All language subtitles for Florida Americas Animal Paradise BBC 720p EN SUB_Subtitles01.ENG

Florida...

..famed for its beaches...

..blue water...

and year-round sun.

But away from the crowds...

..Florida hides a wild side.

Home to some iconic residents...

..every year, they face the full
forces of nature.

And now, the pressure is building.

A rising human population and a cast
of animal invaders

are threatening the natural order.

While some are fighting hard to save
it...

the native wildlife is finding
surprising ways to adapt.

But can this corner of paradise
continue

to weather the growing storm?

Florida lies to the southeast
of mainland America.

It's almost in the tropics.

Which means it's affected by both
subtropical and tropical climates.

So, while there's plenty
of sunshine...

..torrential rains pour down
in the humid summer months...

..hurricanes rage across the land.

It's a dynamic mix
that for millennia

has supported a huge variety
of wildlife...

..and shaped unique habitats...

..from pine forests in the north...

..to the famous wetlands
of the Everglades in the south.

And at its tip, the coral reefs
of the Florida Keys.

And now, all life here
is looking to the future.

It's early April.

The height of the dry season
in the longleaf pine forests.

These native trees once covered
most of the state.

But after years of logging,

just a fraction are left
in the Apalachicola region

of Florida's panhandle.

On the forest floor,

one of its most unassuming residents
is out looking for food.

A gopher tortoise.

Habitat like this is his paradise.

The open savannah beneath the trees
makes it easy

to move around and feed.

He takes his time

to pick through his favourite herbs
and succulent grasses.

But at this time of year,
the wire grass is tinderbox dry.

And the weather can change
in an instant.

THUNDER RUMBLES AND CLAPS

Florida is the lightning capital
of the United States.

Over a million bolts strike
each year.

And just one can ignite
the parched landscape.

But this isn't the disaster
that it looks.

This forest needs fire to survive.

The trees can take the heat

as the flames clear the forest floor
of unwanted scrub.

This allows new longleaf pine
to germinate

and grow without competition.

Everything living here has to find
a way to cope with the inferno.

Including the gopher tortoise.

He uses his shovel-like feet to dig
burrows.

These are a refuge from the flames.

And it's not just the tortoise
that relies on them.

Over 300 species use these tunnels

to shelter from fire, hurricanes,

and all the extremes Florida's
climate can throw at them.

That's why the gopher tortoise is
one of the most important animals

that lives in these forests.

But a landscape that needs fire
creates major conflict

in a state with a growing human
presence.

Almost 900 people move here
every day,

adding to a population
of 20 million.

To protect homes, lightning-strike
fires must be put out immediately.

We can't have fires just moseying
around the landscape.

There is people that would be
in harm's way.

Their houses and people's
livelihoods would be affected.

To keep longleaf forests alive,

here, burns are man-made

and carefully controlled by
organisations

like The Nature Conservancy.

Fire needs to be addressed really
anywhere through prescribed fire.

We have to manage this fire,
we have to keep it safe.

However, we do our best

to mimic what Mother Nature
would have done

with naturally-ignited fires.

The idea of fire is an ecological
disturbance,

but that really puts a negative spin
on it.

This chaotic, seemingly destructive
force

is Mother Nature's
great rejuvenator.

By replicating nature,
Floridians are leading the way

in fire management
across the United States.

They've reduced the risk
of wildfires and restored thousands

of acres of longleaf pine.

A unique habitat that more
than 900 species call home.

One of these is the endangered
red-cockaded woodpecker.

It nests almost exclusively
in longleaf pine.

And where the trees vanish,
so do they.

Thanks to fire restoration,

they're now making a comeback.

The mighty Apalachicola River
runs through the heart

of this longleaf stronghold.

It's one of 20 major rivers
in the state.

They create the enchanting swamps
and wetlands Florida is famous for.

Trillions of litres of rain
fall each year.

And even in the dry season,

few rivers ever run completely dry.

They're home to some of Florida's
most iconic animals.

And, as you travel south,
these become ever more present.

