- [Announcer] Support for Deep in the Heart comes from Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation.

Albert and Bessie Mae Kronkosky Charitable Foundation.

Tom T. East Sr. and Alice K. East, and Alice H. East, and Robert C. East Wildlife Foundation.

Will and Pam Harte.

Additional funding from.

(no audio) (no audio) (snake rattles) (low pitch booming) (tense dramatic music) (tense dramatic music continues) (tense dramatic music continues) - [Matthew] The top of Texas.

Guadalupe Peak.

(tense dramatic music continues) It stands above a proud and diverse state where the rocky mountains and harsh deserts of the American West converge with the vastness of the great plains.

(thunder claps) (wind howling) (tense dramatic music continues) It's where the forests and swamps of the deep south give way to the Blackland prairies and Post Oak Savannahs.

(gentle orchestral music) From the spring-fed rivers that bless the Hill Country to the tropical brush of the Rio Grande Valley, Texas gives life to animals found nowhere else and attracts migrations from across the hemisphere.

(gentle orchestral music continues) (birds warbling) (gentle orchestral music continues) (gentle orchestral music continues) (gentle orchestral music continues) Our headwater springs to the Gulf of Mexico.

It is a land sculpted by water (snake rattles) where nature has selected for the most adaptable and to those willing to stake their claim.

(gentle orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music) (uplifting orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music continues) This film celebrates the natural wonders of Texas.

It is a story about tragedies in our past, of recoveries against all odds, and is a call to action to conserve the wildlife and wild places in our home.

(uplifting orchestral music continues) This is a story for all who love Texas.

(wind whistling) (wind whistling continues) The history of our relationship with wildlife in Texas is best told on the high plains of the Panhandle.

(wind whistling) (wind whistling continues) (wind whistling continues) For millennia, herds of bison roamed across Texas by the millions.

Our grazing patterns shaped our landscapes and their meat and hides nourished the people who lived here.

(hooves thumping) (bison grunts) They survived ice ages and mass extinctions.

But their ability to thrive was no match for westward expansion.

(somber music) (somber music continues) Only three lifetimes ago, 30 million bison roamed the Great Plains of North America.

So many they seemed limitless.

(somber music continues) They attracted market hunters west where an experienced buffalo hunter could often kill hundreds a day.

Their hides and tongues were sold to markets along the east coast and Europe, the meat was left to rot or was laced with poison to kill off predators.

Efforts to slow the killing were ignored for the great slaughter destroyed the food source of Native Americans forcing many on to reservations.

(gentle pensive music) Commercial market hunting wasn't limited to bison.

Most abundant bird in North America, the passenger pigeon, was hunted to extinction.

Wild sheep, pronghorn, deer, and elk were killed from all but the most remote locations.

Waterfowl and shorebirds were shot by the millions.

And jaguars, grizzlies, and wolves were killed from Texas.

(gentle pensive music continues) By the late 1800s, our wildlife was decimated.

(gentle pensive music continues) (no audio) (no audio) Legend has it that Texas rancher Molly Goodnight heard the last bison calves crying out for their slaughtered mothers.

Of the 5 million in Texas, only five remained.

(lighthearted music) She saved them and their numbers grew.

(lighthearted music continues) They lived in Palo Duro Canyon into the 1990s when they were given to Texas Parks and Wildlife and moved to Caprock Canyon State Park.

(uplifting orchestral music) These are their descendants, the survivors of the great southern plains bison herd.

(uplifting orchestral music continues) The herd is over 300 strong and this is the future.

(calf bleats) (birds chirping) (birds chirping) Learning to be a bison is hard work, especially when you have to walk on day one.

These wobbly legs will need to be strengthened and it's a good thing mom's there to help.

(quirky music) They have an entire prairie to explore and neighbors to meet.

(quirky music continues) (quirky music continues) Like all communities there's always that one neighbor coming out of their hole with their feathers all ruffled.

(quirky music continues) (chirping) (quirky music swells) There's a diversity of creatures on these plains and this calf needs to learn how to run in order to keep up with the herd one day, which will take some practice.

(quirky music continues) (quirky music continues) (owl chirps) (owl chirps) (quirky music swells) Maybe a little teamwork will help improve the coordination.

(quirky music continues) (birds trilling) (owl chirps) (hooves thumping) These calves may only be a few weeks old but the blood of Texas survivors flows through their veins.

(lighthearted orchestral music) They were born to run.

(hooves thumping) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (hooves thumping) (triumphant orchestral music) (triumphant orchestral music continues) These bison won't roam the same prairies as their ancestors, but there is room to expand.

(triumphant orchestral music continues) (triumphant orchestral music continues) (triumphant orchestral music continues) (triumphant orchestral music continues) (bison grunts) There are public lands across Texas that can be restored with bison and many ranches have already answered their call.

(bison grunts) Bison herds are expanding across the state and they aren't alone.

(gentle orchestral music) Following the great slaughter of the late 1800s, a series of laws were passed to recover our wildlife.

Commercial market hunting was put to an end and conservation-minded sportsmen advocated for hunting limits and seasons.

The creation of forest, parks, and refuges provided habitat and international agreements protected migratory birds.

