Nature (1982–…): Season 35, Episode 12 - Yosemite - full transcript

♪
SHAPIRO: I remember driving
into the valley

and sort of feeling
like I had somehow arrived.

There is absolutely magic
in that valley.

KLINE: Yosemite is natural
beauty on a grand scale.

From the world's most
famous vertical wall...

PUTNAM: It's a kilometer deep,

so it's many times taller
than the Empire State Building.

KLINE: ...to the earth's largest
living trees.

TOM: Over 3,000 years,

think of what a giant sequoia
has seen.

KLINE: This snowy range holds
secrets both great and small.



And all of them
are bound together

by a single source of life.

It's the power of water

that made life in this
stone wilderness possible.

But California's climate
is changing --

from flash floods
to extreme drought.

How will Yosemite endure

as it faces an uncertain future?

♪

♪
[ Bird chirping ]

KLINE: As the glow of
pre-dawn light fills Yosemite,

the forests begin to stir.

Before the moon has been
properly put to bed,

many who live here
enjoy the early quiet



when they still have
the valley to themselves.

[ Birds chirping ]

♪

KLINE: This is the time to rise

and take in the majesty
of the High Sierra.

♪

As sunlight streams
across Yosemite Valley,

visitors begin to arrive.

Hang glider pilots are readying
their aircraft at Glacier Point.

SHAPIRO: Watching the sun
crack the horizon

and light fill in the valley,

it's like you can almost feel
the history of the place.

KLINE:
Yosemite has become a beacon

for adventurers
like Jeff Shapiro.

SHAPIRO:
While you're setting up,

the waterfalls across the valley
are sort of beckoning.

It's just a place

that is tangibly different

than everywhere else
on the planet.

That place holds magic.

Watch that wing tip
on that rock.

You know, you check your gear,
and you feel prepared,

and you walk out to launch.

You turn the nose
into the wind,

and when everything is right,
and the conditions feel right...

Clear.

...it's 10 steps

and into pure freedom.

♪

You get to fly away like a bird.

KLINE: For those brave enough
to take those first few steps,

the reward is breathtaking.

For this is a land of giants.

Stone monoliths far larger
than any skyscraper,

and trees
bigger than blue whales.

This is the Sierra Nevada.

It stretches the length
of California and into Nevada.

Forged by time and shaped
by the power of water.

These forces carved out
Yosemite's most iconic valley,

gave birth to countless
wild rivers,

and made life in this
stone wilderness possible.

SHAPIRO: I think
we're not meant to fly,

but we all wish we were.

To see it from the view
a peregrine would see it

feels pretty special.

[ Wind rushing ]

[ Grunts ]

Whoo!

KLINE: Yosemite owes
much of its grandeur

to countless waterfalls,

including the tallest in
North America, Yosemite Falls.

And here lies the Sierra's
greatest secret.

In an otherwise dry climate,

this snowy range bears
the gift of water.

In winter, enough snow
accumulates in these mountains

to provide more than 30% of
all of California's fresh water.

But as global
temperatures rise,

snowpack is shrinking.

To make matters worse,
California is in the midst

of a record-breaking drought.

And one critter may be feeling
the heat more than most.

This little guy
is an American pika.

Although he looks
like a rodent,

he's actually the smallest
cousin of the rabbit.

But don't be fooled
by his cuddly appearance.

Pikas are built for the cold,

and they live in some
of the harshest places on Earth,

from the Ural Mountains
of Russia to the Himalayas.

Right now, it's spring,

and like the rest of the pikas
in this rocky slope,

he's hard at work.

♪

Pikas don't hibernate,

and that means
they'll need to gather

and store enough food
for the long, cold winter ahead.

This pika will make
up to a hundred trips

in a single day.

Provided they're all no more
than 60 feet from home.

And for good reason.

For the little pika,
danger is everywhere.

When you're the size
of a potato...

[ Pika chirping ]

...you're on the menu
for a lot of the predators here.

At first sight of the coyote,

the little pika calls
to warn the others.

[ Chirping ]

But as soon
as the coast is clear,

he's back to work.

By mid-summer,
the pika's hay piles

have reached enormous
proportions --

so big they dwarf
the little pika itself.

But this pika may be preparing
for a winter that never comes.

With global temperatures
on the rise

and snowpack in decline,

this Ice Age critter
is facing an uncertain future,

along with many others
that call these mountains home.

