00:45:29,483 And during a dry period lightning can set the swamp ablaze. 461 00:45:40,504 --> 00:45:43,302 Peat, when dry, is flammable. 462 00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:47,240 It can burn slowly and steadily for months at a time. 463 00:45:47,377 --> 00:45:50,938 So fire eats away the land in Okefenokee. 464 00:46:03,627 --> 00:46:07,586 Scientists think such fires may serve to revitalize the swamp, 465 00:46:07,731 --> 00:46:12,725 creating hollows where new ponds and lakes form when the drought ends. 466 00:46:55,212 --> 00:46:57,908 Recovery after a fire is swift. 467 00:46:58,048 --> 00:47:03,350 Soon Okefenokee is once again resplendent with vibrant color. 468 00:48:04,248 --> 00:48:08,275 By late summer the baby alligators are ready to hatch. 469 00:48:09,086 --> 00:48:12,920 It has taken about nine weeks for the eggs to incubate. 470 00:48:14,491 --> 00:48:16,516 A chorus of cries from the nest 471 00:48:16,660 --> 00:48:19,652 brings the mother alligator to assist her young. 472 00:48:20,564 --> 00:48:24,364 The baby turtles may also be hatching at the same time. 473 00:49:24,795 --> 00:49:26,524 The alligator baby. 474 00:49:26,663 --> 00:49:28,858 Its cries have been loud enough to be heard 475 00:49:28,999 --> 00:49:31,695 even before the egg has broken open. 476 00:49:38,141 --> 00:49:41,110 Interestingly enough, the sex of baby alligators 477 00:49:41,244 --> 00:49:44,611 is determined by the temperature surrounding the eggs 478 00:49:44,748 --> 00:49:48,479 Above 90 degrees Fahrenheit only males develop. 479 00:49:48,618 --> 00:49:51,712 Below 87 degrees there are only females. 480 00:49:51,855 --> 00:49:56,417 No one yet knows precisely how this serves the alligator's survival. 481 00:50:04,401 --> 00:50:08,929 The mother alligator tries to seize the young in her mouth and carry them away. 482 00:50:11,208 --> 00:50:13,540 The baby turtles aren't so fortunate. 483 00:50:13,677 --> 00:50:16,805 In all the confusion they're on their own. 484 00:50:19,883 --> 00:50:21,441 With ponderous care, 485 00:50:21,585 --> 00:50:26,454 the mother alligator carries her young away to water one by one. 486 00:50:48,078 --> 00:50:52,174 The baby turtles seem to know instinctively to lie low 487 00:50:52,315 --> 00:50:54,783 when the mother alligator is near. 488 00:51:04,094 --> 00:51:06,324 When the baby turtles make a break for it, 489 00:51:06,463 --> 00:51:09,125 they head unerringly for the nearest water. 490 00:51:35,292 --> 00:51:36,520 When all this is over, 491 00:51:36,660 --> 00:51:42,724 a new generation of both turtles and alligators begins life in Okefenokee. 492 00:51:47,604 --> 00:51:51,506 In 1960 a dam was built in the wildlife refuge 493 00:51:51,641 --> 00:51:56,044 on the Suwannee River that could change Okefenokee forever. 494 00:51:57,514 --> 00:51:59,277 By holding water in the swamp, 495 00:51:59,416 --> 00:52:04,513 the dam is intended to prevent fires and loss of timber in nearby forests. 496 00:52:04,654 --> 00:52:07,088 But it could also upset the balance of fire 497 00:52:07,224 --> 00:52:10,250 and regeneration that makes the makes the swamp what it is. 498 00:52:10,393 --> 00:52:12,054 Experts disagree, 499 00:52:12,195 --> 00:52:15,858 and it could be decades before the full impact is known. 500 00:52:25,375 --> 00:52:27,707 In the realm of the alligator, meanwhile, 501 00:52:27,844 --> 00:52:31,439 life continues according to an ancient pattern. 502 00:52:45,228 --> 00:52:49,562 At this age the young alligators are vulnerable to many predators. 503 00:52:49,699 --> 00:52:51,758 They will remain in their mother's protection 504 00:52:51,902 --> 00:52:54,837 for several months before going off on their own. 505 00:52:58,508 --> 00:53:01,671 So the alligator has survived on earth 506 00:53:01,811 --> 00:53:04,336 long before the time of man. 507 00:53:04,481 --> 00:53:07,814 And with sufficient human knowledge and concern, 508 00:53:07,951 --> 00:53:10,010 the alligator will remain 509 00:53:10,153 --> 00:53:15,216 an ancient and durable survivor of the distant past.