Original subtitles

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.

TODAY, WE RE ON AN EPIC ADVENTURE DEEP INTO THE

SWAMPLAND TO UNCOVER THE MURKY MYSTERIES HIDDEN IN

THE REEDS.

WE LL TREK INTO ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST DIVERSE

WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS ON THE PLANET TO UNCOVER A

COLLECTION OF CREATURES THAT WILL DO ANYTHING TO

SURVIVE.

WE LL COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH A SPECIES THAT S

HUNTED NORTH AMERICAN WATERWAYS SINCE THE TIME

OF DINOSAURS, AND WE LL REVEAL HOW ANCIENT SYSTEMS

OF WATER AND FIRE GIVE LIFE A FIGHTING CHANCE.

THE JOURNEY STARTS NOW.

DYLAN: WITH THEIR STEALTHY MOVEMENTS AND POWERFUL

JAWS, IT S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT AN APEX PREDATOR LIKE

THE ALLIGATOR COULD EVER BE IN DANGER,

BUT IN THE 1960 S, THE AMERICAN ALLIGATOR WAS ON

THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION.

THANKFULLY, CAREFUL MANAGEMENT HAS BROUGHT

THESE ANCIENT PREDATORS BACK FROM THE BRINK,

AND TODAY, THEY RE THRIVING ONCE AGAIN

THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED

STATES.

ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE HABITATS,

THE MIGHTY SWAMP THAT SPANS FROM GEORGIA TO

FLORIDA KNOWN AS OKEFENOKEE.

OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, SEDIMENT FROM RISING AND

FALLING SEA LEVELS WALLED OFF SEVEN HUNDRED SQUARE

MILES FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

TODAY, THIS CORNER OF THE EARTH IS HOME TO ONE OF

THE LARGEST, MOST ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE

WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS ON THE PLANET.

WHAT WAS ONCE TOWERING OAK TREES AND GRASSLAND IS NOW

BOGS AND SWAMP FORESTS.

THE CHOCTAW PEOPLE WOULD COME TO CALL IT

OKEFENOKEE, LAND OF THE TREMBLING EARTH.

DYLAN: JUST A FEW FEET BELOW THE MIRROR-LIKE

SURFACE, THE SANDY BOTTOM IS COVERED WITH PEAT,

A THICK LAYER OF PARTIALLY DECAYING PLANTS AND

LEAVES.

THIS ROTTING VEGETATION BREWS THE SWAMP WATER INTO

AN ACID-RICH BLACK TEA, THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE

OKEFENOKEE.

MORE THAN A THOUSAND SPECIES OF PLANTS AND

ANIMALS THRIVE HERE.

BUT THERE S NO QUESTION WHO SITS ATOP THE FOOD

CHAIN.

[ALLIGATOR GRUNTING]

DYLAN: THE AMERICAN ALLIGATOR IS TRULY AN

ANCIENT CREATURE.

IT S BEEN HERE AT LEAST A MILLION-AND-A-HALF YEARS,

PERHAPS AS MUCH AS FIVE MILLION YEARS.

IN FACT, THE AMERICAN ALLIGATOR REPRESENTS THE

END OF A VERY LONG EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY,

DATING BACK FROM THE DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS.

DR. VLIET: SO, ALLIGATORS AND DINOSAURS BOTH SHARED

COMMON ANCESTORS MORE THAN 220 MILLION YEARS AGO.

DYLAN: BUT WE SHOULDN T THINK ALLIGATORS SIMPLE OR

PRIMITIVE.

THEY RE ACTUALLY HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED,

VERY COMPLEX ANIMALS, AND SUPERBLY ADAPTED FOR THEIR

LIFE AS APEX PREDATORS IN WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS,

JUST LIKE THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP.

ALLIGATORS HAVE A WELL-DEVELOPED BRAIN AND

HIGHER COGNITIVE SKILLS THAN MOST OTHER REPTILES,

AND THEY RE CAPABLE OF LEARNING PATTERNS IN THE

ENVIRONMENT AROUND THEM.

