♪♪ >> MILLS: [ Laughs ] You can see -- So, this is a little American alligator.

It's not a crocodile.

Okay, here we go.

Here's a couple more.

In fact, one of them just flew.

♪♪ The Sandhills are severe, dry habitats characterized by gentle, rolling hills and deep, coarse sands.

These environments contain nutrient-poor soil, and the unique assemblage of plants that live here are adapted to the arid conditions.

Most of the trees are small, and shrubby oaks and pines dominate the landscape.

Many of the mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates that live in this region retreat underground and away from the elements.

Let's spend a day in the Sandhills, a hot, rugged, but ecologically diverse ecosystem.

This is Scott Pfaff, and he's the curator of herpetology for Riverbanks Zoo.

Scott, good to see you again.

>> PFAFF: Good to see you, Tony.

And it's great to be back in this classic Sandhills habitat.

>> MILLS: I mean, it is hot.

>> PFAFF: You know, it's kind of weird that even though we're surrounded by water, the animals that live here are very adapted to dry, hot conditions.

>> MILLS: So, let's look around and see what we can find.

>> PFAFF: See what we can find.

>> MILLS: Scott, here's some kind of cool stuff right over here.

>> PFAFF: Oh, yeah.

>> MILLS: So, it looks like an old field mouse burrow, doesn't it?

>> PFAFF: Right.

>> MILLS: Pretty much everything that lives here is gonna have to hide, right?

>> PFAFF: Got to be underground because it's so hot.

But I imagine it's also good protection for that animal to live underground and be away from some of the terrestrial predators.

>> MILLS: Well, the other thing is, you know, you look at this, this is where the animal dug out, the mouse dug out this sand, but you can see, it is sand.

I mean, very little peat and other vegetation material in it.

>> PFAFF: And why they call it the Sandhills.

A lot of this is sand from the ocean, from millions and millions of years ago.

>> MILLS: And if we get a lot of rain here, it's mostly gonna just percolate right down to the soil.

>> PFAFF: And that's why it's so dry, so xeric.

>> MILLS: And you're familiar with this species right here?

>> PFAFF: I'm very familiar with this.

>> MILLS: So, this is one called Pogonomyrmex, the harvester ant.

>> PFAFF: Right.

>> MILLS: And what I love -- you know, western harvester ants used to be what they made ant farms out of.

>> PFAFF: Right.

>> MILLS: So if you had an art farm, it was very likely the western version of this species.

But what I love is these little charcoal briquettes.

So, from past burns, these guys have mined underground.

And in their process of looking for seeds and digging tunnels and such, they bring all this stuff out.

>> PFAFF: It's also a good way of finding fossils.

You can look in here and see small fossils they brought from underground, bring them up to the top, and deposit them in this burn.

>> MILLS: The sting on this is supposed to be pretty impressive.

>> PFAFF: So that's how they protect themselves.

>> MILLS: But, you know, they're really inoffensive.

I mean, these guys don't look like they really want to sting.

>> PFAFF: Not coming after you, but if you mess with them, they'll defend themselves.

>> MILLS: So, maybe if I pick up the charcoal briquettes...

So, maybe we'll let these guys -- >> PFAFF: Leave them alone.

♪♪ >> MILLS: Looks like there's some cactus right over here.

In fact, this is prickly pear cactus.

And this is covered with some really neat stuff.

So, these are scale insects, Coccoidea insects.

And they form this kind of white stuff.

And if you pull some of this off and kind of squeeze it together, look at that bright red.

>> PFAFF: It has a pigment, yeah.

>> MILLS: So, this has been used for all kinds of food products.

And, of course, a lot of synthetic alternatives are used now, but this has been a dye for a long, long time.

>> PFAFF: And some people think that cactus is sort of a western United States plant.

But it's common here, because it's so dry and can adapt to these conditions.

>> MILLS: Yeah, this is very desert-like when you think about it.

>> PFAFF: Very much so.

You know, we're also surrounded by wiregrass, longleaf pine, and turkey oak, which is also plants that are adapted to these very dry conditions.

>> MILLS: And obviously, this is great habitat for reptile and amphibian species.

>> PFAFF: Like pine snakes, for instance, which are adapted to these dry conditions and can dig their own burrows in this really sandy soil.

>> MILLS: Southern hognose snakes, coachwhips.

Many of our favorites.

>> PFAFF: A lot of stuff that we like.

I think Will Dillman is just down the road.

Want to go see him?

>> MILLS: Yep.