The combined efforts to restore some animals have been remarkably successful and many species that were killed out of an area have been reintroduced.

(elk bugles) In Texas today, elk bugle from mountaintops, pronghorn grace the prairie, and desert bighorn have returned to their mountain homes.

These recoveries are largely due to people who have dedicated and some who have given their lives to restore our wildlife.

(calm music) (birds chirping) But there is one species that reigns supreme on recovery.

(leaves rustling) (hooves thudding) The white-tailed deer.

At the end of each winter, the buck shed their antlers and begin to grow a new set.

During the velvet stage, antlers can grow a quarter inch a day and under good range land conditions, the bucks put extra resources into their antlers' growth.

(low music) As summer fades into fall, their testosterone increases and they rub the velvet off, (branches rustling) revealing a fresh new set of weapons.

(intense orchestral music) The rut, the breeding season lasts for only a month, which they have spent all year preparing for.

(intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) Most fights are settled within seconds for the risk of injury is high and the larger buck typically exerts his dominance quickly.

(deer snorts) (hooves thumping) (foreboding music) But when opponents are evenly matched, a showdown for breeding rights and territory is inevitable.

(intense orchestral music) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) Each doe is in heat for only 24 hours, the bucks' bloodlines and territories are at stake.

(intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (hooves clopping) (foreboding music) (deer blows) These incredible dramas should not be taken for granted.

A century ago, white-tailed deer had been killed from most of the state and only survived in isolated pockets.

Today largely due to regulations and conservation-minded sportsmen, there are over 5 million.

(birds trilling) Other species have not shared the same fate.

(no audio) In a very few special parts of the South Texas Brush Country lives a creature once thought to be lost.

(birds warbling) (light airy music) An animal so rare, it has become nearly mythical.

(light airy music continues) (light airy music continues) (light airy music continues) An ocelot.

(light airy music continues) (light airy music continues) Fewer than 80 are known to exist in the entire country.

(light airy music continues) Ocelots were once found across much of Texas and into Louisiana and Arkansas.

Much of their habitat has been lost and they were historically trapped, hunted, and poisoned by government predator programs.

Today they exist in only two small populations where they're genetically isolated and inbred.

A catastrophic fire, hurricane, or disease could wipe them from the country.

Much is unknown for many landowners have not allowed research on their property because they are concerned that the Endangered Species Act would impact their ranching operations.

Texas is 95% privately owned and recovering endangered species is very difficult without landowner support.

(cows mooing) Growing number of landowners have embraced ocelot research and recovery.

They take great pride in conserving both the ranching legacy and a wildlife legacy.

(light airy music) (light airy music continues) Inside one of these cattle ranches new camera technology is revealing the secretive lives of ocelots and has given us a glimpse at the next generation.

(light airy music continues) (light airy music continues) These precious kittens have no idea how crucial they are for the species.

(light airy music continues) Their survival depends on mom's ability to hunt.

(light airy music continues) (soft music) She's hidden her kittens to hunt alone.

(soft music) (bird screeching) A green jay warning others there's a predator on the prow.

(birds chirping) (playful orchestral music) (playful orchestral music continues) (rustling) An armadillo.

(rustling) (soft music) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (rustling) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (bird screeches) (soft music continues) (bird screeches) Busted.

She'll have to keep hunting.

But she's not the only predator.

(footsteps thumping) (tense orchestral music) The brush can be a dangerous place for kittens without their mother's protection.

(tense orchestral music continues) (tense orchestral music continues) (tense orchestral music continues) Success.

Back to the kittens.

(leaves rustling) (foreboding music) (ocelot meows) (leaves rustling) (ocelot meows) (ocelot meows) (leaves rustling) The worst sound a mother can hear.

(leaves rustling) (ocelot meows) (ocelot meows) (ocelot meows) (leaves rustling) (wind whistling) Silence.

(leaves rustling) (leaves rustling continues) (bird warbles) (cricket chirping) (dogs whimpering) (ocelot meows) (dogs barking) (dogs barking continues) (ocelot meows) (somber music) (hisses) (somber music continues) (ocelot meows) (somber music continues) (owl hoots) (ocelot meows) (crickets chirping) (kitten meows) (ocelot meows) (crickets chirping) (ocelot meows) (kitten meows) (crickets chirping) (crickets chirping continues) She has found one of her kittens.

Sadly, the other was never seen again.

(serene music) (birds chirruping) (serene music continues) She will now put her full effort into raising the survivor.

(serene music continues) (serene music continues) (uplifting orchestral music) (uplifting orchestral music continues) (ocelot meows) (uplifting orchestral music continues) Her kitten needs to learn how to hunt on her own one day, which will take practice and a little hide and seek.

(uplifting orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music continues) Hopefully this kitten will establish her own territory one day and play a part in the greater recovery of ocelots.

(uplifting orchestral music continues) Scientists, landowners, and many organizations are working together to introduce new genetics, restore habitat, and will hopefully start new populations in their historic range.

(uplifting orchestral music continues) (uplifting orchestral music continues) Like many wildlife species, their future can be bright, but they need our help.

