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.

TODAY, WE'RE ON A JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD LIKE

YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

WE'LL EXPERIENCE THE AMAZING LIVES OF OUR

PLANET'S MOST ICONIC SPECIES AND MAKE A FEW NEW

FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY, FROM PLAYFUL BABY

ELEPHANTS IN THE JUNGLES OF THAILAND TO SPRAWLING

UNDERGROUND CITIES OF ANTS IN THE WESTERN UNITED

STATES, TO COMMUNITIES OF PLAYFUL SEA LIONS OFF THE

COAST OF CALIFORNIA.

THE JOURNEY STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: OUR JOURNEY BEGINS IN THE ENCHANTED KHAO SOK

NATIONAL PARK.

IT'S BELIEVED THAT THIS PARK MAY BE HOME TO AS

MUCH AS FIVE PERCENT OF ALL SPECIES ON EARTH.

IT'S FAMOUS FOR TOWERING LIMESTONE ROCK FORMATIONS

THAT RISE OUT OF THE SEA.

IT'S A WORLD BRIMMING WITH BEAUTY AND ADVENTURE AND

MUCH MORE FRAGILE THAN IT MAY APPEAR.

HIDDEN BEHIND THESE MAGNIFICENT ROCK

FORMATIONS AWAITS A WORLD BRIMMING WITH ADVENTURE,

THE OLDEST AND MOST SPECIES-RICH FORESTS ON

OUR PLANET.

WELCOME TO THAILAND.

[ELEPHANT TRUMPETING]

DYLAN: THESE CONSERVATIONISTS HAVE A

LONG JOURNEY AHEAD OF THEM.

KRIANGSAK SRIBUROD, NICKNAMED JO,

AND HIS TEAM ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE HEADWATERS OF

THE KHLONG SAENG RIVER.

JO IS A BIOLOGIST, AND HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR

SOUTHERN THAILAND'S WILDLIFE.

JO: I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED.

THE LARGE RESERVOIR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARK DIVIDES

THE FOREST.

THE BIG MAMMALS CAN NO LONGER WANDER BACK AND

FORTH.

DYLAN: ON THE WAY TO THEIR DESTINATION,

THEY STOP IN A SMALL BAY WHERE AN ELEPHANT NAMED

BANANA LEAF LIVES.

BANANA LEAF IS SIX YEARS OLD AND PREFERS TO EAT,

SURPRISE-SURPRISE, BANANAS.

JO: IT WAS FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN A BIG HERD OF

ELEPHANTS HEARD A GUNSHOT AND PANICKED.

THIS LITTLE ONE COULDN'T KEEP UP THE PACE.

MY MEN FOUND HIM ALL BY HIMSELF.

DYLAN: JO AND THE TEAM RAISED THIS LITTLE

ELEPHANT AFTER HIS FAMILY WAS KILLED BY POACHERS.

WHEN HE NO LONGER NEEDED TO BE BOTTLE-FED,

THEY RELEASED HIM INTO THE FOREST.

NOW THEY HOPE ANOTHER ELEPHANT HERD WILL TAKE

HIM IN.

A LITTLE FURTHER OFF, AN ELEPHANT HERD IS TAKING TO

THE WATER, BUT THESE ANIMALS ARE ON THE

OPPOSITE LAKESHORE, FAR FROM BANANA LEAF.

JO IS WORKING ON HOW HE CAN BRING BANANA LEAF AND

THIS HERD OF ELEPHANTS TOGETHER,

BUT FIRST, HE NEEDS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE

NATURAL PATTERNS OF THE ELEPHANTS LIVING INSIDE

THE PARK.

JO AND HIS MEN ARE LOOKING FOR SUITABLE PLACES TO SET

UP THEIR CAMERAS TO COLLECT VISUAL DATA ON

ELEPHANTS AND OTHER ANIMALS MIGRATING THROUGH

THE JUNGLE.