[ Birds squawking ]

♪

SHAPIRO: El Cap is one of
the most special places

on the planet for people
who love to climb.

It represents the most
beautiful piece of rock

that you could possibly
find yourself on.

KLINE: No single
vertical wall on Earth

is more famous among climbers

than El Capitan.

PUTNAM: It's a kilometer deep,

so it's many times taller
than the Empire State Building,

and it displays unique geology.

KLINE: Geologist Roger Putnam
and Jeff Shapiro

are preparing
for an ascent of El Capitan,

a journey that could
take them nearly a week.

SHAPIRO: [ Laughs ]

The pig.

PUTNAM: The pig.

The thought of climbing El Cap
to people in the early '50s

or even up until it was
first climbed in 1958,

it seemed like the impossible.

It seemed just as remote
as getting someone to the moon,

because the techniques
for climbing cliffs that big

didn't exist.

Climbers come from all over
the world to climb on El Cap,

because of this
particularly hard rock

that can build up
all those stresses

and create those long,
beautiful, perfect fractures.

I look at El Cap, and I see this
complex history of weathering

and erosion which made it
look the way it does

and continues
to shape it to this day.

Water played a significant role

in almost
every part of the evolution

of El Capitan
and Yosemite Valley.

Water played a crucial role

in actually carving out
these beautiful valleys,

and then glaciers polished

and refined them
into their iconic shapes.

El Cap was shaped within
the past 1.8 million years,

and the rock was formed
about 100 million years ago.

That's when the dinosaurs
were around.

Super common thing.

So the feature that
I'm standing on is

one of those exfoliation flakes.

[ Pounding ]

Hear that noise?

And it puts things
into perspective.

When you climb a rock that big

and spend this much time around
something that's this big,

you feel really small.

I think about how small I am
all the time.

How physically small I am
and then how small I am

in terms of geologic time.

♪

KLINE: Roger and Jeff
set camp for the night.

This is just the first of many
before they reach the summit.

SHAPIRO: You mind sleeping on
the inside or outside or what?

PUTNAM: Oh, I don't care.

KLINE: It's easy to feel
small in Yosemite.

It has a way of putting
everything in perspective.

♪

PUTNAM: El Cap is a source
of inspiration academically,

mentally, physically,

and it's also
a source of gravitas.

KLINE: It's the last leg of
Jeff and Roger's climb,

but they are not quite ready
to end their journey.

SHAPIRO: For me,
laying on a portaledge

and waking up in the morning

and looking
at the valley peaceful

and, you know, sort of quiet
in those morning hours,

there's no place I'd rather be.

It's a unique place to be.
It feels like it was earned.

It feels so close
to civilization,

but so far away, you know.

♪

PUTNAM: Yeah, buddy!

Yeah!

Well done!

KLINE:
Another arid summer unfolds,

as drought persists.

Temperatures continue to rise,

and forests are dying
at an unprecedented rate.

Across the state,
the number of dead trees

has now passed 100 million.

And this sparks
another problem...

[ Fire crackling ]

Wildfires.

[ Radio chatter ]

[ Helicopter blades whirring ]

[ Radio chatter ]

KLINE: A century of
fire suppression

has created
unnaturally dense stands,

now filled with dead trees.

Making an already
volatile situation

even more explosive.

By the end of summer,

this will have been
one of the most

damaging wildfire seasons
on record.

[ Fire crackling ]

♪

Yet fire is a natural part
of the ecosystem,

and certain species
depend upon fire

for their very survival.

These black-backed woodpeckers

are drawn to recently
charred forests.

It's their best chance
for a meal.

They'll seek out
woodboring beetles

in the remains of these trees.

These scorched forests
are far from dead.

They are, in fact, new habitat,

equally vibrant and vital.

Only recently have
we begun to develop

a deeper appreciation
for the role fire plays

in the evolution
of many species,

from
the black-backed woodpeckers

to the world's largest
living trees.

♪

Sequoia National Park is home
to a forest of giants.

NATE: I am so energized
by these forests here.

I'm a forest nut.

And the big trees give me goose
bumps every time I see them

even though I've been seeing
them for more than 35 years now.

KLINE: Nate Stephenson
is a forest ecologist

with the U.S. Geological Survey.

He has a unique understanding
of the crucial part fire plays

in the life cycle
of giant sequoias.

NATE: So, the bark of giant
sequoias is remarkably thick.

[ Tree thuds ]

And it's very fibrous,
and it's fire resistant.