THEY HAVE EXCELLENT EYESIGHT.

THEY SEE ABOUT AS WELL AS WE DO,

AND THEIR HEARING IS QUITE GOOD,

TOO.

SCATTERED ALL OVER THE FACE OF AN ALLIGATOR ARE

LITTLE ORGANS HIGHLY SENSITIVE TO TOUCH OR

VIBRATIONS.

DR. VLIET: AND EVEN IN THE COMPLETE ABSENCE OF LIGHT

OR SOUND, ALLIGATORS ARE ABLE TO PERCEIVE A SINGLE

DROP OF WATER ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER AND

ORIENT TO THAT.

DYLAN: THE ALLIGATOR S SKELETON REVEALS ITS

SECRETS TO BEING ONE OF THE LAST GREAT

FREE-ROAMING PREDATORS.

UNLIKE MANY MODERN REPTILES,

THEIR SKULLS ARE SOLID, FLEXING VERY LITTLE.

THE JAGGED TEETH IN FRONT ARE FOR HOLDING PREY.

THE CONICAL TEETH IN BACK ARE FOR CRUSHING.

LIKE THEIR ANCIENT COUSIN, THE T-REX,

GATOR SKULLS HAVE LARGE CAVITIES TO ACCOMMODATE

MASSIVE JAW MUSCLES AND TO DELIVER BITES MEASURED AT

THREE THOUSAND POUNDS.

[ALLIGATOR HISSING]

DYLAN: ITS BRAIN IS THE SIZE OF YOUR LITTLE

FINGER, TUCKED UP INSIDE A THICK CORE OF BONE.

EARLY SWAMP SETTLERS FOUND THE ALLIGATOR NOTORIOUSLY

DIFFICULT TO KILL.

ANYTHING LESS THAN A PERFECT SHOT IS JUST A

FLESH WOUND.

CHIP CAMPBELL HAS BEEN GUIDING TOURS IN THE

OKEFENOKEE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.

HIS EXPERIENCE AS A NATURALIST AND SEARCH AND

RESCUE VOLUNTEER HAS TAKEN HIM TO NEARLY EVERY CORNER

OF THE SWAMP.

CHIP: ALLIGATORS HAVE A CERTAIN,

YOU KNOW, CHARM TO THEM.

THEY RE REMARKABLY GRACEFUL.

THAT STRIKES PEOPLE SOMETIMES.

THEY DON T EXPECT THAT.

YOU SEE THEM.

THEY MOVE VERY SLOWLY, VERY METHODICALLY,

BUT THERE S A CERTAIN ELEGANCE TO THE WAY THAT

THEY CAN MOVE THROUGH THE WATER,

AND THEN THEY CAN JUST EXPLODE FROM THOSE

POSITIONS INTO JUST FULL MOVEMENT.

YOU HAVE TO SEE HOW FAST ONE CAN MOVE IN ORDER TO

REALLY FULLY APPRECIATE THE POWER THAT S THERE IN

THOSE ANIMALS.

DYLAN: THE RESURGENCE OF THESE ANIMALS IS IMPORTANT

TO THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.

WHEN MOST OF THE SWAMP WATER DRAINS AWAY DURING

THE DRY SEASON, VITAL POCKETS OF WATER REMAIN

BEHIND, FILLING THE SMALL HOLES DUG BY ALLIGATORS

FOR THEIR NESTS.

THESE POOLS OF WATER CAN HELP SUSTAIN MANY OTHER

ANIMALS FROM THE REST OF THE FOOD CHAIN UNTIL THE

RAINS RETURN AND THE SWAMP FILLS BACK IN.

COMING UP NEXT, ALLIGATORS AREN T THE ONLY PREDATORS

IN THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP.

WATCH OUT, THESE PLANTS BITE,

AND LATER, WE DISCOVER HOW RAGING WILDFIRES KEEP THIS

WETLAND RUNNING.

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: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY. I M DYLAN

DREYER.

PLANTS ARE INCREDIBLE.

