I swear I just saw a dolphin.

Well.

Hey, y'all.

My name is Hyatt Mamoun.

It's really salty.

Now, maybe if I wait here long enough, I'll end up floating up too.

For now, I'm in my jail.

And I'm a wildlife filmmaker.

Born and raised in the Deep South.

I can't believe we got this.

And today, I'm taking y'all with me on a paddling adventure to uncover the secrets and treasures that are hidden in the marshes of one of my favorite wildlife spots in the whole entire world.

Ya'll coming?

Come on!

The Lowcountry This marshy and wild maze of tidal creeks and barrier islands outlines the coast of South Carolina like lace along the Atlantic.

This saltwater coastal ecosystem is about a diversity hotspot, with incredible marine life and maritime forests meshing together to make a one of a kind of habitat that could only be defined as magical.

Twisty, turny tidal creeks carry nutrients, sediment.

And yours truly throughout the entire estuary.

This place is incredibly abundant with so much food and shelter, its pristine habitat for a huge variety of critters.

This place has such a unique ecology and so much wildlife action, including a peculiar hot pink predator.

Me and these guys is a wildly special experience because this rosey Lowcountry resident has always been camera shy around me until today.

And we are so lucky to see these today, and I've been trying to get a shot at one of these for years.

I just haven't been able to get it.

So right now is extremely special.

There are three bright pink Roseate Spoonbills.

Look at how bright pink they are.

The first time I saw one, I didn't have my camera because I thought they were flamingos.

And a lot of people do.

But these are actually called spoonbills.

Now they get that name because of the shape of their bills, which are shaped like a little spoon.

Now they take that big spoon-shaped bill and they move ahead side to side, side to side, hunting for different small animals, different fish.

And I think probably this time of year they're looking for shrimp.

So when they hit this shrimp or they hit this fish, they snap literally doing it right as I speak here.

Oh, let me get that.

And that fish gets caught in that wide bill of theirs, and they pull it back and eat it.

I can't believe we finally got that shot.

So many critters here have evolved such unique characteristics to fill a niche in the food chain.

But how does all this food get here anyway?

Alright ya'll, look at this.

The secret lies in the tides.

The tidal changes around here are so dramatic.

In just a few hours, it can go from this to this here.

Look at that, y'all.

This is feet and feet deep, and it's made of all kinds of different stuff, from silt to different decaying matter, including even animal poop.

And honestly, it smells like rotten eggs.

Ooh, y'all smell that?

So with all these tidal changes, how does everything stay in place?

Well, you can thank this incredibly special little plant for that.

This is Spartina and actually has an extremely long stem that goes deep into the mud.

And it also has a really, really dense root system that holds the mud in place when the tide goes in and out in and out, protecting against erosion.

It's adapted to its salty home in the most amazing way.

It can actually excrete salt from its leaves, from the water that it absorbs.

So it can live here in the salt marsh.

Let's see.

I see some here and.

It's really salty.

Kind of like it.

These tides are extreme and quick.

The water level changes about six feet every time.

Now, maybe if I wait here long enough, I'll end floating up too.

But now I'm in my jail.

Nutrients are the only thing that the tides drag in.

Sediment also gets tossed around and washed downstream to the coast.

Layer by layer, revealing tiny clues that show how this place has been a wildlife hotspot for millions and millions of years.

And there's no better way to find out about the past than to do a little fossil hunting.

This is Ashby.

Ashby is your modern day Indiana Jones of paleontology.

He can spot a million year old shark tooth, turtle shell, or any fossil for that matter, miles away.

This guy knows what he's doing.

He even wrote the book on it.

And today, we're lucky enough to go hunting with him on the sea island of Edisto.

It's going to be a good day.

Oh, I hope I get to find my first sharks, too.

I think we will.

Maybe they will be so excited if we did.

I've never found a shark tooth before.

Maybe today will be my lucky day.

Or maybe not.

Maybe not.

I don't want to jinx it.

Where do we begin?

What's the best place to go if you're going to look for a fossil?

We want to look for patches like this.

We're looking for groupings of cells.

That.

Have a mixture of shell sizes.

So ocean likes to sort stuff by size.

I always equate it to cereal flakes and oatmeal.

It's like if you see shells in that broken up size class.

Yeah, it's a good place to look.

Oh, okay.

So if you see all these, like, little clusters of, like, crumbs, that's what you want to look for.

Who knows what's inside?

Exactly.

So I'm seeing a huge field that looks like a treasure trove over there.

It's going to be a good day today.

And after just a little bit of picking, we struck gold.

I've got good news right over here.

It's a shark tooth in between.

What?

This is like I spy.

It's.

I spy to the max.

This is all eye training exercises.

Oh, my gosh, I need to eat more carrots.

Oh, there it is.

Yeah.

Right there.

Yes!

Yeah.

There it is, boys.

That one is a sand tiger.

Shark teeth.

So how old would you say this one is?

Between 30,000 and 50,000 years old.

First of all, I can't believe you're holding something that old in her hand right here.

And it was just under our feet.

Who knows?

And how many other fossils are actually below us right now?

And who knows how many are all the way down the beach?

That's right.

Oh, man!

Babies first shark's tooth.

It's a whole different way of looking like.

It's a totally different way.

Yeah.

Another.

We got another.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa.

Now that looks dangerous.

Look how cool that one is.

That is sharp.

So that's another sand tiger shark.

Now this looks this looks like it's for catch- Oh, man.

I could have poked my hand there.

This is like it's catch and prey, not let it go.

And then you see it has a little what do you call this.

A little teeny weeny little cut splits.

The cut splits on a shark tooth.

are used to grab in other small prey.

So naturally shark teeth have gaps in between them when they're positioned in the jaw.

So anything that might escape between the gap is going to live.

But if you have extra teeth on the side of your teeth, then you're snagging more prey and filling your belly.

Shark.

Shark teeth count two.

Yeah, just so we thought that this day couldn't get any better.

Nature left us something incredible.

The cherry on top of our fossil on expedition.

Oh, is that a big bone?

Yeah.

This is.

Is it really?

Actually a bone?

Yeah, that is very possible.

Based on how thick the wall of that bone is from something as large as a mammoth of a mastodon.

Whoa, whoa.

What?

You are kidding.

Me.

It's very possible.

That's a big, big, big fossil.

Oh my gosh.

It's as big as my head.

Yes.

It's incredible what you can find when you actually slow down and spend some time searching for some incredible finds.

Yeah, there's always something new.

I have no idea.

Who knows how many sharks teeth and fossils I was standing on top of?

It's been a fantastic day.

Oh my gosh.

Everything is connected to fossils.

There's always a special experience to explore such a wild land.

And it's even more special to see a place that's remained this wild for millions of years.

And see the hard evidence that proves that this place has been a biological hotspot for eons.

And it's our job as humans on this planet to make sure that this land, this habitat, stays this way for millions more years to come.