JO: LOOK, THERE'S A WILD BOAR.

IT'S FEEDING ON THE TREE'S FRUIT.

IT'S STILL PRETTY YOUNG.

ITS TUSKS HAVEN'T GROWN YET.

DYLAN: THE WILD BOAR IS NOT THE LEAST BIT SHY.

IT'S PROBABLY NEVER SEEN HUMANS BEFORE.

JO: LOOK AROUND FOR A GOOD SPOT TO SET UP THE CAMERA

TRAPS.

DYLAN: MANY ANIMALS PASS BY HERE.

IT APPEARS TO BE AN IDEAL SPOT FOR JO'S CAMERAS.

A MOTION SENSOR TRIGGERS THE CAMERAS DAY AND NIGHT.

JO: WE RECKON AT LEAST 40 ELEPHANTS LIVE HERE,

BUT THERE COULD BE MORE.

OUR RESEARCH GOAL IS TO FIND OUT IF THE NUMBER OF

YOUNG ANIMALS BORN EVERY YEAR IS INCREASING.

DYLAN: JO CHECKS THE CAMERAS SEVERAL TIMES.

IT'S WORKING.

JO: OUR FINDINGS SO FAR INDICATE THAT THE NUMBER

OF ELEPHANTS LIVING HERE IS INCREASING.

ELEPHANTS ARE LIKE FRIENDS TO ME.

WHENEVER I SEE THEM, I FEEL LIKE PART OF A

FAMILY.

THESE ANIMALS LIVE IN COMMUNITIES.

THERE'S A FATHER AND A MOTHER,

A BROTHER AND A SISTER AND FRIENDS.

WHENEVER I SEE ELEPHANTS, I FEEL CONNECTED TO THEM.

DYLAN: THANKS TO HARD WORK FROM CONSERVATIONISTS LIKE

JO AND HIS TEAM, THE AMAZING WILDLIFE IN KHAO

SOK NATIONAL PARK HAS A FIGHTING CHANCE AT

SURVIVAL, AND THE FRAGILE ANCIENT BEAUTY OF THAILAND

CAN THRIVE.

COMING UP NEXT, OUR ADVENTURE CONTINUES WITH

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS FROM THE GREATEST HUNTERS IN THE

OCEAN, AND LATER, WE'LL VISIT A COLONY OF NOISY

SEA LIONS AND SPEND A LAZY AFTERNOON PLAYING IN THE

SUN.

DON'T GO AWAY.

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.

NOTHING GETS OUR SPINES TINGLING QUITE LIKE SHARKS

AND FOR GOOD REASON.

THESE SLEEK, SILENT PHANTOMS OF THE DEEP ARE

PERFECTLY EVOLVED TO HUNT AND KILL.

GREAT WHITES, FOR INSTANCE,

BOAST A POWERFUL JAW FILLED WITH THREE HUNDRED

RAZOR SHARP TEETH, AND THEY CAN SWIM MORE THAN 35

MILES PER HOUR TO FIND THEIR NEXT MEAL.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN SEEMS CUSTOM MADE FOR SECRETIVE

CARNIVORES.

EVERY OCTOBER, GREAT WHITE SHARKS BEGIN GATHERING AT

GUADALUPE ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF MEXICO.

THE MALES ARRIVE FIRST.

AT 12 TO 16 FEET AND TWO THOUSAND POUNDS,

THEY CAN BE VERY INTIMIDATING,

BUT THESE MALES ARE DWARFED BY FEMALES.

FEMALES ARRIVE A MONTH LATER,

AND THEY CAN BE GIANTS, UP TO 20 FEET LONG AND SEVEN

THOUSAND POUNDS.

JUST WHAT THEY'RE DOING HERE,

NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE.

WITH SO MANY MALES AND FEMALES IN THE SAME SPOT,

BIOLOGISTS BELIEVE THEY GATHER HERE TO MATE.