(uplifting orchestral music continues) (wind howling) (thunder claps) (wind whistling) (rain pattering) Water rarely comes peacefully to Texas.

(rain pattering) (water gushing) (thunder claps) Cold fronts from the north can collide violently with warm air and moisture from the gulf.

(wind howling) Tropical jet streams from the west bring thunderstorms each summer, (thunder claps) while El Nino and other weather systems bring uncertainty from year to year.

(wind whistling) Blue Northers blanket the state in winter while summer highs soar over 100 degrees.

Droughts are a cyclical part of our weather system, as are floods.

(water gushing) Nearly all of our rivers are born here and they journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

But much of the rainfall seeps into the earth into vast aquifers that cover 80% of the state.

(crickets chirping) (thunder claps) In the porous limestone of the Hill Country, the Edwards Plateau soaks up moisture like a sponge.

(rain pattering) (droplet plops) (sloshing) (droplet plops) (water dripping) (water dripping) Below the surface, water and time have sculpted a landscape as magnificent as the one above.

(water dripping) (water trickling) This karst ecosystem is so vast and receives enough nutrients from the outside world that life has evolved in the absence of light.

(wind howling) (tense music) (tense music continues) Inside this constant temperature climate, nature has selected for animals who conserve energy and who lose traits that are no longer necessary.

(tense music continues) This is an endangered Texas blind salamander.

They hunt the darkness by sensing small disturbances in the water pressure.

(tense music continues) They breathe through their gills which change in size depending on the available oxygen.

(tense music continues) In this world below our feet, familiar creatures have become nearly alien.

(tense music continues) (tense music continues) A blind catfish.

There are three species in Texas and they have been found 2,000 feet below the surface.

(tense music continues) (tense music continues) They are the size of your palm and their metabolism is so slow they can survive four years between meals.

(tense music continues) We know little about them, yet their habitat is the foundation for our fresh water.

(tense music continues) When the aquifers are full, water bubbles to the surface through springs.

(water bubbling) (gentle serene music) (gentle serene music continues) (gentle serene music continues) (water sloshing) (gentle serene music continues) As springs combine together, they create creeks.

(gentle serene music continues) (gentle serene music continues) (gentle serene music continues) As the creeks converge, they form our Hill Country rivers.

(gentle serene music continues) (gentle serene music continues) (gentle serene music continues) It's water from stone.

(gentle serene music continues) (water burbling) In a select few rivers and creeks, the state fish of Texas hunts the rapids.

(insects chirping) (insects chirping continues) (intense music swells) The Guadalupe bass.

(water burbling) Each spring the males begin preparations to attract a mate.

(whimsical music) Step one is finding a suitable location for a spawning bed.

(whimsical music continues) A gravel floor with surrounding protective structure is ideal.

(whimsical music continues) He must choose wisely or he won't leave the bed for over a month.

(whimsical music continues) Ah, perfect.

(whimsical music continues) The second step is to clean the gravel floor, a difficult task with only fins, but a necessary one.

Females don't find dirt on the bed attractive.

(whimsical music continues) It's tidy but is it enough to impress a mate?

The females are searching for males that will give their eggs the best chance of survival.

They will be judged on their spawning beds.

(whimsical music continues) Gross!

Hey, don't mess with Texas.

(whimsical music continues) Getting better.

Yuck!

Hey, this ain't Oklahoma.

(whimsical music continues) Now we're talking.

(whimsical music continues) With up to 10,000 eggs to lay, finding the right partner is worth searching for.

And sometimes they've been preparing a bed just for you.

(tender orchestral music) (tender orchestral music continues) (tender orchestral music continues) (bright music) (bright music continues) During this courtship dance, the female releases her eggs which are fertilized by the male.

(bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) Exhausted, she has spent all her energy on reproduction.

But dad duty has just begun.

For a week straight, he aerates the eggs with his fins until one day.

(bright music continues) These baby bass have many predators and he will continue to protect them for the next few weeks.

(bright music continues) Eventually, their responsibility passes on to us to ensure that our rivers stay healthy and the springs always flow, which is becoming increasingly difficult.

(melancholy music) The Texas Hill Country is developing faster than any other region.

(water swishing) Per capita each of us uses 138 gallons of water each day.

(melancholy music continues) To meet this demand, we are taking water out of the aquifers and pumping it to the surface.

(melancholy music continues) When we remove more water than rainfall can refill, the water table falls and the springs go dry.

(melancholy music continues) During the last century, 1/2 the major springs in Texas have stopped flowing because the aquifer was over-pumped.

(melancholy music continues) Our rivers and wildlife depend on these springs, as do we.

(gentle music) The people of Austin and San Antonio have taken action.

When water protection efforts were placed on city elections, citizens voted overwhelmingly in support.

They voted to invest in water rights, established parks, and fun conservation easements.

They have conserved over 200,000 acres of their watersheds because the future health of the land is tied to our own.

(tense music) One of these conserved areas is also helping to protect one of earth's most remarkable wildlife spectacles.

(tense music continues) Bracken Cave.

(light airy music) This is a maternity colony of Mexican free-tailed bats.

(light airy music continues) The females migrate from Mexico to Texas each year to feed on insects during the summer and to raise a new pup.

