America the Beautiful: Mighty Northwest (2018): Season 1, Episode 5 - Shadow of the Rockies - full transcript
Life in the rockies
can be a real headache.
Too high, and you're
out on a limb.
And the snow can be a bear.
But there's more to these
mountains than altitude.
The rockies create
the strange... ♪
control the flow...
And challenge
everything... (roaring)
in their shadow.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Welcome to the top of the world.
Colorado's rocky mountains
hold seven of the ten highest
peaks in the lower 48.
♪
And more than 600 others
rise above the tree line.
♪
This is where the
rockies... Reveal their rock.
♪
A pointed crown
ringed by green gems
made of pine.
♪
And just below,
around 8,000 feet elevation...
...Is where the rockies
tuck away their fall leaves.
♪
It's a color-coded message.
A signal that says,
'come and get it.'
the last buffet of the year
is ready.
And it's all-you-can-eat.
♪
These american robins have a
hankering for hawthorn berries.
♪
A crucial last course
before winter hits.
♪
♪
Roosting sites like this
can hold up to
a quarter million birds.
♪
♪
And this restaurant
also has clientele
that insist on larger portions.
(grunt)
this diner ambles in
without a reservation.
And no respect
for the dress code.
(grunting)
black bears don't always
sport a black coat.
(grunting)
here, out west, they can also
be brown or blonde.
♪
This mom teaches her two young
about the best dish on the menu.
It's the start of
a lifelong habit.
♪
♪
Nearby, a male climbs high
for the berries.
Something he's been doing
since he was a cub.
But he's not a cub anymore.
15 feet in the air,
this 300-pound giant
tests just how far
the tiny hawthorn branches
will bend.
90% of what a black bear eats
is vegetarian.
It's fine fall dining until...
Overnight, the berries freeze.
♪
The first big winter storm.
And just like that,
a blanket of white
takes out the fall colors.
♪
All that's left to eat
is frozen food.
♪
But the very berry bistro
remains open for business.
♪
Now its fruits are more
precious than ever.
(growling)
bear essentials.
(growling)
as winter sets in,
it's a race to feed
and convert these carbs
into fat.
He can eat 20,000 calories.
And gain five pounds
in a single day.
♪
Sooner or later
there's a little berry
that's one too many.
(roar)
(grunt)
finally, he must settle down
for the winter.
♪
Five months of hibernation
eat away
up to 40% of a bear's
body weight...
As winter buries the southern
slopes of the rockies
under 50 feet or more of snow.
♪
♪
The rockies stretch 3,000 miles
from canada to new mexico.
It is the backbone of america.
But it's colorado that's known
as the home of the rockies.
From rocky mountain
national park,
just over 50 miles
northwest of denver,
and down south
to the great sand dunes
of the san luis valley
that mountains shaped,
colorado is the u.S. State with
the highest mean elevation.
♪
Winter here has bite.
Some shelter in the trees.
Up in a pine, this white-tailed
ptarmigan nibbles on needles.
It's an elusive bird
that will mess with the chilled
winds of a rockies winter.
But this one has
special abilities.
By mid-December, she transforms
herself from this...
...To this.
She is an ice queen.
This camouflage is designed
to keep her safe.
But there are some
keen eyes up here.
♪
♪
Mountain lions are
expert climbers.
♪
They don't have dens.
So a branch is as good a place
to hang out as any.
♪
She gets the lay of the land.
♪
And sits like a coiled spring,
ready to launch an ambush
attack on any passing prey.
♪
♪
She is an expert in
stealth... Patience...
♪
...And death.
♪
♪
♪
By late fall,
the pickings in colorado's
rocky mountains are slim.
♪
No catch for this mountain lion
all morning.
It's time for plan b.
Her range can be as much
as 200 square miles;
smaller than some males,
but still a lot to cover.
♪
She uses her terrain
to hunt for a hefty feed.
If not a bighorn sheep,
then a deer or elk.
But she has a backup plan.
She hits up a stash
from a previous kill.
One of several she keeps handy.
When she first got this kill,
she ate as much as 10 pounds
of it in a single day.
The rockies provided
a well-chilled freezer
for storage, but
now, weeks later,
other birds and animals
have had a go,
outside and in.
♪
What's left would
barely feed a rodent.
