♪ opening music ♪ ♪ 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!

♪ ♪ South Carolina is full of hidden wonders, creatures, and environments that quietly shape the landscape in ways most people never see.

In this broadcast, we're stepping into forests, streams, sandy soils, and ancient plant communities to uncover some of the Palmetto State's most surprising species.

From powerful predators to delicate architects.

Each plays a vital role in the ecosystems they call home.

Let's begin by heading deep into the upland forest where one of the state's most misunderstood reptiles continues to thrive.

♪ soft music ♪ ♪ Across South Carolina, snakes quietly shape the balance of the ecosystem in which they live.

Among the state's 38 species, only six are venomous.

Yet all too often they are misunderstood, seen as threats rather than as the vital creatures of the environment they are.

♪ The timber rattlesnake in particular, stands as a symbol of resilience, with unique birthing habits and a vital role in keeping ecosystems in balance, timber rattlesnakes are a remarkable part of the natural world.

Yet now they face new challenges.

Their survival depends on the work of those who study and protect them.

Trained biologists who handle these snakes with care and dedication, reminding us that even the most feared animals hold an essential place in the wild.

♪ fading music ♪ ♪ soft music ♪ The timber rattlesnake has a wide distribution, with its range covering most of the eastern half of the United States.

These animals are ambush predators, sometimes waiting motionless for days in strategic locations beside fallen trees, rocks, and other structures, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

In colder months, timbers retreat underground ♪ Each spring, they emerge to hunt, mate, and for females to bear live young.

A litter of timber rattlesnakes typically contains 4 to 14 neonates snakes.

The young will remain at the birth site with their mother for several weeks.

After a brief period, when ready, they'll leave the safety of the den and their mother's care to begin life on their own.

♪ But survival for the timber rattlesnake is far from guaranteed.

♪ In addition to natural threats that result in low survival across the eastern United States, snakes are increasingly threatened by a devastating illness known as snake fungal disease.

Caused by a microscopic fungus called Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, it attacks the skin, leaving behind lesions, blisters, and scabs that can disfigure a snake's face and make it difficult to feed.

In severe cases, the disease weakens the animal's immune system and leads to death.

The addition of anthropogenic pressures such as fragmented and lost habitats, direct human persecution, roads, and poaching create a dangerous future for one of South Carolina's most iconic predators.

♪ soft music ♪ To help safeguard and better understand the needs of the species, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources conducts a monitoring program that tracks timber, rattlesnakes in some of the state's most remote habitats.

In these rugged areas, researchers travel by specialized vehicles and hike deep into the mountains to locate these animals.

♪ soft music ♪ ♪ Once a rattlesnake is found, it is carefully placed into a bucket and moved to a safe working site.

There, biologists take their time patiently guiding the snake into a clear tube at its own pace.

♪ This method minimizes stress while allowing the team to safely collect vital data.

♪ Once secure, the snake is covered to keep it comfortable and fit it with a small transmitter.

♪ The transmitter is carefully tied to its rattle and will remain for 6 to 8 months before it is switched out for a new one, or removed altogether.

Biometric measurements such as length and weight are recorded, and samples are taken, which are later processed in a lab to check for disease.

Once the transmitter is equipped and the snake released, biologists can follow the movements of tagged snakes using a receiver and antenna, building a detailed picture of their behavior and habitat use.

Even newborn rattlesnakes are included in this work, ensuring that every stage of life is documented.

Through careful study and the dedication of those who protect them, these remarkable snakes continue to thrive.

♪ ♪ Next, we leave the forest and follow the flow of mountain rivers, where another remarkable species reveals just how interconnected these spaces truly are.

Here, biologists check the rushing water in search of a fish newly recognized as its own species.

♪ [soft music] ♪ In South Carolina's upstate rivers rush cold and clear over ancient bedrock, carving their way through steep valleys and shaded forest.

♪ This is the Savannah River basin.

