Wonders of Mexico
Burning North
Episode 3 | 53m 40sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Journey across the deserts of Northern Mexico, home to a rich community of animals.
A journey across Northern Mexico reveals a desert rich in life. From prairie dogs fighting snakes, bats hunting scorpions and tiny owls living in giant cacti, its animals have found clever ways to survive against the odds.
See all videos with Audio DescriptionADProblems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Wonders of Mexico
Burning North
Episode 3 | 53m 40sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
A journey across Northern Mexico reveals a desert rich in life. From prairie dogs fighting snakes, bats hunting scorpions and tiny owls living in giant cacti, its animals have found clever ways to survive against the odds.
See all videos with Audio DescriptionADProblems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Wonders of Mexico
Wonders of Mexico is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Buy Now
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipANTHONY MENDEZ: NORTHERN MEXICO, ONE OF THIS COUNTRY'S GREATEST WILDERNESSES... A LAND OF AWE-INSPIRING DESERTS... AND VAST PRAIRIES...
THE BIRTHPLACE OF ICONS, AND HOME TO SOME OF MEXICO'S RAREST WILDLIFE.
[YIP] [HISSING] WE'LL TRAVEL WEST FROM THE GRASSLANDS OF CENTRAL NORTHERN MEXICO TO THE DESERTS BORDERING ITS PACIFIC COAST... A JOURNEY THAT TAKES US THROUGH A RICH MOSAIC OF DESERT WORLDS... AND AS THE CONDITIONS GET PROGRESSIVELY HOTTER AND TOUGHER, WE'LL DISCOVER THE EVER-MORE-SURPRISING WAYS LIFE HAS FOUND TO TRIUMPH IN THIS UNTAMED FRONTIER.
MEXICO IS A COUNTRY RICH IN CULTURE, ABLAZE WITH COLOR AND SPIRIT... [CLINK] HIDING WILD SECRETS... AND AN ASTONISHING DIVERSITY OF LIFE.
[BUZZING] IN THE NORTHERNMOST REACHES OF MEXICO, JUST ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN BORDER, IS A LITTLE-KNOWN WORLD-- [BIRD CHIRPING] MEXICO'S GREAT PRAIRIE LANDS.
[BIRDS CHIRPING] SITTING ABOVE 5,000 FEET IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THIS COUNTRY'S SIERRAS... [THUNDER] THEY CATCH A LITTLE MORE RAIN THAN MOST OTHER PLACES IN THE NORTH.
[THUNDER] [RAIN FALLING] BETWEEN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER, MONSOON STORMS ROLL IN OFF THE CARIBBEAN, HELPING GRASS TO GROW...
CREATING THE PERFECT HABITAT FOR A RICH COMMUNITY OF ANIMALS... [CHIRPING] [DIGGING] AND SOME OF THE MOST ENDEARING ARE THESE-- THE BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG.
THESE SOCIABLE RODENTS LIVE IN EXTENSIVE COLONIES COMPRISED OF DOZENS OF FAMILIES, EACH WITH A DOMINANT MALE, SEVERAL FEMALES, AND THEIR OFFSPRING.
IN MAY, THEIR 6-WEEK-OLD PUPS TAKE THEIR FIRST STEPS ABOVE GROUND.
[YIP YIP YIP YIP] [YIP] GRASSES AND OTHER PRAIRIE PLANTS PROVIDE ALL THE FOOD AND MOISTURE THESE VEGETARIANS NEED, BUT FEEDING IN THIS OPEN TERRAIN COMES WITH RISKS.
[YIP] [YIP] THEIR BURROWS OFFER AN ESCAPE FROM BIRDS OF PREY AND COYOTES... [YIP] BUT THEY'RE NO PROTECTION FROM ONE OF THE PRAIRIE'S MOST PERSISTENT HUNTERS-- THE BULLSNAKE.
