-Funding for "Coastal Kingdom" is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina, which proudly supports this program.

Through the generosity of our members and donors, the ETV Endowment has funded educational and entertaining programing like Coastal Kingdom for more than 40 years.

♪♪ -We live in a beautiful and diverse ecosystem.

In "Coastal Kingdom," we try and travel to some of the really beautiful natural areas of the state and look at some of the creatures that live in those areas.

In this episode, we're going to look at some animals that are relatively common but almost iconic to the area.

We have a tendency to take these signature species for granted, but they're still really fun to see.

♪♪ So look at that little guy.

Okay.

We got something big on.

There we go.

We've got the bird, and there's already a chick in there.

♪♪ ♪♪ So, this is an eastern kingsnake.

And this is one of the signature species of the Lowcountry.

Its real claim to fame is its ability to kill and eat other snakes, including venomous ones.

But as tough as this snake is, it's disappearing throughout much of its range, and people don't know exactly why.

We thought you might be interested in some of the research we're doing to protect this vulnerable species.

♪♪ I love this time of year because today we get to work up baby snakes.

Now I'm joined by Rachel Walman, and Rachel and I have worked on this kingsnake project for a long time.

And so what we're going to do today is go through these snakes.

We're going to process them and get all kinds of essential information -- you know, length and weight and things like that -- and then, eventually, we're gonna get to let them go.

So, here are some guys that just hatched.

And if you look there -- Now watch this.

I'll bet they're all under here.

Look at all the babies underneath there.

So, these eggs were laid about two months ago by one of the females that we have in the lab, and it took her probably 6 or 7 hours to lay the whole clutch.

Now, clutches can be anywhere from about 5 to 14, but I can pick this up and tell this is all empty.

So all the snakes have come out of their egg shells and moved out into the vermiculite.

So these have been incubated for about 55 or 60 days.

And what they did is they made a little slit in the egg shell.

And then what they do is kind of pip their heads out.

And then once they sit there for 24 or 48 hours, they'll crawl right on out, and they're pretty much on their own.

Actually, for that matter, while they're in the egg, they're on their own, as well.

But really cool.

But I think we're going to wait on these until they have a chance to shed, until they're they're ready to work out.

But there's some other ones right here, and these -- Yeah, these have been hatched for some time, and they have all shed.

And look at those.

They are gorgeous little snakes, aren't they?

-Yeah, they're really cute.

-So, these are completely ready to be processed.

And I don't know exactly how many are in here.

There's a little shed skin from -- from one of them.

Anyway, there's no real easy way to do this.

This is exciting every time you work up this many snakes.

And one of the hardest things is to keep them from crawling out of the bin while you're working up another snake or something like that.

But let's get started.

-All right.

So, we are going to be on an LG 2201.

-Okay.

I'm going to go ahead and select one.

One selected... -Get that lid for you.

-[ Laughs ] -Okay.

The first thing I want to do... -We need the sex of this.

-And it looks like this is a male.

♪♪ -This is always a little harder than you think it's going to be.

12 grams.

-So, 12 grams.

And that -- that's pretty typical, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-12 grams is a common weight... -A standard weight.

-...for these guys.

♪♪ So, guys, in the past, what I would do is, I would clip belly scales.

It wasn't real reliable.

And then I even got to the point where I was drawing pictures in my notebook of the head pattern.

And because they have a pretty characteristic head pattern.

And then why don't you tell them about what we're doing now.

-Yeah.

So now we're doing photos on them, which I think is a lot easier than trying to do 96 hand-drawn drawings of those guys.

So we'll do the photos, and each one is super unique.

It really looks like a fingerprint on them.

I didn't realize how unique they were until we had a whole bunch of them.

And you're going through and you're like, "That one's a smiley face.

That one's missing a neck bend."

So it's really, really cool.

-Yeah, and some of them have really fun ones, like you said, like the smiley-face ones.

