Original subtitles

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NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI, EVERYONE, I'M DYLAN DREYER, AND WE ARE ABOUT TO TAKE

A TREK INTO THE WILD ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

TODAY, WE'RE OFF TO THE HEART OF EUROPE TO SEE ONE OF THE MOST

REMARKABLE RIVERLANDS ON THE PLANET.

WE'LL SEE HOW THIS LOIRE VALLEY LOOKOUT MAKES ITS WARNING HEARD

FOR MILES AROUND.

[MARMOT WHISTLING]

AND A LEGLESS LIZARD THAT HAS

PERFECTED ITS SNAKE IMPRESSION.

PLUS, THIS TAIL-SLAPPING TWOSOME SHOWS US HOW TO AVOID GETTING

ANY UNINVITED GUESTS.

BUT FIRST, THROUGH THE FOG COMES A COUPLE OF FOX CUBS READY TO

GET INTO SOME MOUNTAIN MISCHIEF.

THIS AND SO MUCH MORE ON TODAY'S "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]

FRANCE IS MOSTLY KNOWN FOR ITS RICH CULTURE, BREATHTAKING

CITIES, AND AMAZING FOOD.

BUT FRANCE IS ALSO A WILD PLACE WITH AMAZING BIODIVERSITY.

FROM THE FRENCH MOUNTAINTOPS, SMALL TRICKLES OF WATER QUICKLY

COMBINE TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT AND ICONIC RIVERS

IN THE WORLD.

ALONG ITS BANKS, YOU'LL FIND A WONDERFULLY DIVERSE COLLECTION

OF WILDLIFE.

MOUNT GERBIER DE JONC IN THE ARDECHE, THIS IS WHERE THE LOIRE

HAS ITS SOURCE.

EVEN IN THIS EARLY SPRING, THE CLIMATE IS STILL UNUSUALLY

HARSH, AS IF THIS WERE THE HIGH MOUNTAINS.

LITTLE DROPS OF SNOW MELT TO BECOME A THIN STREAM OF WATER

WHICH WILL GRADUALLY SWELL TO BECOME A MIGHTY RIVER, THE LAST

GREAT UNTAMED WATERCOURSE IN EUROPE.

THE SOURCE OF THE LOIRE IS STILL HIDDEN WITHIN A DENSE FOG FROM

WHICH EMERGE THREE FOX CUBS.

THEY WERE BORN HERE JUST SEVEN WEEKS AGO AND ARE JUST STARTING

TO LEAVE THEIR DEN.

WHILE THEY ARE YOUNG, FOXES LIVE IN SMALL FAMILY GROUPS KNOWN AS

SKULKS; HOWEVER, THE TOGETHERNESS DOESN'T LAST LONG.

FOXES ARE MOSTLY SOLITARY ANIMALS, HUNTING AND SLEEPING

ALONE AT JUST SEVEN MONTHS OLD.

BUT FOR NOW, IN THE VAST AND BEAUTIFUL GREENERY OF THE LOIRE,

THESE CUBS ARE STICKING TOGETHER.

[FOXES GROWLING]

THEIR FATHER SETS OFF HUNTING A FEW MILES AWAY.

HE HAS FOUND A MEADOW WHICH HAS RECENTLY BEEN MOWN, AND THERE IS

NO LONGER ANY GRASS FOR VOLES TO SHELTER IN.

FOXES PROTECT CROPS FROM RODENTS AND CAN CATCH MORE THAN 40 OF

THEM IN A DAY.

THE FATHER ONLY NEEDS 15 OR SO VOLES TO SUSTAIN HIMSELF, BUT

BRINGS BACK MANY MORE FOR HIS FAMILY.

THE CUBS ARE STILL SUCKLING THEIR MOTHER, BUT ARE ALSO

STARTING TO EAT SMALL RODENTS.

THE MOTHER STAYS CLOSE TO THE DEN TO KEEP AN EYE ON HER YOUNG.

THESE FOXES ARE IN FACT SQUATTERS.

THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO AVOID HAVING TO DIG UP THIS HARD,

ROCKY SOIL BY RELYING ON AN EXCELLENT SET OF ALLIES...

...MARMOTS.

THEY HAVE TURNED THE SOIL AROUND THE SOURCE OF THE LOIRE INTO A

VERITABLE SWISS CHEESE, AND THE FOXES RECYCLE THEIR

ABANDONED DENS.

IN THE SPRING, THE MARMOTS EMERGE FROM A SIX-MONTH PERIOD

OF HIBERNATION.