♪ With its winding tributaries and rugged landscape, these waters are a breathing lifeline for an array of wildlife, from mussels buried in the sand to crayfish beneath stones, each depends on the health of this river system.

♪ ♪ Among these currents lives a fish recently distinguished as its own unique species, the Bartram's bass.

♪ Today, conservationists and researchers are working to uncover its story.

From studying and capturing populations to conducting careful lab research, ensuring that this native fish and the river it depend on will endure for generations to come.

♪ ♪ Bartram's bass represents one of the only three native black bass species in South Carolina.

It was originally believed to be another population of one of its closest relatives, the red-eye bass.

Some of its strongest populations occur in the Chattooga and Chauga rivers.

The species reaches its highest densities in rocky shoals, where bedrock and boulders create pockets and pools.

After decades of collaborative research and through genetic analysis, Bartram's was officially identified as his own distinct species in September of 2025.

Even with this recognition, Bartram's can be difficult to identify, mainly due to another bass species, The invasive Alabama bass.

♪ Believed to be introduced to South Carolina for sport fishing, The Alabama bass actively breed with Bartram's, creating hybrids that blur the genetic lines of this rare species.

♪ This introgressive hybridization is in some areas replacing entire populations.

♪ Now more than ever, protecting the integrity of this unique bass species is essential to safeguarding its future and maintaining the natural heritage of South Carolina's rivers.

♪ A productive collaboration between S.C.D.N.R.

and Clemson University's Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation has become central to understanding Bartram's bass.

Together, researchers are investigating the species from every angle, studying its nesting ecology, measuring the integrity of this habitat, and tracking how non-native bass and their hybrids move from reservoirs into river systems that remain strongholds for Bartram's bass.

[sound of rushing water] Wading into the current, S.C.D.N.R's stream team turns research into action.

[sound of rushing water] Through the rushing rivers of the upstate, they work hands on to protect and monitor native fish populations, as well as identify and monitor populations of Bartram's bass.

♪ Using electric fishing gear, they briefly stun fish so they can be carefully collected and examined.

[sound of rushing water] ♪ [soft music] ♪ ♪ Back on shore, biologists record measurements, document habitat conditions, and clip a small piece of fin from each fish before releasing it back into the current.

♪ This quick procedure leaves the fish unharmed, but provides scientists with the genetic key to confirm whether it is a pure Bartram's bass or a hybrid.

♪ These vials are taken to S.C.D.N.R's Marine Resources Center in Charleston.

♪ Here, the work continues.

D.N.A.

is cleaned and isolated, sometimes with the help of precision robotics.

Then amplified by a laboratory technique that makes millions to billions of copies of a specific D.N.A.

segment.

♪ A machine separates the fragments, producing a visual genetic barcode.

Scientists then compare these results against a library of known species, providing a definitive identification.

♪ Each sample adds to a larger understanding of Bartram's bass, its distribution, genetic integrity, and the ongoing efforts to preserve this distinctive species across South Carolina's rivers.

♪ With Bartram's bass finally recognizes its own species, the work to secure its future has just begun.

Researchers and conservationists can now focus on the next step protecting its habitat, combating hybridization, and ensuring that this unique fish continues to thrive in South Carolina's rivers.

♪ From powerful swimmers to tiny hunters, our journey now takes us to the sandy soils of the southeast, where a small but fearsome predator lies in wait.

Beneath our feet, these animals sculpt miniature traps, using ancient instincts to survive.

♪ Beneath the surface of South Carolina's sandy soils lies a creature that at first sight, looks like it belongs in a Hollywood monster movie.

In fact, it's possible that this animal inspired some of the most admired extraterrestrial life forms in science fiction.

Deep down, the antlion isn't the terrifying beast it's cracked up to be.

They serve a significant role in food webs, become great pollinators in the later stages of life, and to many, they represent a connection to the past in the wild.

♪ Antlions are not ants at all.