(bats chirping) At five weeks old, the youngsters have already grown to adult size and are preparing to take their first flight.

(light airy music continues) Airspace is crowded for Bracken Cave contains 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats and is the largest congregation of mammals on earth.

(bats chirping) It's a difficult place to learn how to fly.

(wings fluttering) (wings fluttering continues) (light airy music continues) As the sun sets each summer evening, the colony begins to emerge.

(bats chirping) (wings fluttering) (wings fluttering continues) (wings fluttering continues) (light airy music continues) (wings fluttering continues) (wings fluttering continues) (wings fluttering continues) (bats chirping) (light airy music continues) (bats chirping) (light airy music continues) It is time for these young bats to spread their wings.

(wings fluttering) (distorted fluttering) Bats experience the world much differently than we do.

They emit sounds too high for our ears to hear, which bounce off objects and return as echoes giving each bat an auditory map of their surroundings.

But with so many voices, their echolocation is hindered and they must also rely on sight.

(distorted chirping) The new pups must navigate two rotations around the batonado, rise above the trees, and then fly to their hunting grounds.

(distorted chirping) Their gravest danger is collision.

(bats chirping and fluttering) (tense music) (tense music continues) (tense music continues) (tense music continues) (tense music continues) (tense dramatic music) (tense dramatic music continues) (bat munching) (bat munching continues) (suspenseful music) (suspenseful music swells) (sinister music) (sinister music continues) (gloomy music) (gloomy music continues) (gloomy music continues) The pups who are able to free themselves must rejoin the colony, but they do not yet have the strength or the skill to take off from the ground.

Their only hope is to climb to a high point to take off again.

(sinister music) Undetected.

(brooding music) The coachwhip is the fastest snake in North America.

(brooding music continues) They are waiting for movement.

(brooding music continues) (thrilling orchestral music) (thrilling orchestral music continues) (thrilling orchestral music continues) (thrilling orchestral music continues) (foreboding orchestral music) (foreboding orchestral music continues) (bat rustling) (foreboding orchestral music continues) (foreboding orchestral music continues) (tense suspenseful music swells) (tense suspenseful music continues) Alone, the bats are defenseless against the snakes.

(tense suspenseful music continues) But others have also fallen.

(tense suspenseful music continues) (tense suspenseful music continues) (tense suspenseful music continues) And when one is sacrificed, it provides an opportunity for the others to escape.

(intense orchestral music) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (intense orchestral music continues) (rousing instrumental music) Flying within the colony, the young bats find safety, for their greatest strength is in their sheer numbers.

(rousing instrumental music continues) (rousing instrumental music continues) Above the tree line, they fly as a river, each individual hidden amongst the multitude.

(rousing instrumental music continues) They must blend in to the group, but the emergence has attracted attention.

(hawk screeches) (tense music) Red-tailed hawks, Swainson's hawks, and peregrine falcons have come to hunt.

(dramatic orchestral music) They're looking for prey that stands out.

(dramatic orchestral music swells) (dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) Some of these bats have over 15 years of experience but the new pups don't yet know the dangers of flying alone or on the outskirts.

(tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (tense dramatic orchestral music continues) (wings fluttering) Individuals fall each night, but as a colony, they overwhelm the predators.

(gentle orchestral music) (gentle orchestral music continues) The bats of Bracken Cave support an entire ecosystem, but their biggest impact is up to 100 miles away where they will consume over 150 tons of agricultural pest every single night.

(gentle orchestral music continues) (gentle orchestral music continues) There are 32 different species in Texas and hundreds of millions of bats.

(soothing orchestral music) Some night skies they fly under are more special than others.

(soothing orchestral music continues) (soothing orchestral music continues) (soothing orchestral music continues) (soothing orchestral music continues) (soothing orchestral music continues) (soothing orchestral music continues) Of all the national parks in the Lower 48, Big Bend has the darkest skies.

(peaceful music) Beneath this heavenly expanse are the signs of hope.

(peaceful music continues) (peaceful music continues) These are the marks of a black bear.

(peaceful music continues) Bears were once killed out of Texas but across the border in the high mountains of Mexico, a population thrived.

In the 1980s, bears became a protected species in Texas and we waited for their return.

(peaceful music continues) (peaceful music continues) In 1987, a female dispersed from Mexico crossed the Rio Grande and made her home in Big Bend National Park.

(peaceful music continues) Her pioneering instincts flow through the veins of our bears today and their offspring.

(birds chirping) (footsteps thumping) (birds trilling) (bear grunts) (birds trilling) (bear grunts) This mama bear has taught her eight-month old cubs how to find food with each passing season In the fall that means acorns.

It's slim pickings on the forest floor but up above, there's a bounty.

(gentle serene music) (gentle serene music continues) (gentle upbeat music) And these cubs, they have a size advantage.

(gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (bird squawks) The very best acorns are those the big bears can't reach.

(gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle music) The higher the climb, the sweeter the reward.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (bear blows) (bird trilling) (bear grunts) Life is good in Big Bend National Park.

A century ago, these bears would've been hunted down.

Today they can rest peacefully.