Hi, Will.

>> DILLMAN: Hey, Tony.

>> MILLS: This is Will Dillman, who's herpetologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

So, scoping a burrow, huh?

>> DILLMAN: Yeah, today, we're out here looking at gopher tortoise burrows, and we use this scope to look into the burrows.

>> MILLS: Do you see some activity around this?

>> DILLMAN: There's a lot of activity here, so we think that there's probably a good likelihood that there's a tortoise in here.

And this is the way we determine if there's a tortoise present in a burrow.

>> MILLS: And I know these burrows can be, what, 20 feet long or longer?

>> DILLMAN: They can be 20 feet long or longer and 10 feet-plus down in the ground at the terminus of the burrow.

As we go along here, you can see into the burrow.

You might encounter some of the many commensals that occur in the burrow with the tortoise.

>> MILLS: Yeah, what else do you see in these burrows?

Rattlesnakes, obviously, and what else?

>> DILLMAN: Frequently, we'll see eastern diamondback rattlesnakes.

Occasionally, we'll see birds that have fled down into these burrows.

We see a number of different insects and sometimes some amphibians.

We're coming up on a tortoise right now.

You can see... >> MILLS: Oh, yeah.

>> DILLMAN: ... if you look on the screen, here's the shell of the tortoise.

>> MILLS: Yeah.

Oh, good look at it.

So, do you have an idea how far down it is?

It's obviously not all the way down at the end, huh?

>> DILLMAN: Right, this one's somewhere midway in the burrow.

If we take a measure here on this cable, as we pull it out, we can tell exactly how far it is in the burrow.

>> MILLS: I think one of the really neat things about these gopher tortoise burrows is the animals can really thermoregulate by going up and down the burrow to get the perfect temperature that they want.

>> DILLMAN: Absolutely.

So, this burrow provides a very constant temperature for them both to escape the heat of the summer as well as the cold temperatures in the winter.

>> MILLS: Yeah, and to warm up in the sun, if they come out and sit on the apron, if they need to, as well.

>> PFAFF: I know it's hot on the surface, but what do you think the temperature is down at the end of this burrow, down at the chamber?

>> DILLMAN: Well, these burrows are relatively cool.

Again, they're gonna be relatively stable year-round.

So probably cave temperature -- 55 or so degrees.

>> MILLS: So, do you find that when you scope these burrows, does it scare the tortoise further back down in the burrow?

>> DILLMAN: They have a variety of different reactions.

Sometimes they seem to be startled and they'll flee back down the burrow.

Sometimes they'll actually come up.

This has a light on the end, and sometimes they'll actually seem to be attracted and come towards that light.

>> MILLS: So, Will, why are you scoping all these burrows?

>> DILLMAN: Well, we use this burrowscope to actually see if tortoises are present.

Over the last several years, we've been involved in a number of properties trying to provide population estimates for the number of tortoises in South Carolina, and this is the way we go in and actually count tortoises.

>> MILLS: And this is still a protected species in the state, right?

>> DILLMAN: Yes, it is.

This is a state endangered species.

>> PFAFF: And DNR is actively managing properties specifically for gopher tortoises?

>> DILLMAN: Yep.

This is one of two sites that DNR has acquired and managed specifically for gopher tortoises.

>> MILLS: And, of course, an awful lot of other animals and plants are gonna benefit from the umbrella.

>> DILLMAN: The management that's done for the tortoises benefits a host of other species that are endemic and occur on these Sandhills.

And, Tony, we've got another project with gopher tortoises going on right now.

>> MILLS: Yeah, I'm really excited about this one.

Let's go check it out.

♪♪ Oh, man.

>> PFAFF: So, Will, here are a couple of the tortoises that we've been raising for you.

>> DILLMAN: Wow.

These guys look great.

>> MILLS: God, these are really cute.

>> PFAFF: And, Tony, we've been raising these for DNR.

And what our job was as a zoo was to get these tortoises big enough so that you could put a transmitter on them and then Will could track them.

And, you know, that's what zoos do the best, that we manage animals in captivity.

So we're really good at taking baby tortoises like this and growing them up.

>> MILLS: This is really the cute size, isn't it?

>> PFAFF: They are.

>> MILLS: Still have a lot of color, too.

>> PFAFF: Yeah, they're very bright at this size.

>> MILLS: So, guys, how old are those tortoises?

>> PFAFF: These tortoises are almost 2 years old.

We've had them for that long.