♪
She has no choice
but to move on.
♪
Winter is mean and lean.
Up high, it's April
before there's relief.
♪
Soon after, each rocky mountain
becomes a runaway bride.
They lift veils of white.
(singing) ave maria ♪
and send spring snowmelt
running down the aisles.
♪
Icy water flows all the way
down to their cold feet.
For one creature here, the very
sound of this flowing water
seems to trigger an impulse.
It's like a reflex action.
Even an audio recording
of a running stream
can set a beaver a-building.
This big male starts
with the small stuff.
But don't let that fool you.
He works about a 12-hour day,
beginning in the late afternoon.
Bit by bit, he builds
his own mountain.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Beaver dams can be
up to 10 feet high
and nearly 3,000 feet in length.
He's a clever engineer.
This is not just
a pile of sticks,
but a complex latticework
cemented with mud
and packed down
to be near waterproof.
♪
♪
In slow water,
they build the dams straight;
in fast water, they curve them
to be stronger
against the current.
♪
For beavers,
this is all about safety.
He knows he's protected from
predators when in the water.
A good dam enlarges
his safety zone
and gives him access
to more trees...
wood he needs for
construction and for food.
♪
Beavers eat bark and
the soft tissue under it,
up to four and a half pounds
of it a day.
It's mostly cellulose,
like glue for the gut,
that most mammals can't digest.
But beavers are brewers;
living distilleries.
They have a sac between their
small and large intestines
that ferments vegetation
to make it digestible.
All that brewing in the belly
takes time.
What he eats today won't
come out the other end
for another 60 hours.
He cuts branches
into manageable chunks
and selects some
to store nearby.
♪
♪
♪
He is a provider
and must think ahead.
His family will soon grow.
♪
♪
♪
He's the hard-working
responsible cousin.
♪
Then there's the other side
of the family.
That cousin who's a little slow.
♪
No early riser here.
♪
Porcupines are the sloths
of the rodent world.
Just getting out of bed
can be a chore.
They're nearly as big as
a beaver but more pear-shaped.
And they don't have
a great need for speed.
Breakfast is never that far way.
♪
Porcupines also have the diet
of a mulching machine.
They can munch on leaves
or bare twigs.
♪
♪
Even pine needles.
Or forget the greens altogether
and just eat the bark.
♪
Then, the surprise.
Those long claws
are the only hint
that this prickly character
has a superpower,
one that takes it
above and beyond
the realm of its beaver cousins.
♪
♪
When it's time for porcupines
to find a sweet dessert,
it's up, up and away.
Beneath the colorado rockies,
they take to the trees.
♪
♪
Well, sure,
it's only three feet up.
But porcupines are one
of the only mammals here
that eat spring buds
up off the ground.
They grab on with those claws
and large pads.
The stiff hairs on
their bellies also grip.
They're safest among the trees;
the forest provides more cover
than can be found
farther down the slopes.
♪
Just below is where the rockies
create an entirely
different world.
♪
Anywhere else, the rockies'
eastern foothills
would transition straight
to flat grasslands.
But here in colorado's
san luis valley
they drop into something else.
Sand.
Lots of it.
The highest sand dunes
in north america.
The 30 square miles
of this dune field
would look more at home by the
beach or in the middle east.
In summer the sand can
heat up to 150 degrees.
Too hot for most life.
Unless you come with
your own set of stilts.
♪
♪
The great sand dune
tiger beetle lives here
and nowhere else on the planet.
He's elevated just enough
from the scorching sand below.
♪
And built to dash
and dart about the dunes
in search of insects.
♪
♪
He's a bejeweled bedouin.
But that hasn't always
been the case.
As a kid, he definitely went
through a homely stage.
Nearby, a great sand dune
tiger beetle
is still in its larval stage.
No long legs yet.
No dazzling green.
But don't underestimate
this baby beetle.
It already knows how
to dole out death.
♪
It digs a snug burrow.
A perfect cylinder.
♪
♪
When it gets too hot, it'll cap
it with a lid; but not yet.
First it wants to trap a victim.
♪
♪
The larva anchors himself inside
with two protruding hooks...
Sits with just his eyes
at the surface... ♪
♪
And waits.
♪
Then, when the
time is right... ♪
at the foot of
colorado's rockies,
the patience of the great
sand dune tiger beetle larvae
finally pays off.