THEY HAVE LOST UP TO HALF THEIR BODYWEIGHT.

THE MEADOWS OFFER THE PERFECT PANTRY FROM WHICH TO REPLENISH

THEIR RESERVES OF BODYFAT.

HERE AT ITS SOURCE, THE LOIRE IS FAR FROM THE MIGHTY RIVER IT

WILL BECOME LATER.

IT IS EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE, A NETWORK OF TINY WATERCOURSES

WHICH ARE HOME TO SOME REMARKABLE SPECIES.

THIS MALE ALPINE NEWT IS SHOWING OFF HIS FINEST COLORS.

IT'S THE MATING SEASON, AND HE'S LOOKING FOR A FEMALE.

THESE RAPID TAIL MOVEMENTS ARE PART OF HIS SEDUCTION STRATEGY,

A SECRET WEAPON.

THIS IS HOW HE WILL SEND OVER HIS PHEROMONES, BUT IT'S GOING

TO TAKE MORE THAN A CASUAL WAVE OF THE TAIL TO ATTRACT THIS

AMOROUS AMPHIBIAN.

WHEN WE COME BACK, THIS MOUNTAIN-DWELLING MAMMAL HAS A

VOICE THAT CARRIES FAR AND WIDE.

[MARMOT WHISTLING]

AND ALONG THE RIVER'S EDGE, A WANNABE WORM SLITHERS IN SEARCH

OF A MEAL.

PLUS, A RIVER RODENT THAT OUTWEIGHS THE COMPETITION.

THIS AND MORE WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS.

.

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

DYLAN: HERE IN THE LOIRE VALLEY IN FRANCE, THESE CAREFREE FOX

CUBS CONTINUE THEIR GAMES.

THIS IS IN FACT ESSENTIAL TRAINING, WHICH WILL IMPROVE

THEIR REFLEXES AND STAMINA.

THEY SHARE THEIR PLAYGROUND WITH THE MARMOTS.

THE SIBLINGS SPEND A LARGE PART OF THEIR DAY FIGHTING.

THEY NEED TO BE WELL-TRAINED BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE FAMILY

MEADOW TO GO AND ESTABLISH THEIR OWN TERRITORY NEXT SPRING.

A COMMON BUZZARD HUNTS ABOVE THE FIELD.

FACE TO THE WIND, HOVERING MOTIONLESS, SHE FOCUSES ON

HER PREY.

A MARMOT IS FAR TOO BIG FOR A BUZZARD, BUT NOT FOR A

GOLDEN EAGLE.

[MARMOT WHISTLING]

A SENTRY SOUNDS THE ALARM WITH A WHISTLE THAT CAN BE HEARD

SEVERAL MILES AWAY.

[MARMOT WHISTLING]

SOME DISTANCE AWAY, BENEATH MOUNT GERBIER, THE LITTLE

STREAMS COME TOGETHER.

THE LOIRE IS ALREADY A THREE-FOOT-WIDE BROOK.

IT SWELLS, WIDENS, AND GROWS BEFORE OUR VERY EYES.

IT TUMBLES DOWN FOR ANOTHER SEVERAL DOZEN MILES.

BY THE TIME IT REACHES LE PUY-EN-VELAY IN AUVERGNE, THE

LOIRE IS OVER 70 FEET WIDE.

OVER MILLENNIA IT HAS DUG VAST GORGES SURROUNDED BY

HIGH CLIFFS.

THESE ROCK FACES ARE WHERE THE WHITE-THROATED DIPPERS CHOOSE TO

MAKE THEIR NESTS OF MOSS.

THE PARENTS HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT.

THEIR CHICKS ARE BIG ALREADY AND DEMAND FOOD CONSTANTLY.

THE WHITE-THROATED DIPPER CATCHES ITS PREY BENEATH THE

SURFACE OF THE WATER.

IT DIVES LOOKING FOR INSECT LARVAE.

IN SPRING, MILLIONS OF LARVAE SIMULTANEOUSLY METAMORPHOSE INTO

ADULT INSECTS, WHICH MATE OVER THE WATER IN A FRENETIC

AERIAL BALLET.

THIS IS A GODSEND FOR THE TROUT WAITING TO GOBBLE UP ANY THAT

LAND IN THE WATER.

THE DIPPER, HOWEVER, PREFERS THE LARVAE HIDDEN UNDER THE STONES.

TODAY, IT'S THE TURN OF THIS CHICK TO LEAVE THE NEST, BUT A

WATERFALL BUBBLES BENEATH.