SCIENTISTS ARE LEARNING NEW THINGS ABOUT THEM

EVERY DAY.

IN FACT, NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THEY CAN ACTUALLY

COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER,

PROTECT THEMSELVES, AND SOMETIMES,

THEY CAN BE TRICKSTERS.

IN A PLACE AS BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE AS THE OKEFENOKEE

SWAMP, A PLANT CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS AS ANYTHING

ELSE.

GREAT FIELDS OF WATER LILY CARPET MILES OF OPEN

PRAIRIE.

THEIR BROAD LEAVES GROW TO THE SIZE OF DINNER PLATES,

CARRYING OUT THE TASK OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS,

SENDING AIR DOWN HOLLOW STALKS TO THE ROOTS.

NATIVE AMERICANS DRIED THE LILY STALKS AND POUNDED

THEM INTO FLOUR.

OTHER PARTS OF THE PLANT WERE USED FOR HERBAL

MEDICINES.

THE DECAYING PLANT MATTER ON THE BOTTOM CREATES

METHANE GAS, PUSHING CHUNKS OF PEAT UP TO THE

SURFACE OF THE SWAMP.

A MYRIAD OF PLANTS IMMEDIATELY STAKE THEIR

CLAIM ON THESE FLOATING ISLANDS.

AMONG THEM, ONE OF THE STRANGEST CARNIVORES IN

THE WORLD, THE DELICATE SUNDEW.

EACH TENTACLE IS COVERED WITH TINY HAIRS THAT

SECRETE A SWEET, STICKY SYRUP,

LIVING FLYPAPER.

WHEN AN INSECT TOUCHES ONE,

THE TENTACLE CURLS AROUND THE VICTIM,

HOPELESSLY ENSNARING IT.

THE PRISONER IS SLOWLY DISSOLVED,

TURNED INTO A NUTRIENT-RICH SOUP AND

ABSORBED.

THE SUNDEW IS ALSO A MINI MEDICINE CHEST USED IN

HUNDREDS OF HERBAL AND MODERN MEDICINES TO TREAT

TOOTHACHES, COUGHS, AND SUNBURN.

AS THE PEAT ISLANDS FILL UP WITH GRASSES,

THE TINY SUNDEW IS CROWDED OUT.

PITCHER PLANTS ORDER TAKEOUT,

AND IT S THE KIND THAT DELIVERS ITSELF.

THEY EMIT A SWEET NECTAR-LIKE SMELL OR A

FOUL DECAYING ODOR, LURING INSECTS INTO THEIR TUBES.

SLIPPERY SLIDES AND DOWNWARD-ANGLED HAIRS

FORCE THE VICTIMS INTO A BOWL OF BACTERIA AND

DIGESTIVE JUICES.

THESE ARE NASTY PLANTS, AND LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE

IN THE SWAMP, PITCHER PLANTS HAVE ENEMIES.

THE OKEFENOKEE S FEAST FOR THE SENSES IS DRAPED IN

THE SILENT SWAYING MYSTERY OF THE DEEP SOUTH.

SPANISH MOSS, FOUND ONLY IN HUMID COASTAL PLAIN

ENVIRONMENTS, IT S NOT ACTUALLY MOSS,

BUT A PLANT GROWING ON ANOTHER PLANT.

SPANISH MOSS, AS IT S CALLED,

ISN T A PARASITE.

IT S ACTUALLY A FILTER-FEEDER,

STRAINING ALL OF ITS AIRBORNE NOURISHMENT OUT

OF THE DUST AND RAIN.

THIS AMAZING PLANT EMBODIES SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

THE OKEFENOKEE IS A QUILT-WORK OF PRAIRIES AND

LAKES CONNECTED BY CHANNELS FLOWING THROUGH

THE SWAMP FOREST.

IMPENETRABLE THICKETS STRETCH FOR MILES.

IT S A FEARSOME LANDSCAPE TO WALK ACROSS.