THIS POWERFUL CONSTRICTOR COULD EASILY SUFFOCATE AN ADULT PRAIRIE DOG... [YIP YIP] BUT IT'S PUPS HE'S AFTER... AND THEY'RE HIDING SOMEWHERE IN THEIR BURROW.
[YIP] [YIP YIP] THEIR FATHER WILL BE FOOLHARDY TO FOLLOW THIS PREDATOR UNDERGROUND.
[YIP] [YIP YIP YIP] [YIP YIP YIP] [YIP] THE SNAKE'S FOUND NOTHING DOWN THIS HOLE, SO HE'S ON TO THE NEXT.
TO SAVE HIS PUPS, THEIR FATHER MUST SOMEHOW DRIVE THE SNAKE AWAY... RISKING HIS LIFE.
[HISSING] [YIP YIP] HE STANDS TO WARN OTHERS WHERE THE SNAKE IS.
REPEATED STRIKES MIGHT JUST DRIVE IT AWAY.
[YIP] [YIP] [YIP YIP YIP] [YIP YIP YIP YIP] [YIPPING] THE SNAKE CONCEDES DEFEAT.
[YIP] ON THE OPEN PRAIRIES, THERE'S SAFETY IN NUMBERS... AND, THANKS TO THEIR FATHER'S BRAVERY, THE PUPS ARE SAFE AGAIN.
NORTHERN MEXICO SITS AT A LATITUDE WHERE HIGH ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE DOMINATES AND LITTLE RAIN EVER FALLS.
THIS IS MEXICO'S DRIEST REGION, AND MUCH OF IT IS DESERT.
IT'S BY FAR THE LEAST POPULATED, MOST UNTAMED CORNER OF THIS COUNTRY...
BUT FOR THOSE WHO CARVE A LIFE HERE, OVERCOMING THESE CONDITIONS CAN BRING RICH REWARDS.
AFTER THE SUMMER RAINY SEASON, LITTLE RAIN FALLS ON THE PRAIRIES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR... [WIND BLOWING] BUT EVEN DURING DROUGHT, THERE IS WATER HERE.
DEEP UNDERGROUND, GREAT RESERVOIRS LIE TRAPPED IN THE POROUS, LIMESTONE BEDROCK.
THESE GIANT AQUIFERS HELP SUPPORT ONE OF THIS REGIONS MOST PROMINENT WAYS OF LIFE-- MAN: HEY!
HEY, HEY, HEY!
[NICKERS] MENDEZ: RANCHING.
[MOOING] MAN: HEY!
OH!
HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!
MENDEZ: WITH A YEAR-ROUND SOURCE OF WATER AND SUCH EXTENSIVE PASTURES, MEXICO'S PRAIRIES ARE PRIME CATTLE COUNTRY, HOME TO MORE THAN 10 MILLION BEEF CATTLE.
FOR CENTURIES, PEOPLE LIKE SERVANDO DIAZ GOMEZ HAVE WORKED THIS LAND.
[GOMEZ SPEAKING SPANISH] [MOOING] MENDEZ: IN THE 16TH CENTURY, THE SPANISH BROUGHT CATTLE AND HORSES TO THE NORTH AND TRAINED LOCALS TO MANAGE THE HERDS.
THE VAQUERO, OR COWBOY, WAS BORN.
THIS COWBOY LIFESTYLE SOON SPREAD NORTH TO WHAT IS NOW TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA, BUT ITS TRUE NATIVE LAND IS HERE... ON THE PRAIRIES OF MEXICO.
OH!
OH!
OH!
[NICKERING] [GOMEZ SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: BUT THE DRY CONDITIONS MAKE RANCHING TOUGH.
THESE GRASSES ARE EASILY OVERGRAZED.
OVER THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, FARMING AND DROUGHT HAVE DAMAGED OVER HALF OF THE PRAIRIES...
BUT SERVANDO IS ONE OF A PIONEERING BAND TRYING TO REVERSE THE TREND.
USING ELECTRIC FENCES, HE CONFINES HIS HERD TO SMALL BLOCKS OF PASTURE.