♪
♪
Fast food doesn't
come much faster.
♪
It may stay here for a year,
taking down passing ants,
and preparing for a transition
into beetlehood.
Unless, of course,
colorado's rockies
make other plans.
♪
♪
The rockies are responsible
for these dunes,
but they also water them.
♪
That seasonal snowmelt
from the slopes
makes it all the way
to desert central.
♪
It's unpredictable and sudden.
Not so good for
burrowing beetles.
The water swirls
around the dunes,
then drains into the plains
of the san luis valley.
No more mountain terrain here,
just miles of open air...
...And the perfect racetrack
for america's
fastest land animal.
♪
♪
♪
Pronghorn have been clocked
at almost 60 miles an hour.
♪
♪
They have no collarbones,
allowing their legs to stretch
forward an additional 20%.
♪
It's a sacrifice for speed
that's left them unable to jump;
but it's been worth the price.
♪
♪
Their ancestors probably
had to run
from fast-moving
prehistoric cats.
Out here they have slower,
but still formidable predators
to worry about.
Coyotes keep close watch.
♪
♪
The older pronghorns
are vulnerable.
♪
So, too, the injured.
♪
♪
Males may have fearsome,
nearly foot-long horns,
but canines usually
attack from behind.
♪
No telling who would come out
best in an ambush.
Too risky.
Strike one.
The coyote moves on.
♪
It's three weeks
before newborn fawns
can keep up with the herd.
Until then, they have only
one good line of defense: Mom.
Her bulging eyes give her
a near 360-degree
field of vision.
She spots the interloper
before he sees her.
♪
♪
She hides her twins
in some bushes...
And walks about 70 yards away...
...Within sight of the coyote.
She acts as a decoy.
But did she hide her young
well enough?
The coyote knows the game.
But at the base
of colorado's rockies,
it could take hours for him
to find the hidden fawns.
And he's lost
the element of surprise.
Strike two.
♪
About this time each year,
a new option hits the menu.
♪
The rockies lead
to a giant wetland
the size of 11,000
football fields.
Every spring, this basin
becomes a super bowl.
(honking)
the players it attracts have
some extraordinary moves.
♪
The monte vista wildlife refuge,
in the middle of the valley,
is a favorite migration
rest stop for sandhill cranes.
♪
♪
They trickle in at first.
(squawking)
(squawking)
then...
...A deluge.
These birds average
four feet high,
with a wingspan
of more than six feet.
(squawking)
more than 23,000
take over the valley.
It's something they've been
doing for millions of years.
And why not?
This marsh has plenty to offer.
Freshwater and loads of seeds
and insects to dine on.
♪
♪
While they're here, they have
some serious business to do.
To get this far, many of them
bonded into survival groups...
gangs of unrelated cranes
that decided to fly, feed
and roost together.
(squawking)
but now it's spring break
from all that work.
And they're in the world's
best pick-up joint.
Any single sandhill crane
that's between
two and seven years old
is probably looking for a mate.
Problem is, how does one
stand out in a crowd like this?
♪
The answer: Duke it out
on the dance floor.
You just need some
fancy footwork...
A flirty flap... ♪
...And the right flair.
♪
♪
It's high-stakes choreography.
(squawking)
when you're picking a mate for
life, you want to get it right.
♪
♪
Two lovers lock eyes
and take center stage.
♪
It's a dance that
dazzles the crowd.
♪
♪
The aim is to get in sync
with your partner.
No missteps.
(cooing)
it was meant to be.
You may kiss the bride.
(cooing)
(cooing)
♪
(cooing)
now bonded in the shadow
of the rockies,
they're ready to continue north
where they'll work together
to build a nest.
♪
Soon, they'll have two eggs.
(squawking)
a month after that, chicks.
(squawking)
and in the fall,
they'll pass back through
the san luis valley
with the whole family.
And take in their
bird's-eye view.
They're one of the few creatures
to get the full picture.
They see the rocky mountains
from top to bottom.
♪
Only one other animal
in the rockies
comes close to reaching
their heights.
♪
♪
And it is the undisputed
king of the mountain.
Safety for the bighorn sheep
of colorado's rocky mountains
is about going where
predators dare not roam.