-Yeah.

♪♪ -And I noticed this one earlier.

Look at that little guy.

-That is so small.

-That's -- That -- So, there's great variability in these things.

So sometimes, you know, they hatch out at regular size, 12 grams or so.

I can't wait to see how light this one is, but it's noticeably shorter.

And it's going to weigh a heck of a lot less.

I imagine it's harder to survive when you're this small, but... -What are you guessing?

2?

-No, it's bigger than that.

I think it's 5 or 6.

-I'm gonna go 4.

I'm going to increase.

Made me change it.

-3.

-[ Chuckling ] 3.

-And we both lost.

-You were -- You were really close, though.

-Well, only because, uh... -So, 3 grams.

I mean... And this -- this is a snake that'll weigh a kilogram is an adult.

♪♪ ♪♪ Okay.

Now for the absolute best part of this, right?

We get to release these little guys.

-Yeah, I'm excited for it.

-So, the reason we're doing this is, we want to demonstrate that we can hatch these animals out in the lab and that they survive.

And that's really important because we may be able to use this as a technique for conservation eventually.

-Yeah.

So, over the past couple of years, we've had four recaptures, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's really hard to find them again.

And it's always super exciting when you come running in with a snake for us and an I.D.

from the computer.

-Well, and the other thing is, the recaptures we've gotten have been in great shape, too, haven't they?

-Yeah, yeah.

-I mean, they've grown a bunch, and they -- they've looked really good.

So that's comforting, for sure.

The genetics are from here.

So in other words, we're not bringing in animals from Florida or genetics from Florida.

They came right here from this county.

-Yeah.

-So that's important.

One of the things we're gonna do is make sure that we put these in spots where they can right away hide and get underneath something, because what we don't want to do is attract a predator.

We want to give them a good chance, for sure.

Now there's lots of predators out there that might eat these, things like, you know, great blue herons and egrets and other birds and things like that, and, of course, other snakes and things like that, as well.

But hopefully, these guys, we'll get a chance to see them again.

♪♪ So, Rachel, I have one more left.

-I have already released all of mine.

-But we have a whole bunch more to work out back at the lab, don't we?

-Yeah.

-Thank you so much for joining us on the show... -Yeah.

-...and mostly for working on this project for so many years.

-It's super fun.

-All right.

Here goes this guy.

♪♪ ♪♪ So, if you see a turtle in the Lowcountry, there's a good chance that it's going to be this species right here.

Yellow-bellied slider turtle.

And you can tell that in a couple of ways.

One is, it has a really yellow belly.

And there's typically two spots on the front part of the plastron right here.

Now, the way you see these is in freshwater.

They're always in freshwater.

A lot of times, you see them basking on logs and -- or sometimes just swimming around.

Now, a couple of things I noticed.

First of all, I'm looking at the tail, and I'm looking at the claws.

This is a male.

In fact, this is about average size for an adult male.

And what I can tell -- the size is part of it.

But, boy, look at these claws.

Very, very long claws.

And male turtles will swim up to a prospective female, and they'll kind of wave their claws in front of her face like that.

And it's kind of like courtship in birds.

That's how they attract a mate.

So, females would have -- first of all, they'd be bigger and they would have quite a bit smaller claws than this.

So this is a male.

Actually, there's a couple others in here.

Let's see what this is.

Looks like another male.

I can tell by those long claws and the -- and the tail.

And then a couple juveniles.

But anyway, let's -- I'll tell you what.

I have some other traps to check.

Let's go check those.

♪♪ Here's another trap.

But tell you what.

Look at the water lilies here.

I mean, there are a whole bunch of them.

Here's -- I'm going to pull one of these.

Look at this beautiful flower.

And so this is one called Nymphaea odorata.

And it -- you can tell kind of how deep the water is because this has this long sort of tendril that goes down to the -- to where it attaches.

Anyway, lots of this around.