So when you have that
much thickness there,

some of it might burn off
during a fire,

but there is enough left over
to protect the tree.

Fire has been burning
at the base of giant sequoias

probably for millions of years,

and this is one of the sequoia's
responses to that.

To take advantage
of the fire in one sense

and then to protect itself
from fire.

KLINE: Giant sequoias are
the largest trees on Earth.

They can grow for more than
3,000 years.

But without fire,
they cannot reproduce.

NATE: The giant sequoias
really are born of fire.

Fire gives them three things
they need for regeneration.

The first one is, it punches
a hole in the forest.

That allows there
to be more light

and more water
for the sequoia seedlings.

The second thing it does
is it heats the cones up

in the mature sequoia trees
without harming the trees.

And those cones open up.

♪

And there's a rain
of seeds on the ground.

And the final thing it's done
is it cleared away

all the leaves
that have built up.

Because sequoia seeds need
to hit bare mineral soil

before they can germinate
and survive well.

♪

Then the winter storms
come in and bury them

in a blanket of snow.

And then when the spring comes,
they have the ideal conditions.

It's warmer.
It's really wet,

and those seeds will take off
and become seedlings.

♪

KLINE: From their birth
among the ashes,

these seedlings have become
the groves we see today...

...with trees
nearly 300 feet tall.

NATE: Over 3,000 years, think of
what a giant sequoia has seen.

How many times did Native
Americans sit at the base,

have lunch, look up, and marvel
at the crown of the sequoia?

And now we're doing it again
today.

It's humans just
living their lives

under these trees for millennia.

♪

[ Birds chirping ]

KLINE: These ancient groves
provide a home

for a diversity of wildlife...

...that often goes unnoticed.

A family of
yellow-bellied marmots

has taken up residence
at the base

of this giant sequoia.

These little guys
are spring pups,

and they're just beginning
to explore their world.

Cautiously at first.

They are part of
an extended family

of a dozen individuals
or maybe more.

And right now,
they're sticking close

to their brothers and sisters.

While some adults
are keeping a watchful eye,

the rest are
fattening up for winter.

During the summer,
marmots eat at a frenzied pace.

[ Birds chirping ]

They can spend nine months
of the year hibernating,

so storing up enough fat
is vital.

And some marmots will have
doubled their body weight

by the end of summer.

The little ones don't seem
to have the same urgency

to fill up as their parents do,

but they'll need
to learn quick.

Without enough fat reserves,

they won't make it
through the winter.

Before they really get started,

their mealtime is cut short.

Something is coming.

It's a black bear.

[ Bear growls ]

A marmot sounds the alarm
to alert the colony.

[ Marmot chirping ]

But the bear pays little
attention to the marmots.

Fattening up on these
fresh fir shoots

is a far easier way to prepare
for the coming winter.

Here wildlife can live
out their lives

relatively undisturbed.

And this is no accident.

Yosemite, along with Sequoia

and Kings Canyon National Parks,

are the Sierra's
greatest sanctuaries...

...protecting critical habitat

and restoring species
once thought lost.

Peregrine falcons, long absent
from these mountains,

have returned home
to nest once again

on the cliffsides of the Sierra.

[ Falcons keening ]

♪

And they are not alone.

One of the Sierra's
greatest icons

is staging its return.

♪

[ Device beeping ]

No animal embodies
the wildness of this range

more than the Sierra Nevada
bighorn sheep.

John Muir called them

"the bravest of all
Sierra Mountaineers."

FEW: People talk about them
being icons of wilderness.

They're tough.

They sit out lightning storms

on alpine ridges.

Yosemite is full of steep,
craggy, rocky landscapes,

and that's exactly
where bighorn sheep thrive.

KLINE: This makes the job of

the Sierra Bighorn Sheep
Recovery Program

a constant challenge.

Today, Alex Few
and Tom Stephenson

are in the Eastern Sierra,

trying to determine just

how many sheep
are in this vast range.

FEW: There were once
about 10,000 Sierra bighorn,

and they're one distinct
subspecies of bighorn

of three found in North America.

KLINE: Bighorns rely on
the strength

of the herd to survive.

From the time they're born,

they have less than 48 hours

to keep up with mom
and the rest of the herd

across these jagged cliffs.

[ Wind howling ]

Life in these mountains
can be a test of extremes.

[ Thunder rumbling ]

Flash floods
and lightning storms one day

can be followed by months

or even years
of bone-dry conditions.

