07x07 - Desert Giant

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Yeah.

Hi.

What a sh*t.

Sunrise in the desert
is spectacular,

But then, so is every minute
of the day out here.

We're in the sonoran desert
in arizona--

The most lush and green desert
in the world.

Most people think of deserts
as sand dunes,

Where it's so dry
nothing grows,

But that's not true.

Over the years,

Plants and animals
have developed ways

To adapt to the desert,

And there are plenty
of plants and animals here.

Deserts are dry

Because they get less
than 10 inches of rain a year,

So if you visit the desert,
come prepared.

Carry water
and wear clothes like these--

Light colors
to reflect the sun.

A hat, long pants,
and sleeves

To keep your body's
moisture in.

It air-conditions you
in the heat,

And you should
always look out for--

For cactus.

This is a saguaro cactus--
the sonoran's most famous tree.

Saguaro's are
real old-timers out here.

This one's
over 100 years old.

They're experts
on desert survival.

They also help other critters
stay alive in the desert.

Here's how
in desert giant,

The world
of the saguaro cactus.

[Hoo hoo]

A strange and wonderful tree
grows in the desert.

It's called a saguaro cactus.

The saguaro grows
in the sonoran desert,

Which stretches
through parts of arizona,

California, and mexico.

This cactus can grow
as tall as 50 feet,

Weigh up to several tons,
and live for 200 years.

The saguaro's sharp spines
protect it from harm.

The accordianlike pleats
in its skin

Expand in the rain,

Storing extra water
for the long dry times.

Tap. Tap.

The holes you see
in the saguaro trunk

Are made
by the gila woodpecker.

In the spring,

The male pecks deeply

Into the soft flesh
of the cactus

To make a room
for his mate's eggs to hatch.

The saguaro flesh
forms a hard lining.

When the cactus dies,

These hollow forms
are left behind.

They're called saguaro boots
by the indians,

Who use them
as containers.

When the gila woodpecker
moves out of its nest,

The elf owl moves in.

This is the tiniest owl
in the world.

Because of the thick lining

And the moisture stored
in the saguaro's flesh,

The nest stays cool,
even on the hottest days.

Harris' hawks
are the largest birds

To make their homes
in the saguaro.

They raise their young
in nests of twigs.

Sometimes the hawks
use each other as perches.

This is called
back-standing.

At night, in may,
the saguaro blossoms.

Buds emerge and open

Into large,
milky-white flowers.

Bats drink
the flowers' nectar.

Each flower opens
only once

In the cool of the night

And closes
by the following afternoon.

White-winged doves appear,
to drink nectar, too.

A queen butterfly
alights on a petal,

And a bee circles around.

Every creature
that drinks the nectar

Picks up pollen

And carries it on
to fertilize the next flower.

When the flower
is fertilized,

The fruit
can begin to form.

By june, the blossoms
have dried,

And fruit has formed.

The seeds ripen,
and the fruit splits open,

Revealing its
bright red insides.

As they've been doing
for centuries,

The tohono o,odham indians

Begin the saguaro
fruit harvest.

The children try to
catch the fruit as it falls.

Sometimes they steal a taste
of the sweet, juicy pulp.

The women scoop the bright red
pulp into buckets.

They leave the outer hulls
on the ground

Facing the sky.

This is the o,odham offering
for rain.

The o,odham men
gather wood for a fire,

And old women remove pebbles
from the fruit pulp.

The pulp is mixed
with water

And cooked
until it is thick and sweet.

Finally, the cooked pulp
is poured through wire mesh

To separate the juice
from the seeds.

The o,odham make jams
and candies, syrups and wines

Out of the saguaro fruit.

Harvest is a time
of celebration.

At night,
more fruit falls,

And a coyote arrives
to lick the pulp

Out of the rinds.

Nearby, some javelina pigs
grunt and snort

As they scoop up
the fruit.

Everyone loves
saguaro fruit.

After providing food
and homes

For so many creatures,

The saguaro eventually dies.

The flesh folds away,
exposing the ribs,

Which spread out
like a big whiskbroom,

Or the saguaro falls
to the ground,

Where it gradually
decomposes.

While one saguaro dies,

Another begins
its new life.

The only saguaros
that survive

Grow in the shelter
of a nurse plant.

The larger tree
protects the saguaro

Until the saguaro is
strong enough to stand alone.

By the time it is


The cactus giant
towers quietly over the desert.

Saguaros
are very impressive.

Let's take a closer look
at this one.

