01x01 - Arizona

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] Arizona.

Home to America's great Wild West.

Famous for showdowns

between lawmen and bandits,

where legends are made

and only the courageous survive.

Amid this arid landscape,

ferocious creatures

brave this peculiar frontier.

Whether the good,

the bad,

or the mighty,

you must be quick on the draw

-if you hope to survive.

-[rattles]

[coyotes howling]

It's been a long night foraging for food

for this desert-dwelling kangaroo rat.

Busy collecting a bounty

of hundreds of seeds to store

back at her burrow.

Instead of using her paws

to carry the load,

she shovels them into her fur-lined

cheek pouches.

Time to set off home.

Like a tiny kangaroo,

she uses her powerful back legs

to speed through the desert,

while her long tail

helps maintain balance.

Fur on the soles of her feet prevent her

from sinking into the loose earth.

As she arrives back home,

a young kangaroo rat instantly emerges

from the burrow to greet her.

He's been eagerly awaiting

his mother's return.

Any day now, this adolescent

will leave his mother's care

to begin his journey of independence.

Although he longs to explore the world,

he lacks the courage

to take the decisive step.

For now,

this is as far as he's willing to venture

from the security of their burrow.

While the desert is cooler at nighttime,

the dark conceals

some of the toughest characters in town.

Kangaroo rats are surrounded by enemies.

A deadly diamondback rattlesnake

carries enough venom

to k*ll more than 60,000 mice.

And kangaroo rats

are one of their favorite foods.

The naive young kangaroo rat

still has much to learn,

and he hasn't noticed

the impending danger.

Rattlesnakes strike their prey

faster than the blink of an eye.

The kangaroo rat's mother's worst fear

is unfolding before her very eyes.

She sprints to intercept

the snake's powerful jaws.

In a split second,

the life of the young kangaroo rat

has changed forever.

[rattles]

Now, the lethal rattlesnake

switches its attention.

The juvenile is left with no choice

but to run.

[continues rattling]

Forced to abandon all he knows,

he's pushed out into uncharted territory.

The snake takes over

the kangaroo rats' burrow.

The balance of law and order

has tipped out of the young rat's favor.

Driven by grief and fear,

he's been racing

as fast and as far away as he can.

He's lost the one thing most dear to him.

Having never been away

from his home before,

he's unsure of what to do

or where to go.

The chances of survival

for this naive kangaroo rat look slim.

Summer temperatures in Arizona

can reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

The air is dry, making it hard to breathe.

The burning daylight makes the ground

scorched and unbearable underfoot.

The body of the kangaroo rat

is designed to reduce water loss.

He can perspire only through his feet.

However, he isn't adapted

to stay in the sun for long.

He'll perish if he stays out

for more than an hour.

Seeking shade isn't enough.

He must go underground.

The air inside the tunnel is pungent

but this subterranean shelter

would provide some much-needed relief

from the relentless sunlight.

The dark entices him in.

A foot or two below the hot surface

exists a honeycomb network of tunnels.

It's here many of the desert animals

seek respite from the sun.

But some life has adapted

to thrive above ground.

The seasonal monsoons

of the Sonoran Desert

produce lush pockets of vegetation.

A forest of saguaro cacti.

These giants stand

up to 60 feet tall and weigh

as much as two tons.

Taking advantage of the rich landscape

are lifeforms who appear

as if they are from another time.

Almost prehistoric.

With a keen sense of smell,

this Gila monster

has discovered treasure:

a nest of tortoise eggs

carefully hidden in the sand,

away from the sun's rays.

However, they aren't buried deep enough

to protect them from the Gila monster.

Biting through the shell,

it consumes the contents

with its forked tongue.

Having gorged as much as it can,

the Gila monster

won't need to feed again for months.

The dragon returns to its lair.

Tasting the air,

it's clear it has an unexpected visitor.

[footsteps approach]

Kangaroo rats

are extremely sensitive to vibrations.

And the sound of something approaching

echoes down the chamber.

Slowed down

by the weight of its full belly,

the Gila has little chance

of catching him.

But the Wild West takes no prisoners.

Tarantulas never venture too far

from their burrows,

and this Arizona blond tarantula

is blocking his exit.

He's left with no option

but to try and slip past the Gila monster.

This hero is once again

forced out into the open

and even further away

from the safety of his own home.

Isolated and alone,

he's uncertain of where to go next.

[rumbling]

But there's no time to reflect.

