1 00:00:40,250 --> 00:00:42,520 David Attenborough: DWARFED BY THE VAST EXPANSE 2 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:44,220 OF THE OPEN OCEAN, 3 00:00:44,420 --> 00:00:46,950 THE BIGGEST ANIMAL THAT HAS EVER LIVED ON OUR PLANET. 4 00:00:54,270 --> 00:00:59,110 A BLUE WHALE, 30 METERS LONG AND WEIGHING OVER 200 TONS. 5 00:00:59,310 --> 00:01:04,110 IT'S FAR BIGGER THAN EVEN THE BIGGEST DINOSAUR. 6 00:01:04,310 --> 00:01:06,810 ITS TONGUE WEIGHS AS MUCH AS AN ELEPHANT. 7 00:01:07,010 --> 00:01:09,990 ITS HEART IS THE SIZE OF A CAR, 8 00:01:10,190 --> 00:01:12,820 AND SOME OF ITS BLOOD VESSELS ARE SO WIDE 9 00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:14,980 THAT YOU COULD SWIM DOWN THEM. 10 00:01:16,290 --> 00:01:21,990 ITS TAIL ALONE IS THE WIDTH OF A SMALL AIRCRAFT'S WINGS. 11 00:01:39,310 --> 00:01:42,150 ITS STREAMLINING, CLOSE TO PERFECTION, 12 00:01:42,350 --> 00:01:45,150 ENABLES IT TO CRUISE AT 20 KNOTS. 13 00:01:45,350 --> 00:01:48,020 IT'S ONE OF THE FASTEST ANIMALS IN THE SEA. 14 00:01:52,020 --> 00:01:54,160 THE OCEAN'S LARGEST INHABITANT 15 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,170 FEEDS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON ONE OF THE SMALLEST -- 16 00:01:58,370 --> 00:02:01,640 KRILL, A CRUSTACEAN JUST A FEW CENTIMETERS LONG. 17 00:02:05,030 --> 00:02:07,350 GATHERED IN A SHOAL, 18 00:02:07,550 --> 00:02:09,180 KRILL STAIN THE SEA RED, 19 00:02:09,380 --> 00:02:14,300 AND A SINGLE BLUE WHALE IN A DAY CAN CONSUME 40 MILLION OF THEM. 20 00:02:22,350 --> 00:02:24,890 DESPITE THE ENORMOUS SIZE OF BLUE WHALES, 21 00:02:25,090 --> 00:02:27,190 WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THEM. 22 00:02:27,390 --> 00:02:30,200 THEIR MIGRATION ROUTES ARE STILL A MYSTERY, 23 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,190 AND WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHERE THEY GO TO BREED. 24 00:02:37,060 --> 00:02:39,210 THEY ARE A DRAMATIC REMINDER 25 00:02:39,410 --> 00:02:42,600 OF HOW MUCH WE STILL HAVE TO LEARN ABOUT THE OCEAN 26 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,290 AND THE CREATURES THAT LIVE THERE. 27 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,220 OUR PLANET IS A BLUE PLANET. 28 00:02:50,420 --> 00:02:56,220 OVER 70 PERCENT OF IT IS COVERED BY THE SEA. 29 00:02:56,420 --> 00:03:00,050 THE PACIFIC OCEAN ALONE COVERS HALF THE GLOBE. 30 00:03:00,250 --> 00:03:03,230 YOU CAN FLY ACROSS IT NON-STOP FOR 12 HOURS 31 00:03:03,430 --> 00:03:06,930 AND STILL SEE NOTHING MORE THAN A SPECK OF LAND. 32 00:03:07,130 --> 00:03:09,240 THIS SERIES WILL REVEAL 33 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,930 THE COMPLETE NATURAL HISTORY OF OUR OCEAN PLANET 34 00:03:12,130 --> 00:03:14,150 FROM ITS FAMILIAR SHORES 35 00:03:14,350 --> 00:03:17,630 TO THE MYSTERIES OF ITS DEEPEST SEAS. 36 00:03:28,250 --> 00:03:29,600 BY VOLUME, 37 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,610 THE OCEAN MAKES UP 97 PERCENT 38 00:03:31,810 --> 00:03:33,260 OF THE EARTH'S INHABITABLE SPACE, 39 00:03:33,460 --> 00:03:36,260 AND THE SHEER QUANTITY OF MARINE LIFE IT CONTAINS 40 00:03:36,460 --> 00:03:39,260 FAR EXCEEDS THAT WHICH INHABITS THE LAND. 41 00:04:01,580 --> 00:04:04,640 BUT LIFE IN THE OCEAN IS NOT EVENLY SPREAD. 42 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:06,120 IT'S REGULATED 43 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,300 BY THE PATH OF CURRENTS CARRYING NUTRIENTS, 44 00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:12,300 AND THE VARYING POWER OF THE SUN. 45 00:04:12,500 --> 00:04:15,610 IN THIS FIRST PROGRAM, WE WILL SEE 46 00:04:15,810 --> 00:04:17,300 HOW THESE TWO FORCES INTERACT 47 00:04:17,500 --> 00:04:19,310 TO CONTROL THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIFE 48 00:04:19,510 --> 00:04:23,430 FROM THE CORAL SEAS TO THE POLAR WASTES. 49 00:05:17,530 --> 00:05:20,060 THE SHEER PHYSICAL POWER OF THE OCEAN 50 00:05:20,260 --> 00:05:24,100 DOMINATES OUR PLANET. 51 00:05:38,550 --> 00:05:42,080 IT PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCES THE WEATHER OF ALL THE WORLD. 52 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:44,960 WATER VAPOR RISING FROM IT FORMS THE CLOUDS 53 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:46,570 AND GENERATES THE STORMS 54 00:05:46,770 --> 00:05:49,390 THAT ULTIMATELY WILL DRENCH THE LAND. 55 00:06:08,580 --> 00:06:11,420 THE GREAT WAVES THAT ROAR IN TOWARDS THE SHORES 56 00:06:11,620 --> 00:06:15,330 ARE DRAMATIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF ITS POWER. 57 00:06:29,300 --> 00:06:32,180 WAVES ORIGINATE FAR OUT AT SEA. 58 00:06:32,380 --> 00:06:35,180 THERE, EVEN GENTLE BREEZES CAN CAUSE RIPPLES, 59 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:38,920 AND RIPPLES GROW INTO SWELLS. 60 00:06:48,050 --> 00:06:50,630 OUT IN THE OPEN OCEAN, UNIMPEDED BY LAND, 61 00:06:50,830 --> 00:06:53,500 SUCH SWELLS CAN BECOME GIGANTIC. 62 00:07:15,390 --> 00:07:18,920 IT'S ONLY WHEN AN OCEAN SWELL EVENTUALLY REACHES SHALLOW WATER 63 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,220 THAT IT STARTS TO BREAK. 