(dramatic intro music) ♪ Desiree> The state of South Carolina is home to some of the most fascinating and diverse wildlife on the planet.

♪ Its varying geographic regions host a variety of ecosystems, each providing the necessary ingredients for life to flourish and grow.

♪ Just as remarkable are the people whose mission is to protect and ensure that these fragile habitats continue to thrive.

♪ Now it's time to learn and discover What's Wild .

♪ ♪ (tiger roaring) Hi, I'm Desiree Cheeks, and in this episode of What's Wild , we're exploring South Carolina's hidden habitats.

From dense maritime forests to delicate wetlands, we'll uncover the lives of some of the Palmetto State's most secretive creatures.

But first, we're headed to a remote barrier island where a stealthy predator roams under careful protection.

(swoosh) ♪ ♪ The coastline of South Carolina is a destination renowned for its natural beauty and diverse ecosystems, hosting a variety of barrier islands.

♪ A barrier island is a landmass that's prone to erosion and features tidal zones, estuaries, and maritime forest.

♪ With 35 of them dotting the South Carolina coastline.

The state boasts more barrier islands than any other state, except Florida.

♪ Here, a plethora of flora and fauna adapt to this ever changing landscape.

No animal knows adaptation better than one of the most elusive creatures in the Palmetto State, the bobcat.

Despite their remarkable adaptability, bobcats on barrier islands face numerous challenges.

♪ However, dedicated conservationists are working tirelessly to ensure these magnificent predators continue to thrive in the wild .

♪ Felines, known for their elusive nature and impressive hunting skills include a wide variety of species.

At a glance, bobcats look like your average house cat.

However, they can be up to two to three times larger than domesticated cats.

They're also often mistaken for their close relative, the Canada Lynx.

Bobcats can be identified by their short ear tufts, spotty coats, and bobbed tails, from which they get their name.

These animals possess excellent vision and hearing, which aid them in their crepuscular hunting activities.

Bobcats are versatile in their diet, feeding on deer, small mammals, birds, reptiles, and even insects.

With their diverse diets and habitats, they play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance.

On Kiawah Island, they serve as apex predators.

By controlling these prey populations, bobcats prevent overgrazing and overpopulation of deer, which can lead to habitat degradation and a decline in plant diversity.

This in turn, supports a healthy and balanced ecosystem, allowing other wildlife to thrive.

♪ Bobcats on Kiawah Island face significant ecological challenges, particularly due to the use of rodenticides.

Second-generation anticoagulants or “SGAs” found in these pesticides have had a devastating impact on the bobcat population.

These poisons work by hindering the body's production of vitamin K, which is essential for blood coagulation.

Without it, animals hemorrhage or bleed to death.

♪ Bobcats being the top predator on the island, are particularly vulnerable as they consume poisoned prey.

♪ This bioaccumulation in the food chain has dire consequences and leads to secondary poisoning.

♪ For a time, there are about 30 to 35 bobcats on Kiawah Island.

But from 2017 to 2020, their population dramatically dropped to fewer than ten.

♪ The widespread use of SGAs not only decimates rodent populations, but also indirectly causes the deaths of these top predators.

(kittens whining) ♪ In response to the declining bobcat populations, dedicated efforts have been made to protect these crucial predators on Kiawah Island.

The town of Kiawah Island organized an information and pledge campaign called "Bobcat Guardian," educating and encouraging residents and local businesses to voluntarily stop using harmful SGAs.

This program has successfully garnered commitments from over 650 households and 31 pest control businesses, to refuse the use of harmful SGA pesticides.

However, this is just one approach.

For over 20 years, the town has been conducting research on the local bobcat population in conjunction with the Kiawah Conservancy and Clemson University.

To do this, they first have to catch the uncatchable.

Between January and April, the wildlife team begins by setting up live animal traps around the island.

These traps are baited with a rooster, a tempting snack for any bobcat.

Fortunately, the rooster is safely enclosed in an inner cage, ensuring it remains unharmed.

♪ Once the trap is sprung, the team quickly administers an anesthetic.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ After the cat is sedated, the biologists meticulously collect data such as weight, length, and check for parasites.

♪ Blood samples are also taken to test for toxins like SGAs.

♪ They check if the cat has been caught before by scanning for microchip implants.

If the animal is unchipped, a chip is implanted under its skin.

♪ Lastly, a temporary GPS collar is fitted to the bobcat to gather future location data, assisting in pinpointing specific areas or habitat types on the island that are vital to the bobcats, and areas where bobcats might encounter SGAs.

♪ Since the program's inception, over 100 bobcats have been caught and studied.

Once all the necessary data has been collected, the cat is observed until it can be safely released back into the wild.