We've been trying to grow them at a natural growth rate, feeding them a really high-bulk, low-protein diet, so their shells are nice and hard.

>> DILLMAN: And, Tony, these guys are gonna be much larger than a wild 2-year-old.

They grow much faster in captivity -- they're eating year-round -- than they would be if they were in the wild.

>> MILLS: And so, giving them a head start is gonna help them with predators that live out here, right?

>> PFAFF: Right.

And they learn how to dig burrows.

We encourage them to do that in captivity.

>> MILLS: These guys are really strong.

I can feel him pushing against my fingers.

>> DILLMAN: You can really see when you look at these guys, these front feet, which are really built for digging.

>> MILLS: And the back feet are almost like elephantine, aren't they?

Just for walking around on dry land.

Very different than an aquatic turtle.

>> DILLMAN: Tony, when this started, this was a project between Savannah River Ecology Lab and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

And over the last two years, Riverbanks has become involved to help raise some of these tortoises.

And most recently, the Longleaf Alliance has been providing some money for Savannah River Ecology Lab to really increase the number of tortoises that we can put out each year.

>> MILLS: So, it's wonderful for all these organizations to have buy-in and to get so excited about this.

>> DILLMAN: Absolutely.

It's a great partnership, and it's really benefiting the tortoise in South Carolina.

>> MILLS: So, we're gonna release these guys today, right?

>> DILLMAN: Yeah, we're putting these guys out.

And a lot of these tortoises, as we put them out, we affix a transmitter to them so we can follow them around and follow their movements.

And this is one of the transmitters.

It's relatively small.

We attach it to the back of the tortoise using some epoxy, and it stays on pretty well.

>> MILLS: And the antenna drags behind it, so that's not gonna get hung on anything or anything like that.

>> DILLMAN: Correct.

>> MILLS: But these guys don't get transmitters, right?

A certain number do not get transmitters.

>> DILLMAN: These guys are not getting transmitters.

We don't have the budget to put transmitters on everybody or the time to follow all of them around, so we pick a subset of them and follow those.

>> PFAFF: Hey, Will, you ready to release these guys?

>> DILLMAN: Yeah, let's go.

♪♪ >> MILLS: So, we're just gonna kind of set them down?

All right, let's let them go.

So, these are not the only two tortoises that you're gonna release, right?

>> DILLMAN: Right, this is part of a larger effort.

Over the last two years, we've released over 60 tortoises.

And we're hoping to increase this number over the coming years, and every year, release a larger and larger group.

>> MILLS: All right, well, I guess this is it.

I so appreciate you guys letting us tag along for this project.

This is really worthwhile stuff.

Today, we're with wildlife biologists Dirk Stevenson and Houston Chandler.

And today, we are after one of the biggest and most impressive snakes in the United States -- the indigo snake.

Guys, I'm psyched about this.

>> STEVENSON: Me too.

>> MILLS: Yeah, Tony, these are fascinating habitats.

These are windblown, aeolian sand dunes, but they support a really wide diversity of neat critters, like fox squirrels and gopher tortoises, and in addition to the indigo snake, some other rare and declining serpents, like the Florida pine snake and the eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

>> MILLS: This is good southern hognose habitat, too.

>> STEVENSON: Very good.

>> MILLS: So, tell me a little bit about the geology of this area.

>> CHANDLER: These sand ridges, we're on the east side of the Ohoopee River in the lower coastal plain of South Georgia.

These sand dune-like ridges are from 10,000 to 100,000 years old.

The sands are 10 to 30 feet deep.

>> MILLS: And very porous, so when it rains a bunch, a lot of the water just goes right through the soil and down into the water table.

>> STEVENSON: You virtually never find standing water up here.

These sands are like sponges.

All the precipitation just soaks right in.

>> MILLS: And, Houston, you work for the Orianne Society, right?

So, this is sort of the focal point of your research and education programs, isn't it?

>> CHANDLER: Yeah, that's right, Tony.

The Orianne Society, we are nonprofit.

And we focus on research and management primarily in the Southeast, but also have programs in the Northeast, too.

But we focus on conserving rare reptile and amphibian species.

And we work in Sandhills a lot, and this is a very important habitat and supports a high diversity of the focal species that we work with.

>> MILLS: And the indigo snake is kind of an ambassador for this habitat, right?

I mean, this means indigo right here, doesn't it?

>> STEVENSON: Yeah, you better believe it.

Indigos are such impressive, magnificent, and iconic reptiles, you know.

>> MILLS: And they're big.