WHEN A DIPPER LEAVES THE NEST, IT CAN NEVER RETURN.

THE YOUNGSTER IS HESITANT.

[BIRD CHIRPING]

HIS BROTHER, WHO FLEW THE NEST THE DAY BEFORE, WAITS.

THE YOUNGSTER CANNOT FLY YET, AND IT IS NOT USED TO WALKING.

ONE CHICK REMAINS IN THE NEST, RELUCTANT TO TAKE THE PLUNGE.

MAYBE TOMORROW WILL BE THE DAY.

COMING UP, WE HEAD TO THE SHALLOW RIVERBANKS TO SEE A

SLITHERING LIZARD THAT SEEMS TO BE MISSING SOMETHING.

AND A PAIR OF HAIRY HERMITS LEAVE THEIR DEN TO PUT OUT THE

UNWELCOME SIGN, ALL WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS.

.

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

DYLAN: A RIVER AS SUBSTANTIAL AND ROBUST AS THE LOIRE CAN

NURTURE LIFE FAR BEYOND ITS BANKS, LIKE THE MOUNTAINS AT ITS

SOURCE, THE GRASSLANDS IT RUNS THROUGH, AND IN THE DEPTH OF THE

WATER ITSELF, YET SOME ANIMALS PREFER TO STAY RIGHT IN THE

MIDDLE OF THE ACTION, LIKE THE SANDPIPER, WHO MAKES ITS HOME IN

A RATHER CONSPICUOUS PLACE.

THE LOIRE VALLEY IN FRANCE HAS WAYS OF ALLOWING ANIMALS TO HIDE

IN PLAIN SIGHT, LIKE HERE, WHERE A FEMALE SANDPIPER IS HUNTING.

SHE HAS BUILT HER NEST ON THIS LITTLE GRASSY ISLAND

IN MIDSTREAM.

THE LOIRE PROTECTS HER EGGS FROM PREDATORS, BUT ALSO PROVIDES A

MAJOR THREAT.

THE NEST COULD BE DESTROYED SHOULD THE RIVER FLOOD.

JUST NEARBY IN THIS POOL, THE TADPOLES OF THE MIDWIFE TOAD ARE

INDIFFERENT TO THE FATE OF THE CHICKS.

ONLY THE MALE TOAD LOOKS AFTER THE EGGS, WHICH ARE ATTACHED IN

A CLUSTER TO HIS HIND LEGS.

HE HAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE EGGS DO NOT DRY OUT.

HE REGULARLY TAKES TO THE WATER AND SPENDS THE DAY HIDING IN

A HOLE.

THIS SLOW WORM IS ALSO SEEKING SHELTER FROM THE HEAT.

HE'S HUNTING.

THIS LEGLESS LIZARD SEEKS OUT UNDERGROUND WORMS AND

SMALL INSECTS.

THESE RED ANTS ARE ALSO HUNTERS, CATCHING THOUSANDS OF INSECTS

EVERY DAY.

BUT THEY ARE FARMERS, TOO.

THEY DISCOVERED FARMING MILLIONS OF YEARS BEFORE WE DID.

THEIR HERDS ARE SAP-SUCKING INSECTS.

WHEN THE ANTS TAP THEM WITH THEIR ANTENNAE, THEY PRODUCE A

SWEET LIQUID WHICH THE WORKER ANTS DRINK AND SHARE WITH

THEIR SISTERS.

MID-AFTERNOON, AND THE SUN IS ALREADY SETTING BEHIND THE

CLIFFS OF SOLIGNAC-SUR-LOIRE.

TWO YOUNG EURASIAN EAGLE OWLS EMERGE FROM THE BUSH WHERE THEY

WERE SHELTERING FROM THE SUN TO RETURN TO THEIR NEST, A SIMPLE

ROCKY PLATFORM.

THEY KNOW THAT AT NIGHTFALL, THEIR PARENTS WILL FLY OUT TO

CATCH FOOD FOR THEM.

THIS IS THE TIME WHEN THE LOIRE BECOMES A HUNTING GROUND FOR

NOCTURNAL PREDATORS.

A MARTEN BRAVES THE CURRENT TO REACH A MEADOW TEEMING WITH

SMALL RODENTS.

FURTHER DOWNSTREAM, GANGIAN CASTLE WATCHES OVER THE LOIRE.

IT'S HOME TO A COLONY OF WESTERN JACKDAWS.