EVERY FEW HOURS, THEY'RE MOVED ON TO THE NEXT BLOCK.
THE GRAZED AREA IS THEN LEFT TO RECOVER.
IT'S A STRATEGY THAT'S HAVING A BIG IMPACT.
WHOA!
MENDEZ: THIS HEALTHY PASTURE IS HELPING SERVANDO YIELD TWICE AS MANY CATTLE... AND WILDLIFE IS ALSO THRIVING.
[BIRDS CHIRPING] WELL-MANAGED GRASSLANDS OFFER A RICH DIET OF INSECTS AND SEEDS FOR UP TO 3 TIMES AS MANY GRASSLAND BIRDS.
THEY PROVIDE FOOD FOR ONE OF MEXICO'S RAREST CREATURES-- THE APLOMADO FALCON.
THEY RANGE AS FAR SOUTH AS ARGENTINA, BUT MEXICO'S PRAIRIES ARE THEIR NORTHERN LIMIT, WHERE ONLY A HANDFUL SURVIVE... AND WHEN HUNTING, THESE FALCONS SPECIALIZE IN CHASING DOWN BIRDS IN MIDAIR.
THE FALCON IS MUCH FASTER IN LEVEL FLIGHT...
BUT ITS PREY IS FAR QUICKER ON THE TURN.
ONLY ONE IN 5 PURSUITS LIKE THIS ENDS IN SUCCESS, BUT APLOMADO FALCONS HAVE A SECRET WEAPON.
BREED PAIRS HUNT TOGETHER.
THEIR PREY'S ONLY CHANCE OF ESCAPE IS TO HIDE.
THE FALCONS NEED TO FLUSH THE BIRD OUT... AND TWO BIRDS ARE BETTER THAN ONE.
WORKING TOGETHER, THESE BIRDS ARE TWICE AS SUCCESSFUL, AND EVERY CATCH IS VITAL WHEN YOU'RE RAISING A FAMILY.
CONSERVATIONISTS HAVE BUILT NEST PLATFORMS FOR THE FALCONS THAT PROTECT THEIR PRECIOUS CHICKS FROM PREDATORS, LIKE RAVENS, PRECIOUS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO RARE.
[CHIRPING] THERE ARE ONLY 5 PAIRS HERE, AND THESE ARE THE ONLY ONES TO SUCCESSFULLY BREED THIS YEAR...
BUT WITH CONSERVATIONISTS AND RANCHERS LOOKING OUT FOR THESE SPECTACULAR BIRDS, THEY'VE HOPEFULLY GOT A BRIGHTER FUTURE.
TEAMWORK IS IMPORTANT FOR MANY IN MEXICO'S PRAIRIES.
SO TOO IS BRAVERY.
[MAN SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: CHARROS ARE IMPORTANT SYMBOLS OF TRADITIONAL MEXICAN IDENTITY.
DURING THE REVOLUTION OF 1910, THESE COWBOYS UNITED TO REBEL AGAINST RICH LANDOWNERS, AND THE CUSTOMARY CHARRO COSTUME IS STILL WORN TODAY AS A CELEBRATION OF THEIR BRAVE ROLE IN THIS UPRISING.
THEY'RE COMPETING IN MEXICO'S NATIONAL SPORT-- THE CHARRERIA.
[MAN ON P.A.
SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: WHAT WAS ONCE A FRIENDLY COMPETITION BETWEEN NEIGHBORS HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO HAS EVOLVED INTO THE ULTIMATE DISPLAY OF COWBOY BRAVADO.
[GARCIA SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: EACH TEAM OF CHARROS IS MADE UP OF SPECIALISTS WHO PERFORM 9 DIFFERENT EQUESTRIAN EVENTS ACROSS THE DAY.
SIMILAR TO RODEO, THEY FLAUNT CATTLE HANDLING, RIDING, AND ROPING SKILLS USED IN EVERYDAY COWBOY LIFE.
THE MOST DANGEROUS EVENT IS SAVED UNTIL LAST.
