Surviving Grand Canyon (Full Episode) | America's National Parks

The Grand Canyon, a chasm 277 miles long. Even in winter, what appears barren supports life. A female mountain lion shelters from the cold. With her eight-month-old daughter, she can't rest for long with an extra mouth to feed. Finding food is tough at the best of times, But a good hunt can provide for a week or more. Elk are their main prey. The canyon limits their escape routes. Every day is a battle for survival in one of America's grandest national parks. President Theodore Roosevelt championed the Grand Canyon's protection, saying, it is beyond comparison, beyond description, absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world. He's not wrong. At its heart, the canyon itself. An epic natural landmark, visible from space. Running through it, the mighty Colorado River. Over 5 million years, its powerful waters have carved the rocks to form a canyon so vast, it creates its own weather. Steep cliffs radiate the sun's heat. So even in winter, the walls act like an oven. Temperatures can drop as low as minus 22 at the top, but it can still be 30 degrees hotter at the bottom. As the air at the base of the canyon warms, it rises through the colder air above, creating updrafts, thermals. As the thermals lift higher out of the canyon, they're caught by the largest bird in North America, the California condor. They use thermals to soar up to 15,000 feet. California condors nearly went extinct in the 1980s. Today, just over 100 rule the skies over Grand Canyon National Park. Each one is tagged and carefully monitored. Making sure its habitat is protected is important, because the condors provide a unique service in the park. Scavenging on dead animals, they can eat four pounds of meat a day, as long as there's enough to go around. This male has had enough. He's got other things on his mind. The need to find a mate has lured some of the males onto a rocky dance floor. He gives it his best, but he's no Fred Astaire. To impress the female, he shows off his massive wings. She has her pick, but it's a big commitment. Condors partner up for life. Finally, his moves pay off, and the match is made. Each new pairing is essential for the future of condors in the park. Condor families make their homes in the tall rock faces. Cliffs that have been protected since Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919. But the canyon itself is much older. The exposed rocky walls give a glimpse of Earth's history dating back 1.8 billion years. It's one of the most studied landscapes in the world. Yet there are still secrets to be found. Hidden away, deep in the rocks, a den of great basin rattlesnakes. Thousands of these cold-blooded reptiles shelter together over winter, curled up in what scientists call a cuddle pile. Their metabolism slows down in the cold, so they've hardly used any energy since fall. Now they're waking up. Without a bite to eat for months, this is one hungry group of snakes. When the outside temperature hits 60 degrees, it triggers a mass emergence. Basking in the spring sunshine builds up energy to hunt. But these snakes face a big challenge. Found only on the north rim, they're cut off to the south by the canyon. Their diet is restricted to small mammals, birds, and lizards, if they can find them. To the snakes, the Grand Canyon is a vast, rocky outcrop. If they could travel further, they would discover that this part is hugely varied. Islands of different habitats cut off by rivers and canyons. 9,000 feet up, something more surprising. The Kaibab Plateau, home to over 1,000 square miles of pristine forest. In this magical green oasis lives an animal found nowhere else on the planet, the Kaibab squirrel, one of the rarest mammals in Grand Canyon National Park. This tree dweller has a special relationship with this particular tree. The Ponderosa pine is the squirrel's home, her safe place away from predators, and her main source of food. She eats almost every part of the tree, the shoots, twigs, and pine cones. In return, she helps spread the seeds, helping to keep the forest healthy. Not bad for a tiny squirrel. The Kaibab Plateau is home to one of the last Ponderosa pine forests in the southwest. It's a unique habitat, protected by Grand Canyon National Park, and a spectacle to behold. Less than 5% of the 6 million annual visitors to the park make it beyond the rim. For most, a trip to a scenic overlook is enough to get a taste of the beauty in this magic place. But for those with a sense of adventure, traveling into the heart of the park can be quite the thrill. A Grand Canyon rafting trip is the adventure of a lifetime. It can take two weeks to raft its entire length. Entrusting their fate to the river, paddlers navigate their way through at least 80 big water rapids, including the infamous Lava Falls. The waters of the Colorado are a rafter's mecca. But it's best not to fall in. The Grand Canyon pink rattlesnake, only found in this region, it's perfectly adapted to canyon life. While the river is a barrier to some, for him, it's an opportunity. Swimming gives him the freedom to search for new hunting grounds. His ability to scour more of the park gives Grand Canyon its own natural form of rodent control. Spring is a common season to spot rattlesnakes. They're found from the base of the canyon to the top. The south rim lies around 1,000 feet lower than the north. Temperatures can be 10 degrees warmer at this time of