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: THERE'S AN OLD SAYING;

A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE

STEP.

WELL TIE YOUR SHOES AND HOLD YOUR BREATH BECAUSE

THIS NEXT STEP IS MORE OF A LEAP.

DYLAN: WE'RE ON AN EPIC ADVENTURE OVER THOUSANDS

OF MILES ACROSS THE VAST WILDERNESS OF

WESTERN NORTH AMERICA.

WE'LL MEET THE ANCIENT PEOPLE WHO FIRST SETTLED

HERE.

DIVE DEEP INTO A WEB OF AMAZING OCEAN LIFE.

FLY HIGH ABOVE THE CLOUDS WITH BALD EAGLES.

RIDE WITH GRAY WHALES ALONG THE NORTH AMERICAN

COASTLINE.

AND WITNESS THE AWESOME POWER OF FIGHTING ELEPHANT

SEALS.

DYLAN: IN ALASKA AFTER ONLY 6 WEEKS OF WARMTH THE

AIR STARTS TO GROW CHILLY.

SUMMER VISITORS LIKE BIRDS AND WHALES BEGIN HEADING

SOUTH TO ESCAPE THE BITTER COLD AHEAD.

NEW SNOWFALL CAN ARRIVE IN LATE AUGUST AND FOR THE

ANIMALS THAT REMAIN IN ALASKA THROUGH THE WINTER,

EVERY INSTINCT AND ADAPTATION IS NEEDED TO

ENSURE SURVIVAL.

DYLAN: BALD EAGLES ARE THE SYMBOL OF AMERICAN FREEDOM,

AND ALASKA IS ONE OF THE PREMIERE PLACES IN THE

UNITED STATES TO SEE THEM.

AS MANY AS 4,000 EAGLES GATHER IN TREES ALONG THE

CHILKAT RIVER IN THE SOUTHEAST;

THE LARGEST KNOWN CONGREGATION OF BALD

EAGLES IN THE WORLD.

THOUGH MOST ALASKAN RIVERS FREEZE DURING THE WINTER,

HOT SPRINGS KEEP THE CHILKAT RIVER RUNNING AND

ENABLES THE EAGLES TO FEED ON THE RIVER'S UNUSUALLY

LATE SALMON RUN.

ONE ALASKAN ANIMAL ACTUALLY YEARNS FOR THE

ONSET OF WINTER.

WHERE MOST CREATURES WOULD PERISH FROM EXPOSURE,

POLAR BEARS THRIVE.

THEIR BODY HEAT IS PRESERVED BY THICK FAT AND

AN INSULATING FUR OF TRANSLUCENT,

HOLLOW HAIRS.

THEIR FAVORITE PREY IS THE RINGED SEAL.

BUT IN ORDER TO HUNT SEALS EFFECTIVELY THEY MUST WAIT

FOR COLDER WEATHER AND THE SEA TO FREEZE OVER.

SOME MALES WILE AWAY THE TIME IN FRIENDLY PLAY

FIGHTING.

[GROWLING BEARS]

DYLAN: FEW MOTHERS IN ALL OF NATURE ARE AS DEVOTED

AS A POLAR BEAR MOM.

CUBS LEARN EARLY TO OBEY MOTHER'S COMMANDS.

FINALLY THE SEA FREEZES OVER;

THE SEASON OF WAITING AND FASTING ENDS.

WITH THEIR EXTRAORDINARY SENSE OF SMELL,

POLAR BEARS VENTURE OUT ONTO THE ICE AWAY FROM THE

SHORE TO LOCATE SEALS OVER 20 MILES AWAY.

THE WINTER FEAST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

DYLAN: ELSEWHERE IN ALASKA A TIME OF

DARKNESS AND SCARCITY ARRIVES.

CARIBOU MIGRATING TO WINTERING GROUNDS SCRAPE

BENEATH THE SNOW DAY OR NIGHT FOR MOSS AND SEDGE

GRASS.

SEARCHING FOR FOOD, THEY ARE VULNERABLE TO HUNGRY

PREDATORS.

FOR A PACK OF WOLVES, PREY ARE EASIER TO TRACK IN

SNOW.

♪ MUSIC ♪

[WOLVES BARKING]

DYLAN: WITH JAWS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CRUSH THE

CARIBOU'S LARGEST BONES, THEY WILL LEAVE LITTLE

BEHIND.

DYLAN: FOR A SPECIES THAT MUST COOPERATE

TO SURVIVE, RIVALRIES ARE BRIEF.

THE PACK LEADER CALLS THEM ONWARD.

[WOLF HOWLING]

DYLAN: THE HUNT IS NEVER OVER.

DYLAN: THESE BRAVE SOULS DESCENDED FROM TRIBES WHO

CROSSED THE ICE AGE LAND BRIDGE THOUSANDS OF YEARS

AGO.