I love the fact that they can be 7 feet long.

>> STEVENSON: They're the poster child for the Sandhills habitat.

>> MILLS: Well, I am ready.

I'm chomping at the bit to catch some snakes.

>> STEVENSON: Why don't we split up?

We've got 300 acres of habitat here.

So we'll partition into a couple groups.

>> MILLS: And I think Houston is going to set up some equipment, and we'll hopefully meet up with him a little bit later on.

>> CHANDLER: Yeah, that's right.

>> MILLS: All right, let's head out.

>> STEVENSON: Tony, we've got a tortoise burrow right here.

>> MILLS: Yep.

So, good population of gopher tortoises.

And this really is one of the real keys to indigo snakes, isn't it?

>> STEVENSON: Exactly.

Exactly.

Eastern indigo snakes in this part of the range are obligate commensals of the gopher tortoise burrow.

These deep, sandy tunnels, they're up to 20 feet long and 8 feet deep.

You know, their temperatures are very cavelike and stable.

>> MILLS: Right.

>> STEVENSON: Every indigo snake in South Georgia lodges, spends the night in these during the winter.

And on mild days like this, they'll sometimes come out and lay in the sun.

>> MILLS: And, of course, these burrows are home to just a multitude of animals species.

>> STEVENSON: Oh, you better believe it.

>> MILLS: Invertebrates and mammals and all kinds of things.

>> STEVENSON: Tortoise burrows have beetles and flies found nowhere else on the globe.

There's a thing -- an animal called a gopher frog.

These are really important refugia for a very broad diversity of species.

>> MILLS: Okay, so, we're at a burrow, and I've done a little bit of this before, but what's your technique for finding things?

>> STEVENSON: So, we use this mirror to flash sunlight in the shaft of the gopher tortoise tunnel, and we'll see the track.

If we get a hot track, then... >> MILLS: I love this mirror.

>> STEVENSON: Yeah, that's for you, Tony.

>> MILLS: This is the one you chose for me to use?

>> STEVENSON: It seems apropos.

>> MILLS: And so, you just kind of reflect a -- Oh, yeah, I see it.

>> STEVENSON: An angle with the sun.

Anything in there?

>> MILLS: Nope.

Don't see anything.

And no tracks, either.

>> STEVENSON: No tracks, right.

We don't think there's a snake in this one.

We have many hundreds of burrows we're gonna hit today, though.

>> MILLS: Okay.

Sounds good.

Let's go try something else.

>> STEVENSON: When they do make a conscious decision, so to speak, to emerge, they just crawl right up, you know.

I mean, not with a lot of hesitation or pausing, maybe.

>> MILLS: Dirk, it looks like -- so, did a predator dig this one out, you think?

>> STEVENSON: Coyote.

>> MILLS: Boy, it's a lot of excavation right here.

>> STEVENSON: It sure is.

>> MILLS: So, presumably, it would be just trying to dig up anything that was in the burrow, whether it be a -- >> STEVENSON: We've had some really cold nights, and the coyote might have wanted to den here.

>> MILLS: Y'all, look at the paw prints here, too.

>> STEVENSON: Uh-huh.

>> MILLS: I bet it is a coyote.

>> STEVENSON: They're troublemakers, as you know, and they'll dig up gopher tortoise eggs.

>> MILLS: All right, well, let's keep looking.

You know, it's interesting, Dirk -- there's actually a lot of places to hide.

Even though this is fairly open habitat, you know, snakes are really good at hiding, and even in this sparse vegetation.

Dirk, I see an apron right over here, so... >> MILLS: Oh, you sure do, Tony.

>> MILLS: That's what's cool about those... >> STEVENSON: Big, yellow spoils of sand-ridged dirt that the gopher hauled up, huh?

Imagine how hard they work digging this out.

>> MILLS: It's a lot of excavation.

>> STEVENSON: Oh, this is a good-looking burrow.

>> MILLS: What do you see?

>> STEVENSON: Shed.

Indigo shed.

>> MILLS: Look.

Yeah, right here.

Right here.

So, there's the -- It just gives you an idea how big these snakes are.

Look at those belly scales.

You know, they're all big, but this looks like a really big snake.

>> STEVENSON: Yeah, I think you're right.

You know, these indigos actually aggregate, kind of group up, November, December.

>> MILLS: Uh-huh.

>> STEVENSON: And they breed then.

So, even though there aren't that many on the ridge -- 'cause, you know, they're top of the food chain, where they are -- there's often more than one.