64 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,370 AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST, 65 00:07:30,570 --> 00:07:32,240 THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SWELL 66 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,240 IS SLOWED BY CONTACT WITH THE SEABED. 67 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,940 THE TOP OF THE SWELL, STILL TRAVELING FAST, 68 00:07:38,140 --> 00:07:39,940 STARTS TO ROLL OVER, 69 00:07:40,140 --> 00:07:41,500 AND SO THE WAVE BREAKS. 70 00:08:11,530 --> 00:08:14,540 THE OCEAN NEVER RESTS. 71 00:08:14,740 --> 00:08:17,280 HUGE CURRENTS, SUCH AS THE GULF STREAM, 72 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,290 KEEP ITS WATERS CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE ALL ROUND THE GLOBE. 73 00:08:21,490 --> 00:08:23,680 IT'S THESE CURRENTS, MORE THAN ANY OTHER FACTOR, 74 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:25,990 THAT CONTROL THE DISTRIBUTION OF NUTRIENTS 75 00:08:26,190 --> 00:08:29,600 AND LIFE IN THE SEAS. 76 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:34,650 A TINY ISLAND LOST IN THE MIDST OF THE PACIFIC. 77 00:08:34,850 --> 00:08:36,520 IT'S THE TIP OF A HUGE MOUNTAIN 78 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,000 THAT RISES PRECIPITOUSLY FROM THE SEA FLOOR 79 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:40,730 THOUSANDS OF METERS BELOW. 80 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,220 THE NEAREST LAND IS 300 MILES AWAY. 81 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:55,320 ISOLATED SEAMOUNTS LIKE THIS ONE 82 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,320 CREATE OASES WHERE LIFE CAN FLOURISH 83 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,540 IN THE COMPARATIVELY EMPTY EXPANSES OF THE OPEN OCEAN. 84 00:09:11,460 --> 00:09:14,990 BUT ALL THE CREATURES THAT SWIM BESIDE IT WOULD NOT BE HERE 85 00:09:15,190 --> 00:09:18,040 WERE IT NOT FOR ONE KEY FACTOR -- 86 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,990 THE DEEP OCEAN CURRENTS. 87 00:09:25,210 --> 00:09:29,360 FAR BELOW THE SURFACE, THEY COLLIDE WITH THE ISLAND'S FLANKS 88 00:09:29,550 --> 00:09:31,400 AND ARE DEFLECTED UPWARDS, 89 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:32,840 BRINGING WITH THEM FROM THE DEPTHS 90 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,610 A RICH SOUP OF NUTRIENTS. 91 00:09:37,530 --> 00:09:41,620 SUCH UPWELLINGS ATTRACT GREAT CONCENTRATIONS OF LIFE. 92 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,680 MOST OF THE FISH HERE ARE PERMANENT RESIDENTS 93 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:54,290 FEEDING ON THE PLANKTON -- 94 00:09:54,490 --> 00:09:56,470 THE TINY FLOATING PLANTS AND ANIMALS 95 00:09:56,670 --> 00:09:57,820 THAT ARE NOURISHED BY THE RICHNESS 96 00:09:58,020 --> 00:09:59,730 BROUGHT UP FROM THE DEPTHS -- 97 00:09:59,930 --> 00:10:03,080 AND THEY IN TURN ATTRACT VISITORS FROM THE OPEN OCEAN. 98 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,210 TUNA. 99 00:10:31,580 --> 00:10:34,670 THE PLANKTON FEEDERS ARE EASY TARGETS. 100 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,690 ALL THIS ACTION ATTRACTS EVEN LARGER PREDATORS. 101 00:10:51,730 --> 00:10:54,170 SHARKS. 102 00:10:57,300 --> 00:11:01,490 HUNDREDS OF SHARKS. 103 00:11:01,690 --> 00:11:05,670 THESE SILKY SHARKS ARE NORMALLY OCEAN-GOING SPECIES, 104 00:11:05,870 --> 00:11:08,450 BUT THE SEAMOUNTS IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC, 105 00:11:08,650 --> 00:11:11,460 LIKE COCOS, MAPELO, AND THE GALAPAGOS, 106 00:11:11,660 --> 00:11:14,110 ATTRACT SILKIES IN HUGE GROUPS 107 00:11:14,310 --> 00:11:16,320 UP TO 500 STRONG. 108 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,990 SILKIES SEEM TO SPECIALIZE IN TAKING INJURED FISH 109 00:11:23,190 --> 00:11:25,470 AND CONSTANTLY CIRCLE SEAMOUNTS 110 00:11:25,670 --> 00:11:29,030 ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE CHANCE TO DO SO. 111 00:11:32,990 --> 00:11:35,520 BUT SILKIES ARE NOT THE ONLY VISITORS. 112 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,530 HAMMERHEADS GATHER IN SOME OF THE LARGEST SHARK SHOALS 113 00:11:43,730 --> 00:11:45,490 TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE IN THE OCEAN. 114 00:11:45,690 --> 00:11:50,710 SOMETIMES, THOUSANDS WILL CIRCLE OVER A SINGLE SEAMOUNT. 115 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,680 BUT THESE SHARKS ARE NOT HERE FOR FOOD. 116 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,020 THEY HAVE COME FOR ANOTHER REASON. 117 00:12:03,110 --> 00:12:07,460 SOME OF THE LOCALS PROVIDE A CLEANING SERVICE. 118 00:12:08,850 --> 00:12:12,080 FOLLOWING THE LAST EL NIÑO YEAR, 119 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,090 WHEN A RISE IN WATER TEMPERATURES 120 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,000 CAUSED MANY SHARKS TO SUFFER FROM FUNGAL INFECTIONS, 121 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:19,700 THE NUMBER OF HAMMERHEADS VISITING THE SEAMOUNTS 122 00:12:19,900 --> 00:12:22,950 REACHED RECORD LEVELS. 