IN THAT TIME THE INUPIAT LEARNED TO USE EVERY

RESOURCE IN THEIR FROZEN DESERT.

FOR FOOD THEY TURN TO THE SEA.

STILL TODAY THEY WATCH FOR ARRIVING BOWHEAD WHALES.

THE HUNT IS SANCTIONED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW AND IT'S

A SACRED RITUAL TO THE INUPIATS.

HAULING IN ITS BODY, THEY THANK THE WHALE FOR THE

GIFT OF LIFE-SUSTAINING NOURISHMENT.

THE INUPIAT PEOPLE HAVE FORMED A SYMBIOTIC

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LAND AND ANIMALS AROUND THEM.

FOR OTHER ALASKANS THAT RELATIONSHIP TAKES A

DIFFERENT FORM.

DYLAN: BEFORE A LARGE CROWD DOGSLED TEAMS SET

OUT FROM ANCHORAGE EACH YEAR ON A 1,000

MILE RACE KNOWN WORLDWIDE AS THE IDITAROD.

DYLAN: IN THE DEFIANT SPIRIT OF ALASKA WINTER'S HARSH

CHALLENGES ARE TURNED TO RUGGED SPORT.

THE CURRENT RECORD WAS SET IN 2016 WITH A TIME OF 8

DAYS, 11 HOURS, 20 MINUTES AND 16 SECONDS..

...EACH YEAR AS THE WARM SEASON APPROACHES THE VAST

SPECTACLE OF LIFE'S RESILIENCY UNFOLDS AGAIN

IN ALASKA.

AND ALONG STREAM BOTTOMS THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE

IS RENEWED.

THESE SALMON HATCHLINGS WILL SOON DEPART ON A LONG

JOURNEY DOWNSTREAM TO THE OCEAN.

IN THE YEARS TO COME THEY WILL RETURN AS THE GREAT

CYCLE OF LIFE CONTINUES.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF

ZION CANYON AND DISCOVER INCREDIBLE VILLAGES CARVED

INTO THE STEEP CLIFFS OF THE CANYON WALLS.

AND LATER, SOME OF THE LARGEST MAMMALS ON EARTH

COMPLETE ONE OF THE LONGEST MIGRATIONS ON THE

PLANET.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS.

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

.

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

DYLAN: ZION NATIONAL PARK LIES AT THE INTERSECTION

OF 3 IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTHERN UTAH - THE

HIGH COLORADO PLATEAU; THE BARREN MOHAVE DESERT;

AND THE GREAT BASIN.

THIS GEOGRAPHY CREATES AN UNUSUAL DIVERSITY OF

PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT ALL INHABIT THE 4 UNIQUE

LIFE ZONES OF THE PARK; DESERT,

RIVERBED, WOODLAND AND PINE FOREST.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: THE FIRST HUMANS BEGAN SETTLING IN ZION

8,000 YEARS AGO...

AND THE REGION BECAME THE CENTER OF A MYSTIC LAND.

THEY LIVED IN SOME OF THE MOST REMARKABLE STRUCTURES

EVER BUILT BY ANCIENT PEOPLE.

THEY BUILT APARTMENT-LIKE COMPLEXES OF MUD AND STONE

PERCHED HIGH ON THE SIDES OF CANYON WALLS.

DYLAN: MANY HOMES FACED A CENTRAL KIVA,

OR ROUND UNDERGROUND ROOM, WHERE CEREMONIES OF GREAT

IMPORTANCE WERE HELD.

DYLAN: HERE WE ARE WITNESSING A CELEBRATION OF CREATION,

AND THE INITIATION OF A YOUNG MAN INTO ADULTHOOD.

THE CLIFF PEOPLE HAD MANY GODS.

THEY BELIEVED THOSE GODS WOULD GUIDE THEM TO TRUTH

AND UNDERSTANDING.

MAN: OH GREAT SPIRIT WHOSE BREATH GIVES LIFE TO ALL

CREATION, HEAR MY WORDS.

DYLAN: THEIR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME WAS

HISATSINOM, MEANING "THE ANCIENT ONES."

THEIR CULTURE AND UNIQUE WAY OF LIFE LASTED FOR

MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS.

DYLAN: TODAY HISTORIANS CALL THESE PEOPLE

ANCIENT PUEBLOANS.

PUEBLO IS THE SPANISH NAME FOR VILLAGE.

ABOUT 800 YEARS AGO A MASSIVE DROUGHT TURNED THE

LAND OF THE ANCIENT PUEBLOANS TO DUST.

DYLAN: INVADERS, WAR AND FAMINE SPREAD THROUGH THE

CLIFF CITIES LIKE THE WIND.

AND A ONCE GREAT SOCIETY QUICKLY VANISHED.

