Original subtitles

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

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

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER, JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE

ABOVE THE WAVES AND BELOW TO THE OCEAN OASIS OF

BAJA, CALIFORNIA.

DYLAN: WE'LL DIVE DEEP INTO A WEB OF AMAZING OCEAN LIFE AND

COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH ANIMALS OF EVERY SHAPE AND

SIZE.

WE'LL JOIN BIOLOGISTS AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF OCEAN

SCIENCE, WITNESS THE AWESOME POWER OF FIGHTING

ELEPHANT SEALS, AND EXPLORE THE COMPLEX

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LIFE ON LAND AND SEA.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: BAJA, CALIFORNIA IS A HOT, DRY PENINSULA

OVER 700 MILES LONG LOCATED BELOW THE STATE OF

CALIFORNIA.

ON LAND THE CLIMATE VARIES CONSIDERABLY FROM

SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS TO SCORCHING DESERTS.

BUT THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FEATURE OF BAJA,

CALIFORNIA IS THE SURROUNDING OCEAN WHERE AN

OASIS OF WILDLIFE IS WAITING TO BE EXPLORED.

TODAY WE'RE JOINING A GROUP OF BIOLOGISTS AND

NATURALISTS TO DISCOVER THIS ANCIENT LAND LIKE

NEVER BEFORE.

DYLAN: A FEW VERY SPECIAL PLACES IN THE WORLD ARE

HAVENS FOR LIFE.

RESOURCES AND SHELTER DRAW LIVING CREATURES FROM FAR

AND NEAR.

THESE PLACES ARE RARE AND WE CALL THEM OASES.

DYLAN: THE BAJA, CALIFORNIA PENINSULA IS ONE SUCH

PLACE.

ORIGINALLY PART OF MAINLAND MEXICO, BAJA,

CALIFORNIA BEGAN TO BREAK AWAY FROM NORTH AMERICA

MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

FLYING HIGH OVER BAJA, CALIFORNIA IS DR. EXEQUIEL

EZCURRA.

HE SPENT HIS LIFE EXPLORING THIS OASIS AND

LEARNING ITS SECRETS.

EZCURRA: I WORK HERE AS AN ECOLOGIST TO DISCOVER THE

ANSWER TO A SINGLE QUESTION: WHY DOES THIS

LAND AND THIS SEA CREATE AN OASIS?

DYLAN: ILIANA ORTEGA IS A MARINE BIOLOGIST WHO

STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO.

SHE VISITS THIS ANCIENT, MAJESTIC LAND EVERY CHANCE

SHE GETS.

ILIANA: I CANNOT STAY AWAY.

BAJA, CALIFORNIA FOR ME IS LIKE WALKING ACROSS A

THOUSAND MILES OF SAND AND FINDING A POOL OF WATER.

DYLAN: MERCEDES GUERRERO IS A NATURALIST.

SHE STUDIES THE WHALES AND PORPOISES THAT ARE DRAWN

TO THE WATERS OFF BAJA, CALIFORNIA.

MERCEDES: SEA WHALES EAT FLOATING SEA LIFE CALLED

PLANKTON.

THEY FIND IT HERE IN HUGE CONCENTRATIONS.

DOLPHINS TOO ARE DRAWN HERE IN TENS OF THOUSANDS

TO FEED THEIR HIGH ENERGY LIVES...

...DOLPHINS TRAP THE SCHOOLS OF FISH NEAR THE SURFACE.

BIRDS CAN SEE THE COMMOTION FROM MILES AWAY

AND JOIN IN....

...WHALES FOLLOW BY LISTENING FOR THE ACTION UNDERWATER.

EZCURRA: TODAY SOME FELLOW NATURALISTS AND I WILL

TAKE YOU TO THE PLACES WE LOVE TO DISCOVER AN OASIS

THAT IS UNIQUE ON EARTH.

DYLAN: ENRIQUETA VELARDE STUDIES THE GREAT COLONIES

OF BIRDS THAT RETURN EACH YEAR TO THE ISLAND OF

RASA.