I mean, it's covering a lot of this pond.

And, of course, here's the -- here's the lily-pad formation that they have.

See what we have in this one.

Oh, looks like we do have a turtle.

Not a bunch in here, but one good one.

So let me pull this one out and have a look at it.

Oh, yeah.

For sure.

So, this is a big female.

Boy, interesting markings on the belly.

Typically, they have a couple markings here and not all this sort of black pigment on the bottom of the plastron or the lower part of the shell.

Definitely a female.

And I can look -- claws are short, but definitely a female.

So this -- this animal probably already laid this year.

And what it did, came out of the water, walked up on land, dug a hole, kind of a flask-shaped hole, laid 10, 12, 14 eggs in it.

And then those eggs hatched about 60 days later or so.

And a lot of times, they actually overwinter in the nest.

So she lays them, they hatch in the nest, and then they just sit there until the following spring.

It's kind of a -- kind of a neat strategy, really.

And then they emerge in the spring when it's -- there's more to eat, it's a little warmer, and things like that.

So, this is an adult female, but they get quite a bit bigger than this.

And, really, when they reach this size, they have very few natural predators.

Now, a big alligator can crush one of these, and occasionally, they get hit by cars, which is really unfortunate.

But most predators can't deal with this really strong dome-shaped shell.

So time to let this one go.

Now, it's probably not going to swim off.

It's probably just going to sink down to the bottom, but it'll be just fine.

♪♪ Oh, here's something really cool.

There's a leech here.

Oh, my gosh.

This is a neat leech, too.

This is a real pretty one, if a leech can be pretty.

This one has a bright red kind of belly.

And I think this is one called Macrobdella.

It's a -- [ Laughs ] Leeches are kind of disgusting, actually.

But, of course, they are blood suckers, so they're feeding on a blood meal, and sometimes -- Certain species will actually attach to turtles.

Let's put the leech down and see... And I'm glad the leech didn't get on this guy.

Look at that little cutie!

So, that's a little tiny baby yellow-bellied slider.

You notice kind of a yellow belly and the two spots right there.

But, boy, this one is not very old.

This is a youngster.

Probably hatched out earlier this year and spent the winter probably underground after it incubated for about two months and just kind of stayed underground till the following spring, and then emerged and now is living in this wonderful wetland right here.

Takes turtles a long time to reach adult size.

So this species would probably be twice this size in a year, and it might take it 10 years to reach adult size.

So what these guys have to do is rely on hiding, and they have wonderful cryptic coloration or camouflage that helps them to blend in with all this -- this green vegetation.

Helps them really hide.

So even though this is a little guy, this is a yellow-bellied slider.

And again, if you see a turtle in the Lowcountry, there's a good chance it's going to be this species.

♪♪ Guys, I have to admit, I'm in a bit of a shark phase lately.

I just can't get enough of these elasmobranch fish.

But it's important to realize sharks are important.

Without sharks, the ecosystem doesn't work very well.

So what we're going to do is get out in the field today and see if we can catch some sharks.

♪♪ Okay, guys, we're running out to one of my favorite fishing spots, and we just came up on an American alligator.

Of course, this is 100% saltwater.

Now, people have the misconception that alligators don't go in saltwater.

I don't know where that came from because they love mullet and blue crabs and all kinds of stuff like that.

But they have to get back in freshwater so they can get rid of the salt.

And I'll bet you that's what that animal is about to do.

This is a big animal.

I would guess this is a 9-, 10-foot male probably.

Females usually don't get quite that big.

Man, that's an impressive animal.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ There we go.

I don't think it's on anymore.

Let's see.

Think it's a little shark.

Hmm.

[ Chuckles ] Boy, that had a lot of slack there for a minute.

Kind of exciting.

Let's see what this is.

Bonnethead.

That's a fun little shark.

There we go.

There we go.

Looks like a little female, and no claspers on it.

So we're going to get this one right back in.