These climbing kings have
hooves that stick like glue.
And a confidence that
has them scaling slopes
and scrambling over loose rock
at up to 15 miles per hour.
♪
♪
Summer fills their alpine
fields with much to munch on.
♪
♪
They stack on the weight
while they can.
But still spend a third
of their day resting.
That's when they must
turn rock beds...
Into day beds.
♪
♪
♪
They arrange themselves
to face every direction.
Now they can see danger coming
from up to a mile away.
Predators are out there.
Just down at the tree line,
the mountain lion
hasn't gone far.
Nor the black bears.
And the bighorn can't stay
up here all year round.
Soon they'll have no choice
but to overlap territory
with their most fearsome foes.
♪
♪
Fall chills the peaks.
The herd moves lower
and hides among the trees.
♪
♪
They must contend
with predators down here,
and now each other.
♪
The first snow
triggers the rut...
...When males fight
for females.
A large alpha male stands out;
the heavyweight champ.
But rocky has challengers.
Stand back.
♪
30-pound horns collide
at speeds of 20 miles per hour.
Backed by a 300-pound body.
♪
♪
There's enough power here
to crack a young skull.
But the older champ is
well built for the battering.
♪
He has a fully formed
double-layered skull
with enlarged sinuses
to cushion his brain
from the blows.
♪
It's not nonstop boxing;
more a match of endurance.
♪
Each round may only be
five hits across an hour.
But they might go at it
for 25 rounds.
♪
♪
♪
♪
The older male proves once again
that he's the king of the ring.
And he's not done.
He humiliates the loser
with a show of dominance.
A soft kick, as he would
give one of his cows.
♪
Then an attempt to mount.
♪
The spurned male won't go far.
He still needs
the safety of numbers
to protect him from predators.
He's just got to suck it up.
That's part of being raised
up here in the rockies.
From the coldest snow
to the hottest sand...
And all its altitudes
and diverse terrains
seem to have
one thing in common:
Tough love.
Animals out here
face challenges daily.
But they keep coming back
for more.
Because from these same peaks
comes life.
Underwater... In the
trees... And in open plains.
A rugged oasis
for those who know
how to survive...
...In the shadow
of the rockies.
(cranes squawking)
can be a real headache.
Too high, and you're
out on a limb.
And the snow can be a bear.
But there's more to these
mountains than altitude.
The rockies create
the strange... ♪
control the flow...
And challenge
everything... (roaring)
in their shadow.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Welcome to the top of the world.
Colorado's rocky mountains
hold seven of the ten highest
peaks in the lower 48.
♪
And more than 600 others
rise above the tree line.
♪
This is where the
rockies... Reveal their rock.
♪
A pointed crown
ringed by green gems
made of pine.
♪
And just below,
around 8,000 feet elevation...
...Is where the rockies
tuck away their fall leaves.
♪
It's a color-coded message.
A signal that says,
'come and get it.'
the last buffet of the year
is ready.
And it's all-you-can-eat.
♪
These american robins have a
hankering for hawthorn berries.
♪
A crucial last course
before winter hits.
♪
♪
Roosting sites like this
can hold up to
a quarter million birds.
♪
♪
And this restaurant
also has clientele
that insist on larger portions.
(grunt)
this diner ambles in
without a reservation.
And no respect
for the dress code.
(grunting)
black bears don't always
sport a black coat.
(grunting)
here, out west, they can also
be brown or blonde.
♪
This mom teaches her two young
about the best dish on the menu.
It's the start of
a lifelong habit.
♪
♪
Nearby, a male climbs high
for the berries.
Something he's been doing
since he was a cub.
But he's not a cub anymore.
15 feet in the air,
this 300-pound giant
tests just how far
the tiny hawthorn branches
will bend.
90% of what a black bear eats
is vegetarian.
It's fine fall dining until...
Overnight, the berries freeze.
♪
The first big winter storm.
And just like that,
a blanket of white
takes out the fall colors.
♪
All that's left to eat
is frozen food.
♪
But the very berry bistro
remains open for business.
♪
Now its fruits are more
precious than ever.
(growling)
bear essentials.
(growling)
as winter sets in,
it's a race to feed
and convert these carbs
into fat.
He can eat 20,000 calories.
And gain five pounds
in a single day.