ENRIQUETA: IT'S AMAZING, ALMOST ALL THE HEERMANN'S

GULLS AND ELEGANT TERNS IN THE WORLD COME HERE TO

RASA TO BREED.

THE GULLS ARRIVE FIRST TO ESTABLISH THEIR NEST

SITES, TRAVELING FROM AS FAR AWAY AS CANADA.

THE TERNS MIGRATE FROM COASTAL CHILE AND PERU.

AS MANY AS HALF A MILLION BIRDS PACK INTO THIS TINY

ISLAND AT ONCE.

ENRIQUETA: IT MAY SEEM CURIOUS THAT THE TERNS

NEST RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GULLS COLONY,

BUT BY LIVING AMONG THE GULLS THE TERNS

GAIN PROTECTION FROM PREDATORS...

...THE GULLS TAX THE TERNS BY STEALING SOME OF THE

FOOD THEY BRING IN FROM THE OCEAN...

...JUST IMAGINE, THE BIRDS OF RASA CATCH 65 TONS OF FISH

EACH DAY; ONE SARDINE AT A TIME.

THAT POINTS TO ONE CONCLUSION, THIS OCEAN

MUST BE INCREDIBLY PRODUCTIVE.

DYLAN: BACK UNDER THE WATER ILIANA ORTEGA IS

BUSY EXPLORING THE BEAUTY FOUND JUST BENEATH THE

WAVES.

ILIANA: THIS IS MY COMMUNITY.

MUCH OF MY WORK HERE IS TO SHOW PEOPLE THE DIVERSITY

OF THE WILDLIFE AND TO EXPLAIN ITS BIOLOGY.

FOR INSTANCE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET TO KNOW

SHARKS LIKE THESE HAMMERHEADS.

THEY DON'T THREATEN US, THEY USUALLY EAT SQUID.

BUT WITH GRAY SHARKS, THERE IS TENSION.

THEY'LL EAT ALMOST ANYTHING.

YOU KNOW, HUMANS ARE MUCH MORE DANGEROUS TO SHARKS

THAN THEY ARE TO US.

WHEN YOU SPEND TIME WITH SHARKS YOU BEGIN TO

UNDERSTAND THEM AND LEARN TO RESPECT THEM.

BUT YOU HAVE TO COMMAND THEIR RESPECT TOO.

SEE, THEY'RE ALWAYS TESTING YOU.

ILIANA: I ADMIRE SHARKS, THEY'RE A VITAL LINK IN THE

CHAIN OF LIFE.

DYLAN: AS NIGHT FALLS SHARKS AND OTHER PREDATORS

STALK THE OASIS FOR THEIR NEXT MEAL.

THE MORAY EEL IS ALMOST BLIND, BUT IT CAN SMELL

LIKE A BLOODHOUND.

THE SCORPION FISH IS WELL CAMOUFLAGED BUT THE MORAY

EEL CAN SMELL IT NEARBY.

ILIANA: AT NIGHT THE SHARKS' SOPHISTICATED

SENSES OF VIBRATION AND ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY

SERVE THEM BEST.

THEY MOVE FASTER, BECOME MORE EXCITED, AND LEAVE IN

SEARCH OF PREY.

I WILL NOT FOLLOW.

DYLAN: WOW, THEY MAY BE HARMLESS BUT FOR ME THE

ONLY THING MORE TERRIFYING THAN SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

IS DOING IT AT NIGHT.

BUT FOR BRAVE BIOLOGISTS LIKE ILIANA, IT'S JUST

ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE GET A FRONT ROW SEAT TO

ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE ANIMAL MIGRATIONS

ON EARTH AS THOUSANDS OF MIGHTY ELEPHANT

SEALS ARRIVE IN BAJA, CALIFORNIA TO BREED.

AND LATER, WE'LL TREK DEEP INTO THE HARSH INTERIOR OF

THIS ANCIENT LAND AND DISCOVER HOW DIFFERENT

SPECIES HAVE STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE, INCLUDING HUMAN

BEINGS.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

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

.

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

DYLAN: ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE MARINE MAMMALS

IS THE MIGHTY ELEPHANT SEAL.

