05x06 - Gatorglades

[bunniefuu]

[Chris]
on this episode we're going
deep into the everglades

For an amazing
creature adventure!

[Martin]
we're on a quest
to discover the truth

About one of
the creature world's

Greatest reptilian
predators,

And it's a lot,
lot bigger than an iguana.

Hey, where'd martin go?

[Chris]
where did martin go?

Martin!

Martin!

And what did
you guys tell me

About mother alligators
being really protective?

[Chris]
we'll be finding out
that and more

As we journey deeper
than ever before,

Digging up the truth
about the american alligator...

On this episode of
kratts' creatures.

Iarriba!
Iandale! Iandale!

Ever have
one of those days

Where nothing goes the way
it's supposed to?

First school,
then public transportation,

And now the creature club
entry system.

There.

And if chris and martin

Have gotten to the alligators
before I do,

I'll freak.

Code name warthog warrior.

Pawprint.

Fore!

What?

Fore!

Hey, where are you guys?

We're here
at the keys' gate golf club

Near the everglades
in florida.

The everglades has all sorts
of unusual creatures,

Including
the roseate spoonbill,

The raccoon,

The pied-billed grebe,

The bobcat,

The heron,

The otter,

The glossy ibis,

And the slicing martino.

It's your ball.

[Allison]
hey, wait a minute.

What's going on?

You're in the everglades,

And the only thing
you're doing is golfing?

We're talking one of the most
amazing creature habitats

In the world,

Full of all sorts
of incredible animals--

[Chris]
martin!

Hey,
where did martin go?

That's what I'm trying
to find out, al.

Martin!

Martin!

Ow!

When you're walking
through the everglades,

You have to be careful
that you don't get bitten,

Not by any creature--
by this stuff.

This is called sawgrass.

If you look on the edges,

You can see it has tiny teeth
like the blade of a saw.

When the sawgrass
rubs up against your skin,

It can make a cut.

And this lacerating grass
covers the everglades.

It makes the glades
look like a series

Of just regular-looking fields,
but don't be fooled,

Because underneath
is a marshy river,

Home to hundreds
of creatures,

Like pink flamingos.

These tall birds
are chowing down on shrimp,

Which they filter
from the water,

And there's no shortage
of shrimp down here.

In fact, the glades
is so rich in food

That it can support
an amazing variety of creatures.

Otters live
all over the world,

But the glades are
a great place to spot them.

These slippery swimmers
are quick and clever predators

Of crayfish, frogs,
and fish.

[Allison]
and talk about clever predators,
check out the bobcat.

He's actually not much bigger
than a house cat,

But he's known to take down


Think twice before petting.

[Chris]
and then there's the armadillo,

A relatively new creature
citizen to the everglades.



Armadillos started heading
up here from south america,

And since then,

You can find her throughout
much of the southeastern usa,

Chomping away on bugs.

Of course, bobcats,
dogs, and coyotes

Love to chomp down on her.

That accounts for her
armorlike skin.

[Allison]
and there's no shortage
of flying, crawling,

And climbing insects
around here.

There's the beautiful
zebra butterfly,

Who the ibis bird
loves to chomp on.

[Chris]
or the golden orb weaver,

Who bundles up
his insect prey in silk

And then sucks out
the juicy innards.

[Allison]
you could say
that the glades

Is one of the ultimate
creature restaurants.

The water's so chockfull
of food for fish

That thousands of species
have made it their home.

They in turn provide
plenty of dining options

For fish-eaters
like tricolored herons.

[Chris]
and talk about dining options,
check out snakes.

The glades provides
this rat snake

With a wide variety of food
to wrap his jaws around.

Check it out.

Snakes have an amazing ability
to unhinge their jaws

And swallow food whole.

That lets them eat stuff
that's bigger than their heads.

[Allison]
the everglades
also provides a home

For north america's
only marsupial--

The virginia opossum.

Marsupials are creatures who
carry their young in pouches,

And in the glades,
these cat-sized guys

Find plenty of fruit,
nuts, and grasses to eat,

But almost anything that
hops by could become lunch,

Even snakes.

[Chris]
whoa! Big surprise creature.

When you think
swamps and wetlands,

You may not think raccoons,

But these masked bandits can
be found all over the glades,

Reaching into the water for
crabs, crayfish, frogs, or fish.

[Allison]
white-tailed deer
live in abundance down here,

But you need
a bit of patience

And a lot of luck
to spot one.