THE DENSE BRUSH IS A TANGLED RIOT OF TREES,

SHRUBS, AND THORNY VINES COMPETING FOR EVERY INCH

OF GROUND.

SWAMP LORE AND FAIRY TALES PASSED DOWN THROUGH

CULTURES AND THE AGES ARE RICH WITH HAUNTING

STORIES, ADVENTURISTS AND UNLUCKY SOULS WHO LOST

THEIR WAY THROUGH THE BOG AND WANDERED FOR DAYS OR

WEEKS INTO NO MAN S LAND.

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, PEOPLE HAVE FEARED THE

SWAMP AND KNEW THAT THE ONLY THING HOLDING IT AT

BAY WAS FIRE.

COMING UP NEXT, THE SWAMP BURNS.

WE LL REVEAL THE REMARKABLE STORY OF HOW

FIRE AND WATER GO HAND-IN-HAND.

JOURNEY WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

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: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY. I M DYLAN

DREYER.

NATURE HAS AN AMAZING WAY OF TAKING CARE OF ITSELF.

EVERY YEAR, NEW SEEDS ARE PLANTED,

FLOWERS BLOSSOM, AND FORESTS RENEW.

PLANTS HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WAY OF ADAPTING TO THE

MOST DIFFICULT OF CLIMATES AND CIRCUMSTANCES.

DURING THE DRY SEASON IN THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP,

NATURE ACTUALLY USES FIRE TO KEEP ITSELF IN CHECK.

THE ROUND LAKES AND OPEN PRAIRIES OF THE OKEFENOKEE

ARE FORMED BY A 20 TO 30-YEAR CYCLE OF SEVERE

DROUGHT THAT GIVES RISE TO A CATACLYSMIC WILDFIRE.

WHEN THE WATER IS SO LOW THAT EVEN THE PEAT IS

EXPOSED AND DRIED, ROARING INFERNOS BURN DOWN INTO

THE PEAT BED.

NOTHING IS MORE DESTRUCTIVE AND ESSENTIAL

TO THE HEALTH OF THIS ECOSYSTEM.

APRIL 2007, THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

SUFFERED FROM ONE OF THE WORST DROUGHTS ON RECORD.

HIGH WINDS KNOCKED DOWN A POWER LINE,

IGNITING A SMALL BRUSH FIRE AT THE EDGE OF THE

OKEFENOKEE.

THE PARCHED FOREST WAS A TINDERBOX.

THE FLAMES WERE UNSTOPPABLE.

THEN, JUST AS FIRE RESPONSE TEAMS WERE

GETTING IT UNDER CONTROL, A BOLT OF LIGHTNING

IGNITED A SECOND FIRE DEEP IN THE SWAMP.

THE TWO BLAZES MERGED.

THE INFERNO BURNED FOR A MONTH,

CONSUMING NEARLY A THOUSAND SQUARE MILES OF

SWAMP AND FOREST.

BUT THE SWAMP WASN T DEVASTATED.

IT WAS REJUVENATED.

THE LONGLEAF PINE IS SUPERBLY ADAPTED TO

WITHSTAND FLAMES.

OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, IT HAS EVOLVED A THICK,

FIRE-RESISTANT BARK AND HOLDS ITS LIMBS UP HIGH,

FAR AWAY FROM BRUSH FIRES.

THE ANCIENT PINE DOESN T JUST WITHSTAND A GOOD

SCORCHING.

IT REGULARLY SHEDS ITS INCREDIBLY LONG NEEDLES,

SCATTERING THE FOREST FLOOR WITH FUEL.

IN FACT, LONGLEAF COUNTS ON REGULAR FIRES TO KILL

OFF COMPETITORS AND CLEAR THE WAY FOR ITS GRASS-LIKE

SEEDLINGS, ALSO DESIGNED TO SURVIVE FLAMES.

BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION,

VAST FORESTS OF LONGLEAF PINE DOMINATED THE

SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES.

NOW THESE MAJESTIC TREES IN OKEFENOKEE ARE AMONG

THE THREE PERCENT THAT REMAIN.