This is Silver River
in Central Florida.

One of the largest freshwater
springs in the United States.

90 million litres of water forced up
out of the ground every hour.

Enriched with minerals
from the Earth,

the spring water is crystal clear.

It's a balmy 22 degrees Celsius
all year round...

..which attracts one of the state's
most magical animals.

A Florida manatee.

They spend most of their lives
around the coast.

But can't survive in water
below 20 degrees Celsius.

So, in winter, they head inland

to Florida's springs.

Here, they graze for up to eight
hours a day,

feasting on freshwater grasses.

They were critically endangered,

partly because routes to warm waters
like these were blocked

by increasing development.

But in 2016,

thanks to efforts across the state,

their numbers exceeded the 8,000
mark.

And are becoming a common sight once
again.

But this winter refuge doesn't just
attract manatees.

Residents and migratory birds
come here to rear their young.

And as April unfolds, the river
banks become a nursery ground.

Parents must be on their guard.

As danger is never far away.

This moorhen has seven young chicks.

And they're all eager to explore.

But they don't realise the peril
they're in.

CHICK WHIMPERS

These baby alligators are last
year's hatchlings.

And, at eight months old,

they're already expert ambush
predators.

While animals here are finding
their feet,

elsewhere, others closer to the
tropics are turning to courtship.

To the far south lies the state's
most iconic landscape...

..the Everglades.

A 2 million-acre wetland
on Florida's southern tip.

This is the largest subtropical
wilderness in the United States.

It can hold an estimated 4 trillion
litres of water.

And it's brimming with life.

Including one of the most endangered
mammals in the USA...

..the Florida panther.

Hundreds of marshland species

live here all year round...

..alongside the greatest

congregation of alligators
in the state...

..while thousands of visiting birds
nest in the tree tops

during winter and spring.

It's called a wetland.

But, in fact, this is a giant
slow-moving sheet of water.

Earning it the name
the "river of grass".

In late spring, water levels
are at their lowest

and there's a strange sound
in the air.

LOUD GROWLING

ALLIGATOR GROWLS

Male alligators are bellowing.

To find each other in this vast
expanse of water...

they vibrate their larynx to let out
deep growls.

GROWLING INTENSIFIES

Low frequency sounds,

inaudible to human hearing,

make the water dance.

GROWLING ECHOES

It tells other alligators
how big and strong they are...

..and can be heard over a mile away.

The sound wards off competitors...

..and, hopefully, attracts a mate.

Females can be quick to respond...

..but they're not always quick
to pick a partner.

They lead males on a merry dance,

before finally deciding
he is the one.

The wooing can last for days...

..with couples mating
multiple times...

..before going their separate ways.

The males might partner again.

But females now turn their attention
to building a nest.

In just a month's time,
it needs to be ready for their eggs.

Alligators are so successful
in Florida,

they're found almost everywhere
there's water.

But it wasn't always this way.

Reviled...
GUNSHOT

..and misunderstood.

By the 1960s, they'd been hunted
to near extinction.

Realising they could lose their most
iconic native animal,

state wildlife agencies took action.

Hunting was banned,

and re-education programmes
established.

Floridians brought alligators back
from the brink.

An epic wildlife success story.

But now, they're under serious
threat again.

In the last century,

65% of this wetland has been
drained for human use.

And more than 8 million people rely
on the Everglades

for their drinking water.

But the latest problem
for indigenous wildlife

is non-native residents moving in.

Florida's climate means exotic
animals thrive here.

Green iguanas.

Lionfish.

Cane toads.

There are now more than 500
non-native species

plaguing the state.

And with the Everglades bordered by
Miami,

a city of almost half a million
people...

..this is a hotspot for unwanted
exotic pets.

Perhaps the most destructive...

..is the Burmese python.

Originally from the jungles
and marshes of Southeast Asia...

..the Everglades is now estimated
to be home to a staggering 100,000

of these invasive reptiles.

They're one of the largest snakes
in the world.

And they'll eat almost anything...

..including alligators.

With few natural predators,

these invaders are an almost
unstoppable force.