These grass-eating creatures
are masters at hiding out,

And if you spot one,
you may not see it for long.

They can take off
at 50 miles an hour

And leap almost 50 feet.

[Chris]
another creature you may not
expect to find down here

Is the bear,

But there's 1,500
florida black bears here.

They loveto stuff their maws
full of fruit and nuts.

They're also
crafty and agile hunters

Of fish
and small mammals.

[Allison]
but if you're
talking hunters,

Then you got to check out
the florida panther.

This stealthy powerhouse
can take down everything

From a raccoon to a deer.

He's really rare now,

But years ago,

He was the everglades'
number-one predator.

[Ttark]
hold it!
Hold everything!

What's up?

Was?

What's this
wasbusiness?

There are florida panthers
all over the place.

Hey, just
the other day

I was padding around
with a ton of them.

Just the other day?
I don't think so.

It says here that
the florida panther

Is seriously endangered.

Oh, wow!

There may only be as few
as 50 of them left.

[Allison]
florida panthers are amazingly
cool carnivorous cats,

But their living space
is shrinking all the time,

Putting them in danger
of extinction.

Scientists are tracking
and monitoring the panther,

Trying to find out
all they can.

For a change,
man's interference

Could actually
save a species.

But of course,
the florida panther

Is not the most famous predator
down here.

[Chris]
the everglades is most famous
for the american alligator

And the american crocodile.

After all,
these are the gatorglades,

And every one of the animals
we saw before know it.

Almost any animal can become
a candidate for gator mulch

If they get
within snapping distance.

The gator is florida's
greatest salesman,

A salesman of death,

And none of these creatures
are looking to buy.

Gators and crocs
are opportunistic eaters.

That means they're creatures
who chomp on anything

From frogs to herons

And who sometimes eats creatures
even as big as...

Martin?

Martin?

Over here!

Look what I found.

It's an iguana,

A not-too-distant relative
of the alligator.

When the spaniards
first came here,

They thought that gators
were big lizards,

So they called
them el lagarto,

Which means "the lizard,"

And eventually turned into
the word alligator.

Sure, the gator is

The best-known reptile
in the glades,

But he's in good company.

The glades has
tons of lizards, too.

Lizards love it here
because of the abundant food

And the warm weather.

Hey, who can blame them?

You've got to love this guy--
the anole lizard.

He can change from bright green
to dark brown in 25 seconds.

[Chris]
the ability to change color
is rare in the creature world.

Lizards, like the anole,

Are one of the few creatures
that can do it.

Gators aren't lizards,

But there are some lizards
that look like them.

[Martin]
for a great example,
let's head to africa

And check out
the monitor lizard.

[Chris]
man, this guy does
look like a gator.

[Martin]
yeah, and even though
they're not related,

Monitors and gators
have a lot in common.

They both have
sharp, pointed claws,

They both store fat
in their tails,

They both have scales,
and they both lay eggs.

[Chris]
amazing.

Wait a minute.
Lizards are great,

And they may look like
crocs and gators,

But there's a big difference.

For one thing, crocodilians
have a four-chambered heart,

Sort of like a bird's
or a human's.

So in a way, I guess you could
say they're sort of like us.

[Ttark speaking
unintelligibly]

What did you say?

[Unintelligible]

I said,

Don't you
have that backwards?

Alligators
and crocodiles

Aren't like
humans and birds.

Humans and birds
are like crocodilians.

What do you mean?

It's our lizard legacy.

Remember,
crocs are reptiles,

And lots of creatures
came after reptiles--

Birds, dinosaurs,
even people--

So I guess
you could say

There's
a little reptile
in all of us.

It's sort of
an allison/alligator
situation,

If you know what I mean.

That's awesome.
If the gators hung around
with the dinosaurs,

Then how come
the gators are still here

And the dinosaurs
are extinct?

And where does
someone like you
fit into all of that?

How old are you, ttark?

Me? Um, um,
I'm, uh, well, uh...

Hey,
I just remembered--

There's a wildebeest
migration I said
I'd drop in on.

See ya, al!

Maybe if we check out
gators today...

[Martin]
oh, wow!

What,
you found alligators?

No! Turtles!

[Martin]
north america's largest
freshwater turtle, to be exact--

The alligator snapper.

[Chris]
most turtles are too slow
to catch fish,

But this snapper has developed
his own technique.