Yet the Sierra bighorns

were undaunted
by these extremes.

That would all change
with a single event.

The discovery of gold
in the mid-1800's

put the Sierra Nevada
on the map.

And thousands of settlers
began to move west.

[ Sheep bleating ]

With them came millions
of domestic sheep.

But these sheep would prove
to be the bighorns' Kryptonite.

With no resistance
to the diseases they carried,

bighorn populations
would plummet,

disappearing entirely
from Yosemite's high country.

By the 1990s,

only 100 bighorns were
scattered across the Sierra.

TOM: There became
a tremendous amount

of concern about the potential

for the population
to go extinct,

and recovery efforts
were undertaken.

KLINE: Their goal --

to restore Sierra bighorns
to their former range.

FEW: Bighorn sheep are really
slow to colonize new habitat,

so we have to help them
get there.

KLINE: Bighorns are placed
in large metal transport crates

and flown into the heart
of Yosemite's high country.

As simple as it seems,

this moment is the culmination

of years of preparation
for Al and her crew.

While some are eager
for their new freedom,

others are more hesitant.

FEW: When we opened the gate,

I felt this overwhelming
sense of pride and hope.

KLINE: Thanks to these
recovery efforts,

there are now 600 sheep
in the Sierra Nevada.

For the first time in a century,

bighorns have reclaimed
their rightful place

in Yosemite's high country.

This is just one more step

in returning
Yosemite's wilderness

to the wild things
that once called it home.

♪

As the drought stretches
through summer

with no relief in sight,

these continued arid days

are threatening
another icon of the Sierra.

NATE: What has really
pushed this drought

into new terrain for severity

is the increased temperature.

KLINE: Temperatures rising
from climate change

have amplified
the drought's effects.

NATE:
It increases the evaporative
power of the atmosphere.

So the atmosphere is pulling
more water out of the plants

than it would normally.

With that, we are seeing
things happen in giant sequoias

that have never been
reported before.

KLINE:
Sequoias are losing foliage

at an unprecedented rate,

in some cases
more than half the tree.

In order to better
understand the impact,

researcher Anthony Ambrose
and his team

need to look high up
in the canopy of these giants.

♪

AMBROSE: We're going to collect
some leaf samples

from the top of the tree
and the base of the crown

to measure the water
status of the tree

and to get a better idea
of how stressed they are.

KLINE: The tree acts
as a timeline

stretching back
thousands of years,

and the further up you go,

the closer you get
to the effects of today.

The team continuously monitors
these sequoias to determine

how they are faring
as their most crucial resource,

water, is in diminishing supply.

AMBROSE: These trees
we've measured use

between 500 and 800 gallons
of water

a single day
in the summertime.

Which is just
a phenomenal amount of water.

That all gets supplied

by the snowmelt here
in the Sierra Nevada.

The snowpack is a really,

really important water source
for the giant sequoia forest.

We put the leaf end
in this chamber here

and pressurize it slowly,

and as soon as the water
comes up onto the surface,

we record how much pressure it
took to push the water out.

Negative 1.9.

So the measurements that
we've been getting so far

over the last couple weeks
is indicating

that they are definitely
at stress levels greater

then we've ever measured
in giant sequoias before.

This is the first time
that I've ever been

climbing in these trees

and actually observed anything
that's noticeable stress.

So it is kind of upsetting
in a way.

But I take some comfort
in the fact,

knowing that these are
really tough trees.

They're really resilient,
and they've dealt with

droughts and fires

and other really
extreme conditions in the past.

With temperatures
continuing to increase,

they may reach
some tipping point.

And that's what
we're trying to learn.

At what point is it too much
for them to recover?

KLINE:
As summer comes to a close,

cool autumn breezes bring relief

to a parched Yosemite Valley.

In the high country,
it's the beginning of the rut --

mating season for bighorn sheep.

These young rams are assessing
each other's strengths

and weaknesses.

Male bighorn sheep live in
a highly competitive world.

These competitions are a way
of establishing dominance.

Their ranking may ultimately
determine who gets to breed.

It's an enormous
expenditure of energy,

but it's the price of admission

if this young ram hopes to mate.

In the Eastern Sierra,

fall colors unfold
with a dusting of snow --

a promising sign
in an otherwise dry autumn.

Water has become an
increasingly scarce commodity.

[ Birds chirping ]

And places where water persists
are now critically important.