♪♪ Get this one.

See if I can pick this rod up.

♪♪ Tighten this drag a little bit.

Wow.

This is a nice fish, whatever it is.

Oh, man, this feels good.

This feels really good.

All right, so we got some rods out of the way.

[ Laughing ] I'm gonna get my hat on.

This has been exciting, to say the least.

I have no idea what this is, but, boy, there are a couple of great runs there.

I mean, but, you know, we stopped it, and so maybe it looks like we're making a little headway.

There we go.

You know, a lot of times when you start to get them close, I think they either see the boat or -- Yeah, here we go again.

It's just taking line back out.

I think I'm gonna lose pretty much everything that I just gained.

Wow.

There it goes again.

♪♪ Oh, it's a big stingray!

Wow!

Oh.

[ Laughs ] These are really -- Stingrays are really a pain to deal with sometimes.

So, the tough thing about these stingrays is, all they have to do is kind of turn their body into the current.

And we've got a pretty good current going right now.

So that puts a lot of force on the rods.

♪♪ ♪♪ All right, let me see if I can get this hook out.

This -- boy, this is a big animal.

Okay, hook is out.

We can let him swim back.

And there he goes.

Wow!

That was -- That took a while, and that was not exactly what I had in mind, but still kind of fun.

Stingrays just -- Man, look, there's almost nothing left of this bait.

It's like all the good stuff's gone out of the middle of it.

♪♪ Okay, so we got a little guy on.

Doesn't feel too big.

♪♪ Well, a shark.

Oh, it looks like a blacktip pup.

Yep, that's what it is, for sure.

I'm gonna get a glove on.

Man, are they strong.

These sharks are so strong for their size.

Boy, what a good-looking shark.

They are just really chunky and strong, for sure.

So I'm gonna put this one back in.

You always want to get your hands out of the way with blacktips.

♪♪ I think -- I think -- [ Reel unspooling ] -Wow, I'm already into the second... Yeah, this -- this is maybe too big for us.

Wow.

We're gonna -- Rob, we may have to -- Yeah, throw the anchor.

So, guys, Rob went to throw the anchor, which means what you do is just put a buoy on the anchor and then just kind of throw it out, because we knew we were never -- we would have to chase that fish, but it broke right on the knot.

So that makes me feel a little bit better.

It didn't come untied or anything like that.

But whatever that was, it was spectacular.

Unfortunately, it was a little too much for us and our tackle.

♪♪ I feel something on here.

Hmm.

There we go.

I like that.

I like when they -- when you stop them, then, all of a sudden, they turn around and just start running.

There it is.

Atlantic sharpnose shark.

Boy, a pretty one.

Lots of really nice white spots on it.

♪♪ Boy, these sharks are amazing.

They really are.

Boy, he smacked me in the stomach a couple times.

So, Atlantic sharpnose.

But look at this cool fish.

Beautiful white spots on it.

So these have really nice white spots.

Relatively inoffensive shark.

Much easier to handle than some of the other species.

So I'm gonna pop this one back in, too.

But it's a pretty one.

And this is an adult.

So these don't get real big like some of the other species.

♪♪ Hey, guys, there's something really interesting right here, and we can't tell what it is.

It seems to be bobbing up and down a little bit.

And whatever it is, it's big, and we got to go see what it is.

Gonna try and sneak up on it a little bit.

I can't tell if it's a sea turtle or an alligator or what it is, but... ♪♪ Oh, my gosh.

This is so cool.

Guys, we just figured out what this is.

It's an armadillo.

I mean, we are a mile from the shore, I think.

And this armadillo is swimming.

And I knew they could swim, but I had no idea they can swim like this.

There he goes.

He's taking off.

I think what we may do is help this little guy out.

So I think what we're going to do is, I guess, catch this little guy and just get it over to the shore because I don't want it to drown.

A neat little animal.

I mean, they're just -- they're just incredible.

