Original subtitles

Narrator: California.

A state filled with promise, prosperity,

Progress and people.

But in between the skyscrapers and highways,

Patches of wilderness remain,

Where nature not only survives but thrives.

Here, the toughest find fortune where others have faltered.

And rivals wage war to claim their throne.

This is the golden state,

A land of opportunity,

Where the hunted seek sanctuary and there's freedom to roam.

(dramatic music)

California's urban jungle sprawls across much of the land

Where the roar of traffic drowns out any calls of the wild.

With nearly 40 million people,

It's the most populous state in the union.

But it's also home to more species

Than anywhere else in the united states

And some of them are threatened with extinction.

To preserve this natural heritage,

Nearly half its land

And one-sixth of its coastal waters are protected.

Nowhere is this more important than southern california,

Home to half the state's population,

Most of whom live on the coast.

But 150 miles inland there's sand as far as the eye can see.

More sahara than southern california.

This is the north algodones dunes wilderness,

A protected piece of california's desert

That forms one of the largest stretches

Of sand dunes in north america.

This environment is not for the weak.

But reptiles have conquered the desert.

Meet the sidewinder rattlesnake.

This venomous pit viper rules the dunes,

Able to travel faster than any other rattlesnake on sand.

Using his tail as an anchor,

His keeled scales grip the tiny grains

Of rock as he pushes his head forward.

In his wake, a trail of j-like impressions his calling card.

It's mating season

And he's on a mission in search of a female.

It's risky, though.

Roads that fragment the landscape

Pose serious threats to snakes trying to cross them.

But inside this protected wilderness, he's safe.

No roads allowed.

He needs more calories than usual

To fuel his quest for a mate

But there's little food on offer here.

Perhaps on the other side of this hill?

He's a graceful climber

But even with his powerful muscles propelling him,

The liquid sand keeps pulling him down.

With strength and determination,

The sidewinder battles up.

He's made it.

From here, he has a clear view to scan for his next meal.

But his eyesight is weak.

Instead, heat-sensing pits on the sides of his head

Help him detect warm-blooded prey.

From a distance,

This cold-blooded gecko is practically invisible.

The heat of its sun-kissed body

Perfectly matches the sea of scorching sand.

But the slightest move could give him away.

Closer now, the snake can likely smell and see the gecko.

But something else has his attention.

A narrow escape for the gecko.

Under a nearby bush lives an elusive rodent.

A kangaroo rat.

It's a much bigger meal than a gecko and it's warm blooded.

An easier target.

Sidewinders are classic ambush predators,

Normally content to lie in wait.

But this snake has places to go.

So, he takes a more aggressive approach.

But the kangaroo rat isn't intimidated.

She's bigger than the sidewinder,

Who's only two feet long.

She's not going down without a fight.

With a face full of sand, the sidewinder loses his dinner.

Rats.

The snake moves on.

Mating season doesn't last forever

And he still has a lot of ground to cover.

The entire dune system stretches 200 square miles.

Where all this sand came from, no one knows for sure.

Scientists think it was blown here

From the beaches of lake cahuilla,

An ancient freshwater lake that once lay to the northwest.

Even now, the wind -swept dunes slowly

Creep across the desert about one foot per year.

Today, the ancient cahuilla lakebed supports a much smaller

And saltier body of water, the salton sea.

Situated along the pacific flyway,

It's an important rest stop for 400 species of birds

Migrating between north and south america.

But not everyone here is on the move.

One bird is much more of a homebody.

It's a burrowing owl.

The only bird of prey in north america

That nests exclusively underground.

Not long ago, burrowing owls were abundant

Throughout the continent.

But their numbers have declined rapidly.

About 70% of california's dwindling population lives here,

In the imperial valley, just south of the salton sea.

Cautiously, a female steps outside and scans the horizon.

It takes a keen eye to survive out here.

Her neighbors, all gone.

Coyotes patrol these parts and raptors roam the skies.

But the greatest threat, by far, is man-made.

Developing land destroys their burrows

And the owls are forced to relocate.

They prefer to renovate old ground squirrel

Or prairie dog burrows,

But when these rodents are exterminated as pests,

Options for squatting are few.

Her burrow offers refuge from predators

And the desert heat but she's hungry.

By sprinkling animal dung around the entrance,

Her next meal should come straight to her doorstep.

It looks like the dung might be working.

Beetle grubs.

Jackpot.

Although she can fly,

The burrowing owl tends to hunt on foot,

By walking, running,

And jumping.

And that's the last of them.

Time to head back for cover.

In the desert scrubland around the salton sea,

California's population of burrowing owls is shrinking.

What this young female needs now is a mate.

She listens to see if there's anyone else around.

What was that?

A male is calling out for a female.

But where is he?

She sets out across the desert

Checking every burrow she finds.

She keeps searching.

Not here.

Where is he?

At last.

There he is.

Now, they must find a burrow in which to start a family.

Trouble is, as more of the valley is developed,

That's getting harder to do.