123 00:12:32,750 --> 00:12:35,590 Attenborough: NUTRIENTS ALSO WELL UP TO THE SURFACE 124 00:12:35,780 --> 00:12:39,590 ALONG THE COASTS OF THE CONTINENTS. 125 00:12:39,790 --> 00:12:43,850 THIS IS NATAL ON SOUTH AFRICA'S EASTERN SEABOARD. 126 00:12:44,050 --> 00:12:45,990 IT'S JUNE, AND JUST OFF-SHORE, 127 00:12:46,190 --> 00:12:50,290 STRANGE BLACK PATCHES HAVE APPEARED. 128 00:12:52,770 --> 00:12:56,600 THEY LOOK LIKE IMMENSE OIL SLICKS UP TO A MILE LONG. 129 00:12:58,860 --> 00:13:00,310 BUT THIS IS A LIVING SLICK -- 130 00:13:00,500 --> 00:13:02,520 MILLIONS AND MILLIONS 131 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:04,610 OF SARDINES ON A MARINE MIGRATION 132 00:13:04,810 --> 00:13:06,620 THAT, IN TERMS OF SHEER BIOMASS, 133 00:13:06,820 --> 00:13:11,090 RIVALS THAT OF THE WILDEBEEST ON THE GRASSLANDS OF AFRICA. 134 00:13:14,790 --> 00:13:16,840 THESE FISH LIVE FOR MOST OF THE TIME 135 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,410 IN THE COLD WATERS SOUTH OF THE CAPE, 136 00:13:19,610 --> 00:13:22,330 BUT EACH YEAR THE COASTAL CURRENTS REVERSE. 137 00:13:22,530 --> 00:13:23,720 THE WARM AGULHAS CURRENT 138 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,330 THAT USUALLY FLOWS DOWN FROM THE NORTH 139 00:13:26,530 --> 00:13:29,330 HAS BEEN DISPLACED BY COLD WATER COMING UP FROM THE SOUTH, 140 00:13:29,530 --> 00:13:31,900 AND THAT HAS BROUGHT UP RICH NUTRIENTS. 141 00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:36,040 THEY IN TURN HAVE CREATED A BLOOM OF PLANKTON, 142 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,340 AND THE SARDINES ARE NOW FEASTING ON IT. 143 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,920 AS THE SARDINES TRAVEL NORTH, 144 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,480 A WHOLE CARAVAN OF PREDATORS FOLLOW THEM. 145 00:13:56,090 --> 00:13:59,320 THOUSANDS OF CAPE GANNETS TRACK THE SARDINES. 146 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,240 THEY NESTED OFF THE CAPE AND TIMED THEIR BREEDING 147 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,850 SO THAT THEIR NEWLY FLEDGED CHICKS CAN JOIN THEM 148 00:14:05,050 --> 00:14:07,800 IN PURSUING THE SHOALS. 149 00:14:14,410 --> 00:14:18,900 BELOW WATER, HUNDREDS OF SHARKS HAVE ALSO JOINED THE CARAVAN. 150 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,950 THESE ARE BRONZE WHALER SHARKS, 151 00:14:24,150 --> 00:14:26,610 A COLD-WATER SPECIES THAT NORMALLY LIVES 152 00:14:26,810 --> 00:14:29,120 MUCH FURTHER SOUTH. 153 00:14:33,130 --> 00:14:36,050 THESE THREE-METER SHARKS 154 00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:39,270 CUT SUCH GREAT SWATHES THROUGH THE SARDINE SHOALS 155 00:14:39,470 --> 00:14:42,060 THAT THEIR TRACKS ARE CLEARLY VISIBLE FROM THE AIR. 156 00:14:42,260 --> 00:14:44,980 HARRIED BY PACKS OF PREDATORS 157 00:14:45,170 --> 00:14:47,280 AND SWEPT IN BY THE ACTION OF THE WAVES, 158 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,840 THE SARDINE SHOALS ARE PENNED CLOSE TO THE SHORE. 159 00:15:07,860 --> 00:15:11,090 COMMON DOLPHIN ARE COMING IN FROM THE OPEN OCEAN 160 00:15:11,290 --> 00:15:12,650 TO JOIN THE FEAST. 161 00:15:27,180 --> 00:15:29,280 THERE ARE OVER A THOUSAND OF THEM 162 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:31,320 IN THIS ONE SCHOOL. 163 00:15:38,850 --> 00:15:41,070 WHEN THEY CATCH UP WITH THE SARDINES, 164 00:15:41,270 --> 00:15:43,460 THE ACTION REALLY BEGINS. 165 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:52,030 WORKING TOGETHER, THEY DRIVE THE SHOAL TOWARDS THE SURFACE. 166 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,650 IT'S EASIER FOR THE DOLPHINS TO SNATCH FISH UP HERE. 167 00:16:17,230 --> 00:16:21,060 NOW THE SARDINES HAVE NO ESCAPE. 168 00:16:31,250 --> 00:16:33,650 THANKS TO THE DOLPHINS, 169 00:16:33,850 --> 00:16:37,730 THE SARDINES HAVE COME WITHIN THE DIVING RANGE OF THE GANNETS. 170 00:16:49,260 --> 00:16:52,410 HUNDREDS OF WHITE ARROWS SHOOT INTO THE SEA, 171 00:16:52,610 --> 00:16:55,360 LEAVING LONG TRAILS OF BUBBLES BEHIND EACH DIVE. 172 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,940 NEXT TO JOIN THE FRENZY ARE THE SHARKS. 173 00:17:22,340 --> 00:17:26,220 SHARKS GET VERY EXCITED WHEN DOLPHINS ARE AROUND. 174 00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:29,180 THAT MAY BE BECAUSE THEY CAN FEED PARTICULARLY WELL 175 00:17:29,380 --> 00:17:31,140 ONCE THE DOLPHINS HAVE DRIVEN THE SARDINES 176 00:17:31,340 --> 00:17:34,050 INTO MORE COMPACT GROUPS NEAR THE SURFACE. 177 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,410 AS THE FRENZY CONTINUES, 178 00:17:39,610 --> 00:17:44,150 WALLS OF BUBBLES DRIFT UPWARDS. 179 00:17:44,350 --> 00:17:46,810 THEY ARE BEING RELEASED BY THE DOLPHINS, 180 00:17:47,010 --> 00:17:49,280 WORKING TOGETHER IN TEAMS. 181 00:17:51,330 --> 00:17:53,120 THEY USE THE BUBBLES 182 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,290 TO CORRAL THE SARDINES INTO EVER TIGHTER GROUPS. 