It's kind of pesty sometimes, but, uh, let's see if I can maneuver this boat.

Ow!

God, he is really, really strong.

They are unbelievable.

Wow!

Look at this armor.

[ Laughs ] Now, you got to be careful of the claws, because they're ridiculously sharp.

So what we're going to do is find some land, I guess, because he looks like he was -- he or she was laboring a little bit, and I just want to make sure that we get it to safety.

♪♪ So, guys, we got it in a bucket.

And I don't -- [ Laughs ] Oh, his head's sticking straight up.

So this is going to be interesting, to say the least.

I think what I might do -- there we go -- is -- what we have to do is put this animal -- We don't want to get stuck.

And so I think what I'm gonna do is just put it right on the edge here, and he'll swim right over to the edge, and here we go.

And there he goes!

He's headed right back to shore.

[ Laughs ] Oh, my gosh.

That is so cool.

♪♪ He made it to dry land, and we didn't get stuck, which is even better.

Well, that was unusual.

That's something that's never happened to me while fishing.

Rescued a few animals from time to time but never an armadillo.

So I better back up so we don't get stuck in the shallow water.

♪♪ Whoa!

That feels pretty good, whatever that is.

I can feel the head shakes.

So I think it's probably a shark, but, wow.

Nice shark here.

Looks like... a really nice fish.

Not really sure what this is yet.

This is nice.

Looks like a finetooth shark to me.

Great big gill slits.

Yeah, finetooth shark.

You know, that's a 3-foot shark or something like that.

Look at the shape.

So, when you talk about form and function, here's an animal that can move through the water just effortlessly.

Very definitely one of the signature species we have here.

And the reason we have it is because we have lots of clean water, lots of good bait for these guys to eat, and just great habitat.

And there he goes.

♪♪ Okay, so we're back at one of my study sites several months later, and I'm hoping we might be able to find one of those hatchlings.

Now, I've been seeing a particular animal that was up several weeks ago, so I thought what we'd do is go back to that same spot and see if we can find her.

♪♪ Gonna sneak up a little bit here.

Now, I'm gonna go ahead and -- I'm gonna go ahead and set my scale up.

Because what I want to do, if this snake is here, I want to get some data from it.

I hope -- This is gonna be pretty silly if the snake isn't even here, but I think there's a chance that she may be.

♪♪ And there she is, right here.

Look at her.

I'm gonna pick her up, and I'm gonna make sure it's the snake I think it is.

I have a pretty good idea.

Now, the first thing I notice about this snake is, it is huge.

This animal has grown so much.

There's a little bit of a shed skin.

But I also want to just make sure it's the same snake.

And sure enough, it is.

So I can tell by that V in the neck and then various spots in the head, this is definitely -- No doubt about it, this is the same snake.

And, again, it has grown significantly.

In fact, the animals -- I have some that I kept in captivity that I've been feeding regularly, and they're not nearly this big.

It just goes to show.

Now I want to get a quick weight, see what this snake weighs.

Looks like 68 grams.

And it looks terrific.

Man, there's not a mark on it.

It's hard not to want to hold this longer, but... Man, this is so cool.

I guess it's much better to be out in great habitat like this.

Obviously, the snake is getting plenty to eat, and it's doing a really good job of conservation of energy.

It's saving that that energy and growing as big as it can with what it's getting.

It's such a neat window of what's going on in nature.

And it also lets you know that habitat, good quality habitat like this, is just essential for snakes, like this little eastern kingsnake.

♪♪ So, we've seen some great animals, some real iconic species of this region.

But believe me, we're not even close to done yet.

There's an awful lot of signature species that we still want to find.

Thanks for joining us on "Coastal Kingdom."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Funding for "Coastal Kingdom" is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina, which proudly supports this program.

Through the generosity of our members and donors, the ETV Endowment has funded educational and entertaining programing like "Coastal Kingdom" for more than 40 years.