[MAN ON P.A.
SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: MARTIN SPECIALIZES IN EL PASO DE LA MUERTE-- [MAN ON P.A.
SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: THE PASS OF DEATH.
GALLOPING AT FULL SPEED, HE HAS TO JUMP ONTO THE BACK OF A WILD, UNTAMED HORSE AND HANG ON WITHOUT REINS.
[GARCIA SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: IF HE FALLS, HE'LL BE TRAMPLED.
[GARCIA SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: MARTIN NOW RISKS LIFE AND LIMB TO SECURE VICTORY FOR HIS TEAM.
[GARCIA SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: OTHER CHARROS SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION.
[GARCIA SPEAKS SPANISH] MENDEZ: IN THE BURNING NORTH, SUCCESS FAVORS THE BRAVE.
MEXICO'S PRAIRIES RUN ALONG THE EDGE OF GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES-- THE WESTERN AND EASTERN SIERRA MADRES.
OVER 10,000 FEET HIGH, THEY INTERCEPT MOIST AIR COMING FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND GULF OF MEXICO.
BEYOND THE PRAIRIES, THE LAND IS STARVED...
CREATING THE CHIHUAHUAN DESERT... ONE OF THE LARGEST IN NORTH AMERICA.
COVERING AN AREA THE SIZE OF MONTANA, ON AVERAGE, IT RECEIVES ONLY HALF THE RAINFALL OF THE PRAIRIES...
BUT IN THE HEART OF THIS DESERT IS ONE OF MEXICO'S GREATEST NATURAL WONDERS-- THE VALLEY OF CUATRO CIENEGAS.
HERE, AQUIFERS BREAK THE SURFACE, CREATING A WATER WORLD.
MOST OF THESE POOLS, KNOWN LOCALLY AS POZAS, ARE FED BY THERMAL SPRINGS, WHERE UNDERGROUND WATER IS FORCED TO THE SURFACE BY GEOTHERMAL HEAT.
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO WHEN THIS REGION WAS MUCH WETTER, ANCIENT WATERWAYS BROUGHT FISH INTO THIS VALLEY.
AS THE CLIMATE DRIED, THE WATERS RECEDED, AND FISH BECAME ISOLATED IN POOLS, EVOLVING INTO MANY NEW SPECIES.
16 SPECIES LIVE HERE, HALF OF THEM FOUND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH...
INCLUDING THIS ONE-- A CUATRO CIENEGAS CICHLID.
THIS FEMALE HAS A FAMILY... AND SHE'S THE MOST DEVOTED MOTHER.
STIRRING UP THE SEDIMENT, SHE EXPOSES TINY PLANKTON FOR HER FRY TO FEED ON...
BUT HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE ISN'T FEEDING HER BABIES.
IT'S PROTECTING THEM.
SOME CICHLIDS HAVE EVOLVED INTO PREDATORS... AND IN THIS SMALL POOL, THERE ARE FEW PLACES TO HIDE.
FROM DAWN UNTIL DUSK, SHE MUST DEFEND HER BROOD.
SHE HAS NO TIME TO FEED HERSELF AND IS GETTING WEAKER BY THE DAY...
BUT IT'S A WORTHWHILE SACRIFICE.
WITHOUT HER HELP, HER YOUNG WOULD NEVER SURVIVE.
WHEN THEY'RE HALF AN INCH LONG, THEY'LL FEND FOR THEMSELVES.
UNTIL THEN, THIS MOTHER MUST GIVE IT HER ALL.
[BIRDS CHIRPING] AN ASTONISHING DIVERSITY OF LIFE HAS EVOLVED IN THIS VALLEY.
IT'S HOME TO MORE UNIQUE SPECIES THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.
THAT'S THE EXCEPTION TO THE NORM.
MOST OF THIS GREAT DESERT IS DOMINATED BY JUST A FEW HARDY SOULS, AND ONE PLANT COPES BETTER THAN MOST-- THE CREOSOTE BUSH, SO CALLED BECAUSE IT SMELLS LIKE WOOD PRESERVATIVE.