183 00:17:59,330 --> 00:18:02,170 THE SARDINES SELDOM CROSS THE WALL OF BUBBLES 184 00:18:02,370 --> 00:18:05,250 AND CROWD CLOSER TOGETHER. 185 00:18:08,130 --> 00:18:09,660 BUBBLE NETTING IN THIS WAY 186 00:18:09,860 --> 00:18:14,260 ENABLES THE DOLPHINS TO GRAB EVERY LAST TRAPPED SARDINE. 187 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:28,200 JUST WHEN THE FEASTING SEEMS TO BE ALMOST OVER, 188 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,100 A BRYDE'S WHALE. 189 00:18:34,370 --> 00:18:37,210 THE SURVIVORS HEAD ON NORTHWARDS, 190 00:18:37,410 --> 00:18:40,550 AND THE CARAVAN OF PREDATORS FOLLOWS THEM. 191 00:18:46,470 --> 00:18:48,310 Attenborough: EVERY EVENING, 192 00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:50,310 THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE SUN BELOW THE HORIZON 193 00:18:50,510 --> 00:18:53,310 TRIGGERS THE LARGEST MIGRATION OF LIFE 194 00:18:53,510 --> 00:18:56,220 THAT TAKES PLACE ON OUR PLANET. 195 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,320 ONE THOUSAND MILLION TONS OF SEA CREATURES 196 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,240 ASCEND FROM THE DEEP OCEAN 197 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:11,320 TO SEARCH FOR FOOD NEAR THE SURFACE. 198 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,340 THEY GRAZE ON THE PHYTOPLANKTON UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS. 199 00:19:21,540 --> 00:19:24,340 EVEN SO, THEY ARE FAR FROM SAFE. 200 00:19:24,540 --> 00:19:27,300 OTHER MARINE HUNTERS FOLLOW THEM, 201 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:30,430 SOME TRAVELING UP FROM HUNDREDS OF METERS BELOW. 202 00:20:28,570 --> 00:20:32,190 AT DAWN, THE WHOLE PROCESSION RETURNS 203 00:20:32,390 --> 00:20:34,530 TO THE SAFETY OF THE DARK DEPTHS. 204 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,850 THE PACIFIC COAST OF COSTA RICA 205 00:20:40,050 --> 00:20:43,330 ON A VERY SPECIAL NIGHT. 206 00:20:43,530 --> 00:20:46,460 IT'S JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT, AND THE TIDE IS COMING IN. 207 00:20:50,330 --> 00:20:52,950 THE MOON IS IN ITS LAST QUARTER, 208 00:20:53,150 --> 00:20:57,250 EXACTLY HALFWAY BETWEEN FULL AND NEW. 209 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,180 FOR WEEKS, THE BEACH HAS BEEN EMPTY, 210 00:21:01,380 --> 00:21:03,480 BUT THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE. 211 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,700 AT HIGH TIDE, TURTLES START TO EMERGE FROM THE SURF. 212 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,930 AT FIRST, THEY COME IN ONES AND TWOS, 213 00:21:16,130 --> 00:21:17,930 BUT WITHIN AN HOUR, 214 00:21:18,130 --> 00:21:21,620 THEY ARE APPEARING ALL ALONG THE BEACH. 215 00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:29,940 THEY ARE ALL FEMALE RIDLEY'S TURTLES, 216 00:21:30,140 --> 00:21:31,470 AND OVER THE NEXT SIX DAYS OR SO, 217 00:21:31,670 --> 00:21:34,950 400,000 WILL VISIT THIS ONE BEACH 218 00:21:35,150 --> 00:21:38,680 TO LAY THEIR EGGS IN THE SAND. 219 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:49,530 AT THE PEAK TIME, 5,000 ARE COMING AND GOING EVERY HOUR. 220 00:21:49,730 --> 00:21:52,140 THE TOP OF THE BEACH GETS SO CROWDED 221 00:21:52,340 --> 00:21:54,930 THAT THEY HAVE TO CLAMBER OVER ONE ANOTHER 222 00:21:55,130 --> 00:21:56,100 TO FIND A BARE PATCH 223 00:21:56,300 --> 00:21:58,570 WHERE THEY CAN DIG A NEST HOLE. 224 00:22:02,450 --> 00:22:06,630 A QUARTER OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION OF RIDLEY'S TURTLES 225 00:22:06,830 --> 00:22:10,900 COME TO THIS ONE BEACH ON A FEW KEY NIGHTS EACH YEAR. 226 00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:12,900 THE REST OF THE TIME, 227 00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:14,290 THEY ARE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE OCEAN, 228 00:22:14,490 --> 00:22:16,690 SEARCHING FOR FOOD, 229 00:22:16,890 --> 00:22:18,910 MOST, HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY FROM HERE. 230 00:22:19,110 --> 00:22:21,910 THIS MASS NESTING IS CALLED AN ARRIBADA. 231 00:22:22,110 --> 00:22:24,480 HOW IT'S COORDINATED IS A MYSTERY, 232 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,790 BUT WE DO KNOW THAT ARRIBADAS START 233 00:22:27,980 --> 00:22:30,130 WHEN THE MOON IS EITHER IN ITS FIRST OR ITS LAST QUARTER. 234 00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:43,240 FORTY MILLION EGGS ARE LAID IN JUST A FEW DAYS. 235 00:22:43,430 --> 00:22:46,930 BY SYNCHRONIZING THEIR NESTING IN THIS WAY, THE FEMALES ENSURE 236 00:22:47,130 --> 00:22:50,460 THAT SIX WEEKS LATER, THEIR HATCHLINGS WILL EMERGE 237 00:22:50,660 --> 00:22:53,510 IN SUCH ENORMOUS NUMBERS THAT PREDATORS ON THE BEACH 238 00:22:53,710 --> 00:22:54,860 ARE OVERWHELMED, 239 00:22:55,060 --> 00:22:57,550 AND A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF THE BABY TURTLES 240 00:22:57,750 --> 00:22:59,940 WILL GET PAST THEM AND MAKE IT TO THE WATER. 