It's weird,
but if it works...

[Martin]
here's what he does.

His tongue
has an outgrowth

That looks like a worm
and wiggles,

Inviting small fish
to try and bite it.

[Chris]
and when they take the bait,
they're lunch--

A clever way
to catch fast food.

This is a soft-shell turtle.

They spend most of their time
in the water,

But females come on land
to lay their eggs,

Which is probably
what she's about to do.

Hey, chris,

Soft-shell turtles
like to lay their eggs
in alligator nests,

So if we follow
this turtle,

She might lead us
straight to one.

There she goes.

[Chris]
come on,
right through here.

Where is she going?

It's a gator nest.

Mother alligators
are very protective

And guard their nests
from predators.

And that's why this turtle
lays her eggs here,

So the gator protects
her eggs, too.

And what did you guys
tell me

About mother alligators
being really protective?

So doesn't that mean...

There must be
a big gator nearby.

[Martin]
right. We're definitely
in gator territory.

I don't see it.

Neither do i.

[Allison]
guys, maybe this
isn't the best time,

But I have
a big question.

What's the difference between
a croc and a gator anyway?

It's in their snout.

[Chris]
comparing crocs and gators.

[Allison]
this is a gator nose,
and this is a crocodile nose.

Let's take a closer look.

The alligator snout
is broad and rounded.

[Chris]
while the crocodile snout
is long and pointed.

[Martin]
when a gator shuts her mouth,
the teeth are less visible.

[Chris]
but when a crocodile
shuts his mouth,

Most of his teeth
stick out.

[Martin]
and now that we've
explained the difference

Between a croc
and a gator,

Let's get back to
the jeopardy of our story!

[Chris]
in our professional opinions,

When a mama gator wants to
check on her eggs,

The best thing
for humans to do is...

Hide.

Gators won't att*ck
unless provoked.

But they consider going
near their nests

A serious provocation.

And hey, they're only
doing what comes naturally,

Which means attacking
anything that approaches
their nests.

[Martin]
compared to other reptiles,

Mother alligators invest
a lot of time and energy

In raising their young,
not just protecting them.

[Chris]
after they hatch, gator babies
will stick close to mom

Anywhere from several months...

[Martin]
to several years.

In the creature world,
that's a lot of parenting time.

[Chris]
and that's part of the gator
story that isn't often told.

[Martin]
baby gators waste no time
when it comes to hunting.

[Chris]
they have no choice.

Mom provides
great protection,

But when it comes
to feeding them, forget it.

[Martin]
because it's not a problem.

Baby gators are
natural born hunters.

This guy's starting
with dragonflies

And working his way up
from there.

[Chris]
right now, this baby gator
is vulnerable

To predators like herons,
raccoons, and snakes.

[Martin]
but once he's grown up,

He won't experience
much danger.

I mean, after all,
these are the gator glades.

[Chris]
and adult gators are
the predators, not the prey.

[Martin]
you know, I wonder what
the creature world looks like

To a gator.

Sounds like it's time
for creature vision goggles.

Do you have yours
set on gator?

Yep.

[Martin]
you know, looking through
the gator's eyes,

Everything looks like lunch.

[Chris]
yeah, but it's not
just florida gators.

Check out crocodilians
in africa.

[Martin]
here you find
the awesome nile crocodile.

[Chris]
this croc doesn't stop
at fish and frogs.

He goes for the big stuff.

[Martin]
like zebras.

[Chris]
almost any creature that
gets close to the croc's waters

Is in danger of a snap.

[Martin]
just like the indo-pacific
crocodile in australia.

[Chris]
the indo-pacific's
the largest living reptile.

His normal menu includes
lizards, snakes, and birds,

But bigger crocs can even
snap down on gray kangaroos,

If they get too close.

[Martin]
and in costa rica,

Even the baby sea turtles
have to watch out for crocs.

[Chris]
the croc hasn't seen
this baby sea turtle.

[Martin]
but she better hurry
to the water before he does.

[Chris]
so to sum up, crocs and gators
are opportunistic eaters.

Give them the opportunity,
and they'll eat anything.

That may be
one of the reasons

Why alligators
have been around so long.

They have
an unspecialized diet.

They'll eat
just about anything.

Yeah. Say you ate only
one kind of creature,

Like birds.

If they disappeared,
you'd starve.

But if you ate
all kinds of creatures,

You'd be fine.

