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[narrator] This is The Americas,

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an extraordinary journey
across Earth's great supercontinent.

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[avalanche rumbling]

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The widest variety of life on the planet.

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[seals grunting]

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The untold story of our home.

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{\an8}[epic orchestral music playing]

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{\an8}Tonight on The Americas...

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The Wild West.

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[epic orchestral music continues]

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The stage for 1,000 legendary stories.

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[bison grunting]

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Where mountains shape
the lives of all who live here...

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[kittens chirping]

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...in some of the planet's
most iconic landscapes.

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Yellowstone.

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[chirping]

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The Sonoran Desert.

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- [horse neighs]
- And the spectacular Great Plains.

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[thunder rumbling]

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[thunderclaps]

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This isn't a place for the fainthearted.

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- [birds cawing]
- To call this home takes ingenuity...

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[loud thump]

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...resilience...

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[snorting, grunting]

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...even true grit.

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[snake tail rattling]

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[soft music playing]

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The Wild West forms
the vast heart of North America,

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home to fertile prairies
and sun-scorched deserts.

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All of this is shaped
by a spine of mountains.

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The Rockies.

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[strong wind gusting]

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Towering over 14,000 feet.

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Some of the highest mountains
in North America.

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Hidden in the peaks of Wyoming

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lies a place of spellbinding beauty.

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Yellowstone.

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In winter,
temperatures can plummet to 60 below.

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Rivers 100-feet wide freeze,

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leaving just a trickle...

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[grunting]

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...and a blanket of snow
lies four feet deep.

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[grunting]

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Survival in this magical world...

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is tough.

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Even for the most wily of animals.

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A coyote.

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[sniffing]

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In this snowbound world,
he can still pick up a scent.

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[distant birds cawing]

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His nose is many times
more sensitive than ours.

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[intense sniffing]

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After an hour of searching,

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a frozen bison bone.

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Better than nothing.

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[crunching]

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Coyotes are always
on the lookout for an opportunity.

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Now is his arch-rival,

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a red fox,

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onto something?

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Voles hide in a network of tunnels
beneath the snow.

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Time to try this out.

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[soft dramatic music playing]

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[music fades]

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Okay...

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[sniffing]

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[frantic music playing]

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[music fades]

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That fox made it look easy.

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[gentle music playing]

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[crunching]

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- [coyote whining]
- Ugh, what a show-off.

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There are other places worth a look.

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Not everywhere is covered in snow.

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Yellowstone sits above a super volcano,

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creating its world-famous hot springs.

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[dramatic orchestral music playing]

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This is one of the largest on Earth,
known as Grand Prismatic.

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The Crow Tribe called this place

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the Land of the Burning Ground...

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[loud splashing]

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...where steaming geysers

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erupt 150 feet into the air.

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[geysers roaring]

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All this heat is just enough
to thaw the river.

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[splashing]

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An ice-free haven

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for cutthroat trout.

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But how to catch one?

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[suspenseful music playing]

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Maybe stealing dinner would be easier

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if he can get close enough.

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[crunching]

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But river otters work as a family.

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Combined, that's more
than 100 pounds of angry otters.

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- [dramatic music playing]
- [otters chittering]

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[otters chittering]

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[coyote whimpering]

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It was worth a go.

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[ice cracking]

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Now he's on thin ice.

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[soft tense music playing]

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[yelps]

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Perhaps it's time to show
that Wild West never-say-die spirit...

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and try fishing for himself.

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[dramatic music builds]

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[music fades]

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[dramatic music continues]

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[music fades]

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Not bad.

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Not bad at all.

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[gentle music playing]

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Here, there's always somewhere to warm up,

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but every day is tough in these mountains.

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And not just for a coyote.

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In the peaks of Colorado,

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winter weather lasts eight long months.

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It's May before spring finally arrives.

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[birds chirping]

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- [snake tail rattling]
- And the villain from many a Western...

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makes its entrance.

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[hissing]

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On this rocky peak in Colorado,

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8,000 feet up,

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spring comes fast.

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[dramatic orchestral music playing]

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And an animal you might not expect
to find up here is stirring.

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A prairie rattlesnake.

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This female has spent the winter
deep underground,

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sheltering from the cold.

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And she's not alone.

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[eerie music playing]

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[snakes hissing]

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As the sun warms their bodies,

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hundreds are coming back to life.