♪ This comprehensive research, combined with the protection of wildlife areas by the Kiawah Conservancy, is crucial for ensuring the future survival of bobcats on the island.

Through these united efforts, bobcat populations have started to increase on Kiawah, but continued work will be needed to restore this once thriving and wild area.

♪ (swoosh) Next, let's dive into the lives of some of our state's most endangered amphibians, each uniquely adapted to their fragile environments, and reveal how even the smallest creatures play a crucial role in South Carolina's rich biodiversity.

♪ ♪ The coastal plain of South Carolina is an ecologically rich landscape stretching from inland sandhills to the coastal marshes along the Atlantic Ocean.

♪ This vast expanse, characterized by its flat terrain and diverse wetland systems, harbors a mosaic of unique habitats.

Among these, the longleaf pine forest, cypress swamps, and mysterious Carolina bays create a haven for an extraordinary array of wildlife.

Here, hidden within this intricate ecosystem lives one of nature's most elusive and fascinating creatures, the gopher frog.

Adapted to thrive in the isolated, ephemeral wetlands and sandy soils of the coastal plain, these remarkable amphibians face a perilous existence.

Gopher frogs are now teetering on the brink of extinction, mainly due to the loss of seasonal wetland habitat used for breeding.

But hope is not lost.

Through remarkable collaboration efforts, dedicated biologists and conservationists are employing innovative strategies to give these amphibians a fighting chance at survival in the wild .

♪ The life of a gopher frog begins in the temporary wetland pools of South Carolina's coastal plain.

These ephemeral wetlands, which fill with water during the rainy seasons, provide a perfect nursery free of fish predators for the frog's early stages.

As adult frogs, their journey then leads them to xeric habitats such as the Sandhills.

In the Sandhills, adult gopher frogs will commonly find refuge in stump holes and burrows made by other animals, such as another Sandhills resident, the gopher tortoise.

This commensalism with the gopher tortoise is vital as it offers the frogs protection from predators and harsh environmental conditions.

♪ Gopher frogs are distinguished by their stout bodies, large heads, and mottled brown or gray skin.

They're nocturnal hunters waiting at the mouth of the burrow to ambush for insects and other small invertebrates that venture too close.

♪ Unfortunately, gopher frogs face environmental problems in South Carolina, mainly due to habitat loss and habitat degradation.

These temporary wetlands where gopher frogs lay their eggs and tadpoles develop are increasingly rare, leaving fewer safe havens for their early stages of life.

Additionally, the loss of the longleaf pine ecosystem, a critical component of their adult habitat, has compounded their troubles.

The reduction of these forests disrupts the delicate balance required for their survival.

(upbeat music) In response to the threatened gopher frog populations, a remarkable collaboration has emerged between Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Georgia.

This concerted effort harnesses a major conservation initiative known as a "head starting program."

♪ It all begins with SCDNR collecting vulnerable gopher frog eggs from temporary wetlands.

These precious eggs are then transported to Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, where they are nurtured from tadpoles to metamorphs in the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Aquarium and Reptile Conservation Center.

♪ Once sufficiently developed, these frogs are released in underground refugia and on the wetland edge to mimic natural metamorphosis and dispersal.

♪ To better understand the habitat needs, dispersal and survivorship of these small frogs, a new collaborative project emerged to assess and compare gopher frogs that are hard released versus soft released.

A hard release is simply releasing animals directly onto the landscape where they can move freely and adjust to their new habitat.

Soft releases involve releasing animals into large pens on the landscape where they are safe from predators while adjusting to their new environment.

Soft releases for other species have shown that animals tend to remain closer to the release point, which is ideal for reestablishing or augmenting declining populations.

♪ ♪ To better understand the effectiveness of this strategy, both hard and soft release frogs are outfitted with radio telemetry transmitters, essentially, frog backpack locators.

♪ ♪ Additionally, these frogs are given a head start with their very own burrows.

The soft release frogs are released in a total of 18 pens, each housing three frogs.

Over the following weeks, both groups will be tracked and closely monitored.

♪ Tracking is done using telemetry antennas.

Biologists will listen closely for special frequency signals to pinpoint the frog's location.

♪ To help check on the well-being of some of the more settled frogs that have managed to find a burrow, a specialized burrow camera is deployed for a closer look.

♪ This study will help researchers better understand survivorship, movement, and habitat use between frogs that have been released directly into the wild, with frogs that are given more time and protection to acclimate.

♪ ♪ The hope is that one day this endangered frog will have a better chance at survival in the wild .

♪ (swoosh) Hundreds of millions of years ago, evidence suggests that at one point, South Carolina was predominately under water.

Past the young Appalachian Mountains, endless swamplands dominated the southeast and an explosion of biodiversity was underway.