[Chris]
here's an example
of what can happen

If you eat only
one kind of food.

[Martin]
this is the everglades kite.

His diet consists
of apple snails...

And only apple snails.

[Chris]
so if the number
of apple snails declines,

So do the number
of everglades kites.

[Martin]
and in fact, that's happening.

A fluctuation
in the number of apple snails

And a loss of habitat

Has put the kite in
serious danger of disappearing.

If you want to see
a real disappearing act,

Check this out.

What first might look like
a log...really isn't.

[Chris]
how many logs have you seen
with eyes and nostrils?

These are crocs and gators,
and we're on their turf.

[Martin]
they're not easy to spot,

Which is
exactly the point...

And how they grab all that food
in the first place.

They make sure the prey
doesn't see them.

[Chris]
they submerge as much
of their bodies as they can,

Leaving just the tip
of their heads above the surface

So they can
still breathe and see.

[Martin]
their powerful tails propel them
silently through the water.

[Chris]
but they don't chase
their prey.

They swim to a spot where
potential prey may come by,

And then they wait.

[Martin]
when someone gets close,
they'll ambush them.

[Chris]
the gator's normal pace
is pretty slow.

[Martin]
this guy looks like he's
going under in about 13 seconds.

[Chris]
but in fact, it took
a minute and a half

For him to dunk his head.

[Martin]
because crocs and gators
live on both land and water,

They need special equipment.

For going underwater,

The gator has
special ear and nose flaps

That prevent water
from coming in.

[Chris]
for his eyes, he has
an extra set of lids

That help him see
underwater.

[Martin]
this gator is swimming with
his head and back revealed,

Which means he's probably
trying to intimidate

A nearby gator.

[Chris]
it's the gator way of saying,

"I'm bigger than you, pal,
so back off."

[Martin]
so, the gator hunting style

Is all about
watching and waiting.

They do come up on land
to hunt,

But mainly they stay hidden
in the water,

Waiting for the right moment
to strike.

[Chris]
hey, the american gator's
hunting style

Is just like
the nile crocodile's style.

[Martin]
you're right.

The croc uses the watch-and-wait
technique, too.

He stakes out a water hole,

Waiting for any creature
who comes to take a drink.

[Allison]
if there's a kudu drinking,
where's the croc?

Wow!
So the croc wasthere!

Let's replay this
in slow motion.

The croc was so fast,
I barely saw him the first time.

O.k., You can tell
the kudu knows something is up.

And there's the croc!

Luckily for the kudu,

He saw the croc and got
out of snapping distance...

This time.

[Martin]
when it comes to hunting,

Crocs and gators
are pretty similar.

[Chris]
they both move slowly,

Except when
they're about to snap.

[Martin]
they both have
an amazing ability

To make the most
of what they eat.

Their highly acidic stomachs
can digest most of their prey,

Bones and all.

[Chris]
and secondly,

Because they don't
actively search for prey,

They don't need to eat as much
as predators who do.

[Martin]
right, and a predator
who chases his prey

Needs to keep replenishing
all the energy he spends

Catching his prey.

[Chris]
with the crocodilian's
amazing hunting style,

All he needs is a quick burst
of energy to catch his prey,

Then it's chow time.

[Martin]
a lesson this poor turtle
learned a little too late.

[Chris
if his food is small enough,
the gator will gobble it whole.

[Martin]
but in the case
of this turtle,

The gator will need to spend
a lot of time

Breaking up the shell
into smaller pieces.

Man, this meal is taking
a lot of work.

[Chris]
no kidding. It could take hours
for him to break up the shell.

But all this work
is worth it.

An adult gator can last
up to two years between meals.

[Martin]
if he has to.

But gators will eat
whenever they can,

And they're not
the pickiest eaters.

Ah, those crazy
gorging gators.

Reminds me of spheno suchus,
an old pal of mine,

And I do mean old.

Spheno was
the oldest known crocodile,

And he didn't look
much different

From the crocs and gators
of today.

Wait a minute.

This says
that spheno suchus

Was probably
the very first crocodile ever.

That was over


Ttark, if you knew
spheno suchus,

That would make you--
hey, where'd you go?

Wouldn't that make you...

Well, uh, maybe
I didn't know him.

Maybe I only heard
about him. Yeah.

But what you're saying
is that crocodilians

Haven't changed much
since then.