Indigo!

>> MILLS: Sure enough!

>> STEVENSON: Get it, Tony!

>> MILLS: Oh!

Got him!

>> STEVENSON: You okay?

>> MILLS: Yeah, I'm fine.

>> STEVENSON: Okay.

Very gentle.

Ahh.

>> STEVENSON: Oh, it's in the blue.

It's opaque.

>> MILLS: It musked me.

>> STEVENSON: Opaque female.

>> MILLS: Oh, this is wonderful.

God, this -- >> STEVENSON: Very nice.

>> MILLS: Boy, that was -- I just saw a little bit of glint and I know you picked up on it, too.

That was me crashing, and not on the snake.

I was just in the sand.

>> STEVENSON: She's musking, which is, you know -- >> MILLS: You know, there's nothing wrong with being musked by an indigo snake.

>> STEVENSON: They're not big biters, but they rattle their tail, they musk, and they kind of flare their neck and hiss a little bit.

>> MILLS: And as you said, wonderful, you know, opaque eyes, so it's getting ready to -- the skin layers are separating.

It's getting ready to shed its skin.

>> STEVENSON: Nice catch, by the way.

You move pretty well for an old guy.

>> MILLS: Not as quick as I used to be.

But this is a female.

You looked at the tail, right?

>> STEVENSON: Yeah.

>> MILLS: Oh, it sure is, yeah.

>> STEVENSON: Yeah, this is an adult female.

>> MILLS: Shorter tail that tapers rapidly.

>> STEVENSON: I'm gonna say she's 5, 5 1/2.

>> MILLS: Feels like a healthy snake.

It's got a lot of weight to it.

>> STEVENSON: Should be developing eggs already.

>> MILLS: So, you think you know this snake?

>> STEVENSON: We'll find out here in a minute.

>> MILLS: You know, she's really cold, too, so maybe she just came up out of the burrow.

>> STEVENSON: Well... Oh, you're right, Tony.

She has -- Oh, and look at this.

This is a sign of a pregnant indigo, Tony, when they're full-bodied, the latter -- you know that -- the latter third of the snake.

>> MILLS: Yeah, she looks like her body's heavy-bodied and... >> STEVENSON: You betcha.

>> MILLS: And here's a piece of shed skin that I just found.

>> STEVENSON: Oh, man!

>> MILLS: Well, Dirk, you called it.

You said this looked like a good burrow, and sure enough... >> STEVENSON: Excellent.

Tony, I want to go ahead and bag her up.

>> MILLS: And we're gonna work it up later, right?

>> STEVENSON: Yeah, Houston and the Orianne Society mark all the snakes.

♪♪ >> MILLS: Houston, we got a nice female.

>> CHANDLER: Hey, that's great.

We'll get her worked up, and then she can go back in her burrow.

>> MILLS: So, Houston, what kind of information do you need to get from this animal?

>> CHANDLER: Well, with every indigo that we catch, we take some standard morphometric measurements -- her length, weight, that kind of thing.

>> MILLS: Boy, that's a healthy-looking snake.

>> CHANDLER: And just kind of gently, you can hold -- if she stretches out, you can just hold her and then let go of her head.

>> MILLS: So, looks like her total length is just a little bit over 5 feet, right?

>> CHANDLER: And then each captured indigo is also PIT-tagged with a unique I.D., so we'll scan her.

It may be a snake that we've captured before.

We'll see.

>> MILLS: Same kind of technology used in dogs and cats, right?

>> CHANDLER: Yeah, that's right.

If your pet has a microchip, it's the same kind of thing.

[ Beep ] Yeah, this is a new snake, so she'll get tagged today.

>> MILLS: So this one has never been PIT-tagged?

>> CHANDLER: So, now we're gonna go ahead and give this snake a tag.

>> MILLS: Make sure you get the snake and not me.

I don't want to be PIT-tagged.

>> CHANDLER: No, don't worry.

I won't PIT-tag you.

And then all you do is you stick the needle just barely under the skin.

>> MILLS: Right.

>> CHANDLER: And then these come pre-loaded with tags, and they're 100% sterile.

You gently inject the tag.

And that's all there is to it.

And also right now, we are sampling for snake fungal disease, which is an emerging diseases that infects snakes, and so we'll take a swab sample from her, and then we'll let her go.

All right, so, let's get her back in her bag.

We'll go grab Dirk, let her go, and then look for some more snakes.

All right, here we are back at the burrow where we first caught this snake.