A roaring wall of dust

thunders towards him.

Engulfed in a vicious storm

of desert sand and grit,

he's choked by the plumes of dust.

[engine roars]

[revs]

The surface of the ground

is parched and loose.

The wheels of the bike

easily churn up the dry soil.

Relative to his size,

the kangaroo rat can outmaneuver the bike.

Blinded by a wall of dirt,

he finds his way inside

something dark and protective.

It's not perfect,

but it provides enough shelter

to escape the chaos.

For the first time since leaving home,

he can finally rest.

[g*n fires]

He's jolted awake.

A false alarm?

[g*n fires]

[g*nf*re continues]

The youngster finds himself

in the middle of target practice.

This cowboy is an expert marksman.

He takes aim.

Fixated on his target,

he's oblivious of the kangaroo rat

inside one of the old cans.

But a faulty trigger has provided

an opportunity to escape.

Sent into a spin,

the tin can and the kangaroo rat

pick up momentum,

rolling faster and faster

to uncharted territory.

An eerie silence blankets the landscape.

Laid out before him is a creepy spectacle.

Bones of the long-deceased stretch out

as far as he can see

where many have met their end

under the desert sun.

But some of these victims

didn't get here by accident.

[rumbling]

A terrifying raptor,

the Harris's hawk is an expert hunter.

Locking on to its target,

it descends from the sky.

[hawk screeches]

Like a velociraptor,

it st*lks its prey on foot.

As the kangaroo rat flees for his life,

the pounding steps of the hawk

shakes the earth beneath his feet.

An attack could come from any angle.

The kangaroo rat

is quickly running out of places to hide.

It's now or never.

[hawk screeches]

Defeated this time,

the hawk gives up the chase and retreats.

The air is cooler now.

The kangaroo rat leaves his hiding place

in search of food.

Individually, these morsels don't carry

many calories,

but consumed in bulk,

they'll sustain him over several days.

Having collected up any bits

he wants to save for later,

he must now find somewhere safe

to store them.

The inside of this shoe looks perfect.

But it's already taken.

This boot isn't big enough

for the both of them.

Confronting the intruder is a scorpion.

Armed with a chemical weapon,

its razor-sharp tail is loaded with venom.

Too frightened to move,

there's no escape

for the young kangaroo rat.

But suddenly, the scorpion retreats.

Silhouetted in the moonlight

stands a mysterious character.

Around these parts, he goes by the name

the scorpion mouse.

The kangaroo rat takes cover.

[howls]

The scorpion mouse

is a fearless predator of the desert,

and it's on the hunt

for its favorite prey.

[squeaks]

These two ancient enemies

lock together in a deadly battle.

Although the scorpion is venomous,

the mouse has evolved

a biological resistance

to its toxic sting.

[scorpion mouse squeals]

Armed with this superpower,

the scorpion mouse isn't afraid of much.

Having witnessed

this true hero of the Wild West,

the kangaroo rat is filled

with an overwhelming urge

to take back what is rightfully his

and confront the thing he fears the most:

the deadly rattlesnake.

It's his home,

and he intends to keep it that way.

Determined not to let his story

from the past dictate his future,

he must face his fears head-on.

Staring darkness in the face,

he bravely passes through the hawk's lair

with a new purpose.

He knows what he must do.

Using himself as bait,

he has the hawk exactly where he wants it.

There is no time to waste.

Finally, he returns home.

Risking his life, he uses

every ounce of courage to venture back.

Luring the snake out of the burrow

he then takes cover to watch

as his plan unfolds.

It's a setup.

[rattles]

Although the rattlesnake

has a deadly bite,

the hawk remains composed.

Standing eye to eye at point-blank range,

the two outlaws size each other up.

[rattles]

It's the ultimate showdown.

[sound of a blade unsheathing]

[rattling]

[hawk screeches]

Driven away

by the formidable Harris's hawk,

the cowardly snake

retreats from the fight.

Banished from this town,

it'll never return.

With the snake gone,

triumphantly this tiny hero

can take back what is rightfully his.

It has taken all his courage

for this young kangaroo rat

to finally face his past.

Like all the animals

that live in this harsh desert,

they must face the impossible to survive.

This shows the true resilience of nature

and its ability to overcome the odds.

Often where there is fear,

there is also opportunity

as this kangaroo rat has discovered.

And now he has begun a new journey:

surviving, and more importantly,

living freely in the great Wild West.