241 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:05,480 BUT WHY DO THE FEMALES USE A CUE FROM THE MOON 242 00:23:05,670 --> 00:23:08,170 TO HELP IN SYNCHRONIZE THEIR NESTING? 243 00:23:08,370 --> 00:23:10,480 PART OF THE ANSWER TO THAT 244 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,390 BECOMES CLEAR AT DAWN ON THE FOLLOWING MORNING. 245 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,380 THE DAY SHIFT OF PREDATORS 246 00:23:36,580 --> 00:23:38,980 ARE ARRIVING FOR THEIR FIRST MEALS. 247 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,040 VULTURES HAVE LEARNT THAT THE RETURNING TIDE 248 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,250 CAN WASH FRESHLY LAID EGGS OUT OF THE SAND. 249 00:23:51,690 --> 00:23:55,530 THE RISK OF EGGS' BEING EXPOSED BY THE SURF 250 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,090 MAY BE PART OF THE REASON WHY TURTLE ARRIBADAS TEND TO OCCUR 251 00:23:59,290 --> 00:24:02,440 AROUND THE LAST OR FIRST QUARTER OF THE MOON. 252 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,970 IT'S ON SUCH DAYS AS THIS, 253 00:24:08,170 --> 00:24:10,240 WHEN THE MOON IS NEITHER FULL NOR NEW, 254 00:24:10,430 --> 00:24:11,980 THAT THE TIDES ARE WEAKEST 255 00:24:12,180 --> 00:24:14,620 AND THE SEA IS LIKELY TO BE CALMER. 256 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,130 SO AT THESE TIMES IT'S EASIER FOR THE FEMALE TURTLES 257 00:24:32,330 --> 00:24:33,560 TO MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE SURF, 258 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,390 AND THERE'S LESS CHANCE OF THEIR EGGS' BEING WASHED 259 00:24:36,590 --> 00:24:39,080 OUT OF THE SAND AND BEING TAKEN BY THE VULTURES. 260 00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:54,800 Attenborough: THE SUN'S POSITION RELATIVE TO THE EARTH 261 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,020 CHANGES THROUGH THE YEAR, 262 00:24:56,220 --> 00:24:59,020 AND IT'S THIS THAT PRODUCES THE SEASONS. 263 00:24:59,220 --> 00:25:01,030 IN THE NORTH, SPRING COMES 264 00:25:01,220 --> 00:25:05,030 AS THE SUN BEGINS TO RISE HIGHER IN THE SKY. 265 00:25:05,230 --> 00:25:07,290 OFF THE COAST OF NORTHWEST AMERICA, 266 00:25:07,490 --> 00:25:09,030 THE SEAS ARE TRANSFORMED 267 00:25:09,230 --> 00:25:11,510 BY THE INCREASING STRENGTH OF THE SUNSHINE. 268 00:25:16,340 --> 00:25:19,780 HERE IN ALASKA, THE COASTAL WATERS TURN GREEN 269 00:25:19,980 --> 00:25:22,520 WITH A SUDDEN BLOOM OF PHYTOPLANKTON. 270 00:25:25,950 --> 00:25:28,790 HERRING THAT HAVE SPENT THE WINTER FAR OUT TO SEA 271 00:25:28,990 --> 00:25:31,530 TIME THEIR RETURN TO THE SHALLOW WATERS 272 00:25:31,730 --> 00:25:33,800 TO COINCIDE WITH THIS BLOOM. 273 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,280 THEY COME IN VAST NUMBERS AND INITIATE 274 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,790 ONE OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE FOOD CHAINS IN ALL THE OCEANS. 275 00:25:54,980 --> 00:25:58,170 HUMPBACK WHALES ARE AT THE TOP OF THAT FOOD CHAIN. 276 00:25:58,370 --> 00:25:59,950 THEY HAVE SPENT THE WINTER 277 00:26:00,150 --> 00:26:02,480 BREEDING IN THE WARMER TROPICAL WATERS OFF HAWAII, 278 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,920 BUT THERE WAS LITTLE FOOD FOR THEM THERE. 279 00:26:05,110 --> 00:26:08,440 THIS HERRING BONANZA PROVIDES THE VAST MAJORITY 280 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,610 OF THEIR FOOD FOR THE YEAR. 281 00:26:32,020 --> 00:26:33,860 STELLAR AND CALIFORNIAN SEA LIONS 282 00:26:34,060 --> 00:26:36,340 ALSO RETURN FROM THE OPEN OCEAN 283 00:26:36,540 --> 00:26:38,460 EACH YEAR TO FEAST OFF THE HERRING. 284 00:26:49,340 --> 00:26:52,880 THE HERRING THEMSELVES, HOWEVER, HAVE NOT COME HERE FOR FOOD. 285 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:54,750 THEY ARE ABOUT TO BREED. 286 00:26:54,950 --> 00:26:55,880 NOTHING DETERS THEM 287 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,000 AS THEY HEAD FOR EVEN SHALLOWER WATERS. 288 00:27:01,050 --> 00:27:02,760 NOW THE WATERS ARE SO SHALLOW 289 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,190 THAT GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS 290 00:27:05,390 --> 00:27:07,840 ARE ABLE TO SNATCH LIVE FISH FROM JUST BELOW THE SURFACE. 291 00:27:19,550 --> 00:27:22,600 IN SPITE OF THESE ATTACKS AND LOSSES, 292 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,910 THE HERRING SWIM ON UNTIL THEY REACH THE VEGETATION 293 00:27:25,110 --> 00:27:27,680 THAT THE FEMALES NEED IF THEY ARE TO LAY. 294 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,750 EACH FEMALE PRODUCES AROUND 20,000 EGGS, 295 00:27:36,950 --> 00:27:40,130 AND THEY'RE VERY STICKY. 296 00:27:42,610 --> 00:27:46,100 THE MALES ARRIVE SOON AFTER THE FEMALES HAVE SPAWNED 297 00:27:46,300 --> 00:27:50,190 AND RELEASE THEIR SPERM IN VAST, MILKY CLOUDS. 298 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:58,510 SOON, THE EXCESSES OF THE HERRINGS' SEXUAL SPREE 299 00:27:58,710 --> 00:28:01,760 CREATES A THICK WHITE SCUM ON THE SURFACE. 