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America the America the Beautiful Episode 104 - "Wild West"

The southwestern USA, the setting for some of the most famous desert landscapes on our planet, is a world of animal heroes who can overcome anything that’s thrown at them, from the baking desert to the mighty Pacific Ocean. Mountain lions patrol the Grand Canyon looking for mates, gray whales tackle the longest mammal migration on Earth, and hummingbird supermoms raise chicks in the blistering heat.

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  • A fighter jet fitted with a gyro-stabilized camera flies close to speed of sound to capture Grand Canyon National Park in a way that it's never been seen before. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A fighter jet fitted with a gyro-stabilized camera flies close to speed of sound to capture Grand Canyon National Park in a way that it's never been seen before. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Pyrocumulus clouds, literally translated as “fire clouds," form above a wildfire in northern California. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Pyrocumulus clouds, literally translated as “fire clouds," form above a wildfire in northern California. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Two coyotes look out over the city lights of Los Angeles, CA. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Two coyotes look out over the city lights of Los Angeles, CA. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A coyote looks back at the city lights of Los Angeles, CA. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A coyote looks back at the city lights of Los Angeles, CA. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Sun rises over the sheer cliffs and barren rocks of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Sun rises over the sheer cliffs and barren rocks of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Lightning strikes during a monsoon storm over the Grand Canyon, AZ. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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    Lightning strikes during a monsoon storm over the Grand Canyon, AZ. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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  • A rainbow forms above the Grand Canyon, AZ, during a monsoon storm that brings vital water to the desert. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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    A rainbow forms above the Grand Canyon, AZ, during a monsoon storm that brings vital water to the desert. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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  • Lightning strikes during a monsoon storm over the desert in Arizona. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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    Lightning strikes during a monsoon storm over the desert in Arizona. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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  • Lightning strikes during a monsoon storm bringing much needed water to the Sonoran Desert in AZ, USA. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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    Lightning strikes during a monsoon storm bringing much needed water to the Sonoran Desert in AZ, USA. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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  • A rainbow forms during a monsoon storm over the desert in Arizona. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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    A rainbow forms during a monsoon storm over the desert in Arizona. (America Films Ltd/Ty Schmitt)

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  • Wildlife Cameramen Jake Davis and Pete Matthews survey the Grand Canyon, AZ, after heavy snowfall, on their hike in to check and maintain camera traps deployed along its rim. (National Geographic for Disney+/Andrew Studer)

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    Wildlife Cameramen Jake Davis and Pete Matthews survey the Grand Canyon, AZ, after heavy snowfall, on their hike in to check and maintain camera traps deployed along its rim. (National Geographic for Disney+/Andrew Studer)

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  • A gray whale calf spends the first weeks of its life in the warm waters of Baja's lagoons, before setting off on one of the longest mammal migrations on Earth up the Pacific coast to their feeding grounds in the Arctic. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A gray whale calf spends the first weeks of its life in the warm waters of Baja's lagoons, before setting off on one of the longest mammal migrations on Earth up the Pacific coast to their feeding grounds in the Arctic. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Sea otters wrap themselves and their pups up in giant kelp, to keep themselves from drifting out to sea. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Sea otters wrap themselves and their pups up in giant kelp, to keep themselves from drifting out to sea. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • An acorn woodpecker looks out from behind a branch in California's thriving oak woodland. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    An acorn woodpecker looks out from behind a branch in California's thriving oak woodland. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A Costa's hummingbird and her two chicks in a well-protected nest, built in the heart of a cactus in California's Mojave Desert. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A Costa's hummingbird and her two chicks in a well-protected nest, built in the heart of a cactus in California's Mojave Desert. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A Costa's hummingbird delicately feeds its newly hatched chick in an exposed nest in California's Mojave Desert. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A Costa's hummingbird delicately feeds its newly hatched chick in an exposed nest in California's Mojave Desert. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Honeypot ants create 'living larders' deep underground, using specialized workers whose abdomens can swell to the size of a cherry with nectar gathered during times of plenty by their comrades. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Honeypot ants create 'living larders' deep underground, using specialized workers whose abdomens can swell to the size of a cherry with nectar gathered during times of plenty by their comrades. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A honeypot ant takes up an aggressive stance as a rival colony raids its nest. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A honeypot ant takes up an aggressive stance as a rival colony raids its nest. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A gray whale calf sticks close to its mother during their journey up the Pacific coast, one of the longest mammal migrations on Earth. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A gray whale calf sticks close to its mother during their journey up the Pacific coast, one of the longest mammal migrations on Earth. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Gray whale mothers and calves begin their epic journey up the Pacific coast, from their winter homes in Baja's lagoons to their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Gray whale mothers and calves begin their epic journey up the Pacific coast, from their winter homes in Baja's lagoons to their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A mountain lion takes shelter from the heat under and overhang in the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A mountain lion takes shelter from the heat under and overhang in the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the sheer cliffs along rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the sheer cliffs along rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A Grand Canyon mountain lion surveys his domain from the shelter of his day bed. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A Grand Canyon mountain lion surveys his domain from the shelter of his day bed. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A female mountain lion has been drawn to the scrape left by a male under an overhang in the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A female mountain lion has been drawn to the scrape left by a male under an overhang in the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Never filmed before, a mountain lion navigates the rim of the Grand Canyon. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A male mountain lion patrols his territory along the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A male mountain lion patrols his territory along the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • Never filmed before, a female mountain lion searches for a mate in the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    Never filmed before, a female mountain lion searches for a mate in the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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  • A male mountain lion patrols his territory on the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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    A male mountain lion patrols his territory on the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. (National Geographic for Disney+)

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