THEY GET THEIR NAME FROM THEIR LONG TRUNK-LIKE NOSE

AND THEIR MASSIVE SIZE.

THESE ANIMALS RANGE THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC

OCEAN AS FAR NORTH AS ALASKA AND RETURN BACK TO

THE SAME CALIFORNIA BEACHES EVERY YEAR TO GIVE

BIRTH TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

DYLAN: IT'S MID-DECEMBER AND A NEW DAY IS DAWNING

ON THE COAST OF BAJA, CALIFORNIA.

MOST ANIMALS ARE BUSY MIGRATING SOUTH TO THIS

OCEAN OASIS IN SEARCH OF FOOD.

BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE ARRIVING HERE FOR REASONS

OTHER THAN HUNGER; THEY'VE COME TO BREED.

THESE ELEPHANT SEALS MAKE THE LONG JOURNEY TO THIS

BEACH TWICE EACH YEAR; EACH TIME A ROUND TRIP OF

OVER 6,000 MILES.

AS THE MALES ARRIVE THEY FIGHT FOR THE BEST SPOTS

ON THE BEACH, AND FIGHT TO DOMINATE AS MANY FEMALES

AS POSSIBLE.

[SOUNDS OF MALES FIGHTING]

DYLAN: A MALE AS BIG AS A TRUCK SEES A SMALLER

TRESPASSER TRYING TO SNEAK INTO HIS TERRITORY.

ANOTHER BRUTAL FIGHT BEGINS...

...AND THE BIGGER SEAL ALMOST ALWAYS WINS.

THE FEMALE ELEPHANT SEALS HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES.

THEY'VE SPENT MANY MONTHS BUILDING UP A THICK LAYER

OF FAT AND PREPARING TO GIVE BIRTH.

ONCE THEIR NEW PUPS HAVE ARRIVED THEY TRANSFORM

THEIR THICK BLUBBER INTO MILK.

ELEPHANT SEALS MAY LOOK UGLY AND AWKWARD TO US,

BUT THEY ARE SKILLFUL AND POWERFUL HUNTERS AND ONE

OF THE MOST REMARKABLE MAMMALS ON EARTH.

SOON MALES, FEMALES AND PUPS WILL RETURN TO THE

SEA AND BEGIN THEIR LONG MIGRATION BACK TO ALASKA.

DYLAN: HIGH ABOVE THE ELEPHANT SEALS LARGE

OSPREYS ALSO KNOWN AS SEAHAWKS RANGE ALL

ALONG THE COASTLINE OF BAJA, CALIFORNIA.

THESE LARGE RAPTORS FEED ON FISH AND THEY ARE

USUALLY SOLITARY CREATURES EXCEPT HERE.

THE ABUNDANT SEA LIFE OF THIS OASIS ATTRACTS SO

MANY OSPREYS THEY CROWD THE CLIFFS AND BEACHES,

SOMETIMES BUILDING THEIR NESTS LESS THAN 300 FEET

APART.

THEY'RE EQUIPPED WITH RAZOR-SHARP TALONS AND

BEAKS MEANT TO RIP THROUGH MEAT, BUT HERE WITH ITS

OFFSPRING THAT DEADLY BEAK GENTLY PASSES FOOD..

...WATCHING THIS MOTHER, I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER

WHETHER INSTINCT AND EMOTIONS ARE REALLY SO

DIFFERENT AFTER ALL.

THE CHICKS ARE ALWAYS HUNGRY SO THE OSPREYS ARE

ALWAYS FISHING.

AND THEY HAVE MANY MILLIONS OF FISH TO CHOOSE

FROM AS BIOLOGIST ILIANA ORTEGA KNOWS WELL.

ILIANA: BECAUSE LIFE IN THE OASIS IS SO CROWDED, A

REEF HERE REMINDS ME OF A CITY.

IN THIS CITY YOU BETTER WATCH OUT WHEN CROSSING

THE STREET.

A FEMALE SERGEANT MAJOR LAYS HER EGGS ON THE ROCKS

AND THE MALE SPENDS WEEKS GUARDING HIS NEST UNTIL

THE EGGS HATCH, CHASING OFF EVERYTHING ELSE THAT

WANTS A SNACK.