THREE HUNDRED MILES AWAY FROM ITS SOURCE, THE LOIRE IS NOW A

GREAT MAJESTIC RIVER.

THE LOIRE ISLANDS, BUT WHEN BAD WEATHER TAKES A HOLD, THE RIVER

CAN SWARM OVER THE LANDSCAPE, FLOODING ANIMAL DENS AND

SHELTERS, REMINDING ALL INHABITANTS OF THE POWER THIS

MIGHTY RIVER HOLDS.

WHEN WE RETURN, A COUNTRYSIDE COUPLE WHO SHARE THE DUTIES OF

SELF-CARE.

ALL OF THIS AND MORE COMING UP ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

.

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

DYLAN: HERE IN FRANCE, THE FLOW OF THE LOIRE IS STILL STRONG,

BUT THE WATER LEVEL IS DROPPING, REVEALING BANKS DAMAGED BY

THE FLOODING.

ONE OF THE FIRST ANIMALS TO EXPLORE THE NEWLY EMERGED

TERRITORY IS A GREATER WHITE-TOOTHED SHREW.

THIS IS A YOUNGSTER SEARCHING FOR A TERRITORY.

IT'S ONLY HALF THE SIZE OF A MOUSE, BUT IT IS A REMARKABLE

PREDATOR WITH AN INSATIABLE APPETITE.

IT CAN MAKE THE MOST OF THIS FERTILE TERRITORY WITH NO FEAR

OF COMPETITION.

THE SHREWS THAT USED TO LIVE HERE DIED IN THE FLASH FLOODS.

THE EARTHWORMS HAVE SPENT A CAREFREE WEEK BENEATH THE WATER.

NOW THE LEVEL HAS DROPPED.

THEY CAN ENJOY A NOCTURNAL EXCURSION.

BUT THE SHREW'S HYPERACUTE SENSES LEAVE ITS PREY NEXT TO NO

CHANCE, AND ITS BITE, PROPORTIONAL TO ITS SIZE, IS ONE

OF NATURE'S MOST POWERFUL.

IT CONTINUES ITS EXPLORATION.

THIS PILE OF WOOD AMASSED BY THE FLOODWATERS IS THE IDEAL PLACE

TO SETTLE DOWN.

IT MAKES ITS HOME IN A LITTLE HOLLOW BRANCH WHERE IT CAN SLEEP

IN PEACE.

AT DAWN, JUST LIKE THE SHREW, ANOTHER MAMMAL EXPLORES THE

BANKS OF THE LOIRE.

THE RECEDING WATES REVEAL SAND BANKS, BUT SOME LEAVES STILL

BEAR TRACES OF THE MUD DEPOSITED BY THE RIVER.

THIS PAIR OF BEAVERS HAS RETURNED TO RECLAIM THE

TERRITORY THEY HAD TO ABANDON BECAUSE OF THE RISING WATER.

THE SCENT MARKS WHICH IDENTIFY THIS LAND AS THEIRS WERE WASHED

AWAY BY THE FLOODWATERS, AND IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY

BE RENEWED.

THEY MARK THEIR TERRITORY WITH A PUNGENT SUBSTANCE WHICH THEY

SECRETE CALLED CASTOREUM.

THE GLAND WHICH PRODUCES IT IS AT THE BASE OF THEIR TAIL.

BY SPREADING THIS SCENT ALONG THE BANK, THE BEAVERS LET OTHERS

KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT WELCOME.

ONCE THEY HAVE SCENT-MARKED THE AREA, THE COUPLE CAN INDULGE IN

A LONG SESSION OF MUTUAL GROOMING.

THIS INTIMATE MOMENT HELPS THEM TO STRENGTHEN THEIR BOND.

THESE BANKS COVERED IN SHRUBS ARE IDEAL FOR STARTING A FAMILY.

IT TAKES A LOT OF WILLOW AND POPLAR BARK TO FEED EUROPE'S

LARGEST RODENT.

THIS FEMALE WEIGHS 35 POUNDS, BUT A LARGE MALE CAN BE

TWICE AS HEAVY.

ONE LAST BIT OF MARKING BEFORE SHE RETURNS TO HER LODGE TO FIND

COMFORT AND REST ALONG ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE WATERWAYS

IN THE WORLD.

THE LOIRE RIVER IS A LUSH, UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE WILD

ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE ARE AS MUCH A PART OF THE BEAUTY AND

WONDER OF FRANCE AS THE EIFFEL TOWER OR THE BAGUETTE.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]