LOCALS CALL IT LA GOBERNADORA--THE GOVERNESS, AND IT GOVERNS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
ONE PLANT IS KNOWN TO HAVE SURVIVED FOR OVER 11,000 YEARS.
CREOSOTE IS BRILLIANT AT COPING WITH DROUGHT.
ITS TINY, RESIN-COATED LEAVES DRASTICALLY REDUCE WATER LOSS... AND ITS SHALLOW ROOTS SOAK UP ANY MOISTURE, STOPPING ANYTHING GROWING IN BETWEEN.
CREOSOTE HAS TRULY CONQUERED THIS DESERT... AND ITS SUCCESS HAS BEEN EXPLOITED BY A CREATURE THAT'S ADDICTED TO IT-- [INSECT CHIRPS] [CHIRP] THE CREOSOTE BUSH GRASSHOPPER.
IT'S ONE OF THE FEW ANIMALS THAT CAN STOMACH THIS PLANT.
ITS RESINOUS LEAVES ARE INDIGESTIBLE TO MOST ANIMALS, BUT THIS GRASSHOPPER EATS NOTHING ELSE.
IT'S EVEN EVOLVED TO LOOK LIKE THIS PLANT TO AVOID BECOMING FOOD ITSELF.
MOST OF THE BUSHES HAVE THEIR OWN RESIDENT MALE.
[CHIRP] [CHIRP] THEIR CALLS LET OTHER MALES KNOW THIS BUSH IS OCCUPIED.
[CHIRP] [CHIRP] THEY'RE ALSO VERY ATTRACTIVE TO THE OPPOSITE SEX.
THIS NEWLY ARRIVED FEMALE IS EXACTLY WHAT HE'S BEEN WAITING FOR...
BUT THEY'RE NOT ALONE FOR LONG.
ANOTHER MALE FLIES IN... AND THIS FEMALE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR.
HE MUST THROW HIS RIVAL OUT OF HIS BUSH...
EASIER SAID THAN DONE WITH SO MANY LEGS.
[FLAPPING] VICTORY FOR THE RESIDENT MALE... [CHIRP] BUT HE'S JUST ONE OF MILLIONS OF BATTLING GRASSHOPPERS IN THIS ENDLESS EXPANSE OF CREOSOTE.
[CHIRPING] HUNDREDS OF MILES TO THE WEST, THE VAST CHIHUAHUAN DESERT MEETS GREAT MOUNTAINS.
THESE HIGH SIERRAS CATCH MORE RAIN THAN THE DESERT BELOW, ENABLING FORESTS TO GROW... OFFERING A REFUGE FOR A SPECIAL PLANT WITH THE HOTTEST REPUTATION.
[WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: EVERY AUTUMN, ARMIDA ELENA CONTRERAS DURON AND HER HUSBAND ELIAZAR HEAD UP TO THEIR MOUNTAIN RANCH IT'S THE ONLY TIME OF YEAR WHERE THEY CAN PICK WILD CHILLIES CALLED CHILTEPIN.
[DURON SPEAKING SPANISH] HA HA HA!
SI.
MENDEZ: THESE PLANTS MIGHT HAVE A FIERY NATURE, BUT THEY CAN BE REMARKABLY DELICATE.
THEY DON'T LIKE CONSTANT EXPOSURE TO THE DESERT SUN...
BUT THIS WOODLAND PROVIDES THE SHADE THESE CHILLI PLANTS NEED TO THRIVE.
[DURON SPEAKING SPANISH] MEXICO IS THE SECOND LARGEST PRODUCER OF CHILLIES WORLDWIDE, GROWING NEARLY 3 MILLION TONS ANNUALLY.
WILD CHILTEPINS ARE WHERE THIS GLOBAL CHILLI INDUSTRY BEGAN WHEN THEY WERE DOMESTICATED IN MEXICO 6,000 YEARS AGO.