A MORAY CAN SMELL SOMETHING TASTY, BUT THE

BABY LEATHER BASS HAS A REFUGE; SHE'S SPECIALLY

ADAPTED TO SHELTER AMONG THE VENOMOUS URCHINS.

DYLAN: ON THE ROCKS OF THE REEF WE'RE CLOSING IN ON

THE SECRET THAT MAKES THIS FRAGILE OASIS POSSIBLE.

THIS LOOKS LIKE A GARDEN BUT THESE ARE NOT PLANTS,

THEY ARE CORAL.

CORAL ARE ACTUALLY COLONIES OF THOUSANDS OF

TINY CREATURES THAT BUILD ONE UPON ANOTHER, ALL

REACHING OUT INTO THE MOVING CURRENTS OF WATER

TO GRAB PASSING FOOD.

CORALS AND SPONGES ARE PART PLANT, PART ANIMAL,

AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO THE HEALTH OF

OUR ENTIRE PLANET.

CORAL REEFS OCCUPY LESS THAN 1 PERCENT OF THE

OCEAN FLOOR BUT SUPPORT MORE THAN 25 PERCENT OF

ALL OCEAN LIFE.

THEIR ABUNDANCE TELLS US THAT THESE WATERS ARE VERY

RICH IN NUTRIENTS.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL WITNESS THE ANCIENT

STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL OF PREDATOR AND PREY ALONG

THE HARSH DESERT INTERIOR.

AND LATER WE'LL MEET SOME OF BAJA, CALIFORNIA'S

BIGGEST AND FRIENDLIEST ANIMALS, WHEN THE JOURNEY

CONTINUES.

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

.

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

DYLAN: MUCH OF THE BAJA, CALIFORNIA PENINSULA

RECEIVES VERY LITTLE RAINFALL.

THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE HAVE

ADAPTED UNIQUE WAYS TO CONSERVE WHAT LITTLE WATER

THEY CAN TO LAST THEM THROUGH THE LONG DRY

SPELLS.

THE STORY OF BAJA, CALIFORNIA'S CLIMATE

BEGINS DEEP WITHIN OUR PLANET'S MANTLE AS IT

CHURNS WITH HEAT AND POWER.

ON THE SURFACE THE COOLEST PIECES OF THE EARTH'S

CRUST SINK INTO THE MANTLE AND DRAG THE PLATES BEHIND

THEM AS IF THEY WERE RAFTS OF STONE.

MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO THESE FORCES BEGAN TO PULL

BAJA, CALIFORNIA FROM THE SIDE OF MEXICO.

WIND AND THE EARTH'S ROTATION PUSHED THE

SURFACE WATER AWAY FROM THE LAND CAUSING COOLER

WATERS TO RISE UP FROM THE DEPTHS, CREATING AN OCEAN

OASIS THAT IS UNIQUE ON EARTH.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT THE SAME FORCES THAT FORM

THE OASIS ALSO CAUSE THE DRYNESS ON THE LAND.

MOISTURE HERE COMES FROM EVAPORATION OFF THE SEA.

BUT WHEN THE WATER IS COOL NOT MUCH EVAPORATES TO

MAKE RAIN.

SO THE SAME COLD WATER THAT BRINGS THE OCEAN

OASIS ITS RICHES ALSO ROBS THE LAND OF MOISTURE

LEAVING MUCH OF BAJA, CALIFORNIA DRY.

IN THEIR THICK BODIES CACTI STORE THE LAST

RAINFALL LIKE A MEMORY.

SOME CACTI LIVE SO SLOWLY THEY MAY ONLY REPRODUCE

THEMSELVES ONCE IN 300 YEARS.

HUMMINGBIRDS LIVE LIFE IN THE FAST LANE WITH

TURBO-CHARGED METABOLISMS; 10,000 TIMES FASTER THAN

THE CACTUS WITH ITS MOBILITY AND LONG BEAK, A

HUMMINGBIRD HUNTS FOR POCKETS OF MOISTURE IN

PLANTS AND FOLLOWS THE BLOOMING FLOWERS NORTH

WITH THE SEASONS.