Ouch!

These spines are sharp,
but they're here for a reason.

They keep animals
from eating the cactus.

Their shade also
protects it from the sun.

You see these pleats?

When it rains,
the cactus absorbs water

And these pleats expand.

When this happens,

The saguaro can swell
to twice its width.

The moisture comes up
from the roots.

This waxy coat
seals it in.

There's a woodpecker hole,
just like in the book.

Hey, anybody home?

Come on out.
I'll take your picture.

He must be camera-shy.

The saguaro
isn't the only cactus

Here in the desert.

If I want pictures of some,
I'd better get snapping.

Plants aren't the only ones

That have learned
to adapt to the desert.

Animals have, too.

Here's an inside look

At some of their best
survival techniques.

I'm a jack rabbit.

The secret
to my success is my ears.

I use them to give off
extra body heat.

That keeps me cool.

A smarty like me,
the kangaroo rat,

Scoots underground
to avoid the heat.

Then I eat seeds.

I know how to get water
out of seeds.

It quenches my thirst.

Lizards keep cool
by staying out of the sun.

I like the shade
of a rocky ledge,

Even if I have to
share it.

When javelinas are thirsty,
we don't need a water hole.

We find a cactus
and eat it,

Prickles,
spines, and all.

Cactus fruit
is a real treat.

Yumm...

I'm a roadrunner,
and like lots of desert animals,

I get water
from my food.

All I have to do is find
something tasty to eat

And figure out
how to catch it.

Maybe dancing around a bit
will work.

Yes. Lunchtime!

As far as I'm concerned,

A wise bird
is a cool bird,

And one of the coolest places
in the desert

Is inside
a saaro cactus.

See, the saguaro's flesh
is thick with water,

Which air-conditions
a bird's home.

We love
our cactus high-rise.

And the view
is spectacular.

Many desert animals,
like me, the bobcat,

Survive the heat by hunting
in the cool of the night.

We sidewinders
are night animals, too.

We know how
to move sideways

To get the best grip
on the loose desert floor.

A gila monster survives

By storing water
in its fat tail.

Our favorite time to hunt
is early morning.

When the sun comes up,
we head home.

Desert animals are very shy.

If they see you,
they'll run and hide.

Most of them couldn't
hurt you anyway,

But some
are very dangerous,

So it's best
to keep your distance

Unless you're a herpetologist
like jerry brewer,

An expert on snakes.

Hi. My name's jerry brewer.

Most people call me
the snakeman

Because I love snakes.

Let's look
for some now.

People are afraid
of snakes

Because they're
quick, agile,

And some are venomous,

But with a little
knowledge,

You find these are
docile and wonderful creatures.

It comes easy for me

To understand everything
in the desert,

Especially snakes.

I love the desert.

Maybe the fact
that I'm an indian

Might have something to do
with my love of the desert.

[Rattling]

Oh, look here.

This apparently
is a denning area.

There's many western
diamondback rattlesnakes here.

Look at the length
on this big fellow.

This animal here,
he's 5 feet or longer.

Beautiful creature.

[Rattling]

Look at the extremely long
rattle on this one.

Let's take a look
at the eye.

It's like a cat eye.

The center is a slit.

This slit will enlarge
when it's dark

To let in all
the available light

When it's out hunting
during the evening.

Located between
the nostril and the eye

Are two large facial pits
on each side of the face.

These detect the warmth
of a rat or a rabbit's body.

This is how
he finds his food--

By using heat-seeking pits.

The fangs of a snake
are big, elongated teeth,

And they're hollow.

This is what the venom
comes down through

When the snake lunges out
and bites its food.

You can see a little venom

Starting to come out
of this fang.

As you can see here also,

The rattlesnake
can open his mouth

A full 90 degrees.

This enables the sat large y

In one big, whole chunk.

It's like us trying
to swallow a whole watermelon

All in one big gulp.

It doesn't
hurt this lower jaw.

It can move
left and right.

It's covered with scales,

And these scales
are in rows.

Between the scales,
it's like elastic.

See how the skin
stretches?

This doesn't hurt
the animal.

They're made this way

So they can swallow
everything whole.

The scales on the top here
are different

Than they are
on the bottom.

On the bottom,
they're nice and smooth,

And his belly scales

Help him crawl
over bushes and rocks.

All the scales
are waterproof,

So snakes
are good swimmers.

If you look down here,
we can see where this stops.

There's another
row of scales,

And this is where
his tail starts.