They belong to the insect order Neuroptera, a group of insects known for the nerve like patterns in their wings.

The life of an antlion begins beneath the sand.

After hatching, the larva takes on the role of a patient hunter.

♪ Across the south, they are colloquially referred to as doodle bugs because they leave winding spiral trails in the sand while moving backwards in search of the perfect hunting ground.

Compact and armored with powerful curved jaws, the larva is built for ambush.

♪ Once it finds the right spot, the larva constructs a funnel shaped pit, burying itself at the bottom.

When prey slips down the slope, the antlion will throw sand to prevent its escape, then captures it with its jaws and injects digestive enzymes before consuming the liquified meal.

By feeding on ants and other small arthropods, doodle bugs provide natural pest control and help regulate insect populations.

♪ After completing the larval stage, antlions undergo metamorphosis and emerge as adults with long, slender bodies, two pairs of net veined wings, and a distinct club shaped antenna.

Instead of hunting, adult antlions feed on nectar and pollen, making them important pollinators.

They also serve as an important food source for bats, birds, and other insect eating animals, though they only live a few weeks as adults, adult antlions play an important part in maintaining healthy food webs.

♪ In the American South, antlions hold a place not only in nature but also in tradition.

For generations, children have delighted in finding the sandy funnels of doodle bugs and coaxing them to the surface with playful rhymes.

A common chant is "Doodlebug, doodlebug, come out to play," recited while circling the pit with a stick or tapping the ground to create vibrations.

The vibration stirs the lava below, sending up a spray of sand as a playful reply.

For many, doodle bugs represent more than an insect in the dirt, they're a reminder of childhood curiosity and a lasting thread of connection between people and the natural world.

Next, we shift from animal architects to one of the oldest plant lineages on Earth.

In the shaded understory, these plants continue a story that began hundreds of millions of years ago thriving without flowers, seeds, or any of the strategies used by modern plants.

♪ Found in the shaded corners of the forest, across stones, and even between the cracks on city sidewalks, small but significant life forms flourish.

♪ Though often overlooked, mosses and lichens are some of the most ancient organisms on Earth and still shape ecosystems to this day.

♪ These humble pioneers help purify and stabilize habitats, as well as provide shelter for animals big and small, even to some of the tiniest creatures on the planet.

♪ Mosses are among the oldest land plants on Earth, dating back over 400 million years.

They spread in dense mats that act like sponges, absorbing rainfall, trapping pollutants and slowly releasing water to create healthy aquatic environments.

By stabilizing soil, they prevent erosion and create humid conditions for other plants to grow.

These carpets of green not only slow down erosion, but also provide micro habitats for insects, amphibians, and countless microorganisms.

Moss acts as a microbial hotel, providing a dense protective habitat that hosts unique species of bacteria, fungi, algae, and micro animals, including the famous tardigrade.

They also serve as tiny carbon sinks, drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

♪ Lichens, on the other hand, are not plants at all.

They are remarkable partnerships, symbiotic unions between fungi and algae, or sometimes cyanobacteria.

The fungus provides structure and protection, while the algae or cyanobacteria, capture sunlight and produce food.

Together, they form a completely new organism capable of surviving in some of the harshest places on Earth.

♪ Lichens also absorb pollutants, making them natural air purifiers and sensitive indicators of air quality.

Some lichens enrich the land further by fixing nitrogen, while others produce unique compounds with potential uses in medicine and agriculture.

♪ Although mosses and lichens are two distinct organisms, they are often grouped together because they share similar traits in how they grow and where they live.

Both form low, mat-like coverings on rocks, trees, and soil, and both reproduce through spores rather than flowers or seeds.

And both are essential indicators of environmental health.

Neither has vascular tissues to transport water and nutrients.

Relying instead on direct absorption from their surroundings.

Mosses and lichens reveal that the strength of ecosystems often rest in the most unassuming corners of the wild.

♪ 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 at South Carolina ETV 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.

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