Farther north, the california desert conservation area

Gives wildlife a bit more room to roam,

25 million acres, one-fourth of california.

From joshua tree, up through the mojave,

To the hottest place on earth, death valley.

As the elevation climbs, the temperature drops

Leading into the great basin desert,

The only cold desert in the united states.

Owens valley, to the east of the sierra nevada mountains,

Marks its start.

With fewer than five inches of precipitation per year,

It's known as "the land of little rain".

Yet in spring, runoff from melting snow

Quenches the parched land.

All this water yields nutrient-rich pastures.

And where there's this much grass, there are grazers.

Mustangs.

When spring hits, hundreds of wild horses converge

On the high desert plains along the border with nevada.

Mustangs are iconic symbols of america's wild west.

But their legacy on this land

Goes back some 55 million years,

When horses first evolved here.

10 thousand years ago, they died out.

But by then horses had spread into asia and europe.

These herds are descendants of domesticated horses

Brought to the americas

By spanish conquistadors over 500 years ago.

And they've been roaming

America's public lands ever since.

Within the great montgomery pass herd,

Each horse belongs to a smaller band of perhaps 30.

And each band has its leaders.

First, there's the trail boss.

The alpha mare.

She runs the show,

Keeping the herd in line and leading the way.

Then there's the wrangler, the stallion.

This harem belongs to him.

Each day, they journey in search of fresh pasture.

Mosquitoes burst from the water

And flies, a constant irritation.

Pawing the ground breaks the dirt into fine alkali dust,

Good for relieving itchy skin.

And for those hard to reach places,

There's always help from the herd.

With few predators and a federal law to protect them,

The horses breed quickly.

Left unchecked, herds grow by up to 25% each year.

So, the herds are managed using birth control,

And round-ups that remove horses for adoption,

Practices that aren't without controversy.

But the montgomery pass herd is unique.

Round-ups aren't needed

Because a healthy mountain lion population here

Preys on the foals, keeping their numbers in check.

This young buck no longer has

The safety of his mother's herd.

But he's found other loners.

Exiled adolescents, they band together.

Now they're a gang.

These guys are tough,

Raw, unpolished.

They follow few rules.

But they do have a leader.

He's a stallion in the making.

He needs to find some mares

And he's been tracking the wrangler's band

Ever since he was exiled from his mother's herd.

The band sets off in search of new pasture,

With the gang of bachelors in pursuit,

Shadowing their every move.

But their presence is noted.

The young bachelors are losing patience.

They test the air.

There's a female in heat.

It's time.

They're coming.

On the open plains of eastern california,

A gang of rogue mustangs is staging a coup.

The bachelors come charging in,

Corralling the females.

But the wrangler swoops in to break up the gang.

(dramatic music)

It's a battle of wills.

Young blood against a fearless leader.

The wrangler won't back down.

Experience wins the day

And his harem is secure for now.

Defeated, the bachelor gang retreats.

But they won't be gone for long.

It's a ritual as old as time.

The young rise up to contest the old.

Each must find their place in the herd.

Here in the high desert,

The land is still as wild as the horses that roam it,

Both relics of california's pioneer spirit.

But on the other side of the sierra nevadas,

It's a very different story.

To the west, snow melt from these mountains

Helps irrigate one of the most

Fertile valleys in the world, the central valley,

More than seven million acres of farmland.

The water also sustains 23 million people,

From the san francisco bay area to southern california.

More californians live in coastal cities like these

Than anywhere else in the state.

Yet some areas still offer sanctuary for wildlife.

Just outside the central coast town of san simeon,

The pacific ocean rolls into a protected stretch of shore.

This is piedras blancas,

Part of a network of 124 marine protected areas

That dot the california coastline.

Huge ocean drifters have swum thousands

Of miles to make landfall on this beach.

Elephant seals.

Males weighing more than 5,000 pounds

Haul themselves ashore.

At this time of year, they're extremely aggressive

And they've come prepared to fight.

The victors will become the beach masters.

The more beach each male can hold,

The more females he'll mate with.

Finally, the females are here.

Thousands return to this spot year after year,

To give birth and mate.

But it wasn't always this way.

Before 1990,

Not a single elephant seal visited this beach.

Hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century,

Northern elephant seals

Have recently made a dramatic recovery.

Today, more than 25,000 return here each year.

With six miles of protected coast

And a seafood buffet that's off-limits to fishing,

It's no wonder piedras blancas

Is now the largest elephant seal rookery on the west coast.

It's a cacophony of lactating mothers and hungry pups,

Each harem guarded by a beach master.

The pups feed almost constantly.

They must build up blubber quickly

To survive the cold ocean.

This king sleeps on his sandy throne.

He hasn't noticed there's a newcomer,

A young bachelor,

And he wants in on the action.

He rushes in, trying to stay low.

The female fights back.

A higher-ranked male would be a preferred partner.

The beach master wakes.

His harem is under attack

And he has no tolerance for intruders.