AT OVER $50 A POUND, THEY ARE NOW ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT EASILY CULTIVATED.
MORE THAN 20 TIMES HOTTER THAN A JALAPENO, THEY GIVE A SPECTACULAR KICK TO ARMIDA'S CUISINE.
[DURON SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: AND AN AWFUL LOT OF CHILLIES.
EVERY TYPE OF CHILLI HAS A UNIQUE FLAVOR.
CHILTEPINS ARE PARTICULARLY CHERISHED BECAUSE THEY ARE ARREBATADO, MEANING RAPID OR VIOLENT.
THEY'RE HOT, BUT THE HEAT SUBSIDES QUICKLY, AND THAT'S ADDICTIVE.
[DURON SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: TO ARMIDA AND HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS, IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF NATIONAL IDENTITY.
[DURON SPEAKING SPANISH] MENDEZ: THESE MOUNTAIN FORESTS ARE ONE OF THE FEW PLACES WHERE WILD CHILTEPIN THRIVE, BUT OUR LOVE OF CHILLIES HAS TAKEN ITS DESCENDANTS TO ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD.
SOME OF THE EARLIEST RECORDS OF THIS PLANT BEING CULTIVATED WERE UNEARTHED BY ARCHEOLOGISTS NEARBY.
IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THESE MOUNTAINS ARE THE REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION CREATED NEARLY 1,000 YEARS AGO-- THE CITY OF PAQUIME...
BUILT BY THE MOGOLLON CULTURE THAT EXTENDED INTO ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO.
ITS WALLS WOULD HAVE SCALED 7 STORIES, AN ANCIENT, DESERT HIGH-RISE SUPPORTING THOUSANDS RELYING ON INGENIOUS ENGINEERING.
IRRIGATION DITCHES RUN THROUGHOUT THE REMAINS THAT FED WATER INTO THE CITY FROM A DISTANT MOUNTAIN SPRING.
THIS CITY THRIVED AS A COMMERCIAL HUB, TRADING WITH COMMUNITIES ACROSS THIS REGION AND BEYOND, AND ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED SOME EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.
INSIDE THESE PENS, RESEARCHERS UNEARTHED THE REMAINS OF SCARLET MACAWS, A TROPICAL PARROT MORE AT HOME IN RAINFORESTS THAN THE DESERT.
TAPPING INTO DISTANT SPRINGS ALLOWED PAQUIME TO FLOURISH FOR OVER 300 YEARS.
NO ONE KNOWS WHY THE CITY WAS ABANDONED.
PERHAPS WAR OR AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE, BUT 600 YEARS AGO, THE WATERS CEASED TO FLOW, AND THE DESERT TOOK ITS GRIP ONCE MORE.
[INSECTS CHIRPING] IN THE FOOTHILLS TO THE WEST, THE SUN HAS SHAPED ANOTHER DESERT THAT COULDN'T LOOK MORE DIFFERENT.
STRETCHING FOR OVER 100,000 SQUARE MILES, THE SONORAN DESERT COVERS MUCH OF NORTHWEST MEXICO AND CROSSES OVER INTO ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA.
IT'S HOME TO THE MOST ICONIC DESERT PLANT OF ALL-- THE SAGUARO CACTUS.
THIS DESERT IS HOTTER AND DRIER THAN THE CHIHUAHUAN... AND ONE WAY TO COPE IS TO BECOME GIGANTIC.
UP TO 60 FEET TALL, SAGUAROS CAN STORE GREAT RESERVES OF WATER.
[THUNDER] [THUNDER] THE SONORAN DESERT HAS TWO RAINY SEASONS IN SUMMER AND WINTER, AND ONE SUMMER STORM CAN BRING A SEASON'S RAIN.
THE SAGUARO WAS BUILT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
ITS SHALLOW ROOTS STRETCH AS WIDE AS THE CACTUS IS TALL, AND ITS PLEATED TRUNK ALLOWS IT TO EXPAND LIKE AN ACCORDION, ENABLING THE LARGEST CACTI TO ABSORB ONE TON OF WATER DURING ONE STORM.