(no audio) (calm music) But the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend are relatively small and they are already filled to capacity.

Like their pioneer ancestors, bears are dispersing from the national park.

They are seeking new mountain ranges in Texas, a place to call home where their ancestors once roamed.

(calm music) (footsteps thumping) But their path to recovery is far from certain.

(footsteps thumping) (footsteps thumping continues) (leaves rustling) (brooding orchestral music) (brooding orchestral music continues) (intense music) (foreboding music) There are thousands of traps across Texas set for our top predator.

(foreboding music) (footsteps thumping) The mountain lion.

(foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) Once found across the state, populations now only exist in the remote canyons and deep brush of South and West Texas.

(mountain lion snorting) (foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) Their territories are massive, often over 100 square miles.

(foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) On average, they kill every seven to 10 days.

(foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) (footsteps thumping) (hooves thudding) (hooves thudding) Their prey can be several times their size and well-armed.

(water lapping) (hooves clopping) Some animals take shelter in the cliffs or move as a herd to have more eyes on the lookout.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) But water is scarce in the desert and prey must drink.

(rustling) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (leaves rustling) (leaves rustling continues) (leaves rustling continues) (fly buzzing) (footsteps thumping) (fly buzzing) (soft footsteps thumping) (soft footsteps thumping continues) (water lapping) (fly buzzing) (water lapping) (leaves rustling) They must be wary for they, too, are prey.

(chilling music) On rare occasions, mountain lions will kill livestock and some hunters don't want another predator on the land.

But unlike other states where only problem cats are removed and mountain lions are either protected or closely managed, in Texas, they can be trapped, snared, and hunted year round with no harvest limits, and no science-based management.

They can even be captured in cages and sold in canned hunts.

(chilling music continues) In a West Texas study following 16 cats, one was shot and all of the remaining 15 were killed in traps.

(chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) It is not required to check the traps.

When caught, it can take days to die from dehydration and exposure.

(chilling music continues) Every step they take is a gamble (chilling music continues) and they are almost guaranteed to lose.

(chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (mountain lion snorting) (mountain lion snorting continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (mountain lion snorting continues) (chilling music continues) (chilling music continues) (mountain lion snorting) (footsteps thumping) (metal rattles) (chilling music continues) This trap was dismantled by our camera team, but there are thousand across Texas that are armed right now.

(chilling music continues) (footsteps thumping) Mountain lion traps do not discriminate and can catch those just searching for a new home.

(bear snorting) (somber music) (somber music continues) (bear grunting) (somber music continues) (bear snorting) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (water sloshing) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) The treatment of our mountain lions is from a bygone era.

In other states, they're either protected or managed as a game animal with controlled hunting seasons and harvest limits.

Texas can do the same.

(somber music continues) (thunder rumbles) (somber music continues) (rain pattering) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) There is no better proof of our ability to change and live alongside the natural world than in the Big Thicket and Piney Woods of East Texas.

(rain pattering) (insects trilling) 100 years ago, this abandoned structure was a sawmill where the old growth forest were cut apart and turned into lumber.

(water dripping) (insects trilling) There were hundreds of sawmills like this and by the early 1900s, nearly all of the East Texas forest had been cut down.

(rain pattering) (thunder rumbles) As the last trees fell and the top soil washed away, small groups of bold Texans resolved to bring these forests back.

(uplifting instrumental music) They shared a dream of a restored ecosystem and were often met with ridicule and scorn.

Yet they persisted and their vision took root.

(uplifting instrumental music continues) (uplifting instrumental music continues) Over the course of decades, they slowly inspired landowners, timber companies, and our state and federal governments to combine efforts and bring the forest back.

(uplifting instrumental music continues) (uplifting instrumental music continues) (uplifting instrumental music continues) (uplifting instrumental music continues) (uplifting instrumental music continues) This is their legacy.

Over a million acres of restored forest and preserves.

They have given us the greatest gift a generation can leave behind, a landscape healthier than they inherited teeming with life.

(bright instrumental music) (bright instrumental music continues) (bright instrumental music continues) (bright instrumental music continues) (bright instrumental music continues) (rain pattering) (thunder rumbles) (water gushing) The forest of East Texas average over four feet of rainfall a year.

So much that the rivers and creeks simply can't hold it all in.

(water gushing) As water spills over the banks, it fills the oxbow lakes and slews.

Like a sponge, these wetlands absorb the overflow and act as nature's flood control.

These are the conditions that our largest freshwater fish have been waiting for.

(water burbling) (mellow music) This is an alligator gar, a female.

She's the size of an adult human and can live just as long.

(water sloshing) She has left the safety of the river and is following the floods.

These wetlands will provide the best opportunity for her offspring and a place free from other river predators.

(mellow music continues) She releases pheromones as she travels for her suitors to follow.

(mellow music continues) and they have proven attractive.

(mellow music continues) With scales like a suit of armor, she leads in further into the shallows.

(water sloshing) She has likely waited five to 10 years for the right conditions to spawn and she will release over 100,000 eggs, which the males fight to fertilize.

(mellow music continues) (mellow music continues) (mellow music continues) Her eggs will hash in only two days and the baby gar will be swept back into the river as the flood waters recede.