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They may not have eaten for eight months,

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so they immediately head down
to the plains to feed.

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[tail rattling]

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[gentle music playing]

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But even though
there's almost no food or water up here,

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this female stays behind

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because she's pregnant.

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With a growing belly,

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she's becoming slow and vulnerable
to predators.

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So she remains up here

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where she can easily escape
into the rocks.

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Already dehydrated and starving,

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it's a strategy that could kill her.

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For two months, she'll barely move,

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conserving all her energy.

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But for her babies
to continue to grow inside her,

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she does need water.

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[thunder rumbling]

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[soft dramatic music playing]

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[rain pattering]

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Droplets cling to microscopic grooves
in her scales...

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so she can suck moisture

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from the surface
of her three-foot-long body.

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It's just enough
to keep mom and babies alive.

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Three months into her pregnancy
and a year since her last meal,

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her due date is finally here.

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[gentle music playing]

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Her contractions begin.

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She doesn't lay eggs.

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She gives birth to live young.

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Each is a perfect rattlesnake
in miniature,

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coiled inside a thin membrane.

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[squelching]

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[shrills]

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[snaps]

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A first breath.

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Although its tiny fangs
are already loaded with venom,

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a baby's rattle is too small
to make its trademark sound.

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By the end of the night,

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mom delivers six more babies.

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They'll all spend the winter in the den.

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By next spring,

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mom will have starved herself
for 20 months.

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She's a real-life Western heroine.

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[birds cawing, chirping]

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On lower mountain slopes,

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time has softened the jagged peaks
into gently rolling hills.

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In the Sierra Nevadas of California,

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ancient oak trees
are scattered across the landscape.

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And come the fall,

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they're laden with treasure.

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Acorns.

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[soft tapping]

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And this is an acorn woodpecker.

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He relies on these nuts
to survive the coming winter.

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But he'll need to store away thousands.

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[soft music playing]

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Every acorn must be wedged
into its very own storage hole.

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Each takes
a full 20 minutes of chiseling...

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- [pecking]
- ...and that could be a real headache.

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Fortunately,
their brains can tolerate forces

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thousands of times greater than ours can.

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[soft tapping]

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He and his family work as a team.

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One of the only birds in the world
to do so.

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Teamwork is also handy
to keep an eye out...

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for thieves.

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[tense music playing]

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[squirrel squeaks]

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- They might not share food...
- [horse neighs]

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...but they have shared
these fertile hills with people

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- for 10,000 years.
- [cattle mooing]

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Ranchers brought change,

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along with new opportunities
for the birds.

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[soft country music playing]

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The side of a barn

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might offer a labor-saving shortcut.

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00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,520
And another woodpecker family
is taking advantage.

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00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,280
Redwood cladding is softer
than an oak tree,

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00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,039
so they can work twice as fast.

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[rapid pecking]

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00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,320
[cow mooing]

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But it's not all going to plan.

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[soft dramatic sting]

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The cladding may be soft,

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but it's also thin.

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Not so clever now, huh?

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How frustrating.

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00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,879
All those acorns
piled up behind the boards...

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00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:13,079
[acorns clattering]

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00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:14,160
...until...

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00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,279
At least now they've got
another chance to...

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do it right. [sighs]

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00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,719
[quirky music playing]

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00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:35,080
Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways.

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00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,600
[gentle music playing]

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00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,080
For the oak tree family,
their work has paid off.

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Time to sit back and take inventory.

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[soft, bright music playing]

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They've safely stored
more than 4,000 acorns.

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00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:10,280
And since they prefer dead branches,
the trees are unharmed.

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00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:13,960
Known as a granary,

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this is unlike anything else in nature.

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00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:23,720
It will see this top team
through the Wild West winter.

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00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:35,319
The peaks of the Sierra Nevadas

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00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,719
block rainclouds
sweeping in from the coast.

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00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:40,800
[bold folk music playing]

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00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:42,960
The result?

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00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:45,640
Vast deserts

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00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:48,840
that set a very different challenge

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00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:51,520
to life in the Wild West.

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00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:01,440
[soft music playing]

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00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:06,920
Monument Valley,
the breathtaking landscape

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in which 1,000 movies are set.

252
00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,200
[spirited Western music playing]

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00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:21,960
[birds squawking]

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00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:32,480
[horses neigh, snort]

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00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:38,080
This has been home to the Navajo Nation
for 800 years.