WE HUMANS HAVE FIVE SENSES.

MORE THAN 450 MILLION YEARS OF EVOLUTION HAVE

EQUIPPED THESE APEX PREDATORS WITH SEVEN,

BUT THEY ARE USELESS AGAINST NETS,

HOOKS, AND LONGLINES.

WE ONCE THOUGHT FEMALE GREAT WHITES COULDN'T

REPRODUCE UNTIL THEY WERE 15 YEARS OLD.

WE WERE WRONG.

MAKE THAT 30 YEARS.

THE SILLY NOTION OF MARAUDIC SHARKS,

LIKE JAWS, SEARCHING FOR PEOPLE TO EAT HAS

THANKFULLY BEGUN TO FADE.

SHARKS HAVE MUCH MORE TO FEAR FROM US THAN WE FROM

THEM.

HUMANS KILL ONE HUNDRED MILLION EVERY YEAR FOR

SPORT, FOLK MEDICINES, EVEN COSMETICS.

WHEN THE FESTIVITIES AT GUADALUPE ISLAND WIND

DOWN, THIS SHARK HEADS EAST IN SEARCH OF SEA

LIONS.

HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE TO FIND THEM.

SEA LIONS ARE AMONG THE GREAT WHITES' FAVORITE

FOODS, AND THEY KNOW IT.

STILL, ONE BRAVE SOUL KEEPS AN EYE ON THE

INTERLOPER WHILE THE OTHERS DASH BACK TO

SAFETY.

THIS IS THEIR REALM, SHALLOW,

ROCKY WATERS.

FEW CREATURES CAN NAVIGATE CRASHING WAVES AND RIPPING

CURRENTS LIKE THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION.

THEY ARE INDEED THE KING OF THE COASTLINE.

[SEA LIONS BARKING]

DYLAN: THEY CAN SPRINT TO 25 MILES PER HOUR,

AVOIDING PREDATORS OR CATCHING PREY.

UNLIKE THEIR COUSIN, THE SEAL,

THIS MAMMAL HAS EAR FLAPS, LONG FRONT FINS TO WALK ON

LAND, AND THEY ARE HIGHLY SOCIAL.

A COLONY CAN BE 1,500 STRONG.

FEMALES CAN REACH SIX FEET AND 220 POUNDS,

AND LIKE MOST PARENTS, THERE'S NO REST FOR THE

WEARY.

EXPERIENCED MOMS FLIP UPSIDE-DOWN TO TAKE A

BREATH, THEIR EYES NEVER LEAVING THE LITTLE ONES.

JUVENILES ARE LIKE PUPPIES,

FULL OF ENERGY AND MISCHIEF.

ANYTHING INTERESTING NEEDS INVESTIGATION,

BECOMES A CHEW TOY, OR A GAME OF KEEP AWAY.

ANTAGONIZING A DAMSELFISH IS JUST GOOD,

CLEAN FUN.

FOR ALL ITS ACROBATIC GRACE,

THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION IS A CHAMPION AMONG DEEP

DIVERS AND BUILT FOR IT.

THEY CAN COLLAPSE THEIR LUNGS AND SLOW THEIR HEART

FROM 90 BEATS PER MINUTE TO JUST 20.

BLOOD IS SHUNTED AWAY FROM TISSUE THAT DOESN'T NEED

MUCH OXYGEN SO THAT SPECIALIZED MUSCLES CAN

GRAB THE EXTRA O2.

ALL OF THIS ALLOWS A SEA LION TO HOLD ITS BREATH

FOR 15 MINUTES AND SAFELY DIVE TO NINE HUNDRED FEET

IN SEARCH OF SQUID.

SOME SEA LIONS CAN SWIM MORE THAN 20 MILES PER

HOUR AND LIVE PAST THE RIPE OLD AGE OF 30.

WITH THESE PLAYFUL CREATURES,

IT SEEMS LIKE WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING,

THEY'RE HAVING A GOOD TIME.