300 00:28:03,890 --> 00:28:06,690 THROUGH THE SEASON, CURDS OF SPERM CLOG THE SHORES 301 00:28:06,890 --> 00:28:08,390 FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES 302 00:28:08,590 --> 00:28:10,780 FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE SOUTH 303 00:28:10,980 --> 00:28:12,900 ALL THE WAY TO ALASKA IN THE NORTH. 304 00:28:19,430 --> 00:28:23,180 AFTER A FEW DAYS, THIS GIGANTIC SPAWNING COMES TO AN END, 305 00:28:23,380 --> 00:28:25,530 AND THE HERRING HEAD BACK OUT TO DEEPER WATERS, 306 00:28:25,730 --> 00:28:28,010 LEAVING BEHIND THEM FERTILIZED EGGS 307 00:28:28,210 --> 00:28:31,970 PLASTERED ON EVERY ROCK AND STRAND OF VEGETATION. 308 00:28:43,150 --> 00:28:44,640 THEY TIME THEIR SPAWNING 309 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,560 SO THAT TWO WEEKS LATER, WHEN THESE EGGS START TO HATCH, 310 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:49,470 THE ANNUAL PLANKTON BLOOM 311 00:28:49,670 --> 00:28:50,950 WILL HAVE REACHED ITS HEIGHT, 312 00:28:51,150 --> 00:28:53,650 AND THE NEWBORN FISH FRY WILL HAVE PLENTY TO EAT. 313 00:28:53,850 --> 00:28:56,650 BUT IN THE MEANTIME, ALL THESE EGGS PROVIDE FOOD 314 00:28:56,850 --> 00:28:58,870 FOR ARMIES OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS 315 00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:01,740 BOTH BELOW AND ABOVE THE SURFACE. 316 00:29:08,050 --> 00:29:09,880 MILLIONS OF BIRDS ARRIVE 317 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,800 TO COLLECT A SHARE OF THE HERRINGS' BOUNTY. 318 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,320 SOME OF IT IS EASILY GATHERED, 319 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,410 FOR MILLIONS OF EGGS HAVE BEEN WASHED UP ONTO THE SHORE. 320 00:29:19,610 --> 00:29:22,500 THIS ENCAPSULATED ENERGY 321 00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:25,550 IS PARTICULARLY VALUABLE TO MIGRATING BIRDS. 322 00:29:25,750 --> 00:29:28,030 THESE SURFBIRDS ARE ON THEIR WAY 323 00:29:28,230 --> 00:29:30,690 TO THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS IN THE ARCTIC, 324 00:29:30,890 --> 00:29:32,250 AND THEY HAD TO COME DOWN TO REFUEL. 325 00:29:32,450 --> 00:29:37,520 STRANDED HERRING EGGS ARE JUST WHAT THEY NEED. 326 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,040 BONAPARTE GULLS COLLECT THE EGGS 327 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,040 JUST BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE WATER. 328 00:29:45,210 --> 00:29:46,530 FARTHER OUT IN THE BAY, 329 00:29:46,730 --> 00:29:48,620 HUGE FLOCKS OF DUCKS HAVE GATHERED. 330 00:29:48,820 --> 00:29:50,790 THEY'RE MOSTLY SURF SCOTERS -- 331 00:29:50,990 --> 00:29:52,530 DIVING DUCKS THAT CAN FEED OFF THE BOTTOM 332 00:29:52,730 --> 00:29:54,960 SEVERAL METERS DOWN. 333 00:29:59,230 --> 00:30:01,590 THERE ARE SUCH HUGE QUANTITIES OF EGGS 334 00:30:01,790 --> 00:30:03,890 THAT EVEN SUCH A BIG ANIMAL AS A BEAR 335 00:30:04,090 --> 00:30:06,060 FINDS IT WORTHWHILE TO COLLECT THEM. 336 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,600 THE SPAWNING OF THE HERRING IS A CRUCIAL EVENT 337 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,950 IN THE LIVES OF MANY ANIMALS ALL ALONG THE COAST. 338 00:30:16,150 --> 00:30:18,910 THE WHOLE EVENT COINCIDES WITH THE PLANKTON BLOOM, 339 00:30:19,110 --> 00:30:22,510 AND WITHIN THREE SHORT WEEKS, IT'S ALL OVER. 340 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:33,000 THE MIGRATORY BIRDS LEAVE TO CONTINUE THEIR JOURNEY NORTH. 341 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:40,840 THEY WILL NOT COME BACK 342 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,100 UNTIL THE HERRING ALSO RETURN NEXT YEAR. 343 00:30:51,060 --> 00:30:53,190 Attenborough: GRAY WHALES. 344 00:30:57,070 --> 00:30:59,120 THEY HAVE FOLLOWED THE SUN NORTH, 345 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,300 AND THEY TOO ARE SEEKING THE FOOD 346 00:31:01,500 --> 00:31:04,420 THAT IS GENERATED BY THE BLOOM OF THE PHYTOPLANKTON. 347 00:31:06,470 --> 00:31:09,090 KRILL ARE FEEDING OFF IT, 348 00:31:09,290 --> 00:31:11,870 AND THESE WHALES ARE FEEDING ON THE KRILL, 349 00:31:12,070 --> 00:31:14,530 SKIMMING IT FROM THE SURFACE WITH THE FILTER PLATES OF BALEEN 350 00:31:14,730 --> 00:31:18,320 THAT HANG FROM THEIR UPPER JAWS. 351 00:31:18,510 --> 00:31:23,840 GRAY WHALES MAKE ONE OF THE LONGEST MIGRATIONS 352 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:25,320 UNDERTAKEN BY ANY MARINE MAMMAL -- 353 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,760 A ROUND TRIP OF 12,000 MILES OR SO 354 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,850 FROM THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS OFF MEXICO 355 00:31:31,050 --> 00:31:32,810 ALONG THE ENTIRE COAST OF NORTH AMERICA 356 00:31:33,010 --> 00:31:35,110 RIGHT UP TO THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 357 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,820 THEY TRAVEL CLOSE TO THE COAST, 358 00:31:40,010 --> 00:31:43,470 WITH THE MALES AND NON-BREEDING FEMALES LEADING THE WAY. 359 00:31:43,670 --> 00:31:47,000 THE LAST TO START ARE THE COWS THAT HAVE JUST GIVEN BIRTH. 