THE FEW NATIVE TRIBES THAT REMAINED MIGRATED THROUGH

ZION CANYON IN THE SPRING AND FALL IN SEARCH OF WILD

SEEDS AND GAME ANIMALS.

DYLAN: THEY BELIEVED THE GODS HAD PLACED GUARDIANS

TO PROTECT THE SACRED LAND.

CHILDREN GREW UP QUICKLY AND BELIEVED THAT POWERFUL

SPIRITS WERE ALWAYS WATCHING THEM.

THEY ALSO BELIEVED NOT ALL OF THOSE SPIRITS WERE

GOOD.

MAN: TODAY YOU HAVE MET KINO SAVA,

HE HAS PLAYED A TRICK ON YOU,

HE IS FOND OF PRANKS.

HE LIVES IN THE CANYON OF THE SPIRITS.

WE CANNOT SEE THEM, WE KNOW THEM ONLY BY THE

SIGNS THEY GIVE US.

AN OWL REMINDS US THAT DEATH IS LURKING NEAR.

DYLAN: THESE ANCIENT TALES WERE PASSED DOWN FROM

GENERATION TO GENERATION AND CONNECTED THE PEOPLE

TO THE LAND.

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

BAHA, CALIFORNIA TO BREED.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'L 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.

IT'S MID-DECEMBER AND A NEW DAY IS DAWNING ON THE

COAST OF BAHA, 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.

♪ MUSIC ♪ - [ELEPHANT SEALS GROWLING]

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.

ILLIANA ORTEGA IS A MARINE BIOLOGIST WHO STUDIED AT

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO.

ILLIANA: BECAUSE LIFE IN THE OASIS IS SO CROWDED,

THE 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.

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 ARCTIC OCEAN LOCATED AROUND THE NORTH

POLE IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS ON

THE PLANET.

IN ORDER TO SURVIVE THE ICY TEMPERATURES MANY

SPECIES MUST MIGRATE AWAY FROM THE ARCTIC OCEAN

DURING THE WINTER.

AND THE BIGGER THE ANIMAL, THE FARTHER THEY TRAVEL.

DYLAN: THE COLD, NUTRIENT-RICH WATERS OF THE

NORTHERN PACIFIC PROVIDE AN ABUNDANCE OF FOOD FOR

MIGRATING SEA ANIMALS..

...BUT WHEN WINTER ARRIVES MANY CREATURES BEGIN THEIR

YEARLY MIGRATION SOUTH TO MATE AND GIVE BIRTH IN

PLACES OF WARMTH AND SAFETY.

DYLAN: OF ALL THE EPIC ANIMAL MIGRATIONS ON EARTH,

GRAY WHALES MAKE THE LONGEST OF ANY WILD

MAMMAL; SWIMMING NONSTOP DAY AND NIGHT WITHOUT

FEEDING FOR 2 MONTHS; OVER A DISTANCE OF 5,000

MILES FROM THE ARCTIC OCEAN TO THE SHORE OF

MEXICO.

DYLAN: THEY OFTEN NAVIGATE THROUGH DARK AND MURKY SEA

WATER USING ECHOLOCATION.

DYLAN: LIKE SUBMARINES, GRAY WHALES SEND OUT AND

RECEIVE SOUND WAVES THAT SKETCH ACOUSTIC IMAGES OF

THE UNDERSEA TERRAIN.

TRAVELING NEAR SHORE, GRAYS MAY ALSO RELY ON

FAMILIAR COASTAL LANDMARKS TO GUIDE THEM ON THEIR

JOURNEY.

AND THEY MAINTAIN THEIR BEARINGS BY SIMPLY KEEPING

THE SOUND OF THE ROLLING SURF TO THEIR LEFT WHEN

HEADING SOUTH, AND TO THEIR RIGHT WHEN RETURNING

NORTH.

DYLAN: IN THE PROTECTED LAGOONS OF BAHA,

CALIFORNIA, ARRIVING WHALES ARE TREATED LIKE

CELEBRITIES BY ADORING FANS.

SHARI: MY LITTLE GIRL, SIRENITA,

THE LITTLE MERMAID, HAS A VERY SPECIAL CONNECTION

TO THE WHALES.

SIRENA: WHEN I GOT OUT THERE IT WAS JUST LIKE

WHOA.

ONE WAS COMING STRAIGHT FOR US AND I'M LIKE

"WHAT'S THAT WHALE DOING?" I WAS REALLY WISHING I

WOULD TOUCH A WHALE, LIKE "OH,

I HOPE I TOUCH HIM," AND ALL THE SUDDEN MY HAND WAS

REALLY DOWN.

SHARI: THEY SEEM TO REALLY STUDY US CAREFULLY.

I OFTEN WONDER WHAT THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT

WHILE THEY'RE GAZING AT US AS I GAZE AT THEM.

DYLAN: I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