DON'T GO AWAY.

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: BIOLOGISTS BELIEVE INSECTS ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY

90 PERCENT OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH,

AND ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL TYPES OF

INSECTS ARE ANTS.

THESE TINY CREATURES HAVE CONQUERED NEARLY EVERY

CORNER OF THE GLOBE AND PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN THE

FOOD CHAIN OF LIFE, BUT THEY CAN SOMETIMES WREAK

UNINTENDED HAVOC OVER THE ECOSYSTEMS THEY INVADE.

DYLAN: THERE ARE 22 KNOWN SPECIES OF FIRE ANTS,

BUT THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST FEARED AND REVILED OF

THEM ALL, THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT.

IT DOESN'T BELONG HERE IN THIS SOUTH GEORGIA LAWN OR

EVEN ON THIS CONTINENT, BUT IT'S HERE TO STAY.

THE FIRE ANT IS ACTUALLY NATIVE TO THE FLOOD PLAINS

AND SAVANNAHS OF SOUTH AMERICA.

BUT SOMETIME IN THE 1930'S,

THEY HITCHED A RIDE ON A CARGO SHIP AND WERE DUMPED

IN AN ALABAMA PORT.

THE RESULTS WERE DISASTROUS.

INVICTA, AS THEY'RE CALLED BY BIOLOGISTS,

HAD FOUND A LAND OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

THE PEOPLE AND ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA HAVE BEEN

THEIR NEIGHBORS EVER SINCE.

[CHILDREN LAUGHING]

GIRL: OW!

OUCH!

DYLAN: THE FIRE ANT HAS CONFOUNDED ALL EFFORTS TO

ERADICATE IT OR EVEN SLOW IT DOWN.

AT ONE POINT IN TIME, EXPERTS THOUGHT THESE ANTS

COULDN'T REPRODUCE WHEN THE AVERAGE COLD

TEMPERATURE WAS TEN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

BIOLOGISTS BELIEVED THAT SURELY THE WINTER WEATHER

WOULD PROVIDE A FIREWALL.

THEY WERE WRONG.

WE NOW KNOW FIRE ANTS CAN SURVIVE WINTER

TEMPERATURES AS LOW AS ZERO DEGREES SIMPLY BY

HUNKERING DOWN DEEP IN THEIR NEST.

NOW THEY'VE EXPANDED THEIR POTENTIAL RANGE TO A

QUARTER OF THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.

THE GLOBAL INVASION IS WELL UNDERWAY.

WE EVEN PROVIDE THE MACHINES AND A FREE TICKET

TO RIDE.

TRAVELING IN WOODEN PALLETS,

NURSERY STOCK, LUMBER, USED EARTH-MOVING

EQUIPMENT, NEARLY ANYTHING,

A SINGLE, NEWLY-MATED QUEEN CAN ESTABLISH A

BEACHHEAD IN BRAND-NEW TERRITORY.

FIRE ANTS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE CARIBBEAN,

NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, TAIWAN,

CHINA, MACAU, AT LEAST 11 COUNTRIES.

NO ONE KNOWS THE FULL POTENTIAL RANGE OF

INVICTA, BUT STUDIES OF CLIMATE AND WATER

AVAILABILITY INDICATE THAT AS MUCH AS 50 PERCENT OF

THE EARTH'S SURFACE IS HABITABLE BY THE ANTS.

THE FIRE ANT, IT WOULD SEEM,

IS UNSTOPPABLE.

STAY TUNED.

"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: GERMANY IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL

NATIONS IN HISTORY.

IT'S HOME TO SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT

ARTISTS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND SCIENTISTS.

TODAY, IT'S THE ECONOMIC CENTER OF EUROPE AND A

LEADER IN TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION,

BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER TREASURES TUCKED AWAY IN

THE HILLS AND FORESTS OF GERMANY.