But people are fighting back.

Burmese pythons came here
in the '70s from the pet trade,

and they can get to be
18-20 feet long.

People didn't know
what to do with them,

so they came out here
and let them go.

Once established, the pythons
rapidly started breeding.

They've been eating their way
through Everglades National Park.

Literally 98% of the mammals
have been eaten

by these Burmese pythons.

They're eating deer, they're eating
alligators...

We brought them here,
we need to take them out.

And that's what I'm here to do.

Paid contractors patrol the levees
around the Everglades day and night.

All of the pythons create a problem
here.

Everything from a small python
that comes out 26 inches

up to anything over ten feet
that's breeding.

After about 14 feet,
they're monsters.

You know, they're monster snakes.

The females can lay over 100 eggs
a year.

So getting on top of this problem
is a daunting task.

Stop, stop for a second.

Grabbing a big constrictor like that
is an experience.

You definitely have to go in,
grab it with both hands,

make sure you know what you're
doing.

You don't want it to wrap around
your neck cos they can kill you.

You definitely want to have backup.

SNAKE HISSING

In the first two years of the
removal programme...

..25 teams...

..took out almost 2,000 adult
snakes.

But there's much more to be done.

The war that we're fighting is
bigger

than the battle that we're winning.

You're not doing your pet a favour
by letting them go

out here in the wild.

You think, you know,
"Here - be free, have fun!"

It doesn't work that way.

The introduction of these snakes
has caused unimaginable damage

to Florida's natural ecosystems.

So, the pythons have to be humanely
destroyed.

I love these Burmese python,

they're really a fascinating
creature.

It's just that they don't belong
here.

We brought them in, we need to take
them out.

Humans have had a big impact
right across the state.

The dry season is peak holiday time.

When the weather is calm...

..tourism brings 100 million people
to Florida's shores each year...

..putting even more pressure
on this fragile land.

But it also accounts for 10%
of the state's economy.

And it's natural environments
are very much part of the draw.

One of its biggest attractions lies

at the southernmost tip
of the state.

The Florida Keys.

An archipelago of more than 1,700
islands...

..stretching south
toward the tropics.

They're strung together
by bridges...

..and carpeted in mangrove trees.

A tropical paradise -
for marine life...

..and people alike.

Beneath the waves lies
the Florida Reef Tract.

It's the third largest barrier reef
in the world...

..and the only one in North America.

But space here is at a premium.

With rising sea levels...

..and increasingly
powerful storms...

..life in the Keys is precarious.

And it doesn't take much to tip it
over the edge.

THUNDER RUMBLES

In 2017, Irma, a massive Category 4
hurricane,

swept in from the Atlantic...

..with catastrophic effect.

It stripped mangrove trees bare...

..and contaminated fresh water
across the lower Keys.

Six months on, the damage is still
visible.

Residents feared one of the Keys'
most precious species had been lost.

Yet, remarkably, it's holding on.

These are Key deer.

A tiny subspecies
of white-tailed deer

found only on these islands.

At just 70 centimetres tall,

they're a third smaller than their
mainland cousins.

Almost 1,000 of these miniatures
live across a cluster

of islands to the south of the Keys.

They may be small,

but these canny little deer
are survivors.

Picking through plastic
and hurricane debris

to make the most of washed-up
seagrass.

They'll even venture into open water

to reach their most important
food...

..the mangrove trees.

But life is still uncertain here.

With their drinking water
full of salt

and many of their feeding grounds
destroyed.

The Key deer are now seeking refuge
in urban areas.

DOG BARKS

Unfazed by people...

..they're making themselves at home.

Some residents provide fresh
drinking water.

But this reliance on humans
is far from ideal.

It brings them closer to roads.

And, in fact, hurricanes are not
their greatest threat.

It's collisions with cars.

In late spring,

these deer make the most
of the calm weather,

saving energy for the turbulent
months ahead.

All too soon, things are going
to change.

June marks the arrival of summer.

Trade winds blow in
from the southeast Atlantic.

