National Geographic: Realm of the Alligator Page #3

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Is that one over there?

Yeah. That's one back

in the water lilies.

Let's try and get a bit closer to it,

can we?

I'll pole some more if you'll keep

paddling on that side.

Unlike the closely related crocodile,

alligators rarely attack man.

There are only about a half dozen

fatalities on record,

and there has never been a serious

incident in the Okefenokee Refuge.

Even so, there's a certain tension

whenever they're about.

Do you see one?

I'll keep going. Say when.

Okay, Just a little closer.

You got one?

The captured baby gives

a continuous cry of alarm.

John and Kent work quickly.

They want to minimize stress

on the baby

and avoid trouble with its mother

who might be nearby.

Forty-two-and-a-half centimeters.

Forty-two?

Uh huh. Forty-two. Good.

What's it reading?

It's just at 200 grams.

Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it

My god! She's really cruising.

Is it the call of the baby?

Yeah. The baby's just

continually calling.

Well, hang on. Her jaws are open a bit

Her teeth are showing.

Kent, are you sure it's okay?

I don't think it's a good idea

to stay here.

Do you want to put the baby back,

or what?

Probably what I should do is just tap her

on the nose and see if it scares her.

They are often a little more brave

at night than they are in the daytime.

Watch! She's coming, Kent.

Boy, she really concentrates on that...

She just localizes right

on the distress call.

I think I had better push her off.

Are you sure?

She's a little too close.

This is not safe.

She's not safe?

No.

How about just putting the baby back?

Don't you think that's the best idea?

Yeah. We're definitely

at a disadvantage.

So Kent builds a record of

alligator growth in different areas.

Females grow to an average

of seven to eight feet,

While males may be up to 14 feet

and weigh 850 pounds.

Not all of Okefenokee's wonders

are found in the marshes.

John Paling explores a pine forest in

search of the red-cockaded woodpecker.

The birds are endangered

and difficult to find.

They live in groups of three or more,

and each of these so-called "clans"

requires about 200 acres of home range

This small woodpecker,

only seven inches in length,

has become famous for

its finicky habits.

It will only make holes

in old pine trees

that are usually infected by

a certain disease red heart fungus.

The fungus softens the tree's

inner core,

making the woodpecker's work easy.

When a clan of woodpeckers finds trees

that suit them exactly,

They may remain here for life.

The woodpecker's keep busy, however,

carrying out a fascinating scheme

for survival.

They constantly make fresh holes

in the trees,

causing them to exude a

thick coating of resin.

It's a sharp and smelly substance,

the main ingredient of turpentine.

The woodpecker's nest hole

is surrounded be resin.

And it's always located

on the western side of the trunk

where the heat of the sun will

help keep the resin moist and fresh.

The reason for all this only

becomes clear

with the appearance of a predator

like this corn snake.

Sometimes this snake can be

an amazing tree climber.

It can climb straight up and reach

bird nests 30 feet above the ground.

Eggs or baby birds

inside the woodpecker's nest

are seemingly easy prey.

But now the resin comes into play.

To the snake it's a powerful irritant.

Frequently is stops the snake entirely

Even if the snake persists,

it still tries to avoid contact

with the resin.

Often the snake ends up retreating

the hard way.

Such moments of threat and drama

frequently interrupt the tranquility

of Okefenokee.

The predator in one situation can

become prey in the next.

A baby alligator in pursuit

of a diving katydid.

Hiding underwater, the katydid

is safe temporarily.

But after two minutes or so,

it must come up for air.

It's midsummer.

John Paling and Kent Vliet

search for alligator nests.

At this time of year dozens of nests

are concealed in the swamp.

The best way to find one is

to look for the trail

the female alligator has made

when coming and going from the nest.

They should be pretty clear.

If they're used often like a trail

to a nest is,

they're pretty obvious.

This looks like one right here.

Left?

Right by these yellow flowers

in this clump here.

Let's shove the nose of the boat

in here.

Yeah, this is one.

Oh, I can see it.

Yeah. It does look like

it's used pretty frequently too.

That one looks really packed down.

I think it's probably

one leading to a nest.

Alligator trails form a network of

natural pathways through the swamp.

They were often followed

by early explorers.

But there's a drawback.

Alligators like to lie submerged

along the trails.

It's all to easy to step on one.

In the nesting season the female

alligator is on the defensive.

She herself has nothing to fear,

but her eggs are highly vulnerable.

Scavengers often attack the nest.

Wait a minute. Here's the nest.

It's been attacked, hasn't it?

No, I think they've been eaten.

Something's gotten into the nest

and eaten the eggs.

Oh. What would have eaten these then?

Probably either raccoons or black bears

Black bears eat a lot of

alligator nests here.

But I mean raccoons and bears wouldn't

swim and wade through this stuff?

Well, there could be one living

in this island,

or he may have moved

from island to island.

It's hard to say if it was

a black bear or a raccoon though.

Sometimes black bears will pick off

the end of an egg

and just eat the insides out of it.

I don't know how they do it.

They may just use a claw and

just pop the top off and eat it.

This is sort of like an island.

How does the mother make it?

I think this nest is either sunk

from its own weight

after she built it or the water level

in the swamp has risen some.

These things just scrape up all

the dirt and vegetation around them.

You see there's peat in here

and a lot of plant matter

that holds it together.

And also the rotting plant

matter heats the eggs.

It creates heat as it rots,

and it actually keeps the eggs warmer

than they would be just

with the sun on them.

Could she still be around now these

have been eaten?

I think she probably came back

and realized that it had been disturbed

and just lost interest and left.

Let's find another one then.

Okay. That's really too bad.

Often the female alligator

is not far from the nest.

And when she discovers an intruder,

she can be highly aggressive.

John Paling once faced such

a confrontation unexpectedly

when filming a nest.

This was, in Paling's understated words

a moment

"of surprise and serious concern".

It ended only when he backed off,

leaving the nest to its rightful owner

The fierce protection given the nest

plays a vital part

in the life of the redbelly turtle.

The female turtle tries to lay her eggs

in the alligator's nest.

If she succeeds,

the mother alligator

will unwittingly stand guard over

the turtle eggs as well as her own.

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