On the western diamondback
rattlesnake,

He has a black and white
banded tail.

On the end of his tail--
this is his rattle.

This is nothing more
than dead skin.

Each time a rattlesnake sheds,
it gets a new rattle.

Rattlesnakes rattle
because they're nervous,

And the rattle on the end
from each shedding

Makes the noise
when they wiggle their tail.

If you do see a snake,
enjoy his presence

And leave him alone,

But enjoy him
while you have him there.

This guy's
been real good for us.

We're going to put him
back where he belongs.

Now he's back in his home.

That's where he belongs.

Hopefully, that's where
he'll stay.

Good-bye.

There are only four deserts
in the united states,

So most of us
don't live near one,

But you can explore the desert
without leaving home.

Find a warm
patch of sun,

And curl up in it
with these books.

Hello. My name is jennifer.

Some people think snakes
are disgusting.

On the other hand,
they can be interesting.

Here's a book
that will help.

It's called
snakes are hunters.

Snakes are hunters
because they like to eat.

They eat live prey.

Some squeeze
their prey to death.

There are more than 3,000
kinds of snakes,

Like garter snakes,

Rattlers,

King cobras,

And black rat snakes,
to name a few.

It's funny that snakes
shed their skin.

The skin still looks like them,
but they're not in it.

I don't think I'd have
a pet snake,

But they
are fascinating.

To learn more,
read snakes are hunters.

My name's raphael diaz,

And I'm here to tell you
about an excellent book

Called a living desert.

Wait till you see
these great desert animals.

All these animals live

In the sonoran desert
in arizona.

It's a huge desert--



What's neat
about desert animals

Is how they each adapt
to such a dry place.

The mountain lion
sleeps in the day.

He hunts at night
when it's cool.

The photographs are some
of the best I've seen.

Great close-ups
of fascinating animals.

This book made me want to
visit the desert.

I'm sure it will do
the same for you.

Don't be dry.
Give it a try!

If you're one
of those people

That thinks that a desert
is just a hot, sandy place,

You should read
cactus.

It's about the beautiful plants
in the desert

And how they survive.

A cactus may go a year
without water.

It has a spongy inside
so it can store water.

A cactus has spines

So it can protect itself
from hungry animals

And shade it from the sun.

I'm jenny levine.

To find out more about cacti,
read this book.

[Click]

You know,
a month from now,

This desert will look
completely different,

And in three months,

It will change
all over again.

That's because the desert
has seasons,

And its transformations
are truly remarkable.

♪ Hot sun burnin'
in the desert sky ♪

♪ Heat waves risin',
it's very dry ♪

♪ And it's hard to imagine ♪

♪ That the desert
changes seasons, too ♪

♪ But in the spring ♪

♪ The cactus bloom
and flowers grow ♪

♪ In the summer,
it rains ♪

♪ And the winter
brings snow ♪

♪ It's a place
filled with wonder ♪

♪ Changing
the whole year through ♪

♪ Up and down,
to and fro ♪

♪ The seasons come, then around
and around they go ♪

♪ Until they start
all over again ♪

♪ When the winter
turns to spring ♪

♪ Renewing life
for everything ♪

♪ It's always beginning ♪

♪ And like a circle,
it never ends ♪

♪ Summer, fall, winter,
spring ♪

♪ Renewing li
for everything ♪

♪ It's always beginning ♪

♪ And like a circle,
it never ends ♪♪

Well, that sun
is setting,

And I'll be
heading home,

But I won't forget
what I've seen here today.

It's just amazing
how living things

Will find
a way to survive,

No matter how difficult
the circumstances.

Even the desert
is filled with life

Because of nature's
incredible ability to adapt.

There.

As for me,
I'm leaving the desert

Just as I found it,

Not taking out
more than I brought in

Except for
what's in my camera.

See you next time.

[Click]

♪ Summer, fall, winter, spring ♪

♪ Renewing life for everything ♪

♪ It's always beginning ♪

♪ And like a circle ♪

♪ It never ends ♪♪

Today's reading rainbow books
are...

Desert giant,
the world of the saguaro cactus

By barbara bash,

Published by
sierra club books,
little, brown.

Snakes are hunters
by patricia lauber,

Illustrated by holly keller,

Published by thomas y. Crowell.

A living desert

By guy j. Spencer,

Photos by tim fuller,

Published by troll associates.

Cactus by cynthia overbeck,

Photos by shabo hani,

Published by
lerner publications company.