DON T GO AWAY.

JOURNEY WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

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: AS WE VE DISCOVERED,

DENSE SWAMPLANDS CAN BE DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS

PLACES TO SURVIVE, BUT THESE HABITATS ALSO

PROVIDE A LOT OF THE BASICS FOR HUMAN SOCIETIES

TO THRIVE, LIKE LOTS OF WATER,

FOOD, AND PROTECTION.

WHEN EUROPEAN SETTLERS FIRST LANDED IN THE

SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES,

MANY TRIED TO STAKE THEIR CLAIM TO THE OKEFENOKEE

SWAMP.

UNFORTUNATELY, THINGS DIDN T GO AS PLANNED.

BY THE 1830 S, NATIVE AMERICANS WERE DISPLACED

BY EUROPEAN PIONEERS WHO CLAIMED THE SWAMP THEIR

HOMELAND.

THE SETTLERS FORAGED THE SWAMP FOR FOOD,

FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

THEY HUNTED GATORS, RACCOONS,

AND OTTERS AND PELTS FOR TRADE.

MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF THE GREAT CYPRESS TREES

WERE TAKEN FROM THE SWAMP BEFORE THE TIMBER MARKET

FINALLY WENT BUST IN THE 1920 S.

CHIP: OKEFENOKEE SWAMP IS THE LARGEST,

MOST ECOLOGICALLY INTACT, ONE OF THE MOST

BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS OF ITS

TYPE IN THE WORLD.

IT S THE LARGEST OF ITS TYPE IN NORTH AMERICA.

THERE ARE DAYS IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK,

YOU SEE SOMETHING ALIVE AND MOVING.

THE INSECTS, WE VE GOT GRASSHOPPERS THAT DIVE

DOWN UNDER THE WATER HERE.

WE HAVE FISHING SPIDERS.

WE VE GOT A NUMBER OF CREATURES THAT YOU LL SEE

IF YOU JUST OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK.

THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP OF TODAY,

WHILE IT S HAND-TO-HAND HUMANITY ON IT,

IS STILL PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PLACE IT WAS WHEN

EUROPEANS STARTED WALKING THE NORTH AMERICAN

CONTINENT.

YOU GET OUT INTO THE HEART OF THE SWAMP,

AND YOU RE IN A LANDSCAPE THAT REALLY IS NOT A HUMAN

LANDSCAPE.

IT S A LANDSCAPE THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM A SATELLITE

PHOTOGRAPH, YOU KNOW, THE EXPANSIVENESS OF IT ALL.

OKEFENOKEE IS A FUNDAMENTALLY WILD PLACE.

YOU KNOW, IT IS A TRUE WILDERNESS.

WHAT IS THE VALUE TO US, YOU KNOW,

AS A CULTURE, AS A CIVILIZATION,

AS A GLOBAL HUMAN SOCIETY TO REALLY HAVE THESE

PLACES WHERE FUNDAMENTAL ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY,

AND EVEN TO A LARGER EXTENT,

THE FUNDAMENTAL WILDNESS OF THE PLACE REMAINS.

DYLAN: ONE OF THE LASTING BEAUTIES OF THE OKEFENOKEE

SWAMP IS A TESTAMENT TO THE RESTORATIVE POWERS OF

NATURE AND THE ABILITY OF NATURE TO RECLAIM A

LANDSCAPE AFTER EXPLOITATION.

THE SWAMP LANDSCAPE IS NOT MEANT FOR MODERN HUMANS.

IT S A LANDSCAPE THAT SPEAKS TO LIFE ACROSS THE

AGES, A LANDSCAPE WHERE DINOSAURS STILL ROAM THE

EARTH, A PLACE FOR LIFE OF THE WILD.

DYLAN: WILD WETLANDS LIKE THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP ARE

BECOMING MORE RARE AS HUMAN POPULATIONS GROW.

IN OUR EVER-CHANGING WORLD,

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE

WETLANDS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS PROTECTING

THEM AND THE AMAZING ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ CREDITS ♪