Spotted.

The beach master must defend his throne.

When a young bachelor elephant seal

Gets caught raiding a harem,

The ensuing fight can be brutal.

The bachelor makes a break for it,

But the beach master is bearing down.

Suddenly the bachelor turns to fight.

(dramatic music)

Each is the size and weight of an suv.

Every hit, the power of a car crash.

(dramatic music)

The bachelor retreats to the water, but it's not over yet.

(dramatic music)

Exhausted, a victor emerges,

The bachelor.

Battle-scarred and weary, he rests.

But not for long.

New challengers will emerge

And he must now defend the title he's earned,

Beach master.

Thanks to the protection of much of california's coastline,

These beaches of piedras blancas have remained wild.

The only competition for space is between the seals.

But down the coast, the popular tourist town of morro bay

Proves that wildlife can still thrive

Among human development with just a little help.

In the shelter of the bay,

Some resourceful animals have taken up residence.

Sea otters.

It's morning and about 30 otters

Have come together to form a raft.

Adults socialize

While the youngsters play.

In the distance, a single female floats away

From all the action.

She's guarding her sleeping baby.

Otters often choose sheltered coves like morro bay

Because they offer safe haven in which to raise their pups.

The bay is also a marine reserve,

An added layer of protection.

As many as 20,000 sea otters

Once lived along california's shores,

Before they were hunted to near extinction for their fur.

Recovery has been successful, but slow,

With just over 3,000 in california today.

50 of those are here, in morro bay.

The mother and her pup navigate through the crowd,

Looking for a quiet spot.

Eventually, they settle in.

It's time for breakfast.

Beneath them, a garden of eelgrass

Harbors one of their favorite foods.

Clams.

Sealed shut.

The otters' powerful jaws crack the shells open.

But the toughest shells require a different approach.

Otters are one of the few mammals known to use tools.

They smash the clams open using rocks or other shells.

Many otters have a favorite tool

That they carry with them everywhere.

They store their tools, and the food they've foraged,

In pockets of skin under their armpits.

Gulls pick up the scraps.

While the mother otter dozes,

The pup can't take her eyes off all the action.

If she could just get a closer look.

She struggles to get away,

But mom keeps her on a tight leash.

She keeps trying

And trying

Until her mother finally lets go.

While the pup makes a break for freedom, mom freshens up.

Sea otters have the thickest fur of any animal,

With up to a million hair follicles per square inch.

Preening traps air and heat beneath the fur,

Insulating her like a blanket.

The pup's fur is so dense, she floats safely on the surface.

But she's at risk of drifting away.

Lonely otter pups make an easy snack

For any sharks patrolling california's coast.

But mom's to the rescue.

Now, it's the pup's turn to get fluffy and warm.

As the pup grows up, she has a lot to learn.

But her mother will keep her safe for the next six months,

In this protected californian bay,

Until she can survive on her own.

Beyond morro rock and the shelter of the bay

Lies the big blue.

The pacific ocean is the biggest in the world

Filled with its largest creatures.

Out here, there isn't the development found on land,

But human activities like boat traffic, fishing,

Even certain water sports, can still have an impact.

Marine protected areas aren't just for beaches and coves.

They help preserve a variety of habitats,

Including the open ocean.

Each spring,

Humpback whales gather off the coast of monterey.

They're here to feed

And nurse their young through the summer.

Carefully placed marine reserves

Restrict certain types of fishing

To protect the whales' most important feeding grounds.

A female humpback can grow to 60 feet long.

Her calf is already 16 feet when born.

The young whale explores his new world.

As they glide through the water, they twirl together.

A dance between mother and calf.

The whales aren't the only marine mammals to benefit

From these rich, protected feeding grounds.

Close by, a raft of sea lions,

A hunting party a thousand strong.

They work together to corral small fish to the surface.

The whales move in to take advantage of the feast.

The leviathan and the lion, hunting together.

But danger lurks here, too.

Orcas.

Apex predators of the pacific.

A matriarch leads her pod on the hunt.

Like a wolf pack, they target the weak and the injured.

And newborn whales are firmly in their sights.

They've brought down a gray whale calf.

It's as large as its killers,

But against the coordinated pack, it stood little chance.

Suddenly, humpbacks appear.

They circle the carcass, blocking access.

They slap their tails in a show of force.

Charging in against the killers,

They drive the orcas away from the lifeless calf.

This phenomenon of humpbacks

Protecting other species against orcas

Is behavior scientists have seen before

But have yet to understand.

As the killers flee, calm returns once more,

And mother and calf resume their dance.

For california, balancing the needs of its wildlife

With the needs of its people

Is the most delicate dance of all.

As the most populous state in the nation,

Setting aside protected land is a powerful tool

To preserve california's wild legacy.

All these animals need is a place to settle down,

Fill their bellies, and raise their young.

A patch of wilderness,

Between the cities and skyscrapers,

Ferries and freeways,

That they can call their own

In this great state of california.