year, making life slightly easier for its residents. The elk herd enjoys spring's lush new growth. The bulls, with their new velvet-covered antlers, concentrate on eating as much as they can, while the females have bigger tasks at hand. Hiding away from the herd, an elk cow has given birth. Born during the night, her little calf can walk almost immediately. But her legs aren't strong enough to keep up with mom. She has to eat soon for both their sakes. She has a risky decision to make. Find food or protect her calf from mountain lions and coyotes. The mom has to leave. The youngster may seem vulnerable, but she's not completely defenseless. She has a superpower to protect her. For the first few days of her life, she has no scent. Predators, like the park's mountain lions, can't smell her and won't come looking. Laying low should be enough, so long as she just keeps still. While the elk calf hides from predators stalking the rim, others use the natural fortress of the canyon walls to keep their young safe. In a cave high above the canyon floor, a pair of condors take turns to incubate their single egg. Life partners Dash 6 and 66 have been together for eight years. Every new egg is precious. Only around a dozen are laid in the wild each year. It will hatch in just over 50 days. But until then, the new parents need to keep it away from the edge or risk it plummeting half a mile to the rock-hard floor. Over a month later, the condor population of Grand Canyon National Park increases by one. Dash 6 and 66's new chick is just a few days old. He's already keeping his parents busy with a ferocious appetite. The cliffs provide sanctuary, but this high-rise nursery isn't totally child-friendly. He's got to be careful if he's going to soar the skies alongside his parents. That momentous day won't come for six months, if it comes at all. The Grand Canyon is a place of many different worlds. The life-giving waters of the Colorado run year-round. But on the plateau, it's a very different story. This might look like a furry little pig, but it is, in fact, a javelina, also known as a skunk pig, thanks to their terrible smell. The scent is used to strengthen their family bond and mark territory. They live in tight-knit groups called squadrons. They are always on the move, searching for food and water. Today, the thirsty javelina are in luck. The rain-fed watering hole is a lifesaver. Javelina will drink from this precious water source for as long as they can. But in the summer, it will quickly dry up. In the hottest part of the year, dehydration is a real risk. Death in the wild is a fact of life, but that doesn't make it any easier for those left behind. Javelina are intelligent, and they are known to mourn. For three days, the female stays close to her deceased relative, but she can't be with him forever. It's not just javelina facing tough times from lack of water high on the rim. A mule deer mom and her young are taking a risky step. They're heading nearly a mile down into the canyon on their own search for water. It's a steep and treacherous descent. One misstep, and it's 1,000 foot drop to the canyon floor. Mule deer are agile, but the youngster doesn't know the route. Over the years, he will learn the many vertical highways down to the canyon floor. As they climb down, desert vegetation takes over. The walls of the canyon are covered by cacti and saltbush. Finally, they reach a magical green paradise. If you can reach them, Grand Canyon National Park is peppered with natural water sources. There are many seeps and springs, each one unique. Some are fed by ancient underground aquifers. Others are torrents of runoff that create stunning waterfalls. For the tired young deer, the perilous journey is over. Life is abundant in these oases. It's an ideal habitat for lots of insects. A damselfly recently emerged lays her eggs while trying to avoid becoming a snack. More than 1,000 springs have been mapped in the Grand Canyon. Many are yet to be discovered. Some have been used by Native Americans for thousands of years. 11 indigenous tribes have important connections with the land of Grand Canyon National Park. For the Zuni, the Paiute, Hopi, and the Navajo people, it's a sacred place. For the Havasupai and the Hualapai people, this is home. People have lived in the Grand Canyon for at least 13,000 years. Today, the park is actively working with tribes and developing new collaborative partnerships. Summer hits. Heat intensifies. Dry washes crisscross the landscape, the ideal highway for many residents. Including one of the park's rarest sightings, a Gila monster. At nearly two feet long, they are North America's largest and only venomous lizard. 