Despite autumn's light snowfall,

bone-dry conditions

continue to plague the Sierra.

[ Woodpecker tapping ]

But now, as winter approaches,
a storm front is building.

[ Thunder rumbles ]

Cool wind sweeps across
the valley,

extinguishing the heat.

And for the first time
in far too long,

the air is heavy with moisture.

[ Thunder rumbling ]

♪

As temperatures drop, the chill
in the high country gives way

to the first big snow
of the season.

♪

After a long hiatus,

winter has returned to Yosemite.

Waterfalls collect icicles
along their edges.

And streams become a thick
slurry of snow and ice.

Lakes freeze under
a blanket of fresh snow.

[ Coyote yipping ]

Life in the valley seems to
pause as winter takes hold.

♪

Yosemite takes on
a fairy-tale quality

that seems both
benevolent and menacing.

♪

Animals waste no time
preparing for a winter

that is suddenly upon them.

Deer forage for
what little remains.

And squirrels harvest
the last of the pine nuts

before they are buried
by the quickly falling snow.

[ Coyotes yipping ]

A pair of coyotes tiptoes
through fresh snowdrifts,

searching for voles.

It takes skill to catch
something you can't see.

And patience not to let
your food know you're coming.

[ Snow crunches ]

[ Vole chirping ]

[ Vole chirping ]

But if you stick with it,

the reward is well worth it.

'Cause at the end of the day,
in Yosemite Valley,

it's every coyote for himself.

A pika takes advantage
of a break in the snowfall

to gather up
a few remaining twigs.

He joins the ranks
of the few brave enough

to endure winter
in the high country.

Hopefully, his hay piles

will be enough to see him
through the frigid months ahead.

♪

For the Sierra Nevada,
this year's snowfall

may be a tiny drop
in the bucket.

But its impact on those working

to protect these groves
cannot be overstated.

NATE: It's been pretty dry,

and the trees have looked
pretty stressed,

and I'm looking forward
to leaving that behind.

It just feels
full of life here again.

♪

AMBROSE: It's been several years

since we've had a good
snowpack here in the Sierras,

and it's just so beautiful.

And the trees are gonna be
loving this, for sure.

KLINE: The research team
returns to the Giant Forest,

a forest that continues
to surprise them.

NATE: I've gotten what for me
seems like an epiphany.

We've always known that
sequoia groves are wetter spots

on the landscape
than the rest of the forest.

It also seems to me now
that even during droughts,

they have a more
reliable water supply.

So not only do they have more,

it just stays more even
through time.

And that really drives home

what a magical spot
sequoias grow in.

KLINE: Outside these groves,
firs, pines, and cedars

have been dying
in numbers never seen before.

But the trees within these
groves are thriving.

AMBROSE: Now that we have
kind of a baseline

during the severe drought,

we'd like to continue that
into the future

and monitor how they respond

to changing climatic conditions
over time.

Looks good.

Okay, the height here
is 4.30 meters.

KLINE:
The health of these giants

indicates
a hidden supply of water,

somewhere below the surface.

And as temperatures continue
to rise in the coming years,

countless species may endure
in the shadow of these giants.

♪

As night falls on Yosemite,

the moon bathes the valley
in an unearthly light.

[ Coyote yipping ]

Frigid winds chase away
the remaining visitors.

[ Coyote yips ]

With each passing storm,

winter pulses like
a beating heart.

♪

[ Coyote yips ]

Snow gathers
and melts away again.

Rivers rise and carry water
down into the valley.

There are few wild rivers
left in the Sierra Nevada,

but there are still wild
stretches of river to run.

Kayakers are drawn to this
stretch of Cherry Creek,

not simply to test their grit,

but to connect with nature
in its purest liquid form.

♪

While snowmelt has reignited
these wild rivers,

at their source,

high up in the peaks
of the Sierra,

John Dittli and Todd Calfee

are trying to determine
what effect this year's snowfall

has had on the region.

They're on a snow survey
expedition

for the California Cooperative
Snow Survey Program.

It's one of the longest
continuous records of snowfall

in the United States.

DITTLI: Last year, it was
the driest year on record.

We did a 12-day snow survey.

There was almost no snow
to even measure.

Home sweet home!

CALFEE: All right.

DITTLI: This could very well

be a prolonged dry period
of 30 years, of 100 years.

It's happened before,
and it's gonna happen again.

KLINE: The current
drought may be

simply a preview
of the future --

a hotter, drier California.