OUR JOURNEY TAKES US INTO THE ENCHANTED WILDERNESS

OF THIS ANCIENT REALM, WHERE NATURAL WONDERS WAIT

TO BE DISCOVERED.

WELCOME TO THE BERGISCHES LAND IN THE HEART OF

WESTERN GERMANY.

THIS IS THE HOME TO A REMARKABLE RIVER,

A RIVER THAT SEEMS TO HAVE MORE IN COMMON WITH THE

AMAZON BASIN IN SOUTH AMERICA THAN THE CHILLY

CLIMATES OF EUROPE.

IT'S CALLED THE WUPPER, AND IT BRINGS LIFE TO

ENUMERABLE, FANTASTIC SPECIES BOTH IN AND OUT OF

THE WATER.

THE WUPPER RIVER IS A PULSING ARTERY OF WEST

GERMANY.

TODAY, THE MUNGSTEN BRIDGE AND WUPPERTAL MONORAIL

CARRY PEOPLE ACROSS, BUT IN THE MIDDLE AGES,

IT WAS THE DUKES OF BERG IN THE CASTLE SCHLOSSBERG

WHO KEPT WATCHFUL EYES ON THE RIVER.

IN THE 13TH CENTURY, THE CRYSTAL-CLEAR RIVER WATERS

WERE A PLENTIFUL SOURCE OF TASTY FISH LIKE TROUT AND

SALMON.

THE DUKES OF BERG ALSO BELIEVED THE RIVER WAS A

SOURCE OF GREAT MAGIC.

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, A KNOWN KING PLUNGED HIS

STAFF INTO SOIL NEAR THE SOUTHERN REGION OF

SAUERLAND.

THE STAFF RIPPED OPEN A HOLE IN THE EARTH,

AND RUSHING WATERS SPRANG FORTH FROM THE DEEP

UNDERGROUND.

AND STILL TODAY, ALL ALONG ITS BANKS ARE MANY

COLORFUL AND ENCHANTING SPECIES.

ON THE FIRST WARM DAY AFTER WINTER,

A PAIR OF GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKERS APPEARS.

WHILE HE BUSIES HIMSELF WITH BUILDING A HOME,

SHE DEMOLISHES A ROTTEN BRANCH IN HER SEARCH FOR

HIDDEN INSECTS.

WE ARE NOW AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH,

THE WEDDING SEASON FOR COMMON FROGS.

COMMON FROGS SPAWN EARLIER THAN ALL THE OTHER

AMPHIBIANS.

THE FEMALE WILL LAY UP TO 4,500

EGGS IN ONE OR TWO GELATINOUS MASSES.

IN THE WOODS BESIDE THE BANK,

FOX CUBS HAVE SNEAKED OUT OF THE DEN TO PLAY.

THEIR MOTHER IS OBVIOUSLY AWAY.

AS LONG AS THEY ARE STILL SMALL,

THEY WILL COME OUT DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS.

IT'S HARDLY POSSIBLE TO PLAY AROUND IN THE

RESTRICTING DEN.

HIDE AND SEEK IS REALLY FUN DURING THE DAYTIME.

AFTER TEN MONTHS, THIS AFTERNOON PLAY WILL CEASE.

THEN THEY WILL BE ADULTS AND HAVE OTHER CONCERNS.

AFTER CENTURIES OF POLLUTION,

THE RETURN OF TROUT, SALMON,

AND EVEN EELS TO THE WUPPER RIVER IS A

TESTAMENT TO WHAT CONSERVATION AND

MANAGEMENT CAN ACCOMPLISH IN THE FACE OF SEEMINGLY

INSURMOUNTABLE ODDS.

THE WUPPER TODAY IS HOME TO SO MANY AMAZING

SPECIES.

IT'S EARNED ITS NICKNAME, THE AMAZON OF GERMANY.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS TRIP THROUGH THE WILD

LANDS OF EUROPE.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ CREDITS ♪