It is a life strategy so successful that alligator gar have lived here for 70 million years.

(birds chirruping) Our waterways are home to nearly 200 native Texas fish.

Over a dozen are found nowhere else.

They have evolved for natural water flow, which has been disrupted.

(melancholy music) We have lost one half of our wetlands in Texas, which act as nature's flood control.

They're often replaced by concrete, which increases the flooding downstream.

(melancholy music continues) To mitigate flooding, over 7,000 dams have been constructed, which also irrigate crops, generate electricity, and supply our cities.

The reservoirs dams create are exposed to the sun.

During the drought of 2011, more water was lost to evaporation than was used by all of our cities combined.

(melancholy music continues) (melancholy music continues) The impact to our watersheds is so great that hundreds of miles of our rivers no longer flow and 1/2 of our native fish species are imperiled.

(melancholy music continues) We depend on the same water and we are making progress.

In the last 30 years, the average water use per Texan has been cut by a quarter.

Landscaping with native plants, improving irrigation technology, storing water underground, and increasing efficiency has potential to save much more.

Scientists are finding ways to release water from dams that allow our native fish to spawn, and some dams that are no longer useful can be taken down.

Conserving water is crucial.

Her flowing rivers are the arteries of Texas and the lifeblood of our bays and estuaries.

(lighthearted orchestral music) (water sloshing) (water splashing) (water sloshing) (dolphin trilling) Our coastline is unique due to a distinctive geography.

Texas is protected by barrier islands and peninsulas.

When salt water from the gulf passes through them, it combines with the fresh water and nutrients from our rivers, creating an underwater prairie of grass that attracts life from across the hemisphere.

(water burbling) (birds fluttering) (birds chirping) (birds fluttering) The migrations that come through our coastline are so vast that the second highest passage rate of migratory birds on earth was recorded right here in Texas.

(birds chirruping) (duck quaking) These coastal marshes are also home to a master of ambush.

(suspenseful orchestral music) (suspenseful orchestral music continues) Alligators.

(quirky music) (quirky music continues) (quirky music continues) (quirky music continues) (quirky music continues) (birds squawking) (quirky music continues) Islands along the coast provide crucial habitat for colonial waterbirds to build nests and raise their chicks.

(birds squawking) (suspenseful music) (suspenseful music continues) As the youngsters grow, they begin to explore their surroundings, creating an opportunity for those with patience.

(quirky music) (quirky music continues) (quirky music continues) (water sloshing) (water splashing) (water sloshing) (alligator chomps) (water gurgling) Below the surface, the mixture of fresh and salt water creates a nursery for the gulf.

(upbeat instrumental music) Like many coastal species, red fish are born as eggs in the ocean and swept into the bays by incoming tides.

(upbeat instrumental music continues) As juveniles, they hunt these shallows until they grow large enough for life at sea.

(upbeat instrumental music continues) In September of their third year, a biological urge triggers them to congregate and to begin their migration.

(upbeat instrumental music continues) (upbeat instrumental music continues) (upbeat instrumental music continues) (upbeat instrumental music continues) Driven by instinct and following the tides, they are swimming to the ocean to live out their adult lives.

With them flow nutrients from across Texas.

Transported by our rivers, the gift of freshwater reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

(water burbling) For the first few leagues offshore, sediment clouds the water, but with distance and depth, the gulf reveals her true color.

(calm music) This deep blue world seems far from our own, yet nutrients from our bays and estuaries fuel much of the plankton, which are the building blocks of life in the gulf.

(gentle music) In a few very special places, salt domes have risen from the sea floor and combined with tropical currents from the south.

Here, this plankton fuels the Texas Caribbean.

(lighthearted orchestral music) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

(lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) Each of these corals is composed of millions of polyps.

Each polyp feeds on the plankton.

It is an oasis of life in a desert of blue.

(lighthearted orchestral music continues) We are still unraveling the mysteries that abound here.

What we've learned thus far is nearly beyond imagination.

(lighthearted orchestral music continues) Shortly after the sunset, during the week after the full moon in August, one of nature's most remarkable events unfolds.

(water sloshing) (water burbling) (gentle ethereal music) (gentle ethereal music continues) The corals are spawning.

(gentle ethereal music continues) We do not know how they communicate but in unison, millions of coral polyps release and fertilize their offspring.

(gentle ethereal music continues) (gentle ethereal music continues) (gentle ethereal music continues) (gentle ethereal music continues) This seemingly alien world exists far from our daily consciousness, yet it is connected in ways that we are just beginning to understand.

(tense dramatic music) (tense dramatic music continues) (waves crashing) (tense dramatic music continues) (distorted splashing) (tense dramatic music continues) (tense dramatic music continues) (water gushing) (water trickling) (tense dramatic music continues) (water burbling) (water gushing) (tense dramatic music continues) (tense dramatic music continues) (distorted sloshing) (thunder rumbling) (thunder claps) (tense dramatic music) (pensive music) In the next 30 years, our population is projected to increase from 30 million to 50 million Texans.

(pensive music continues) Urban areas are expanding.