Hey, as the old thorny
devil expression goes,

If it ain't broke,
don't fix it.

Ttark, that's
a human expression.

You're kidding.

Thorny told me
it was original.

But it still doesn't explain
why crocodilians survived

And dinosaurs didn't.

We're working on it, al.

Lying in the sun
is working on it?

[Chris]
yeah.

Lying in the sun is one of
the gator's favorite pastimes.

[Martin]
crocodilians--or in other words,
gators and crocs--

Are cold-blooded.

That means they can't control
their own body temperatures.

[Chris]
so if the weather gets cold,
their bodies get cold.

[Martin]
but they can heat up using
that old-fashioned method--

Lying in the sun.

[Chris]
and if the weather's hot,

They'll open their jaws
to chill out,

Allowing heat to evaporate
through their mouth.

It's sort of like sweating--
crocodilian style.

[Martin]
hey, this croc's really
saving his energy.

He's not even
doing anything

About that spider
crawling across his eye.

But the best method
for crocodilian cool-down

Is to take a dunk
in the water.

That really cools
the blood.

[Chris]
you know, to a lot of people,

The idea of cold-blooded animals
is pretty creepy.

[Martin]
yeah, but why?

Being cold-blooded means
you don't need as much food.

It lets you save your energy
for other things.

[Chris]
exactly. It's one
of the crocodilian's

Amazing secrets of success.

They think
that'ssomething,

Wait till they get a load
of the head-slapping.

Did you say
head-slapping?

Ah, nothing like
a little head-slapping

To get you going
in the morning.

It's gator communication.

Who needs words when you got
good head-slapping?

Just give the water
a whack,

And the other guy knows
whose turf is where.

Hey, pal, take a hike!

What, you don't
get the message?

The only problem is,

Head-slapping is
a little contagious.

Once you start,
you never want to stop.

The head-slapping
attracted him.

[Allison]
head-slapping is
a cool fact about gators,

But we still don't know

What the secret is
to the gator's success.

Well, maybe it's not
as big a mystery
as you think, al.

I think they've been
around for so long

Because they have
an incredible design

That helps them
survive.

Sure. It's like--
whoa! Whoa!

All right, martin!

That's
a perfect example.

What are you talking about?
I'm stuck in a gator hole!

That's my point--

What are gator holes?

They're hard
to get out of.

They're big holes.
Take a look.

Alligators dig them
with their snouts,
claws, and tails.

The holes fill up
with water,

And with the water comes
all sorts of life--

Vegetation, insects,
small fish--

Gator holes provide
a food source
and habitat

For other creatures.

Like big fish, raccoons,
and wading birds.

Which in turn become
food for the gators.

Wait a minute.

Food for the gators?

Food for the gators?

Guys, you better
get out of there fast.

O.k., Ttark,
here's my theory.

Crocodilians survived
because they're adaptable.

They had
all the right equipment,

And they knew how
to use it.

They could deal with anything
that came along--

Good times, bad times,
wet spells, dry spells.

What do you think?

By jurassic,
I think she's got it.

There's one thing
I haven't got--your age.

Come on, ttark, fess up.
How old are you?

Hey, isn't solving
one mystery a day enough?

I hate it
when he does that.

Guys? Hey, where are you?

We're still
on the gator trail,

Trying to find
as many crocodilians as we can.

What, you haven't
seen enough?

Hey, we've never
seen enough.

It's just that
this time,

We've got an easier way
of getting around.

[Martin]
easier and not destructive
to the glades

As long as you stay
on the paths.

[Chris]
o.k., So what have
we figured out?

Well, we've definitely found out
that crocodilians

Are not
the bloodthirsty monsters

A lot of humans
think they are.

What they are are incredible
masters of survival.

[Martin]
masters with a lot of secrets to
survival in the creature world.

I think I understand

What helped
the crocodiles and alligators

Survive millions of years
through all kinds of changes.

As for dinosaurs,
why they d*ed off

Is as much a mystery as...
How old ttark really is...

Or where the guys are
going to pop up next.

What do you mean
where we're going to
pop up next?

We're still here
in florida.

Except this time,
we've got
a different mission.

Yeah.
Some people complain
about alligators

Coming up
onto the golf course,

But we thought we'd do something
to bring everybody together.

It's the new golf
with a gator tournament.

[Martin]
of course, the rules
change a little.

If he says
he got a birdie...

He got a birdie.

[Growling]