♪ calming music ♪ ♪ Desiree>> South Carolina's coastal region is well known for its sandy white beaches, historic cities and popular tourist attractions.

This area is also home to the states' 35 barrier islands.

These islands provide a multitude of benefits to the environment and serve as a vital habitat for fauna and flora along the coast.

♪ The ever changing terrain has created some of the state's most beautiful landscapes, and has caused animals here to adapt in some of the wildest ways.

♪ opening music with wildlife sounds ♪ ♪ calming music ♪ Barrier islands received their name from the fact that they create a protective barrier between the mainland and the ocean.

♪ Though each barrier island is unique, many share the same characteristics, grassy dunes typically form directly behind the beaches, giving way to dense maritime forests and estuaries facing the mainland.

Beaches here undergo constant and drastic erosion.

In some areas, up to five feet of shoreline is washed away every year.

♪ This erosion can eventually cause the ocean to cut into the maritime forest leaving behind a graveyard of trees.

♪ At some point in their life, it's estimated between 75% and 95% of all marine species rely on this dramatic landscape.

♪ On Kiawah Island, bottlenose dolphins have developed a feeding tactic that takes place nowhere else.

Working as a team, dolphins corral fish around shallow creeks and rivers forcing them towards the shoreline.

To find their prey.

Dolphins use echolocation by producing thousands of high frequency clicks that bounce off nearby objects.

These sound waves travel back to the dolphins and they're able to detect fish with pinpoint precision.

Once the dolphins are in position, they rush the shore synchronized creating a tidal wave that pushes the fish ashore momentarily beaching themselves in the process.

♪ This behavior, known as strand feeding is passed down from mother to calf and takes years to master.

♪ Dolphins have been observed using several other advanced feeding behaviors around the world, even using tools such as sponges to dig for prey on the seafloor.

In fact, dolphins are among the smartest creatures on the planet with a brain to body ratio second only to humans.

♪ Most cetaceans like dolphins and whales share similar characteristics such as being sociable, having long lifespans and taking a longer time to reach adulthood.

Their brains are so well developed, they are quite possibly able to experience complex emotions such as joy, fear, and grief.

♪ song ends ♪ ♪ joyful music ♪ Even though bottlenose dolphins are not endangered, they are a federally protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Dolphin populations face both natural and human related challenges such as disease, pollution, and habitat loss.

Fortunately, organizations like Charleston's Low Country Marine Mammal Network helped by providing first response aid and educating the public about South Carolina's resident dolphin population.

♪ Here at one of their organized events called dolphin camp, the Low Country Marine Mammal Network inspires children to become future conservationists by learning how to safely care for stranded marine mammals and having a little fun in the process.

♪ The organization also helps gather data on dolphin populations with what they call citizen science.

Anyone can log dolphin sightings into a database that the network uses to help monitor the species and so that these wild creatures can be cherished for generations to come.

♪ song ends ♪ ♪ closing song ♪ (natural wildlife sounds)