Landscapes are subdividing as ranches split with the generations, and energy demand is consuming millions of acres.

(pensive music continues) Climate change will bring more severe drought, weather variability, and hurricanes.

(pensive music continues) Some of our rivers are entirely consumed and no longer flow to the sea during drought years.

(pensive music continues) We have lost a quarter of our birds in the last 50 years, and there are 69 species that are state endangered and 148 that are threatened.

(pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) Their future is our choice and there is reason for hope.

(uplifting music) From the Piney Woods to the Trans-Pecos there is living proof that we have the ability to recover and live alongside wildlife.

(uplifting music continues) There is proof that our votes can conserve landscapes and water, that our backyards can be habitat for incredible migrations, and that endangered species can thrive on working ranches.

(uplifting music continues) Every single Texas river has advocates and every eco region has landowners and organizations working to improve the habitat.

(uplifting music continues) Thousands of Texans have dedicated their lives, careers, and money to restore our wildlife and preserve our wild places.

(uplifting music continues) Yet there is still so much to be done, (uplifting music continues) there has never been a greater need or opportunity to conserve our unique ecosystem.

(uplifting music continues) And there's never been a people who love their home as much as Texans.

(uplifting music continues) (wind howling) (lighthearted orchestral music) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) - [Announcer] Support for Deep in the Heart comes from Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation.

Albert and Bessie Mae Kronkosky Charitable Foundation.

Tom T. East Sr. and Alice K. East, and Alice H. East, and Robert C. East Wildlife Foundation.

Will and Pam Harte.

Additional funding from.

(no audio) (no audio) A complete list is available from Texas PBS.

(relaxing music) (relaxing music continues) - So, we're here at Bracken Cave, the largest bat colony in the world, and here in a few minutes about 20 million bats will start emerging.

Tell us a little bit about your role with Deep in the Heart and what we're doing out here.

- I'm one of the wildlife cinematographers shooting our, this documentary.

It's a real privilege to be including Bracken Cave as part of this story.

One, because I think it is one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in the whole world.

I mean, talking about 15 to 20 million mammals all in the area about the size of three football fields.

And as a Texas-based wildlife cinematographer, it's one of the few kinda hometown gigs where summer after summer I'm here shooting, whether it's for National Geographic or the BBC, or Animal Planet, or someone else.

So, it's kind of like my home court.

So we're also trying to film it better than it's ever been filmed before.

- And what kind of behavior will you capture?

- Yeah, so I'm using this special slow motion camera and the bats have to run this gauntlet past these predators of snakes and skunks, and hawks, and falcons every single night, and I'm trying to get like the ultimate grab shot of a hawk grabbing a bat mid-air.

With this camera I can do a thousand frames a second.

And so when we're able to slow it down this much, then you're able to really, really take in the numbers, taking the spectacle.

And in the case of what I'm trying for tonight, really see the details of one of these hawks grab a bat.

(wind howling) - So your nickname is Auto Focus.

For folks that aren't familiar with cameras, filmmaking, wildlife that's speeding at 40 or 50 miles an hour, can you walk us through your process and kind of what that looks like with you behind the camera?

- I've been so lucky to get to work with and learn from some of the world's very best wildlife cinematographers.

And so, I'm comparing my work to them and I don't think I'm there yet, (Jay laughs) but I appreciate hearing the other guys say that.

I mean, filming these hawks is one of the hardest things you can do.

It's one thing to film a fast mammal like a cheetah running but you always have a frame of reference because it's on the ground.

You can see what's in focus in front and behind it.

When you're shooting a bird of prey zipping through the air fast, I mean, we have to adjust the focus continually as they're moving.

And you're doing it purely by eye and a little bit by luck and a lot by experience of just having done it a lot of times.

- So, we're on a lift right now about 50 feet up in the air.

The bats are swirling down below us and a whole other team of folks around here.

How do you go through the logistics of trying to shoot something that's very specific behavior in like a really short amount of time?

- The way we approach any of the stories in a film like this is one shot at a time.

And that's one thing we've done really well with this story and some of our other stories is you really think about, okay, what shots do we need to tell this story?

What do we have to do to get those shots?

And what's gonna give us the highest chance of success for the least amount of time?

And it might take us three weeks of three different cameras shooting every single night to get all the shots that it's gonna take to put together this, you know, what might be five, six minutes in the finished film.

- So, tell me your role with the film and what we're trying to do out here tonight.

- My name is Katy Baldock and I'm the associate producer for Deep in the Heart.

And we're out here filming the bat emergence at Bracken Cave.

- You spent probably the most amount of time of any of the team members on the ocelot shoot over, almost over a year.

Can you tell us where you were for that and what that experience was like?

- Yeah, we were down in South Texas for the ocelots and it was kind of a schedule of going down every couple weeks to check the cameras, change out batteries, change out SD cards.

So, we had the cameras there for about a year.

- You had some help from scientists in the East Foundation and some other organizations.

Can you talk about like that process of how you even captured some of the footage that you did?

- They kind of identified a few spots for us to scout and we had trail cameras out there to try and determine which locations had the most ocelot activity.

Once we found a few good spots, we had our TShed trail cameras out there.