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00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:50,320
[music fades]

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00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:57,040
These Western deserts are the hottest
and driest in all of North America.

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00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:01,200
Here in the Sonoran,

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the temperature often hits 120 degrees.

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00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:10,439
And to cope,
one animal has a survival strategy

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that seems
straight out of science fiction.

262
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,560
An all-female team of ants.

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00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:21,960
[ants clicking]

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00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,119
They know that lean times lie ahead.

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00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,359
[slurping]

266
00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:35,799
So these worker ants
are rushed off their feet,

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00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,040
collecting nectar and water

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00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:43,039
to store away deep underground.

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00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,719
[mysterious music playing]

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00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,800
The ants build a nest
nine feet beneath the surface,

271
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,120
packed with bizarre-looking storage pots.

272
00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,160
But here's the plot twist.

273
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:00,920
The pots...

274
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,160
are alive.

275
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:06,640
[mysterious music continues]

276
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,999
They start life as ordinary worker ants,

277
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,120
but then are constantly fed
nectar and water.

278
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,440
[squelching]

279
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:27,240
As they swell,

280
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,880
the black bands
of their abdomens are forced apart

281
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,760
until they end up the size of a grape.

282
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,159
Now they're destined
to spend the rest of their lives

283
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:42,960
hanging from the ceiling

284
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,360
as a living pantry.

285
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,440
And that's why this species is called

286
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,600
the honeypot ant.

287
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:02,080
Every ant plays their part.

288
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:06,640
This giant is the queen.

289
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,759
[soft dramatic music playing]

290
00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,400
Three times the size of the workers.

291
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,760
[ants clicking]

292
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,800
All she does is lay eggs,

293
00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:22,520
millions during her reign.

294
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,960
For the last five years,
she produced worker eggs.

295
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,639
But now, she's making something new.

296
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:36,520
[wings rustling]

297
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,320
Princes and princesses

298
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:44,120
with wings.

299
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:47,560
Flying ants.

300
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,600
Their sole mission is to leave
and start fresh colonies.

301
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,879
However, they can only dig a new nest

302
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,320
in earth that's been softened by rain.

303
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:06,800
And in this desert,

304
00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,440
that could mean a long wait.

305
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,280
As the sun beats down,

306
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,800
the colony's food supply dries up.

307
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,800
[tense music playing]

308
00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:32,920
Now the honeypots' sacrifice pays off.

309
00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:36,519
[mysterious music playing]

310
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:41,600
Each begins to regurgitate the nectar
stored within its body.

311
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:44,440
[squelching]

312
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,280
Shared around by the workers,

313
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,920
it's just enough
to keep the whole colony alive...

314
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:52,920
for now.

315
00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,920
But in the Sonoran,
not everyone has a team to back them up.

316
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,240
[birds calling, chirping]

317
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:12,400
Especially this single mom.

318
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:17,490
A bobcat

319
00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:21,280
with double trouble... twins.

320
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,910
- [kittens chirping, purring]
- [whimsical music playing]

321
00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,359
Her kittens are just a few weeks old

322
00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:32,400
and totally dependent on her milk.

323
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,840
[soft purring]

324
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,399
Mom needs to feed them four times a day.

325
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,119
[kittens sucking]

326
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,840
And to do that, she urgently needs water.

327
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,440
Unlike the ant colony,

328
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,280
she doesn't have a store to fall back on.

329
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,280
So she must leave her family

330
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:06,000
and venture out alone.

331
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:17,400
This land hasn't received
a drop of rain in two long months.

332
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:21,680
She's got her work cut out.

333
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:26,000
The survival of her kittens
depends on her.

334
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,560
[mysterious music playing]

335
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,439
[rustling]

336
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:34,040
Despite their stores,

337
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,760
even the honeypot ants
are getting desperate.

338
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,680
With so many extra mouths to feed,

339
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,040
if the drought continues,

340
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,360
their supply will run dry

341
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:55,880
and they'll all... starve.

342
00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:04,120
In the bone-dry Sonoran Desert,

343
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,839
everyone is waiting for one thing.

344
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,639
[thunder rumbling]

345
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:10,719
Rain.

346
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:12,800
[uplifting music playing]

347
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,080
The storm doesn't last long.

348
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:34,520
But it's enough.

349
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:44,440
A bobcat will gulp water
for five minutes straight.

350
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:52,080
The tiny kittens

351
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,520
are anxiously waiting for mom's return.