Bringing a continuous stream
of warm, moist air.

Hurricanes are now possible
at any time.

Every day as temperatures rise,
humidity builds and competes

with cooler air high up
in the atmosphere.

And every afternoon, like clockwork,

the clouds dump their contents.

The wet season has begun...

..dousing Florida in 60% of its
annual rainfall in just four months.

The rain restores battered
mangroves...

..fire-scarred forests...

..and fills the Everglades
to their brim.

With an average of 1.5 metres
of rainfall each year...

..the Everglades is now the wettest
place in Florida.

And, suddenly, there's a lot more
water on the move.

But there's a problem.

Highway 41.

Built in the 1920s before people
realised the Everglades

was a moving sheet of water.

This road intersects
the vast wetland east to west.

And, inadvertently, stops the flow.

In the summer, the north side

of the road is far fuller
than the south.

It's thought that disruption
to water levels like this

is responsible
for the disappearance of 90%

of the area's wading birds.

Now, in an attempt
to restore the balance,

giant pumps shift billions of litres
of water north to south.

And raised bridges allow the water
to flow naturally once more...

..essential to animals like
alligators

that call this wilderness home.

Tucked away amongst the saw grass,

alligator nests have been incubating
eggs for two months now.

They're built around the roots
of small trees,

which anchor them as water levels
rise.

A female guards each one,

patiently waiting for her young
to emerge.

And by August,
the first babies have hatched.

At just a week old,
they're perfectly camouflaged.

Bright yellow stripes make them
invisible amongst the dried grasses

the nest is built around.

At this age, they spend their days
close together

in groups called pods...

..under the gaze
of their watchful mother.

At just 20 centimetres long,
they're defenceless.

An easy meal for a passing bird

or a hungry male alligator.

But when darkness falls,

these hatchlings show
a different side.

With fewer predators around,

the youngsters take on
a new confidence.

They break away from their pods
and set out alone.

And while they might look cute,

even at this tender age,

they already have the instinct
to hunt.

Their mother will protect them,
but she won't feed them.

So they have to get the hang
of it first.

At this age, they hunt almost
constantly through the night.

Pouncing on their prey of tiny
insects and fish

with not quite expert precision
just yet.

They'll perfect these skills
over the next year...

..until they're big enough
to go it alone.

THUNDER RUMBLES

As the wet season continues,
winds pick up...

..and more humid weather is blown in
from the Atlantic.

Storms are building far out in the
ocean.

Still recovering from last season's
onslaught,

residents of the Florida Keys batten
down the hatches.

But powerful storms don't just
impact the land...

..they disrupt life beneath
the waves too.

Florida's barrier reef
is a vital natural defence.

It rises up from the ocean floor

and bears the brunt of storm surges
as they roll in...

..absorbing the impact
before it hits land.

Historically, these storms sheared
off pieces of coral,

but would re-attach elsewhere,
creating a healthier reef.

But now, the reef doesn't have
enough time

to recover between storms.

And along with pressures
like pollution, bleaching

and ocean acidification,

it's in trouble.

So scientists are stepping in.

If Florida lost the Florida Reef
Tract completely,

it's likely that we would see
a place like Florida Keys

completely washed away.

The Coral Restoration Foundation
is leading the way

in saving reefs around the world.

The main corals that we'd worked
with are staghorn and elkhorn.

And the reason why we started there
is those are the dominant corals

that were found in Florida.

They've actually lost about 97%
of their populations.

So we've really focused our efforts
into growing thousands

upon thousands of these corals
in a nursery setting.

They've developed a pioneering
system.

By suspending coral fragments
in the water column,

they give them 360 degrees of food
and sunlight.

This speeds up growth and produces
new coral to restore the reef.

So we'll actually harvest them
when they're ready from the nursery,

and then we'll attach them directly
onto the reef substrate

in a process that
we call outplanting.

Once we have a clean area, or clean
limestone, we then use this two-part

marine epoxy, and we attach
that epoxy to the reef

and then we gently press
the coral directly into that epoxy.