[RAIN FALLING] IT'S ENOUGH WATER TO LAST FOR A YEAR... MAKING SAGUAROS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THIS DESERT.
[BIRDS CHIRPING] EVEN IN A DROUGHT YEAR, SAGUAROS BLOOM.
THEY'RE A MAGNET FOR WILDLIFE.
[BUZZING] ALMOST EVERY CREATURE HERE RELIES ON THIS PLANT, AND NOT JUST AS A SOURCE OF FOOD AND MOISTURE.
MOST OF THE OLDER CACTI ARE POCKMARKED WITH NEST HOLES EXCAVATED BY GILA WOODPECKERS...
BUT SQUATTERS REGULARLY MOVE IN.
IN THIS WORLD OF GIANTS, IT HELPS TO BE TINY.
[CHIRP CHIRP] NOT MUCH BIGGER THAN A SPARROW, FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWLS EASILY SQUEEZE INTO WOODPECKER HOLES, AND THIS FEMALE HAS A FAMILY TO FEED.
DEEP INSIDE, CHICKS ARE SAFE... AND NOT JUST FROM PREDATORS.
OUTSIDE IT'S 100 DEGREES...
BUT THIS PLANT'S ENORMOUS STORES OF WATER KEEP THE INTERIOR UP TO 15 DEGREES COOLER THAN THE SURROUNDINGS... A VITAL REFUGE FOR A FAMILY OF TINY OWLS IN THE CRIPPLING HEAT OF THE DAY.
[INSECTS CHIRPING] AT NIGHT, THE DAYTIME HEAT IS LOST TO THE HEAVENS.
WITH SUCH CLEAR SKIES AND NO LIGHT POLLUTION, THE NORTHERN MEXICAN DESSERT IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES ON EARTH TO STARGAZE.
AND AFTER DARK, ONE OF MEXICO'S MOST INFAMOUS RESIDENTS AWAKENS-- THE SCORPION.
MEXICO IS HOME TO THE GREATEST DIVERSITY OF SCORPIONS ON EARTH... AND THE SONORAN DESERT IS A STRONGHOLD...
BUT EVEN FEARSOME PREDATORS MUST TREAD CAREFULLY.
OTHERS ARE LISTENING IN.
[FLUTTERING] IN THE DESERT, YOU'VE GOT TO GRAB ANY OPPORTUNITY OF A MEAL, NO MATTER HOW DANGEROUS.
PALLID BATS HAVE BECOME SCORPION-HUNTING SPECIALISTS.
THEIR LARGE EARS ARE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE...
CAPABLE OF HEARING THE FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR PREY.
AS LONG AS THE SCORPION STAYS STILL, IT'S SAFE...
BUT THIS BAT HAS ANOTHER WAY OF INCREASING ITS CHANCES.
[SCREECH] IT STALKS ITS PREY.
[SCREECH SCREECH] [SCREECH] THE SLIGHTEST FLINCH WILL GIVE THE SCORPION AWAY.
ITS STING IS NO DEFENSE.
PALLID BATS ARE IMMUNE TO SCORPION VENOM.
IT'S QUITE A MOUTHFUL, TOO, AND A VITAL SOURCE OF WATER IN SUCH A DRY PLACE.
[WIND BLOWING] ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE SONORAN DESERT... DAYTIME CONDITIONS COULDN'T BE MORE EXTREME.
THIS IS EL PINACATE... A LANDSCAPE WITH A VIOLENT PAST PITTED WITH DORMANT VOLCANIC CRATERS AND EXTENSIVE LAVA FLOWS.
IT'S ONE OF THE HOTTEST PLACES ON EARTH.
TEMPERATURES CAN REACH 130 DEGREES.
YEARS CAN PASS WITHOUT RAIN.
IN 1970, ASTRONAUTS ON THE APOLLO 14 MISSION CAME HERE TO TEST THEIR LUNAR EQUIPMENT... BECAUSE THE CONDITIONS HAVE CREATED A MOONSCAPE.