♪
Sooner or later
there's a little berry
that's one too many.
(roar)
(grunt)
finally, he must settle down
for the winter.
♪
Five months of hibernation
eat away
up to 40% of a bear's
body weight...
As winter buries the southern
slopes of the rockies
under 50 feet or more of snow.
♪
♪
The rockies stretch 3,000 miles
from canada to new mexico.
It is the backbone of america.
But it's colorado that's known
as the home of the rockies.
From rocky mountain
national park,
just over 50 miles
northwest of denver,
and down south
to the great sand dunes
of the san luis valley
that mountains shaped,
colorado is the u.S. State with
the highest mean elevation.
♪
Winter here has bite.
Some shelter in the trees.
Up in a pine, this white-tailed
ptarmigan nibbles on needles.
It's an elusive bird
that will mess with the chilled
winds of a rockies winter.
But this one has
special abilities.
By mid-December, she transforms
herself from this...
...To this.
She is an ice queen.
This camouflage is designed
to keep her safe.
But there are some
keen eyes up here.
♪
♪
Mountain lions are
expert climbers.
♪
They don't have dens.
So a branch is as good a place
to hang out as any.
♪
She gets the lay of the land.
♪
And sits like a coiled spring,
ready to launch an ambush
attack on any passing prey.
♪
♪
She is an expert in
stealth... Patience...
♪
...And death.
♪
♪
♪
By late fall,
the pickings in colorado's
rocky mountains are slim.
♪
No catch for this mountain lion
all morning.
It's time for plan b.
Her range can be as much
as 200 square miles;
smaller than some males,
but still a lot to cover.
♪
She uses her terrain
to hunt for a hefty feed.
If not a bighorn sheep,
then a deer or elk.
But she has a backup plan.
She hits up a stash
from a previous kill.
One of several she keeps handy.
When she first got this kill,
she ate as much as 10 pounds
of it in a single day.
The rockies provided
a well-chilled freezer
for storage, but
now, weeks later,
other birds and animals
have had a go,
outside and in.
♪
What's left would
barely feed a rodent.
♪
She has no choice
but to move on.
♪
Winter is mean and lean.
Up high, it's April
before there's relief.
♪
Soon after, each rocky mountain
becomes a runaway bride.
They lift veils of white.
(singing) ave maria ♪
and send spring snowmelt
running down the aisles.
♪
Icy water flows all the way
down to their cold feet.
For one creature here, the very
sound of this flowing water
seems to trigger an impulse.
It's like a reflex action.
Even an audio recording
of a running stream
can set a beaver a-building.
This big male starts
with the small stuff.
But don't let that fool you.
He works about a 12-hour day,
beginning in the late afternoon.
Bit by bit, he builds
his own mountain.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Beaver dams can be
up to 10 feet high
and nearly 3,000 feet in length.
He's a clever engineer.
This is not just
a pile of sticks,
but a complex latticework
cemented with mud
and packed down
to be near waterproof.
♪
♪
In slow water,
they build the dams straight;
in fast water, they curve them
to be stronger
against the current.
♪
For beavers,
this is all about safety.
He knows he's protected from
predators when in the water.
A good dam enlarges
his safety zone
and gives him access
to more trees...
wood he needs for
construction and for food.
♪
Beavers eat bark and
the soft tissue under it,
up to four and a half pounds
of it a day.
It's mostly cellulose,
like glue for the gut,
that most mammals can't digest.
But beavers are brewers;
living distilleries.
They have a sac between their
small and large intestines
that ferments vegetation
to make it digestible.
All that brewing in the belly
takes time.
What he eats today won't
come out the other end
for another 60 hours.
He cuts branches
into manageable chunks
and selects some
to store nearby.
♪
♪
♪
He is a provider
and must think ahead.
His family will soon grow.
♪
♪
♪
He's the hard-working
responsible cousin.
♪
Then there's the other side
of the family.
That cousin who's a little slow.
♪
No early riser here.
♪
Porcupines are the sloths
of the rodent world.
Just getting out of bed
can be a chore.
They're nearly as big as
a beaver but more pear-shaped.
And they don't have
a great need for speed.
Breakfast is never that far way.
♪
Porcupines also have the diet
of a mulching machine.
They can munch on leaves
or bare twigs.
