Wild America

- Season 4

(1986)

Elegant and graceful, the Lynx is one of Nature's finest physical specimens. Its primary quarry is the elusive Snowshoe Hare. It is seen that the numbers of predator and prey -- Lynx and Snowshoe Hare -- are intricately linked in a ten-year cycle that rises and falls in unison. This fascinating, unexplained phenomenon is only one of many mysteries in the Great North Woods.

Have you ever walked in the woods and seen a hole high up in a tree? Chances are that even though a small mammal or another bird lives in it now, a woodpecker originally drilled it. The ancients believed these birds were gods that could bring forth rain by tapping their bills. Today, we know they can't perform miracles and when we do think of woodpeckers, the cartoon character Woody immediately comes to mind. But, age old deity or modern comic, one thing is clear, these birds know how to use their heads. Their skulls are toughened to withstand the shock of constant, ...

Wild animals have evolved a wide range of survival tactics. They must eat, and they must keep from being eaten. For predators, speed or stealth is essential, and it helps to have special equipment-sharp fangs or talons-to catch and hold prey. But nature is not all tooth and claw. Many animals have survived by being slow and steady-and by having some unique feature that protects them from enemies. Porcupines may not seem very fast or alert-but they don't need to be. For countless generations they have gone about their business secure in the instinctive knowledge that ...

Yellowstone Lake has a vast underwater wilderness never seen by the two million annual visitors to this National Park. It is also the realm of a creature that forms the cornerstone of an entire aquatic ecosystem -- the brilliant Cutthroat Trout. A summer-long exploration by Marty Stouffer and crew begins in the remote Thorofare Region, our wildest land south of Alaska.

Dive into the underwater spawning ritual of Trout and related species. The crew's exploration takes them deeper into the northern wilderness along the magnificent Yellowstone River. At LeHardy Rapids, Marty catches slippery Cutthroat to study them face-to-face, then dives into the turbulence to hand-feed a large school of Trout with Salmonfly larvae. Back on the surface, we examine the reproductive cycle and all the other primary predators of the Salmonfly.

The last part of our search for the Cutthroat Trout took us to the bottom of Yellowstone Lake. Now, we follow the trout on a danger filled journey to their spawning areas, as they run the raging rapids of Yellowstone River.

Through the night, a ravenous predator stalks its unwary prey. With a swift bite to the skull, it slays the victim, then throws back its head and howls. But this beast that hunts like a Weasel and howls like a Wolf is neither -- it's the five-inch Grasshopper Mouse of our western deserts and plains. It feasts on Tarantulas, Scorpions, and even other Rodents -- yet displays close family ties.

It's easy to imagine the untamed wildness of the good old days as you listen to a lone Coyote sing its ancient song. To some of us, this mournful cry kindles delight and inspiration, to others dread and hatred. In Indian mythology, the coyote was revered for its cleverness and mystical song. Yet our modern society condemns the Coyote for its predatory instinct to kill. Regardless of our mixed emotions, this wild canine has proven itself to be one of the most intelligent and successful of all animals on earth. With efficient hunting skills and opportunistic diet, ...

The great age of dinosaurs, when reptiles ruled the earth, ended more than a million years ago. Now only four major groups survive in North America: snakes, turtles, lizards, and crocodilians. But from the way many people react to them, you'd think that each remaining reptile were out to rule the world all over again.

Catching a glimpse of a wild creature is always a thrill, but it's not always easy. For one thing, many of them are active during the night or early morning hours when most humans are asleep and for another, all wildlife is going to do its best to avoid man. But every animal, from mouse to moose, leaves behind signs of its passing. Often these traces tell a more complete and fascinating story than if all we see is a quick glimpse of the creature itself. It's like learning to read a strange kind of newspaper. In any season, and in almost any kind of terrain, clues can ...