352
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:57,400
[kitten purring]

353
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,760
[gentle music playing]

354
00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:04,450
[kittens shrill]

355
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:09,360
About time too.

356
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:15,480
Now they can get a drink at last.

357
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,800
[kittens sucking]

358
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,640
[soft purring]

359
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,519
[all chittering, purring]

360
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,519
Fully revived,
they're back to what they do best.

361
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,120
[screeching]

362
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:41,800
[playful music playing]

363
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,480
What little they know...

364
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,720
- of the dangers of the desert.
- [music fades]

365
00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,679
[soft dramatic music playing]

366
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,320
For the ants, the rain-soaked ground

367
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,680
is exactly what they've been waiting for.

368
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,519
The workers complete
last-minute flight checks.

369
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,600
[dramatic music playing]

370
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,760
And they are cleared for takeoff.

371
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,239
[ants clicking]

372
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:31,680
Within minutes, the air is filled
with hundreds of fluttering wings.

373
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,560
[dramatic music continues]

374
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,480
They can do what they were born to do,

375
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,440
set up new colonies across the desert.

376
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:57,880
{\an8}1,000 miles to the east

377
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:00,080
{\an8}lie the Great Plains,

378
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,480
covering 500 million acres

379
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:06,560
and 10 different states.

380
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:14,080
They're flanked by the Rockies,
which funnel air north and south,

381
00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,440
creating the windiest place in the US.

382
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,480
[horses neighing]

383
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,840
[horses snorting]

384
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:38,800
When warm winds from the south
collide with cold northerlies,

385
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,639
monsters... are born.

386
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,359
[dramatic suspenseful music playing]

387
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,120
[thunder rumbling]

388
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:57,960
Thunderstorms.

389
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,919
Some of the most powerful in the world.

390
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,400
[thunderclaps]

391
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,560
[horses neighing]

392
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,600
They can contain the same energy
as 100 nuclear bombs.

393
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:20,920
[dramatic suspenseful music continues]

394
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:24,290
[horses whining]

395
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,000
[flames roaring]

396
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:45,320
Dry grass is ignited in a flash.

397
00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:52,800
Fire in the Midwest can ravage
over a million acres every year.

398
00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:01,079
And in its wake, life here is transformed.

399
00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:02,840
[bison bellowing]

400
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,680
Wildfires may seem like a disaster,

401
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:18,760
but in fact, they make
the Great Plains what they are.

402
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:21,759
[soft dramatic music playing]

403
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:25,160
Fire prevents trees from taking over

404
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:31,600
and sparks off a natural cycle of rebirth.

405
00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:37,360
The grasses may appear to be dead,

406
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:43,400
but by extending more than 15 feet
below the surface,

407
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,400
their roots live on.

408
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:50,319
[bright music playing]

409
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:55,040
Now, they absorb nutrients from the ash.

410
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,879
And within weeks, fresh new growth

411
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:05,760
attracts eager herds of bison.

412
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:07,650
[grunting]

413
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,800
The largest of America's land mammals,

414
00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:18,320
weighing in at a ton

415
00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,920
and standing six feet tall
at the shoulder.

416
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,120
[gentle music playing]

417
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:32,479
Vast herds cover 1,000 miles a year

418
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,759
in search of... the best grazing.

419
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,840
[dramatic music playing]

420
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:47,880
[snorting]

421
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,680
These beefcakes demand a lot of calories.

422
00:33:55,120 --> 00:34:00,080
But here in South Dakota,
this old male has no time to dine.

423
00:34:00,081 --> 00:34:01,599
[snorting]

424
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,680
[soft tense music playing]

425
00:34:07,751 --> 00:34:09,839
[grunting]

426
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:13,199
He's too focused on fighting
for the chance to mate.

427
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,960
[bellowing]

428
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,640
He's lost almost 200 pounds trying
and still...

429
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:23,880
- no success with the ladies.
- [snorts]

430
00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:30,000
Confirming a female is in heat
isn't subtle.

431
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:32,480
[grunting]

432
00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:37,360
She could be his last chance
in this year's rut,

433
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:39,880
so he'll stay by her side.

434
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,880
But he has competition from a rival,

435
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:49,920
and a younger one at that.

436
00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:52,839
[tense music playing]

437
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,400
This old bull needs to stand his ground.