360 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,480 THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEIR NEWBORN CALVES 361 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:50,960 ARE SUFFICIENTLY BIG AND STRONG 362 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,740 TO TACKLE SUCH AN IMMENSE JOURNEY. 363 00:31:54,940 --> 00:31:58,830 THEIR PROGRESS IS NECESSARILY SLOW. 364 00:31:59,030 --> 00:32:00,840 THE MOTHERS MUST STAY ALONGSIDE THEIR YOUNG, 365 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,610 AND EVEN A STRONG CALF CAN ONLY TRAVEL AT A COUPLE OF KNOTS. 366 00:32:06,750 --> 00:32:08,840 THEY STICK EVEN CLOSER TO THE SHORE, 367 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,060 OFTEN WITHIN JUST 200 METERS. 368 00:32:14,710 --> 00:32:16,850 KILLER WHALES. 369 00:32:17,050 --> 00:32:18,980 THEY HAVE LEARNT THAT GRAY WHALES 370 00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:20,550 FOLLOW TRADITIONAL ROUTES. 371 00:32:20,750 --> 00:32:22,860 THE KILLERS HAVE NO TROUBLE 372 00:32:23,060 --> 00:32:27,160 IN OVERTAKING A CALF AND ITS DEVOTED MOTHER. 373 00:32:30,030 --> 00:32:33,690 NORMALLY, THEY CONTINUALLY CALL TO ONE ANOTHER, 374 00:32:33,890 --> 00:32:35,870 BUT NOW THEY HAVE FALLEN SILENT. 375 00:32:36,070 --> 00:32:37,870 THE MOTHER GRAY WHALE AND HER CALF 376 00:32:38,070 --> 00:32:41,170 HAVE NO IDEA THAT THEY'VE BEEN TARGETED. 377 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:03,860 CATCHING UP WITH THE GRAY WHALES 378 00:33:04,050 --> 00:33:05,550 IS THE EASY PART FOR THE KILLERS. 379 00:33:05,750 --> 00:33:06,900 THEY HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS, 380 00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:08,560 FOR THEY ARE ONLY ABOUT HALF THE SIZE 381 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:10,900 OF THE GRAY WHALE MOTHER. 382 00:33:14,380 --> 00:33:17,470 SHE CAN INFLICT REAL DAMAGE WITH HER TAIL. 383 00:33:25,780 --> 00:33:28,450 BUT THE KILLERS ARE NOT AFTER HER. 384 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,530 THEY'RE AFTER HER CALF. 385 00:33:30,730 --> 00:33:33,020 AS LONG AS THE MOTHER CAN KEEP IT ON THE MOVE, IT WILL BE SAFE, 386 00:33:33,210 --> 00:33:36,180 AND SHE DOES HER BEST TO HURRY IT ALONG. 387 00:33:39,490 --> 00:33:42,020 AT FIRST, THE KILLERS AVOID GETTING TOO CLOSE TO THE MOTHER 388 00:33:42,220 --> 00:33:43,630 BUT JUST KEEP PACE ALONGSIDE. 389 00:33:43,830 --> 00:33:46,720 THEY KNOW THAT THE CALF, GOING AT THIS SPEED, 390 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:48,850 WILL EVENTUALLY TIRE. 391 00:33:58,510 --> 00:34:01,350 AFTER THREE HOURS OF BEING HARRIED IN THIS WAY, 392 00:34:01,550 --> 00:34:04,050 THE CALF BECOMES TOO EXHAUSTED TO SWIM ANY FURTHER. 393 00:34:04,250 --> 00:34:07,350 THE MOTHER HAS TO STOP. 394 00:34:07,550 --> 00:34:10,180 THIS IS THE MOMENT THE KILLERS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. 395 00:34:10,380 --> 00:34:11,880 THEY START TO TRY AND FORCE THEMSELVES 396 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,310 BETWEEN MOTHER AND CALF. 397 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:37,120 A CALF SEPARATED FROM ITS MOTHER 398 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:39,120 WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEFEND ITSELF. 399 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,170 TIME AND AGAIN, THE BLACK FINS OF THE KILLERS 400 00:34:42,370 --> 00:34:44,900 APPEAR BETWEEN THE MOTTLED BACKS OF THE GRAY WHALES. 401 00:34:56,260 --> 00:34:58,100 AT LAST THE KILLERS SUCCEED, 402 00:34:58,300 --> 00:35:00,670 AND NOW THAT THEY'VE GOT THE CALF ON ITS OWN, 403 00:35:00,870 --> 00:35:02,710 THEY CHANGE THEIR TACTICS. 404 00:35:02,910 --> 00:35:04,760 THEY LEAP RIGHT ONTO THE CALF 405 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,230 AND TRY TO PUSH IT UNDER. 406 00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:17,680 NOW, THE WHOLE POD IS INVOLVED. 407 00:35:27,990 --> 00:35:30,250 ONE OF THEM TAKES A BITE. 408 00:35:43,010 --> 00:35:45,840 SOON, THE SEA IS REDDENED WITH THE CALF'S BLOOD, 409 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,190 AND THE KILLERS CLOSE IN FOR THE FINAL ACT. 410 00:36:10,210 --> 00:36:13,300 THE CALF IS DEAD. 411 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:18,880 AFTER A SIX-HOUR HUNT, 412 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,390 THE KILLER WHALES HAVE FINALLY WON THEIR PRIZE. 413 00:36:28,050 --> 00:36:29,930 THE MOTHER, BEREFT, 414 00:36:30,130 --> 00:36:32,880 HAS TO CONTINUE HER MIGRATION NORTH ON HER OWN. 415 00:36:37,060 --> 00:36:39,900 SHE LEAVES BEHIND THE CARCASS OF A CALF 416 00:36:40,100 --> 00:36:43,900 THAT SHE CHERISHED FOR 13 MONTHS IN HER WOMB, 417 00:36:44,100 --> 00:36:47,330 FOR WHICH SHE DELAYED HER OWN JOURNEY TO FIND FOOD. 418 00:36:51,030 --> 00:36:53,390 Attenborough: OVER A MILE DOWN, 419 00:36:53,590 --> 00:36:55,260 IN THE TOTAL DARKNESS OF THE DEEP OCEAN, 420 00:36:55,460 --> 00:36:59,480 THE BODY OF ANOTHER GRAY WHALE, A 30-TON ADULT. 