♪
♪
Even pine needles.
Or forget the greens altogether
and just eat the bark.
♪
Then, the surprise.
Those long claws
are the only hint
that this prickly character
has a superpower,
one that takes it
above and beyond
the realm of its beaver cousins.
♪
♪
When it's time for porcupines
to find a sweet dessert,
it's up, up and away.
Beneath the colorado rockies,
they take to the trees.
♪
♪
Well, sure,
it's only three feet up.
But porcupines are one
of the only mammals here
that eat spring buds
up off the ground.
They grab on with those claws
and large pads.
The stiff hairs on
their bellies also grip.
They're safest among the trees;
the forest provides more cover
than can be found
farther down the slopes.
♪
Just below is where the rockies
create an entirely
different world.
♪
Anywhere else, the rockies'
eastern foothills
would transition straight
to flat grasslands.
But here in colorado's
san luis valley
they drop into something else.
Sand.
Lots of it.
The highest sand dunes
in north america.
The 30 square miles
of this dune field
would look more at home by the
beach or in the middle east.
In summer the sand can
heat up to 150 degrees.
Too hot for most life.
Unless you come with
your own set of stilts.
♪
♪
The great sand dune
tiger beetle lives here
and nowhere else on the planet.
He's elevated just enough
from the scorching sand below.
♪
And built to dash
and dart about the dunes
in search of insects.
♪
♪
He's a bejeweled bedouin.
But that hasn't always
been the case.
As a kid, he definitely went
through a homely stage.
Nearby, a great sand dune
tiger beetle
is still in its larval stage.
No long legs yet.
No dazzling green.
But don't underestimate
this baby beetle.
It already knows how
to dole out death.
♪
It digs a snug burrow.
A perfect cylinder.
♪
♪
When it gets too hot, it'll cap
it with a lid; but not yet.
First it wants to trap a victim.
♪
♪
The larva anchors himself inside
with two protruding hooks...
Sits with just his eyes
at the surface... ♪
♪
And waits.
♪
Then, when the
time is right... ♪
at the foot of
colorado's rockies,
the patience of the great
sand dune tiger beetle larvae
finally pays off.
♪
♪
Fast food doesn't
come much faster.
♪
It may stay here for a year,
taking down passing ants,
and preparing for a transition
into beetlehood.
Unless, of course,
colorado's rockies
make other plans.
♪
♪
The rockies are responsible
for these dunes,
but they also water them.
♪
That seasonal snowmelt
from the slopes
makes it all the way
to desert central.
♪
It's unpredictable and sudden.
Not so good for
burrowing beetles.
The water swirls
around the dunes,
then drains into the plains
of the san luis valley.
No more mountain terrain here,
just miles of open air...
...And the perfect racetrack
for america's
fastest land animal.
♪
♪
♪
Pronghorn have been clocked
at almost 60 miles an hour.
♪
♪
They have no collarbones,
allowing their legs to stretch
forward an additional 20%.
♪
It's a sacrifice for speed
that's left them unable to jump;
but it's been worth the price.
♪
♪
Their ancestors probably
had to run
from fast-moving
prehistoric cats.
Out here they have slower,
but still formidable predators
to worry about.
Coyotes keep close watch.
♪
♪
The older pronghorns
are vulnerable.
♪
So, too, the injured.
♪
♪
Males may have fearsome,
nearly foot-long horns,
but canines usually
attack from behind.
♪
No telling who would come out
best in an ambush.
Too risky.
Strike one.
The coyote moves on.
♪
It's three weeks
before newborn fawns
can keep up with the herd.
Until then, they have only
one good line of defense: Mom.
Her bulging eyes give her
a near 360-degree
field of vision.
She spots the interloper
before he sees her.
♪
♪
She hides her twins
in some bushes...
And walks about 70 yards away...
...Within sight of the coyote.
She acts as a decoy.
But did she hide her young
well enough?
The coyote knows the game.
But at the base
of colorado's rockies,
it could take hours for him
to find the hidden fawns.
And he's lost
the element of surprise.
Strike two.
♪
About this time each year,
a new option hits the menu.
♪
The rockies lead
to a giant wetland
the size of 11,000
football fields.
Every spring, this basin
becomes a super bowl.
(honking)
the players it attracts have
some extraordinary moves.