438
00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:58,399
[grunting]

439
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:02,879
If neither backs down,
a brawl is inevitable.

440
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:04,720
[dramatic music playing]

441
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:10,200
[loud scraping]

442
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,000
[suspenseful music playing]

443
00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,200
[grunting, snorting]

444
00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:24,680
[loud thud]

445
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:30,720
[both grunting]

446
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,320
They are closely matched,

447
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:40,400
but the old bull uses the terrain
to his advantage.

448
00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:43,960
[music fades]

449
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:47,399
[snorting]

450
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:48,480
Victory.

451
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,360
- And with it, he does get the girl.
- [bellowing]

452
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,519
[light music playing]

453
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:03,640
200 years ago,
there were around 60 million bison.

454
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,160
After just 30 years of intensive hunting,

455
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,280
there were fewer than 1,000 left.

456
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:24,839
Now they're protected,

457
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:26,799
and with their numbers recovering,

458
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,199
people flock to watch the rut.

459
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:32,120
[motorcycle engine rumbling]

460
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:40,280
But we've had an even greater impact
all across the prairie.

461
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,520
[machinery whooshing, whirring]

462
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,960
The flat open land
is perfect for agriculture...

463
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:55,920
on an industrial scale.

464
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:00,920
It's America's breadbasket.

465
00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:05,599
More than 80%
of all North American prairie

466
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,480
is now farmland.

467
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,680
It's a difficult place for most wildlife.

468
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:14,880
But there are exceptions.

469
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:18,120
Descendants...

470
00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,200
of dinosaurs.

471
00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:21,770
[dramatic sting]

472
00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,320
Here, in the fields of Nebraska.

473
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,200
[birds trilling]

474
00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:35,480
Sandhill cranes

475
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:39,920
make a pit stop on their migration north.

476
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:44,919
They've been coming to this part
of the Great Plains every year

477
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,840
since the end of the last Ice Age.

478
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:51,760
[squawking]

479
00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:56,319
Their ancient feeding grounds
are long gone,

480
00:37:56,320 --> 00:37:59,720
but they've now taken advantage
of a new opportunity,

481
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,520
corn kernels left over from the harvest.

482
00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:06,640
[bright music playing]

483
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,040
[cranes trilling, cooing]

484
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:19,399
As dusk falls,
the cranes head off to roost...

485
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:20,920
[cranes cawing]

486
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:24,680
...on the Platte River,

487
00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:27,960
a tributary of the mighty Mississippi.

488
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:34,680
[cranes cawing]

489
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,680
It's unusually wide and shallow.

490
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:44,200
Perfect for cranes.

491
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,960
They can wade right out into mid-water.

492
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:51,760
[squawks]

493
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,000
So coyotes can't sneak up on them.

494
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:58,520
[cranes squawking, cawing]

495
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:07,880
They make do with the odd one
that succumbed to the elements.

496
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:17,280
While they're here,
the courting season begins.

497
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:21,999
This young male is hoping
to make an impression.

498
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:23,239
[cawing]

499
00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:26,280
And the females are checking him out.

500
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:30,839
For cranes,

501
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:34,519
the language of love... is dance.

502
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:36,800
["I Only Have Eyes for You" playing]

503
00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:39,560
[trilling]

504
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,600
He's caught one particular female's eye.

505
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:04,120
If his moves impress her,

506
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:06,600
she'll copy them.

507
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:12,250
[trilling]

508
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:16,680
[both trilling]

509
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,160
[trilling continues]

510
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:39,280
The routine builds to its balletic finale.

511
00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:53,559
[trilling]

512
00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:55,320
For better or worse,

513
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,920
they'll be together now
for the rest of their lives.

514
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:04,199
And that can be over 30 years.

515
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:06,080
[music fades]

516
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,200
[solemn music playing]

517
00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,680
As the light fades,

518
00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:20,640
more and more birds arrive
to join the chorus.

519
00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:24,290
- [cranes cawing, squawking]
- [grandiose music playing]

520
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:30,039
80% of the world's sandhill cranes

521
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:32,080
roost on the Platte River.

522
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:36,240
That's over half a million cranes.

523
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:46,640
One of the greatest wildlife spectacles
on the planet,

524
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:51,479
but just another day
in the extraordinary world

525
00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:53,440
of the Wild West.

526
00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:56,840
[epic orchestral music playing]

527
00:41:56,890 --> 00:42:01,440
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