And for about a year we had crew members going down about every 10 days to change out batteries, SD cards, check footage, troubleshoot any issues, move the cameras if we needed to just to try and nail those shots.

- What was it like seeing the first high quality images of ocelot?

- It was incredible.

It was such a frustrating process.

There's issues of false triggers.

It's not always an ocelot walking through there, of course.

And the focus has to be right, the exposure needs to be right.

We had lighting systems so that we could get shots at night of animals walking through.

So a lot of things that need to go right in order to get that shot.

It was really rewarding to finally get that shot and see this beautiful wild cat on high quality trail camera footage.

The areas where we were trapping ocelots, it's not a friendly environment for humans.

It's very thick, dense brush, lots of thorns, and carrying those camera traps through that environment is not, not easy.

The ocelots are very specific about their habitat and so, in capturing their story, we're really trying to capture footage of the habitat that they like too because that's why there's so few of them remaining because there's so little of their habitat remaining.

I hope that when people watch the film, they'll get excited about what's in Texas.

You know, we watch shows like "Our Planet," "Planet Earth" and it's easy to be amazed at the things that are going on all over the world and wanna go visit other places, but we have so many incredible things here in Texas, like this, the largest congregation of mammals in the world.

So, I hope that it inspires people to get out and see what's here, and get excited about what's here and want to protect it because there's so many incredible things right here in Texas, and I think a lot of people will be surprised at the wildlife species that are here, the magnitude of what's here.

I mean, this is 30 miles from San Antonio.

It's very, very accessible to a lot of people in the Central Texas region.

(bats screeching) - So talk to us a little bit about what's going on right now and what happened like 10 minutes ago.

- So we're right at the beginning of the second emergence.

So we're at the very mouth of Bracken Cave where we have millions, up to 20 million bats coming out throughout the night, roughly around a three to four hour range.

And we're at the beginning of the second emergence.

And so, right now we have the second group of bats making this tornado above us.

And we can kinda see off to our left here once it get above this tornado level, they'll swoop away and head out into the distance behind the cave.

- [Jay] And what were you, you're trying to capture a particular behavior down here at the mount.

- Right, so we're trying to- - What's going on?

- We're trying to pick up on predation events.

So we have different kinds of snakes and we have different critters.

In particular, we have coachwhips coming out, coming down here pretty consistently.

And so, the idea is to catch one of these snakes going after a caught bat, whether they're caught in brush or whether they're caught in cacti, or whether they've been colliding in the air and balling down.

And as you can tell, that smell right now is pretty dang strong.

- Yep.

You've participated in more shoots than probably anybody else on the Deep in the Heart team.

Is there a particular behavior or a place that has really surprised you?

- I mean, other than here?

- Yeah.

- I mean this place...

I mean, quite frankly, I was born and raised in Austin and the Congress, you know, bur, excuse me, bat immersion that happens off of the South Congress Bridge is always what I knew as the big immersion of bats coming out.

And coming from that to this, this is a whole another ballgame.

- You've been shooting now for over a week and you've been down here, you've been up a little bit further, have been hit by bats.

Is there anything to like, worry about or fear as these things are pelting us even during the interview.

- Well, they're bats.

There's a whole bunch of guano and pee coming down.

Big thing for me is when I'm turning the other way they get caught in my hair and I always have to flick them off of my hair.

(Jay laughs) - This is unbelievable.

And this is gonna happen for what, like, three hours?

- Yeah, yeah.

So, they'll continue for roughly three to four hours.

And right now we have these millions of bats coming overhead, kinda colliding in through our backs.

Watch your face, watch your face.

And they're making this huge swirl up above us.

And if you look up high.

- Yeah.

- You'll see this tornado, it just keep on spinning over and over and over.

- Oh my God.

- Yeah.

It's incredible.

It's incredible.

And they'll make their ways miles away from here and eventually come back in the morning, and we'll have all this going on again in tomorrow evening.

- Unbelievable.

Oh my God.

(bats screeching) - So, you shot all over Texas for Nat Geo, PBS and all over the world, and you're getting the chance to continue that shooting here in Texas.

What are you hoping people will take away from Deep in the Heart?

- More than anything, I want people to see this film and just appreciate how amazing and how biodiverse Texas is.

You know, I've been so lucky, so blessed to have this career where very early in my career I was traveling all over the world filming wildlife with National Geographic.

And it made me...

The more I was able to kind of itch that travel bug and get out and see the world, and see all these animals that I'd only dreamt about or seen in magazines as a kid, the more it actually made me appreciate what we've got in Texas.

And we've got ocelots, we've got alligators, we've got bison, we've got bears, we've got mountain lions and no one's really been telling these stories yet.

And you know, we've all seen a million films about South Africa, East Africa, and the Serengeti but when have you ever seen an ocelot in the US or when have you seen these bats and these hawks?

I think it's really special and I wanna share that.

I want Texans to take pride in what we've got here, but I also wanna share it with the rest of the world and let them see, wow, like Texas is a destination for wildlife.

(uptempo guitar music) (uptempo guitar music continues) (uptempo guitar music continues) (uptempo guitar music continues) (no audio) (no audio) (playful flute music)