♪
The monte vista wildlife refuge,
in the middle of the valley,
is a favorite migration
rest stop for sandhill cranes.
♪
♪
They trickle in at first.
(squawking)
(squawking)
then...
...A deluge.
These birds average
four feet high,
with a wingspan
of more than six feet.
(squawking)
more than 23,000
take over the valley.
It's something they've been
doing for millions of years.
And why not?
This marsh has plenty to offer.
Freshwater and loads of seeds
and insects to dine on.
♪
♪
While they're here, they have
some serious business to do.
To get this far, many of them
bonded into survival groups...
gangs of unrelated cranes
that decided to fly, feed
and roost together.
(squawking)
but now it's spring break
from all that work.
And they're in the world's
best pick-up joint.
Any single sandhill crane
that's between
two and seven years old
is probably looking for a mate.
Problem is, how does one
stand out in a crowd like this?
♪
The answer: Duke it out
on the dance floor.
You just need some
fancy footwork...
A flirty flap... ♪
...And the right flair.
♪
♪
It's high-stakes choreography.
(squawking)
when you're picking a mate for
life, you want to get it right.
♪
♪
Two lovers lock eyes
and take center stage.
♪
It's a dance that
dazzles the crowd.
♪
♪
The aim is to get in sync
with your partner.
No missteps.
(cooing)
it was meant to be.
You may kiss the bride.
(cooing)
(cooing)
♪
(cooing)
now bonded in the shadow
of the rockies,
they're ready to continue north
where they'll work together
to build a nest.
♪
Soon, they'll have two eggs.
(squawking)
a month after that, chicks.
(squawking)
and in the fall,
they'll pass back through
the san luis valley
with the whole family.
And take in their
bird's-eye view.
They're one of the few creatures
to get the full picture.
They see the rocky mountains
from top to bottom.
♪
Only one other animal
in the rockies
comes close to reaching
their heights.
♪
♪
And it is the undisputed
king of the mountain.
Safety for the bighorn sheep
of colorado's rocky mountains
is about going where
predators dare not roam.
These climbing kings have
hooves that stick like glue.
And a confidence that
has them scaling slopes
and scrambling over loose rock
at up to 15 miles per hour.
♪
♪
Summer fills their alpine
fields with much to munch on.
♪
♪
They stack on the weight
while they can.
But still spend a third
of their day resting.
That's when they must
turn rock beds...
Into day beds.
♪
♪
♪
They arrange themselves
to face every direction.
Now they can see danger coming
from up to a mile away.
Predators are out there.
Just down at the tree line,
the mountain lion
hasn't gone far.
Nor the black bears.
And the bighorn can't stay
up here all year round.
Soon they'll have no choice
but to overlap territory
with their most fearsome foes.
♪
♪
Fall chills the peaks.
The herd moves lower
and hides among the trees.
♪
♪
They must contend
with predators down here,
and now each other.
♪
The first snow
triggers the rut...
...When males fight
for females.
A large alpha male stands out;
the heavyweight champ.
But rocky has challengers.
Stand back.
♪
30-pound horns collide
at speeds of 20 miles per hour.
Backed by a 300-pound body.
♪
♪
There's enough power here
to crack a young skull.
But the older champ is
well built for the battering.
♪
He has a fully formed
double-layered skull
with enlarged sinuses
to cushion his brain
from the blows.
♪
It's not nonstop boxing;
more a match of endurance.
♪
Each round may only be
five hits across an hour.
But they might go at it
for 25 rounds.
♪
♪
♪
♪
The older male proves once again
that he's the king of the ring.
And he's not done.
He humiliates the loser
with a show of dominance.
A soft kick, as he would
give one of his cows.
♪
Then an attempt to mount.
♪
The spurned male won't go far.
He still needs
the safety of numbers
to protect him from predators.
He's just got to suck it up.
That's part of being raised
up here in the rockies.
From the coldest snow
to the hottest sand...
And all its altitudes
and diverse terrains
seem to have
one thing in common:
Tough love.
Animals out here
face challenges daily.
But they keep coming back
for more.
Because from these same peaks
comes life.
Underwater... In the
trees... And in open plains.
A rugged oasis
for those who know
how to survive...
...In the shadow
of the rockies.
(cranes squawking)