Into the Wild

During the colder months, one of the rarest large whales on Earth may be swimming beyond South Carolina's beaches. Some North Atlantic right whales travel more than a thousand miles from northern feeding grounds to the Southeast.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

In a small mountain stream, a native brook trout may be only a few inches long. But that fish is living near the southern edge of a cold-water world.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

A buck's antlers may look permanent, but they are part of a yearly cycle of growth, hardening, and release. After old antlers are shed in winter, new growth begins again.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

Near sunset in late summer, look above an old school, church, or downtown building. You may see dozens or even hundreds of small birds circling a chimney in a tightening spiral.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

A diamondback terrapin lives where fresh water and salt water meet. It is North America's only turtle found exclusively in estuaries, moving through tidal creeks, marsh edges, and muddy banks.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

Each spring, striped bass begin moving upstream as water temperatures rise. Their spawning run depends on something easy to take for granted: enough flowing river.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

In an open pine forest, a red-cockaded woodpecker may spend years working on a single cavity. Unlike other woodpeckers, it excavates its home in a living pine tree.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

One of the biggest wildlife movements of the year can happen on a cold, wet night when most of us would rather stay indoors. Spotted salamanders spend much of their lives underground, hidden beneath forest soil and leaf litter.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

On a mild winter afternoon in the Lowcountry, you may be surprised to see an alligator stretched along a bank. It is not necessarily hunting. Most often, it is simply trying to warm up.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.

Drive through the center of South Carolina and the soil can change almost without warning. Red clay gives way to pale, loose sand, and the landscape begins to feel more like the coast even though the ocean is far away.

For more from Into the Wild, visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/intothewild.

For more information about the SC Department of Natural Resources, visit dnr.sc.gov.