This was the age of the amphibian.

♪ Early amphibians were some of the first vertebrates to “take the leap” from water onto land.

Today, their descendants come in a variety of species and live in some of the most remote and pristine environments on the planet.

One of South Carolina's rarest amphibians, has an isolated distribution and is one of the wildest animals around.

♪ Webster's salamander can be found in several small, separated locations across the southeast.

In South Carolina, the species is restricted to only a few areas along the Savannah River in the lower Piedmont.

♪ These salamanders prefer to live in mixed hardwood forests with dense canopies that help the forest floor remain moist and cool.

As with many terrestrial salamanders, much remains unknown about their behavior, but it's believed that most of their time in the fall and early spring is spent foraging through leaf litter, disappearing underground during the hot summer months.

Initially, Webster's salamander was so similar to another species, that it wasn't until 1979 that it was discovered as a new species using molecular data, one of the first creatures to ever be distinguished this way.

(birds chirping) ♪ As major predators of the forest floor, Webster's salamander plays a vital role in the ecosystem by affecting the rate of litter decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Because of habitat loss or alteration, Webster's salamander is an endangered species in South Carolina.

Unfortunately, it is not alone.

It's estimated that 32% of all amphibians are considered threatened of becoming extinct; with almost half of the species in the world being in decline.

To help ensure the survival of these imperiled animals, groups like the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources have established heritage preserves and surveys to help research and protect the species.

With these essential resources, the hope is that in time the Webster's salamander population can grow and stay wild .

(birds chirping) (swoosh) ♪ ♪ In the serene, verdant corners of South Carolina's wetlands, a microcosm of life unfolds ♪ Here, numerous amphibian species rely on the abundance of moist conditions and rich vegetation, including a small but fascinating creature, the four-toed salamander.

♪ Like many amphibians, four-toed salamanders occupy a vital role in their ecosystems, acting as indicators of environmental health and contributing to the balance of both aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

♪ However, their habitats are becoming increasingly rare.

To help protect this species, dedicated biologists from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources are diligently collecting vital data, ensuring that this remarkable creature continues to flourish in the wild .

♪ ♪ The four-toed salamander is intimately connected to its habitat, which consists primarily of wetlands, seepage slopes and areas rich in sphagnum moss.

This salamander can be identified by its reddish brown to grayish brown coloration, unique chevron pattern, and dark fleck specks on its underside.

One of its most notable features is its four toes on each hind foot, a characteristic that distinguishes it from many other salamander species.

♪ Yet, it's the salamander's nesting behaviors that truly stand out as their most distinctive feature.

Amphibians, unlike reptiles, birds and mammals, do not produce amniotic eggs and thus rely on aquatic environments to keep their eggs from drying out.

♪ These eggs are typically enveloped in a gelatinous coating that helps maintain moisture and provide some defense against predators.

♪ To increase the chances of survival, amphibians often lay their eggs in large clusters, sometimes with multiple adults contributing to the mass spawning.

♪ Once the eggs are laid, parental involvement generally ceases, with most amphibians leaving their offspring to develop independently in the water.

On the other hand, the four-toed salamander lays their eggs in specialized nests on land adjacent to wetland pools.

♪ Here they will lay anywhere from 4 to 50 eggs and instinctively guard them for several weeks until they hatch.

Female four-toed salamanders also frequently engage in communal nesting with multiple females, sometimes contributing to a single nest.

As many as 350 eggs have been discovered in joint nesting sites.

♪ Although the females do not actively defend the nest from predators, their presence during the early stages has been shown to enhance the survival rate of the embryos.

♪ (swoosh) ♪ The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources plays a vital role in the study and conservation of the four-toed salamander.

Field researchers meticulously collect biometric data, recording the size and health of individual salamanders.

♪ They also photograph the unique patterns on their undersides, which are just as distinctive as human fingerprints.

♪ This allows scientists to track individual salamanders over time, providing insights into their movements, growth, and population dynamics.

♪ Additionally, SCDNR biologists mark the locations of salamander nests, enabling further study and helping to monitor the health of these populations in the wild .

(music fades) Can't get enough of What's Wild ?

Go to SCETV.org for more exciting episodes of South Carolina Wildlife.

Also, be sure to visit our Facebook and Instagram page @SOUTHCAROLINAETV to let us know what other plants or animals you'd like to see next.

From everyone at South Carolina ETV, I'm Desiree Cheeks, thanks for watching and remember to stay wild .

♪ ♪ (computer noises) ♪ Ella> Hey friends, my name is Ella ♪ Andrew> I'm your host, Andrew Davis.

Today we will dig a little deeper into the history of these shell rings.

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