95% of their life is spent inactive underground. But driven by hunger, this female is on a mission to find an easy meal. Her eyesight is poor, so she relies on her forked tongue to pick up scents over 600 feet away. No luck here. On with the hunt. Finally, a promising spot. This burrow belongs to someone else. It's home to a desert tortoise. The tortoise has found somewhere cool and quiet to lay eggs, a Gila monster delicacy. But a check of the burrow shows there's no eggs yet. She's too early. It's a lucky break for the tortoise. The hungry Gila monster continues her search. She can't stay out for too long and risk cooking in the desert heat. Best get a move on. Finally, she picks up another scent and follows it to a nest of quail eggs. Once a meal is found, there's no stopping her. She gorges herself, eating up to a third of her body weight in one go. Excess calories will be stored as fat in her body and tail. With a full belly, she can head back to her burrow to digest and hide from the canyon's biggest predators, like the mountain lion. On the prowl in the 1.2 million acres of Grand Canyon National Park. Finding prey in this vast wilderness is no easy task. Her hunting grounds can cover 150 square miles. Today, she doesn't need to travel far. She's revisiting a kill from days ago. By caching the carcass under a tree, it's kept safe from the eyes of other animals. If condors find it, they could devour the entire carcass in hours. Keeping it hidden is key to her survival. But in the Grand Canyon, fortunes can change in an instant. Summer thunderstorms hit hard in Grand Canyon National Park and takes cover. The intense downpours are a welcome relief from the dry desert heat. Animals away from the river make the most of the showers. The great basin rattlesnake flattens his body to form a tight coil to catch as much water as possible. His scales act like tiny rain buckets, providing a much-needed drink, a handy skill to have in a land where water is scarce. On the Kaibab Plateau, lightning storms are the main cause of fires. Recently, higher temperatures have led to more violent weather and intense blazes. It's a growing problem. But if the destruction is not too extensive, fires can stimulate new life by thinning the canopy, allowing more sunlight through. New grasses and fast-growing flowers spring up. Bugs, birds, and other little animals are drawn to the blooming plateau, all relying on this unique forest to thrive. Now, late summer, one animal is starting to outgrow its rocky den. A condor chick is four months old. He starts to explore his surroundings, testing his growing flight feathers. Almost as big as his parents, but he still relies on them to eat. If lucky, they'll avoid the larger threat of lead poisoning from ammunition in their food. Protected lands offer a much-needed sanctuary for this iconic bird. It will be late fall before he finally takes to the skies, when he'll enter a new, more dangerous world. Condors aren't the only ones to use caves as safe places. There are thought to be over 1,000 caves dotted around the park, most yet to be discovered. In a small rock crevice, a newly hatched tortoise prepares to leave his nest. He's the last of the clutch to emerge. With mom long gone, he's on his own. He spent the last few days living off the last of his yolk sac. But now, it's time to venture forth into the big, wide world. He needs to get away from the traceable smell of the nest and find a new shelter. When you're just two inches long, walking a few yards can feel like a million miles. Small and slow, he's an easy target. Only 5% of hatchlings survive to adulthood. His shell is still soft. And it'll be five years before it's hard like a shield. Until then, he relies on a bit of luck and the vastness of the Grand Canyon to hide safely away. New home found, he hunkers down. While some of the park's residents stay quietly hidden away, others are making their presence known. Early fall is elk mating season. The air is filled with bugling calls of males, announcing their intentions to the females. The bulls scrape away the soft velvet of their antlers to reveal the sharp points beneath, all to intimidate their rivals. Loud shrieks and large antlers increase chances of getting female attention. A young male is entering his first mating season. But what do you do if you've got small antlers? He decides to take the direct approach. The female elk quickly gives the young bull the brush off. It's time for a different tack. By urinating on himself, the young bull spreads a scent that the females find intoxicating. Completely covered, he makes his move. Tasting the air, he can detect if a female is in season. Now he's got more interest. One female simply can't resist the aroma. They head to a more secluded spot. While the elk are distracted by mating rituals on the Kaibab Plateau, others have to work hard to prepare for winter. Unlike most squirrels, Kaibab squirrels don't store much away. Instead, they forage all year long. Their home spreads over 600 square miles of pine forest, so there should be plenty to go around. But there is another critical task to do before winter hits. Their nests need some essential maintenance. Made out of ponderosa needles and twigs, this female needs it to be a sturdy shelter from the snow. For extra warmth, the normally solitary squirrel will share her nest with other females. She better get a move on with the renovations, because in four weeks' time, the first snows of winter will hit. Animals across the park have to be ready for the harshest season. As some build their homes, others leave theirs for the very first time. Now is the moment of truth for the condor chick. After six months confined to the nest, he's ready to fly. It's a make or break moment. In an instant, he's gone from grounded chick to full-fledged condor. Over 1 million acres of Grand Canyon National Park are now his to explore. This special place has so much more than just postcard views. It's a land of extremes whose world-famous canyon and tough residents are protected. Full of surprises, a thrill-seeker's paradise, America's national parks are an epic testament to our love for nature and a vital reminder that we need the natural world as much as it needs us.