A HUMMINGBIRD'S LIFE IS A DANCE WITH SPRINGTIME.

DYLAN: AS THE DESERT DAY COOLS INTO NIGHT

A KANGAROO RAT EMERGES FROM ITS BURROW.

THE DANGEROUS HEAT OF THE DAY IS GONE BUT THERE'S A

DIFFERENT KIND OF ENEMY OUT TONIGHT.

THE KANGAROO RAT NEVER DRINKS, NEITHER DOES THE

SNAKE.

THE RAT'S METABOLISM MANUFACTURES WATER FROM

ITS FOOD.

THE SNAKE GETS MOISTURE FROM ITS PREY...

...THIS SNAKE CAN ACTUALLY SENSE SMALL AMOUNTS OF

HEAT GIVEN OFF BY THE KANGAROO RAT.

TONIGHT THE KANGAROO RAT ESCAPES.

DYLAN: HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS CANYONS

SHELTER NATIVE PALM TREES.

PEOPLE HAVE ALSO FOUND SHELTER IN THESE CANYONS

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS....

...USING CAVE PAINTINGS, THEY'VE TOLD OF THEIR

DEPENDENCE ON THE OCEAN OASIS AND THE COMPLEX

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LIFE ON LAND AND SEA.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE HEAD BACK TO THE OCEAN

WHERE GRAY WHALES AND MANTA RAYS SEEM JUST

AS CURIOUS AS WE ARE.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

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

.

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

DYLAN: THE BAJA, CALIFORNIA PENINSULA IS A

PRIME SPOT FOR WHALE WATCHING.

NUMEROUS SPECIES OF WHALES FREQUENT THE WATERS DURING

MIGRATION AND BREEDING.

PEOPLE ONCE CAME TO BAJA TO HUNT THESE CREATURES.

TODAY THEY COME TO ADMIRE THEM.

INCLUDING CAPTAIN PACHICO MAYAROL WHO HAD AN

EXPERIENCE WITH ONE WHALE THAT FOREVER CHANGED HIS

LIFE.

PACHICO: IT WAS ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO.

ONE DAY I WAS LINE FISHING, SUDDENLY A WHALE

CAME UP AND RESTED ITS HEAD ON THE SIDE OF MY

BOAT.

I WAS TERRIFIED BUT THE WHALE WANTED TO MAKE

CONTACT LIKE A FRIEND.

PEOPLE CALL THE WHALE THE DEVIL FISH BECAUSE IT

SMASHED WHALING BOATS TO PROTECT ITS YOUNG.

I'M ALWAYS AMAZED ABOUT HOW COMPLETELY THEY

CHANGE.

DYLAN: TODAY PACHICO TAKES TOURISTS INTO THE LAGOONS

WHERE THE WHALES SOMETIMES COME TO THE BOATS TO MEET

THE PEOPLE.

PACHICO: THE WHALES ARE GIVING US A GREAT LESSON.

I BELIEVE THAT IN THIS WORLD WE ARE ALL EQUAL.

THIS IS MY FEELING TO OUR WHALES.

DYLAN: LIKE GRAY WHALES THE GIANT MANTA RAYS ALSO

SEEM TO WELCOME TOUCH AND PEACEFUL CONTACT.

MANTA RAYS ARE BIOLOGIST ILIANA ORTEGA'S FAVORITE

SPECIES.

ILIANA: MANTAS ARE HUGE, POWERFUL ANIMALS.

THEY CAN SWIM 20 MILES AN HOUR AND CAN EASILY AVOID

US DIVERS...

...BUT THEY CHOOSE TO SWIM WITH US...

...AMONG THESE GREAT CREATURES I FEEL EMBRACED

AND PROTECTED.

I WISH I COULD PROTECT THEM TOO.

DYLAN: OUR OCEANS ARE THE ENGINES OF THIS PLANET AND

BAJA, CALIFORNIA PROVIDES US A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF HOW

THE OCEAN SUPPORTS AND SUSTAINS ALL LIFE ON

EARTH, EVEN ALL OF US LIVING ABOVE THE WAVES.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR OCEAN EXPLORATION.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