The fragments fuse with
the exposed limestone,

forming new growth.

The team grows a genetically
diverse mix...

..in the hope that at least
some will withstand

the different pressures
the reef is under.

They've planted more than 70,000
fragments in the past decade.

It's now widely understood that
active intervention is a necessity.

We're past the tipping point
where they could recover naturally.

So, the point of a restoration
programme is to produce

the abundance of corals
and the diversity of corals that

these reefs need to be able to keep
up with their changing environments.

While people work to restore
these fragile landscapes...

..above the waves, the turbulent
weather continues to build.

September and October are when
hurricanes are most likely to hit.

So, before they do, the last of
the springtime visitors must depart.

Swallow-tailed kites
have been here since March.

Two-thirds of the North American
population come to Florida

each year to breed.

Courting, feeding,

drinking and even bathing
on the wing...

..the feet of these extraordinary
birds almost never touch the ground.

They're about to make
the 5,000-mile journey

to their winter feeding grounds
in South America.

And thousands of birds
come together to prepare.

As they store up energy
for the flight,

it's vital they aren't disturbed.

So they gather in remote roosts...

..far from people.

After a morning bath...

..the kites preen their feathers,
to keep them in condition

for the long journey to come.

They appear to sense
atmospheric changes

as hurricanes begin to approach.

But far from avoiding
these storms...

..researchers suggest the birds
capitalise on their headwinds.

And when the time is right...

..they take flight.

Hundreds, even thousands, soar
above roosts at this time of year.

Their journey south can
take up to four months.

And there's time for one last feed.

Now the birds head straight
to a landscape created by us.

Agricultural pasture is alive
with insects.

And this is where their
forked tail comes in.

Able to rotate almost 90 degrees...

..they use it like a rudder.

They discard the wings and fuel up
on the protein rich-bodies

of their prey.

Once they've had their fill,
it's finally time to leave.

Their roosts are left eerily empty.

The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida

call them the leaders
of the hurricanes.

As they vanish, the storms roll in.

They've been forming thousands of
miles away, far out in the Atlantic.

Summer temperatures have warmed
the ocean's surface.

And as warm air rises from the
water, it lifts moisture with it,

creating giant stacks of cloud.

THUNDER CLAPS

As more air is sucked in below...

..winds begin to spiral inward...

..and a vortex is formed.

The storm gathers pace and power
with every mile.

And when its winds reach 74mph,
it becomes an unstoppable force.

The warmest waters create a path
for these monster storms to follow.

This is Hurricane Alley,

and it brings many of them
barrelling straight into Florida.

This state has experienced
more direct hits by hurricanes

than anywhere else in North America.

And they're getting stronger.

Research suggests human-induced
climate change is the driving force.

Our oceans are the hottest
they've been since records began,

and this energy makes hurricanes
more powerful than ever before.

When Hurricane Michael
struck in 2018,

it was one of the most powerful
storms to ever

make landfall in Florida.

With winds of 155mph...

..it flattened entire towns...

..and ravaged the landscape.

The longleaf pine forests
in Apalachicola...

..were hit by the full force
of the storm.

Yet, remarkably, not only do
these trees cope with fire...

..they can survive hurricanes too.

Where non-native species
have snapped and fallen,

the longleaf pine's supple trunks
have bent with the winds.

Young growth has also survived.

And the animals here have
weathered the storm too.

The gopher tortoises' burrows
have once more provided shelter

for hundreds of forest species.

This is where native Florida
comes into its own.

Its plants and animals have evolved

to cope with the harshest
forces of nature.

As the rains recede...

..and hurricanes blow over...

..in the face
of the growing pressures...

..life goes on.

Male Key deer battle for the right
to father the next generation.

Alligators prepare to slow down

and disappear
for the cooler months of winter.

And the people of Florida
continue to pioneer new ways

to help this state's
native landscapes...

..putting them in a better place
to cope with an uncertain future.

With their help, for now,

the animals and landscapes
are holding on...

..riding the storm in this
rapidly changing corner of paradise.