DITTLI: 69% of average.

CALFEE: Oh, yeah, not good,

but it's better than it has been
the last few years.

DITTLI: It's going to be more
and more important to know

exactly how much water
is in the Sierra Nevada.

It's California's
biggest reservoir.

We drive a tube into the snow,
pull that up, and weigh it.

And when we weigh that,
we're actually weighing

the amount of water
in the snowpack.

55, 48, 56.

KLINE: While an improvement
over recent years,

the water content
is still far below normal.

DITTLI: I'm fortunate enough,

I guess, to have lived
in the Sierra now,

to be here for the heaviest
winter on record

and the lightest winter
on record.

It makes you really realize that

there really is
no such thing as normal.

KLINE: Season by season,

these dramatic shifts in weather

will become the new normal.

But over the long term,

snowpack will continue
to decline.

Even now, snow cover varies
greatly across the range.

♪

Some talus fields
have received little

or no snow at all --

crucial insulation
for the pika's tiny home.

Yet these rocky slopes

may have insulating
properties of their own.

[ Pika chirping ]

Persistent ice beneath
the talus fields

keeps the pika cool in summer,

while the sun warms
the stones in winter,

helping to keep the pika's home

at a steady temperature
even as the climate warms.

From their humble origins
10,000 feet up,

these small flakes of snow
have far-reaching influence.

Snowmelt feeds wetlands
more than 70 miles away.

Marshes flood,

welcoming tens of thousands
of migratory visitors.

Sand hill cranes and snow geese
overwinter here,

before beginning
their long journey north.

[ Birds squawking ]

Wetlands like these once
covered vast areas

of California's Central Valley.

But today only small
pockets remain,

and these have become
critical habitats.

[ Birds squawking ]

At dawn, one of California's

greatest spectacles unfolds

as snow geese take to the sky
in the thousands.

[ Geese honking ]

♪

Days in Yosemite
are warming,

but before it disappears
for the season,

winter is about to take
one last curtain call.

Crowds of photographers
are beginning

to gather along the banks
of the Merced River.

Each of them is
hoping to capture

a single frame of magic.

MAN: I got here around 5:30
in the morning, had breakfast,

and I've been here
since 8:30 in the morning.

So... [ Laughs ]

It's been a long day. [ Laughs ]

MAN #2: It only
happens once a year,

but with the drought,
it hasn't happened up here

with this intensity
for five years.

MAN #3: I tried last year,

but there wasn't enough water
to light up the falls,

so trying again this year.

WOMAN: This is our
second time -- third --

and this is the first time

we're actually probably
going to get the shot.

MAN #4: This is my sixth attempt
to get this picture.

WOMAN: And so it's sort of like
the photographers' chase.

It's something
we all talk about --

chasing after the shot.

MAN #5: There are so many things

that can happen
to make it not work,

like it doesn't rain
or it's cloudy,

so to have it be just rained,

just snowed,
it's fairly clear skies.

This is the kind of thing

you just can't pass up
as a photographer.

If you're close enough
that you can get here,

you just have to go.

KLINE: The phenomenon happens
just as the sun begins to set.

WOMAN #2: The sun makes
the water glow

like a ribbon of
red-orange fire.

KLINE: The effect only
lasts about 10 minutes,

and as the sun begins
to illuminate Horsetail Fall,

cameras are at the ready.

[ Camera shutters clicking ]

♪

♪

[ Cheering, whooping ]

[ Applause ]

MAN #4: I think Yosemite Valley

looks like God took his finger

and carved out a little path
so we could have a good time.

And in my opinion,
you don't have to be

a particularly religious person

to feel inspired here.

It's just an amazing place.

♪

KLINE: Another season
in Yosemite has come to pass.

The forests are reborn
with new and wondrous life.

Fluorescent red snow plants
erupt from the ground

and spring begins again.

From forests of giants...

...to the tiniest
of creatures...

[ Pike chirps ]

...all of them bound together
by a single source of life.

It's the power of water
that is the heart

and soul of this most
magical range of light.

♪

Nand can see in the dark.
superpower vision

They have incredible hearing
and unique flight skills.

MAN: It's just like aircraft.

They can fly very slow,
very controlled.

NARRATOR: How do owls have
these amazing powers?

WOMAN: Whoo!

NARRATOR: Two special owls,
Luna and Lily,

give us a chance to learn
about these mysterious birds

and their superpowers.

♪

♪

♪

To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,

♪

♪