THIS IS MEXICO'S DRIEST REGION... ALL THE MORE SURPRISING, AS IT BORDERS THE SEA.
THE SONORAN DESERT STRETCHES FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES ALONG MEXICO'S PACIFIC COAST AND THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA.
THESE WATERS HAVE HELPED SHAPE THIS PARCHED COASTLINE.
FED BY THE COLD CALIFORNIA CURRENT, THESE SEAS PRODUCE COOL AND DRY ONSHORE WINDS, STARVING THE LAND OF MOISTURE.
CLOUDS STRUGGLE TO FORM....
CREATING A COASTAL DESERT THAT EXTENDS FAR OUT TO SEA.
[GULL SQUAWKING] IN THE MOST ISOLATED CORNER OF THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA IS A TRUE DESERT ISLAND-- ISLA SAN PEDRO MARTIR.
GIANT CARDON CACTI ARE ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE DROUGHT-RAVAGED CONDITIONS.
THERE'S NO FRESH WATER... AND FEW OBVIOUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR A MEAL... [GULLS SQUAWKING] BUT IT'S HOME TO AN ESPECIALLY RESILIENT RESIDENT-- A SIDE-BLOTCHED LIZARD.
ENDEMIC TO THIS ISLAND, ITS ANCESTORS BECAME ISOLATED ON THIS BARREN OUTCROP 7 MILLION YEARS AGO.
BEING MAROONED WOULD HAVE BEEN A DEATH SENTENCE FOR MOST CREATURES, BUT THIS STOWAWAY HAS MADE A REMARKABLE SUCCESS OUT OF BEING STRANDED BECAUSE OF A BANQUET FOUND JUST OFFSHORE.
THE COLD SEAS THAT CREATED THIS DESERT ISLAND ARE SOME OF THE RICHEST ON EARTH.
NUTRIENT-RICH WATERS ARE FORCED TO THE SURFACE AROUND ISLANDS LIKE ISLA SAN PEDRO MARTIR, FUELING AN EXPLOSION OF MARINE LIFE.
[SQUAWKING] IN MAY, THE ISLAND IS TRANSFORMED INTO ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST BREEDING COLONIES OF THIS APTLY-NAMED BIRD-- THE BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY.
[WHISTLING] IT'S THE LIFELINE THIS LIZARD HAS BEEN WAITING MONTHS FOR.
RAISING A FAMILY CAN BE A MESSY AFFAIR.
NESTS ARE LITTERED WITH SCRAPS, AND THIS LIZARD HAS LEARNED TO EAT FISH.
TO SECURE A MEAL, IT HAS TO BE QUICK.
THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF COMPETITION.
THESE BIRDS HAVE HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT ON THE LIZARDS ISOLATED ON THIS ISLAND.
WITH SO FEW SPECIES TO SHARE THIS UNUSUAL BOUNTY, THEY HAVE COMPLETELY OVERRUN THIS PLACE.
ISLA SAN PEDRO MARTIR HAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST DENSITIES OF LIZARDS, OVER 30 TIMES MORE THAN THE MEXICAN MAINLAND.
THEY ARE THE ULTIMATE PROOF THAT EVEN THE MOST BARREN PLACES CAN BE BOUNTIFUL.
IF YOU CAN FIND A WAY, YOU REALLY CAN THRIVE IN MEXICO'S BURNING NORTH.
MEXICO--A VIBRANT COUNTRY BURSTING WITH LIFE, RICH IN NATURE AND CULTURE, HIDING SECRET WORLDS AND HOME TO THE PROUDEST PEOPLE WHO CHERISH THEIR LAND, A PLACE WITH A CAPTIVATING SPIRIT, ONE THAT'S FULL OF NATURAL WONDER.
THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE ON DVD TO ORDER VISIT SHOP.PBS.ORG OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS ALSO AVAILABLE ON ITUNES.
Support for PBS provided by: