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NARRATOR: Our oceans are the lifeblood of our planet.
My grandfather, Jacques Cousteau, inspired the world
through his exploration, sharing the mysteries
of one of Earth's most important habitats.
It was in that spirit that a team of Disneynature filmmakers
embarked on a quest to shed new light on this hidden world...
(INDISTINCT)
...and on one of its most enchanting inhabitants.
(WHISTLING)
NARRATOR: For wildlife filmmakers, the ocean presents the greatest challenge.
It is unforgiving.
And visits beneath the waves are fleeting.
Here, they will enter a realm where they are not the masters.
And they must be respectful of the locals.
MAN: No, no, no, no, no!
(DOLPHINS CLICKS)
NARRATOR: The team's mission?
To reveal what it's like to live...
-(DOLPHIN SQUEALS) -...in a dolphin's world.
In the Red Sea, wildlife cinematographer, Roger Horrocks,
is preparing to film the main character of our story...
bottlenose dolphins.
He has filmed dolphins all over the world,
but it's his first time in this location.
The key to his success lies with scientist, Angela Ziltener.
Having studied them here for over a decade,
she is a virtual gatekeeper to the Red Sea dolphins.
Certainly, the dolphins are probably one of the most
charismatic animals that you do get in the ocean.
They're mammals, people can relate to them.
Um, they're very, you know, they have a mammalian consciousness.
So, we have a kinship with them.
NARRATOR: As a highly experienced free-diver,
Roger certainly has the athleticism to keep up with dolphins underwater.
ROGER: Filming dolphins is probably the most physical
-because they are incessantly on the move. -(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
So, the biggest challenge is really just keeping up with them
and coming across those moments of pure, beautiful interaction.
It was massively helpful to have Angela,
who has spent an incredible amount of time in that location.
Her knowing the dolphins helped us tremendously.
NARRATOR: Angela is one of the few scientists in the world
who studies them by scuba diving.
It has allowed her to get to know over 200 individual dolphins,
-and allowed them to get to know her. -(DOLPHINS WHISTLE)
ANGELA: To understand the animals, you actually have to be one of them.
That means not that you are the animal itself,
but that you are accepted in the group.
You will actually see all the individuals and that every dolphin is different.
Every dolphin has their own personality, like humans.
-(DOLPHINS WHISTLE) -NARRATOR: The pod knows Angela,
but will the dolphins accept our strange new cinematographer?
ROGER: I, kind of, knew literally from the moment that I got in
that this was a great opportunity.
When those dolphins were absolutely keen to interact,
not only with each other, but also with me as a cameraman...
-(DOLPHIN WHISTLE) -...so that was just such a joy.
Wild animals actually wanting to be filmed. It was amazing.
(DOLPHIN SQUEALS)
ROGER: The more we film, the more we got a sense
of how they operate as groups.
You know, one thing that was very, very marked for me
was the degree of interaction between the dolphins.
It was astounding to see how tactile they were.
(SQUEALING CONTINUES)
ROGER: Dolphins spent time fin rubbing,
and touching each other, grooming each other.
I thought initially it was maybe a romantic thing,
but actually, it's a bonding thing.
They are emotional, highly intelligent creatures,
-very, very similar to us. -(WHISTLING AND SQUEAKING)
NARRATOR: And it wasn’t long before Roger spotted another example
of their playful intelligence.
ROGER: A group of juveniles just came in and they were almost showing off.
I remember that feeling of knowing this is a unique piece of behavior
and probably never going to get this chance again.
NARRATOR: They flick their fluke to clear the sand,
exposing a piece of coral.
And voilà, a toy is born.
Few animals spend so much time playing,
yet this perceived playfulness
might also be one of the ways that young dolphins
-practice their hunting skills. -(DOLPHIN CLICKS)
ROGER: You can just, kind of, see that intelligence
and that mischievousness about them,
and again, just such an incredible insight into how intelligent these animals are.
I think dolphins just do it because they absolutely love it,
and they enjoy the skill and the challenge.
I think they do it for the sheer fun of it.
NARRATOR: Angela's research has revealed another aspect of dolphin life
rarely witnessed in the wild...
sleeping.
This group of dolphins is so relaxed in her presence,
they take a nap as she watches...
and Roger films.
Dolphins sleep with just half the brain at a time.
Half the brain needs to be awake to remember to surf as to breathe
and to keep an eye out for any danger.
As a consequence of having such active brains,
wild dolphins, just like us, need lots of sleep.
ROGER: They do these beautiful movements, synchronized movements where they
come up and they go back down again.
It's very, you know, very soporific, very slow.
Really, really beautiful to watch.
It just felt very poetic.
NARRATOR: Thanks to Angela, Roger and the team
are starting to get a taste of what it's like to be a wild dolphin.
Knowledge they will need to build on, in the next leg of their adventure.
It was just an absolute privilege to be... to have that kind of access
to, you know, these animals on their terms because they choose to be with you.
You know, you can't force them to be with you, and I think,
you know, of all the locations I've dived,
they were the most welcoming,
um, and that was, you know, something that I'll never forget.
NARRATOR: Roger has made filming dolphins look easy,
but will cinematographer, Didier Noirot, have the same luck in Hawaii
filming the next main characters of our story?
Humpback whales.
Hawaii is a very good location to film humpback whales...
because of the whale population.
-DIDIER: You're sure to see whales there. -(SPRAYS WATER)
DIDIER: Crystal clear water, so, that's perfect place to film whales.
NARRATOR: It is also here that every year, the females give birth to their calves.
And filming a mother and calf is the team's first task.
They set out aboard the Luckey Strike
where skipper Tad Luckey
and a group of scientists led by Professor Joe Mobley
are their best chance for locating these family pairs.
This is always a big challenge.
You don't know what you get, never in advance.
These whales are so difficult.
It's very tricky for the producer, I mean. (CHUCKLES)
NARRATOR: Finding a whale in Hawaii is not that hard,
but skipper Tad has to find the right whale,
and that's the challenge.
DIDIER: To find the right whale to film,
especially mom and calf, I have no expectation.
That means I never know what I'm going to get on camera.
NARRATOR: As part of Jacques Cousteau's original expedition team,
Didier has over 30 years' experience filming whales.
I have 200.
NARRATOR: But each opportunity is always unpredictable.
Come on. Come on.
NARRATOR: It is a mother and calf
but will Mom accept Didier as easily as the dolphins warmed to Roger?
You can try.
Go ahead.
DIDIER: The difficult thing to film when you film mother and calf
is to get close, silently, as close as you get.
NARRATOR: He uses a bubble-free rebreather apparatus
to silently approach.
And any whale that doesn't accept Didier's presence is left alone.
The team needs to find a friendly whale
that is comfortable around a diver.
(GROANS)
Well, they just left.
We were ready to go, but now they are far.
NARRATOR: But attempts to film another mom and calf...
produced the same result.
DIDIER: When you see mother and calf, the mother is always very aware.
She's protecting the calf, so any unknown thing
like me would make her alert.
Take two for nothing.
NARRATOR: Another one gets away.
-The mom and calf left. -WOMAN: You have nothing, huh?
Go.
NARRATOR: Didier is becoming all too familiar
with the backsides of mother whales.
DIDIER: So, you have to keep trying,
finding a whale, new whale, and one that lets you come close.
NARRATOR: After a long, unsuccessful day,
he makes one last attempt.
DIDIER: By the way, this is the ninth time.
NARRATOR: Then, a stroke of luck.
Didier has found a playful, approachable calf.
DIDIER: You don't dive and go straight for the mom with the calf underneath.
You first have to make friends with the calf.
If the calf stays around you, that he is not scared, then turns around,
the whale will know down there, even if she sleeps,
you know, she knows that there is someone,
but she knows the calf is happy with this someone,
so she may tolerate that.
NARRATOR: And as it dives back under its mother to rest,
-Didier follows quietly. -(WHALE SINGS)
DIDIER: Now is the time, because maybe after the whale will leave,
and I will lose her for good.
So, I decided to swim very, very slowly,
and without making any noise at all.
NARRATOR: Mom watches him carefully,
but she seems content with him alongside her.
Finally, success.
Divers like Didier...
are just humble visitors in this vast undersea world...
but even the most powerful of creatures
will sometimes allow you to get close to them.
After weeks of persistence,
the team finally succeeded in filming a mother and calf.
This mother's duty is to protect her calf while it grows quickly,
before the long migration back to Arctic waters.
As they travel between resting spots,
the mother encourages her calf to breach repeatedly.
It may look like just some fun splashing about,
but it's key to helping the young calf build strength and muscles,
that also develops their breath-holding abilities.
The close bond between a mother whale and her calf
provide our filmmakers with their first inroad
into humpback whale society.
Shallow coastal waters are the perfect sanctuary
for a young calf to grow healthy and strong.
Away from the dangers found in deeper, open waters.
But it is also where it will soon be introduced
to a greater whale community,
a complex society...
one our team is just beginning to understand.
To truly understand a dolphin's world...
the filmmakers need to journey to the very heart of their ocean home.
To the foundations of the whole story.
A delicately balanced ecosystem...
that is sanctuary to millions of incredible supporting characters.
A coral reef.
Capturing the intricacies of this underwater world
requires a great deal of technical camera skill
and an exceptional eye for precision and detail.
Cinematographer, Doug Anderson, is the perfect choice for such a job.
DOUG: We wanted to make that experience of viewing the reef
as immersive as possible.
So, we tried different techniques...
(CHUCKLES) ...as many things as we could think of
to try and get more engaging photography.
Uh, we used this underwater scooter,
which is like a torpedo with a propeller on it,
to get that feeling of the dolphin like gliding over the reef.
We used a jib, which is like a camera on the end of an arm,
which allowed us to make for very stable tracking moves
over the coral reef, and really try and bring
the character of the individual species that we wanted to include
to the screen.
Of all the underwater habitats on the planet,
it's coral reefs that are the most overtly diverse.
Just amazed by the color, and the life, and beauty in front of me.
Absolutely breathtaking when you're there.
Intense experiences of life.
I like to think of a coral reef a bit like a city.
The buildings are the corals.
Those buildings provide homes and habitat for countless animals.
Every animal that lives there is as important to each other
as the next one.
But there are very obvious animals in the coral reef
that do very important jobs.
NARRATOR: Doug wants to find key characters like these...
to highlight critical links in the community.
These handsome devils are the perfect example.
Bumphead parrotfish.
They are the local groundskeepers,
clearing the reef of dead algae-covered coral.
Recently, as our oceans have warmed, coral reefs have bleached and died.
Reefs with parrotfish are quickly cleaned,
and new coral can recolonize so the reef lives on.
Reefs that have lost to their parrotfish rarely recover.
Parrotfish are important to maintain the health of the reef...
but Doug also discovers another important fish.
The incredible, workaholic cleaner wrasse.
DOUG: There are moments in the reef where it becomes very obvious
how controlled and complex
the relationships between the individual animals are.
And one of them, for sure, is watching cleaner wrasse do their work.
They do an enormously important job,
and that's pick the parasites and dead skin
and scales and everything else off.
You know, they're getting right inside their mouths
and inside their gills. They're constantly busy.
They are just so fun to watch.
And they, kind of, do this funny little dance
to try and bring in business.
Everyone comes to their cleaning stations.
Cute little reef fish.
And then you've got big predators.
I tell you, it really takes your breath away
when you watch a cleaner wrasse
going into the mouth of a two-feet predator.
There's just this convention on the reef,
they do not touch the cleaner wrasse. It's one of those really lovely examples
of how intricate the relationships on a reef are.
NARRATOR: While Doug continues to explore the interconnections
between the fish and the reef...
back in the Red Sea, Roger is about to find out
that dolphins have similar dependencies.
Angela has discovered an incredible connection
that dolphins have with the coral here.
ROGER: I was really excited about this one particular unique behavior
that Angela had told me about,
which I was really determined to capture on film.
NARRATOR: Angela has brought Roger to a very special location
that the dolphins like to visit every day...
and from which they reap great benefits.
ROGER: The key focus for me was that feeling, as a cameraman,
knowing this is a unique piece of behavior and is that wonderful pressure...
-(DOLPHIN SQUEALS) -...to get it into the film.
(ROGER IMITATES DOLPHIN SQUEALING)
(DOLPHINS SQUEAL)
NARRATOR: Angela's hard-earned acceptance by the dolphins
is what allowed her to follow them and make this incredible discovery.
ANGELA: There is one certain kind of coral.
It's called the gorgonian coral.
And they really like to rub each body part in this coral because it's quite soft.
This rubbing behavior seems to be
such an important aspect in their daily life.
ROGER: So, it's so wonderful to see them, kind of, lining up.
And they're very gentle. They don't like fight to get through.
And they're very courteous and allow the one to go after the other.
And then they circle back and go through again.
So, it's a wonderful social ritual as well.
ANGELA: What we also know about different corals,
they have antibacterial substances.
So, it could also be that the dolphins actually use also
these corals for medicine, for example, for even prevention for skin diseases.
It's difficult to really prove it
because it can be also a very nice feeling,
but we have to find out if it's a really awareness of self-medication.
(DOLPHINS WHISTLING)
NARRATOR: Angela's groundbreaking observations
have broaden our understanding,
and also pose important new questions about dolphin behavior.
ROGER: The hypothesis that Angela's exploring,
and you know, if this can be proven to be true,
it just highlights the amazing interdependence
between these mammals and the coral reefs.
Not only do they come here to rest and to play and to feel safe,
but they're also actually coming to heal themselves.
NARRATOR: Angela hopes to reveal more about these dolphins' lives
so that we can protect them and their reef home
long into the future.
But a coral reef doesn't always provide a healthy sanctuary to its residents,
as Doug is about to find out.
DOUG: Obviously we have this vibrancy, this color, this beauty.
It's that, you know, the light side of the reef,
but the reef has its back alleys, too.
It's got its dark places.
Places where...
you know, visually, things aren't just all joy and beauty and vibrancy,
but feel a little bit more on the sinister side.
NARRATOR: They are the places that most divers dare not venture.
Doug and his team are in Malaysia,
on their way to Sipadan,
an oceanic island with a unique and hidden secret
that reveals the dangers some of our characters face
right in their backyard.
Sipadan is an extraordinary, little island.
It's a rock in the middle of hundreds of meters of water.
And it's a marine reserve,
and there is just an absolute heap of turtles here.
NARRATOR: This reef would seem like the perfect sanctuary.
But beneath its tranquil shell hides potential catastrophe
for any wayward turtle.
Inside the reef structure, there's a catacomb.
And that's what they are here to film.
DOUG: I had heard of Turtle Cave 20 years previously,
and how tricky it was to get in.
By no means... (CHUCKLES)
...a small operation. Just even getting the kit in there,
before we even start thinking of lighting it or doing the photography.
We've got a jib, which is like a big boom
with a camera on one end and weights on the other.
We've got communications underwater,
which mean that we can talk to each other.
We do have comms with the boat,
um, but we lose that as soon as we're through the cave entrance.
DOUG: (OVER RADIO) Topside, topside, this is divers.
We are just about to enter the cave.
See you on the other side.
HELEN: They could be down there for a good three hours.
If anything does go wrong,
there's really nothing that we can do from up here.
All we can really do is wait.
So, fingers crossed, it all goes according to plan.
Oh, divers
Divers, divers, are you okay?
We're at the cave
Such a spooky place
Very eerie
Oh, divers...
DOUG: We realize that this is going to be a really tough place for us to work.
We have to lay lines
so that we could feel our way in and out of the cave.
There's no light in there. It's a small passage.
We only illuminate it with a flashlight.
Okay now, so, you're getting glimpses of just how remote
and how difficult to get into, and therefore,
difficult to get out of this space was.
I never felt completely at ease.
(WATER SLOSHING)
DOUG: Usually, you know, when you're diving open ocean,
you get a problem, you run out of gas, you got an equipment problem,
you just go up. And in a cave, you can't do that.
There's no up. (CHUCKLES) You know, there's only out.
And then, obviously, the other big thing is it's dark in there, you know,
from an equipment point of view, so we're going to have to light it.
Most of the thought went into how we were going to logistically do it
rather than the actual visuals of what it was going to look like.
Then it really wasn't until I turned the lights on in the cave
that I really got a sense of what sort of place it was.
What I saw was a tomb.
And on the ledges of these caverns
lay the almost perfect skeletons of green turtles
that had, over the years, died there.
FEMALE DIVER: (SINGING) This turtle behind you
Wondering what you are doing
Filming in the cave
He wants to come with you
With you, come with you...
NARRATOR: Doug must move very slowly and carefully.
The cave floor is covered in fine sediment.
Some believe this to be the powdered remains
of thousands of turtle skeletons that have crumbled over countless ages.
And one false move could cloud the entire cave,
making it difficult for the crew to find their way out.
After hours of meticulous setup,
Doug starts to reveal the cave's haunting secrets
from the perspective of a turtle who has tragically lost its way.
DOUG: It felt like being in a church.
I felt enormous respect for the place.
There was a sense of peace and reverence.
An eerie connection to something.
We all felt it.
A coral reef, in many ways, is a giver of life...
but it also takes.
NARRATOR: Hours later, they make their way back to the surface
-and to the safety of the boat. -(FEMALE DIVER HUMMING)
For you...
That was so much more special than I thought it would be.
It was really quite touching to see all these turtle skeletons
in the bottom of the cave, and then, you know,
just imagining the turtles when they got lost in there
and how scared and afraid they must've been.
NARRATOR: To convey the broader story of this undersea world,
the filmmakers wanted to balance these harsh realities
with scenes of beauty and enchantment.
And back in Hawaii,
Didier has found the greatest enchantment of all.
A singing male humpback whale
with hundreds of others from miles around joining the chorus.
(HUMPBACK WHALE SINGING)
NARRATOR: Just 50 years ago, these waters were quiet.
Scientist, Joe Mobley, has been monitoring their population recovery.
JOE: Humpback whales in North Pacific were hunted to near extinction
until they were protected in 1966.
At that time, there were probably under a thousand whales
that came to Hawaii.
But now, 50 years later,
there are maybe as many as 10,000 animals that visit the Hawaiian Islands.
So, this day on the Luckey Strike, we were looking for a singer.
To show that the whales communicate together,
it's part of a community.
NARRATOR: But nothing prepared Didier for what he was about to encounter.
...hundred feet down and we can see the back fins.
There are a lot of mackerel showing here, which is...
That's a whale right here, this red mark right here.
-It's down a hundred feet. -He's right there.
-He was singing away... -DIDIER: I heard it, too.
Well, the girls said they could hear him
-clear as could be on the bow. -DIDIER: Yeah.
(WHALE SINGING)
DIDIER: Being on the boat, we can hear the male singing so strong
when you are right above the singer.
-We can still hear him. -DIDIER: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, we're very close.
DIDIER: So, gently, we went down into the water.
(WHALE SINGING)
DIDIER: Today I looked down, then two whales came,
and they start to move and to stop in front of me.
Right in front of me.
NARRATOR: Then, an unimaginable event began to unfold
before Didier's eyes.
DIDIER: Then, a third whale came, and they start to dance together.
It's really a gift from nature to be first row in the theater.
Diving with those giants,
you finally realize how small you are.
That was one of the best moments of my life.
That was just magnificent.
You can't forget any of those moments
when you are alone, very small next to those giants, you know.
So, it is really something like it is...
I will keep in my memory forever.
NARRATOR: What Didier has managed to capture is just a tiny glimpse
into the humpback's complex, social behavior.
But we are yet to understand the true meaning
of this magnificent whale ballet.
Dolphins take their social activities to a whole new level.
And the team wanted to show exactly how they get their thrills.
(DOLPHINS SQUEAKING)
ROGER: They're a symbol of freedom, you know.
They roam the oceans. They're not constrained.
And you really see that perhaps, most beautifully expressed when they surf.
NARRATOR: Surfing dolphins are a regular sight
on the Wild Coast of South Africa, where Roger grew up.
Now, he's returning to his roots with a team of big wave specialists
to try and film this amazing dolphin behavior.
ROGER: The reason we chose the Wild Coast is that we know it's got dolphins.
We know that in the winter, when the winter swells come through,
it's got these incredible swells.
NARRATOR: And Roger's goal is to film them by getting
right inside the surf zone.
Fellow cinematographer, Jamie McPherson,
has attached a gyro-stabilized camera on the back of a high-speed boat,
while skipper, Carl, negotiates the boat behind the breaking waves.
Pro surf veteran, Paris, will use a jet ski
to place Roger right in front of the break.
The stage is set,
and the dolphins have turned up as if on cue,
traveling up the coastline in large groups.
But the crew have just met their first hurdle.
Ironically, the infamous Wild Coast has turned completely calm.
We've passed literally, I would say, two to three hundred dolphins,
maybe, you know, in about six or seven different pods.
So, the dolphins are here, but absolutely no swell.
It's good that we got dolphins, we just need a decent wave.
At the moment we got no decent wave, so...
Hopefully in the next two days, we're supposed to get some better swells.
So, it's just a case of waiting and hoping that the swell picks up
and that dolphins actually fancy having a surf.
But what we did get was this incredibly clean patch of water,
which in the Transkei is very, very unusual.
So, we took this opportunity
to try and get some underwater shots of these dolphins coming through.
Holding fingers, fins, crossing rostrums and blowholes
and flukes and flippers and hands and feet.
Everything we can cross, we're crossing.
NARRATOR: Roger dives into the clear shallows
of the beach break.
And soon, an enthusiastic dolphin pod approaches.
(DOLPHINS SQUEALING)
ROGER: When I got in the water with the dolphins for the first time,
there's this kind of strange jostling back flexing behavior.
Now, whether that was some social, you know, interaction, I'm not sure.
And I've never seen this before anywhere else in the world.
(DOLPHINS WHISTLING)
NARRATOR: As luck would have it, with Roger now in amongst the pod,
a set of waves finally comes in.
And our lead actors are in business.
ROGER: The speed that came through was amazing.
You actually see the way they are using the energy of the wave
to gain the momentum. They're riding the pressure wave.
And then you see them turn, sort of build up speed,
and then they bank left.
And it's that pressure that shoots them out the back of the wave.
And it was just marvelous to be in amongst all of that.
It was just such a bonus.
NARRATOR: But soon,
the swell begins to get dangerous for Roger.
Time to get out.
At last, surf is up.
And with it, more dolphins.
ROGER: (OVER RADIO) Hello, do you read me?
There's quite a lot of dolphins that are moving for the surf zone.
So, yeah, looking very strong. I think we're going to get something.
Come on down.
NARRATOR: Finally, it's action stations for Jamie's team.
JAMIE: Dolphins in the wave.
NARRATOR: Carl must maneuver his boat skillfully inside the surf zone...
and get Jamie into the best possible position.
JAIMIE: You have to outrun the wave.
But then, at certain point, you have to get out, which means
going over the top of the 15-foot wave,
so there's a 15-foot drop in the back of it.
NARRATOR: As they battle the waves, Carl must also guide Jamie to where
the dolphins might leap out.
Watch out. There they go.
CARL: Yeah. So, we got in the face of that wave.
JAMIE: Technically, it's very tricky to be
tight on a dolphin that's swimming through a wave whilst
you're driving the other way at high speed.
NARRATOR: But it finally starts to pay off
as Jamie captures wave after wave of dolphin magic.
JAMIE: It's the most exciting, dynamic thing that I've done.
NARRATOR: But Carl mustn't get caught too far in front of the waves.
If they begin to crest, they can easily flip his boat.
This is where Roger and Paris come in.
-Time to deploy the jet ski. -Yeah. Let's go.
ROGER: It was the first time that I've ever attempted
to film dolphins from a jet ski.
But what we hoped for was just to get
one or two unique shots in front of the wave.
Those waves were big, you know. It's a big wave.
You've got a really skilled pilot trying to get you
into these really difficult situations
where that wave could just swamp you at any time.
Paris was just astounding.
He was able to just anticipate how the wave was going to break.
I'll never forget that moment where
there was a really nice break coming through,
really good-sized pod of dolphins.
We really had a go at one wave...
and then I just remember seeing dolphins in the face of the wave.
Paris has got to wait, wait, wait. He's got to judge it.
Just this, you know, wonderful image of them all racing down the wave.
And then, as that wave breaks, he's going to accelerate us out of there.
And it happened so quickly.
(PARIS AND ROGER CHEERING)
ROGER: It was really the shot that I was so hoping to get.
This is so exhilarating. You've been waiting for so long, you know,
you're sitting, you're waiting for, like, days and days.
And then suddenly, you know, the set's here and everything's right.
And in the next minute, you know, Stevie just picks up,
he goes, "Pick up the things," and, bang, you know, on it,
exactly as we predicted, just jumping down the face,
surfing the wave together, jumping out the back.
ROGER: I mean, it's fantastic, yeah.
NARRATOR: Our filmmakers have captured some incredible, dynamic scenes
of dolphins letting loose.
But a dolphin's daily life is not all fun and games.
They also need to find food,
not often found on the reef itself.
And one of the most amazing dolphin feeding grounds
is in the Bahamas.
Onboard the Dolphin Dream,
our Bahamian team are relying on skipper Scott Smith,
a veteran dolphin finder, to take them to the action.
Joining the crew for this portion of the story
is cinematographer Paul Atkins
a marine biologist and dolphin specialist who's filmed them all over the world.
PAUL: I've been filming dolphins and whales for over 30 years.
So, I've filmed bottlenose dolphins in the Bahamas before.
I always look for an opportunity to go back.
It's just always a thrill to get in the water
and to see animals that I'm familiar with.
And sometimes, I feel like they remember me,
that they're coming up to me and saying hello.
Eventually, when they stop paying attention to you,
and then you become a part of their tribe.
And it's an extraordinary experience when you can just travel with them
and see what they do.
(DOLPHINS WHISTLING)
NARRATOR: Paul is here to capture dolphins hunting in a very special way.
They use a type of sonar called echolocation,
which works kind of like x-ray vision.
(CLICKING)
They emit a series of rapid-fire clicks that bounce off hidden objects,
allowing them to locate food beneath the sand...
food like razorfish.
PAUL: When you're with a group of dolphins,
you feel privileged to be witnessing their culture.
Dolphins are one of the few animals besides humans and great apes
that actually have been shown to have culture.
And that culture is based on ways of finding food.
(CLICKING)
NARRATOR: Around the world,
dolphins have developed different feeding strategies
depending on their habitat.
And some of them involve extraordinary levels of teamwork.
These shallow tidal mudflats in Florida
are a rich feeding ground for many marine and coastal animals.
And with its great abundance of fish,
it has given rise to a unique and spectacular dolphin hunting technique
known as mud ringing.
Scientist, Laura Engleby,
has brought cinematographer Jamie McPherson onto these tidal flats
in search of this remarkable phenomenon.
For Jamie, it may not be as heart-stopping
as filming dolphins surfing the big waves,
but it is just as difficult.
-JAMIE: Oh, damn it. -(LAURA LAUGHS)
JAMIE: From the boat, it's tricky because you have to work out where they are.
The camera's right on sea level.
You only see them when they surface.
So, you see the fins occasionally.
You're trying to work out where they're going to go.
It's very hard to coordinate that.
It's very tricky to be in the right place at the right time.
NARRATOR: Suddenly, the dolphins look like they are teaming up
and coordinating their efforts.
WOMAN: No, Jamie, now they're to the right.
-To the right. -JAMIE: Coming where?
-WOMAN 1: To your right. -WOMAN 2: Right.
WOMAN 1: See them?
NARRATOR: They've started to hunt.
Jamie zeroes in on the action with his zoom lens.
JAMIE: Well, you see a lot of splashing.
They don't put their heads up to catch the fish until the very last second.
The dolphins still have to try and catch fish that's flying through the air.
So, to see the look on their faces and see how quick they are
at reacting to the fish that are flying really immerses you in it.
But to understand the behavior and really see what was going on,
we had to get in the air.
NARRATOR: Spotting dolphin pods across these vast mudflats
is much easier in a helicopter.
I see some dolphins right down here.
NARRATOR: Each day, dolphins travel up these tidal channels
into dangerously shallow waters,
lured here by the sheer bounty of fish to be had.
It looks like they're in really shallow water there.
NARRATOR: It's so shallow here at low tide,
they often have to swim on their sides.
This one certainly seems to be having fun hunting in the sea grass.
LAURA: (OVER RADIO) Aww! (LAUGHS) What are you doing?
NARRATOR: But this is not the hunting behavior
the crew are looking for.
So, they continue their search.
-PILOT: Yeah, I'm bringing it around. -LAURA: All right.
-PILOT: Yeah, preparing... -LAURA: Yeah...
PILOT: ...turning the nose right now...
JAMIE: Yeah, I will. So, we'll just
come back to these guys if we can't find anything else.
NARRATOR: Nearby,
another group of dolphins reveal some of the risks
of hunting in such shallow waters.
-LAURA: Oh, they're definitely stranded. -JAMIE: Yeah, they're definitely stranded.
LAURA: Quite amazing. They made a little mud hole for themselves.
They have come around in tight circles and have created a mud hole
to where they can at least swim
and not get sun burns and not flip on their sides
because the worse thing, when they're stuck like that,
is they can crush their internal organs with their own body weight and overheat.
JAMIE: It's horrible to see 'cause you can see they're stressed out,
you can see they're worried, and there's nothing you can do.
You're in a helicopter flying around and no one can help them.
NARRATOR: Laura knows the tide is rising,
so the dolphins will soon be freed.
And before long, they spot something.
Mud clouds.
As they approach, they can see the dolphins are definitely hunting.
LAURA: From the air, it offers a whole different perspective
of what's going on.
They're clearly chasing some prey, but this is a feeding strategy
that hasn't been documented in the literature
that we're just now, through this aerial footage,
able to really see what they're doing.
NARRATOR: But this still isn't the hunting behavior
they've come here to film.
Then, finally,
Jamie spots what they've been looking for.
This dolphin beats up the mud with its fluke, creating a perfect circle.
A mud ring.
LAURA: (OVER RADIO) Aww. Wow. Aww.
NARRATOR: This technique in itself...
showcases the dolphin's remarkable intelligence
as they use the muddy substrate to form the perfect fishing net.
JAMIE: (OVER RADIO) I see they've got a shoal of fish surrounded.
MAN: (OVER RADIO) Yeah, it's really nice.
NARRATOR: Other dolphins have corralled the shoal of fish into the ring.
And the entrapped fish, in trying to escape,
leap straight into their waiting mouths.
JAMIE: (OVER RADIO) Absolutely perfect, there's a whole shoal of fish.
You can see the dolphins trying to get around them.
-Look at that, there. -(LAURA LAUGHS)
-LAURA: That is amazing. -JAMIE: That's pretty amazing.
JAMIE: I've never seen anything that coordinated.
And they're definitely working together and communicating
to better coordinate the ring
and make the fish leap and land where dolphins are waiting.
-It's, yeah, an amazing display. -(DOLPHINS CHATTER)
(DOLPHINS CHATTERING)
NARRATOR: The team's patience has paid off.
They've finally captured on film
this remarkable cooperative hunting strategy of bottlenose dolphins.
In much deeper waters off the coast of Hawaii,
our whale team have returned to film
a great gathering of male humpbacks.
But this gathering
is not in the same cooperative spirit as the dolphins.
Quite the opposite.
An intense competition is brewing.
Here, they gather in the greatest numbers
to take part in the most spectacular battle in nature.
Back on the Luckey Strike, Tad has now teamed up
with Paul Atkins to film this great ritual.
They are following a female humpback who has a number of males in hot pursuit.
PAUL: There's definitely an air of excitement and tension when you're
headed out to film one of these battles.
You're never quite sure what's going to happen.
They're going really fast at eleven o'clock.
NARRATOR: Professor Joe Mobley is documenting the activity from the bow.
And as the boat catches up with the pod, things really start to heat up.
The battle is about to commence.
The males begin to chase one another.
It's a pretty fast-moving pod.
As Paul begin to film some spectacular surface behavior,
more and more whales join the competition.
All these challengers are racing to catch up
and displace the current front-runner,
wanting to become the ultimate champion.
Out in front, the female is setting the pace.
But this surface view does not reveal the whole combat,
as Joe has speculated for many years.
JOE: The frustrating thing is I'm bound to the above-surface world,
where we're limited to probably less than ten percent
of their total behavior.
You know, most of what's important is going down below.
Looks good for pole cam, right?
Go ahead.
We're going to give it a try.
JOE: So, increasingly, I've been relying on opportunities like this
to work with film crews with their high-tech equipment.
And those kinds of instruments basically give us
a whale's eye view. It puts us in their world.
Much more likely to answer the kinds of questions
that we've been asking for decades now.
TAD: Okay, you've got it?
PAUL: So, we designed the granddaddy of all pole cams,
and this had never been tried before.
MAN: Okay, I got it.
PAUL: And the pole cam system has to be beefy and sturdy enough
to withstand moving through water at four to five knots,
sometimes six knots.
NARRATOR: Paul hopes to capture a unique underwater perspective
of this great contest.
On top deck, he prepares the viewing monitor.
As the boat races to catch up with the charging giants,
skipper Tad must get his boat right alongside them.
PAUL: Okay, there's two whales.
Now there's three whales in the frame.
Okay, there's one dead center in the frame.
This is great position, Tad.
Oh, he's coming up right here, right here, this is good.
Stay in and let these guys catch up.
NARRATOR: By combining Paul's underwater and surface filming
with aerial footage by helicopter...
PAUL: Oh, this is great, Tad. Hold this.
...he starts to reveal the intensity of this battle like never before.
Okay, there's one below that's coming. This is great position, Tad.
PAUL: And he's coming up right here, right here, this is good.
Wow.
Geez.
NARRATOR: All the whales dive down into the deep.
PAUL: Diving, diving.
And there they go.
Now, we can see them all diving towards the bottom,
going down about 200 feet.
Sometimes it goes... so we can follow them
straight down the bottom and you see them.
Looks like they're rubbing on the bottom at 200 feet.
If we could get a camera down there,
we might find out where's it's all really happening.
Maybe that's where the actual mating is occurring.
-Who knows? -Coming up.
They're still stuck on us right here.
NARRATOR: Suddenly, erupting back up from the deep,
the conflict resumes at an even greater pace.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, because this is...
Yeah, this is really getting good.
NARRATOR: Over 25 male whales charge past the camera,
blowing streams off aggressive bubbles.
-PAUL: Lot of bubbles. -MAN: Yeah.
-PAUL: Tons of bubbles. -MAN: Coming up.
NARRATOR: Those in the rear try to force the front-runners under,
ruthlessly ramming them to slow them down and take the lead nearest to the female.
This is the most immense ocean competition in nature.
Finally, as the other males tire,
the two fastest and strongest take primary positions
hot on the heels of the female.
In the last moments, a challenger lunges forward
and forces his rival under...
and out of the race...
claiming his place as the victor.
And they're gone.
PAUL: And there they go.
NARRATOR: This battle is finally over.
One mighty humpback has fought and won the right
to be the protector of our lone female.
Filming this magnificent event was only possible
because protection has allowed whale societies to rebuild.
Unfortunately, such success stories are rare.
And unlike the humpbacks,
the populations of our ocean's greatest predators
are in huge decline.
Over a hundred million sharks are fished each year
to satisfy the demands of the shark finning industry.
Giants like the tiger shark are becoming increasingly rare.
And their overblown reputation as frightening and deadly predators
has not helped them.
Paul, however, having filmed sharks for many years,
knows they are nothing like this cartoonish stereotype.
The first time I saw sharks underwater, what impressed me was
how extraordinarily beautiful they are, how graceful they are,
how perfectly adapted that they're swimming and how agile they are.
And then, the next thing that impresses you about sharks,
because you grow up with all of this fear,
is they don't seem to be threatening you.
PAUL: They don't seem to be that scary.
When tiger sharks show up...
their presence kind of dominates the scene.
Pretty much, you have your attention on the tiger shark,
and you never turn your back on it,
because they tend to know which direction you're looking at,
and they tend to want to come up behind you.
But they like to test, they like to see what you are.
And part of that testing can be pushing its nose into you.
And what you can do is just put your hand on its nose
and just gently push them away.
PAUL: What other predator on land could you do that with?
If you did it with bears that were feeding, or lions, or tigers,
you'd probably get mauled.
And yet, here with one of the biggest, baddest, predators on the planet,
in terms of the way we feel about them,
and it's perfectly safe to do that, so...
NARRATOR: Sharks are not only misunderstood by humans,
but their important role in maintaining a well-balanced ocean ecosystem
is often overlooked.
A healthy coral reef has many sharks,
but in today's oceans, these reefs are increasingly hard to find.
Underwater cinematographer, Denis Lagrange,
has known for years about one of the last strongholds on Earth
for large gatherings of grey reef sharks.
He's in French Polynesia, preparing to dive these shark-infested waters.
On an incoming tide, hundreds of reef sharks school in this channel.
Like Paul, Denis has no fear of these apex predators,
for he knows he is not on their menu.
DENIS: For me, sharks are one of the most of incredible creature
in the ocean, and you really feel it.
And when we have all these sharks gather together
and they're really concentrated,
it's an amazing spectacle,
and French Polynesia is the last place, I think, in the world,
where you can see that.
We try to justify why sharks should be saved and not killed,
try to fight against shark finning, but I think it's important to repeat it
because they are at the top of the food chain.
They're cleaning the reef of all natural sickness.
So, if you have no predators, the reef will just not be in good shape.
It's a reality.
We have to try our best to protect the shark.
And French Polynesia, it's one of the only country in the world
who really protect the shark. It's written in the law.
You're not allowed to kill sharks, you're not allowed to fish sharks.
NARRATOR: And the protection of sharks in these waters
allows them to fulfil their role as vital hunters.
But most sharks don't hunt during daylight hours.
The serious hunting action occurs after dark.
So, Denis's next dive would be a much greater challenge,
filming sharks hunting at night for his very first time.
They put on special chainmail shark suits
designed to stop a reef shark's teeth from puncturing the skin.
Sharks don't often intentionally bite humans.
But in the heat of a feeding frenzy, it's wise to take precautions.
(MAN LAUGHING)
We expect a lot of shark action tonight.
I hope we will survive.
-MAN: Should we go now? -We should go.
Yeah.
-MAN: Are we good? -Are we good?
Yeah.
NARRATOR: It's more like a special forces operation.
And it needs to be.
(MEN SPEAKING FRENCH)
NARRATOR: A few sharks appear straight away.
Then the numbers build quickly.
DENIS: When you first dive down to the reef
and you see this amazing number of sharks altogether,
you feel a little scared.
NARRATOR: The surface team is anxious.
They can see the sharks amassing from above.
DENIS: We've never seen that before. Daytime, the shark kind of lazy,
but as soon as you're diving at night with them,
you really see how powerful they can be.
NARRATOR: While the fish remain hidden, they are safe.
But a nervous reef fish breaks cover...
and the feeding frenzy is on.
DENIS: To be eaten by a shark is a really big issue.
When you have hundreds of them in front of you or coming right at you,
they don't care about you, they just want the fish.
(DENIS IMITATES DOLPHIN SQUEALING)
DENIS: No, no, no, no, no!
On l'a fait! On l'a fait!
(ALL LAUGH)
(ALL SPEAKING FRENCH)
No, but then you have to pay attention
-to the little fish going between us. -Oh là là,
-yeah, yeah, yeah. -"Get away, get away."
When they're frenzy, you know, there are a lot of them.
DENIS: If they come to you, I mean, they kick you down.
I really felt it, you know, a little fish went out of the coral,
and they went on it, and they don't care about you,
you know, just going for the fish.
It was like a river, water flowing. And then afterwards, another image,
he was the middle of the LA, Los Angeles traffic.
-MAN: You know, like in the movie? -(MEN LAUGHING)
You know, the big turnaround and, like, cars everywhere.
Huh? Highway, but full of cars, like big traffic jam,
and this was Denis in the middle of that.
-I went to LA... -It was just like flowing,
like water, sharks flowing around him.
They've been around here, they've been here for 400 million years.
I mean, those species are like... When you see them hunting,
it's like, you know, okay, evolution made them so powerful.
It's like the top.
When they hunt, it's just like beautiful to watch.
Beautiful.
NARRATOR: On our cinematographers' quest
to share with you a tiny glimpse into a dolphin's world,
they visited some unique places,
many of which are some of the last examples
of thriving ocean communities.
Healthy coral reefs, rich in life,
once fringed every landmass across our tropical oceans...
yet today, very few remain.
We are killing them.
Pollution and unsustainable fishing
are just a few of the destructive practices causing their demise.
Sadly, during the three years it took for the team to make this film,
a third of the Great Barrier Reef bleached and died.
Without immediate action, most scientists agree
that almost all coral reefs will be destroyed in just 50 years.
Countless creatures will cease to exist.
And our dolphins will have lost their vital home.
But there is hope, with one of the simplest of solutions...
protection.
The best example, the islands of Palau in Micronesia.
Didier has come here to film a very special event.
DIDIER: So, when I knew I was going to go to Palau, I was very excited
because I have never been.
When I first put my head in the water, I realized how beautiful it was.
It's that sort of place where you have strong upwellings
bringing rich water from the depths,
very rich in nutrients.
Makes a top-class reef, very rich in life,
with all those fish everywhere.
And not only the small ones.
Giants and other predators...
all kind of fish. We have all the food chain.
Mantas, hundreds of sharks, everyone is here.
NARRATOR: In 1998,
everyone thought that this reef might have been lost forever.
An El Niño event had bleached and killed the coral.
But you-know-who stepped in to clean up...
our trusty bumphead parrotfish.
And with the added help of government-enforced protection...
the reef is now as good as new.
Not surprisingly, Palau is now famous for its great fish gatherings.
Every full moon, all the bumpheads gather at dawn to spawn.
This is the legendary spectacle Didier has come here to film.
DIDIER: To film the bumpheads spawning is a special event
because this is something I do for the first time.
First, you see all those fish...
and it's not ten, 30, it's hundreds of them.
They are big massive fish, like 20, 30 kilos.
For a cameraman, this is something unique.
NARRATOR: Didier must remain poised and ready the whole time,
because the actual spawning event could occur at any moment.
DIDIER: When they aggregate, you are on the reef,
so you wait, you wait, and all of a sudden,
they stop to go out in the blue,
and this is where the action will start.
This is where...
things get complicated because you have to swim against the current,
and we can't compete with the fish.
You know, they are much faster than us.
When the first female comes to spawn, then they will all come together.
They go up, swim up, and all the males follow.
You have two, three, four, sometimes up to ten.
And you have to be very reactive because this is very fast.
Not missing any action.
NARRATOR: Millions of parrotfish eggs are released into the warm ocean currents,
creating the next generation of reef saviors.
In discovering these spectacles across the world,
our filmmakers have also given us a valuable insight
into how we can help our fragile oceans.
With international protection,
more places like Palau would be able to recover...
creating a healthier, more productive ocean.
One full of incredible characters...
-(DOLPHINS CLICKING) -...that can continue to thrive
long into the future.
(MUSIC PLAYING)