>> MILLS: Can I do the honors of releasing it?

>> CHANDLER: Sure.

>> MILLS: Boy, what a beautiful snake.

These things are so neat.

There she goes.

>> STEVENSON: All right.

Let's go find another indigo.

>> MILLS: Sounds good.

So, obviously, you know, planted longleaf pine here, so this is an area that was Sandhills, and now it's been planted with longleaf.

>> STEVENSON: Exactly, yes.

This is a pine plantation.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> MILLS: Here's one right here, guys.

Right here.

>> CHANDLER: Grab it.

>> STEVENSON: Nice!

Nice!

>> CHANDLER: Very good.

>> MILLS: Oh, man, this is a beautiful snake.

God, they are so big!

Look.

How long is that snake?

Certainly over 6 feet long.

Wow.

Boy, that was -- boy, you just catch that little glint of, you know, reflection.

I mean, they're not nearly as obvious as you think.

And that one was coiled up very, very tightly, just, you know, in a tight ball, like that.

>> STEVENSON: Oh, my gosh.

>> CHANDLER: It's a girl, isn't it?

>> STEVENSON: It is.

>> CHANDLER: A really big girl.

>> STEVENSON: It's a huge female.

>> MILLS: Boy, it doesn't get much better than this for herpetologists.

I'll tell you what.

>> CHANDLER: All right, so, we'll look and see if this girl was tagged in a previous year.

[ Beep ] And there you go.

That is a recaptured snake.

>> STEVENSON: Whoo-hoo!

>> CHANDLER: This snake was almost certainly caught and tagged last year.

>> MILLS: And so, this is a female, but you said towards the bigger end of females.

>> CHANDLER: Yeah, this is definitely on the bigger end of females.

They rarely get much over 6 feet.

And we would guess that this individual is pushing 6 feet, if not a little bit over.

>> MILLS: Yeah, I think 6 feet, for sure, just glancing at it.

And in very good condition.

I mean, it seems like it has good, heavy body.

>> CHANDLER: All right, we'll get her processed, and then we'll bring her back in a little while.

♪♪ >> STEVENSON: Indigo!

>> CHANDLER: I think it's a different snake.

>> MILLS: What?

>> CHANDLER: I got it.

>> MILLS: That's incredible, Dirk.

It was just crawling across the ground.

>> STEVENSON: Yeah.

>> MILLS: That was a good dive, Dirk.

>> STEVENSON: Yeah, was it good?

[ Laughter ] >> MILLS: Wow.

God, these are just awesome snakes.

So, this is a female, right?

>> STEVENSON: Yes.

>> MILLS: I'm just looking at the tail.

>> STEVENSON: Heavy with developing eggs, as well.

>> MILLS: I guess we need to check this and see if it has a code?

>> CHANDLER: Yeah, let's see.

[ Beep ] Well, there you go -- another recapture.

>> MILLS: 8-4-2-0-3-5... 0-3-5-7-7-1.

Wow.

So, you know that snake?

>> STEVENSON: Yes.

We know -- We do know 8-4-2 -- >> MILLS: Yeah, but you don't know it by heart.

>> STEVENSON: This is Ruby.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> MILLS: And, boy, this is a big female snake, isn't it?

>> STEVENSON: She is.

Yeah.

>> MILLS: All right.

>> STEVENSON: She's amazing.

>> MILLS: Okay, you guys ready?

>> STEVENSON: Yeah.

>> CHANDLER: Yeah.

>> MILLS: Here she goes.

Guys, this was awesome!

I mean, we caught three indigo snakes and saw a fourth one.

And, I mean, this animal's PIT tag is a recapture.

>> CHANDLER: Yeah, it's a great day.

And so, this animal will be part of our long-term monitoring.

At the Orianne Society, we are committed to making sure these animals remain on the landscape in South Georgia.

And so we'll be back here in a couple years to look for them again.

And if we catch her, we'll know about it, and we'll monitor these populations into the future.

>> MILLS: Well, I so appreciate the work you guys are doing -- not only for the indigo snakes themselves, but for this habitat that they live in.

All animals need good-quality habitats to live in.

It is essential that we understand these habitats so that we can do the best job taking care of them.

Like this southern hognose, for instance.

This is a species whose numbers have declined drastically throughout much of the range.

In fact, this species is extinct in two of the states where they were once common.

We need to protect the Sandhills that this snake and other species need to survive and thrive.

Thanks for joining us on "Coastal Kingdom."

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