421 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:04,570 IT SETTLED HERE ONLY A FEW WEEKS AGO. 422 00:37:04,770 --> 00:37:09,400 ALREADY, IT HAS ATTRACTED HUNDREDS OF HAGFISH. 423 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:17,630 THESE SCAVENGERS, OVER HALF A METER LONG 424 00:37:17,830 --> 00:37:21,590 AND AS THICK AS YOUR ARM, ARE ONLY FOUND IN THE DEEP SEA. 425 00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:24,590 THEY HAVE BEEN ATTRACTED BY THE FAINT WHIFF OF DECAY 426 00:37:24,790 --> 00:37:28,850 SUFFUSING THROUGH THE WATER FOR MILES AROUND. 427 00:37:31,460 --> 00:37:34,300 WITH THEIR HEADS BURIED IN THE WHALE'S FLESH, 428 00:37:34,500 --> 00:37:36,430 THEY BREATHE THROUGH GILL OPENINGS 429 00:37:36,630 --> 00:37:38,220 ALONG THE SIDES OF THEIR BODIES. 430 00:37:38,420 --> 00:37:40,310 THEY'RE VERY PRIMITIVE CREATURES -- 431 00:37:40,510 --> 00:37:44,310 NOT EVEN TRUE FISH, FOR THEY LACK JAWS. 432 00:37:44,510 --> 00:37:47,230 THEY FEED, NOT BY BITING, 433 00:37:47,430 --> 00:37:50,180 BUT BY RASPING OFF FLESH WITH TWO ROWS OF HORNY TEETH. 434 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,190 IN JUST A FEW HOURS, A HAGFISH CAN EAT 435 00:37:54,390 --> 00:37:55,930 SEVERAL TIMES ITS OWN WEIGHT 436 00:37:56,130 --> 00:37:58,620 OF ROTTING FLESH. 437 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:05,150 NEXT TO ARRIVE, A SLEEPER SHARK. 438 00:38:11,500 --> 00:38:14,340 IT MOVES SO SLOWLY TO CONSERVE ENERGY -- 439 00:38:14,540 --> 00:38:17,040 AN IMPORTANT STRATEGY FOR SO LARGE AN ANIMAL 440 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:20,340 SURVIVING IN SUCH A POOR HABITAT. 441 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,350 SLEEPER SHARKS LIVE OVER A MILE DOWN 442 00:38:29,550 --> 00:38:33,490 AND GROW TO OVER SEVEN METERS LONG. 443 00:38:33,690 --> 00:38:36,490 THEY CAN GO FOR MONTHS WITHOUT FOOD, 444 00:38:36,690 --> 00:38:39,540 SLOWLY CRUISING ALONG THE BOTTOM, 445 00:38:39,740 --> 00:38:42,020 WAITING FOR RARE BONANZAS SUCH AS THIS ONE 446 00:38:42,220 --> 00:38:44,580 TO ARRIVE FROM ABOVE. 447 00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:54,380 A WHOLE RANGE OF DIFFERENT DEEP-SEA SCAVENGERS 448 00:38:54,580 --> 00:38:57,380 WILL FEAST ON THIS CARCASS FOR A LONG TIME 449 00:38:57,580 --> 00:39:00,380 BEFORE ALL ITS NUTRIMENT HAS BEEN CONSUMED. 450 00:39:02,550 --> 00:39:04,040 18 MONTHS LATER, 451 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:07,600 ALL THAT IS LEFT IS A PERFECT SKELETON STRIPPED BARE. 452 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:12,750 THE SUN'S ENERGY, THAT WAS CAPTURED 453 00:39:12,950 --> 00:39:16,180 AND TURNED INTO LIVING TISSUE BY THE FLOATING PHYTOPLANKTON, 454 00:39:16,380 --> 00:39:18,400 HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM ONE LINK TO ANOTHER 455 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:20,320 IN THE FOOD CHAIN AND HAS ENDED UP 456 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:21,930 AS FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN 457 00:39:22,130 --> 00:39:24,280 AS IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE ON THIS PLANET -- 458 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:27,410 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DEEP SEA. 459 00:39:27,610 --> 00:39:31,450 BUT SOME ENERGY ALSO RETURNS FROM THE DEEP. 460 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:38,600 MILLIONS OF OPALESCENT SQUID 461 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,430 ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE SHALLOWS. 462 00:39:41,630 --> 00:39:43,950 THEY'VE COME UP HERE TO MATE. 463 00:39:44,150 --> 00:39:48,210 AS THE MALES GRAB THE FEMALES, THEIR TENTACLES FLUSH RED. 464 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:52,440 FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, 465 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:54,960 THESE SQUID LIVE AT A DEPTH OF AROUND 500 METERS. 466 00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:57,140 THEY ONLY COME TOGETHER 467 00:39:57,340 --> 00:39:59,620 IN THESE GREAT BREEDING SCHOOLS FOR A FEW WEEKS. 468 00:39:59,820 --> 00:40:02,360 JUST ONE SCHOOL WAS ESTIMATED TO CONTAIN ANIMALS 469 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:05,750 THAT WEIGH AROUND 4,000 TONS. 470 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:19,120 WAVE AFTER WAVE RISE FROM THE DEPTHS, 471 00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:20,810 AND SOON THE SEABED IN THE SHALLOWS 472 00:40:21,010 --> 00:40:23,380 IS STREWN WITH DENSE PATCHES OF EGG CAPSULES 473 00:40:23,580 --> 00:40:25,680 SEVERAL METERS ACROSS. 474 00:40:30,810 --> 00:40:34,480 AS EACH FEMALE ADDS ANOTHER CAPSULE TO THE PILE, 475 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:37,600 THE MALES FIGHT TO FERTILIZE ITS CONTENTS. 476 00:40:53,970 --> 00:40:56,810 THE SQUID MAKE THEIR HUGE JOURNEY INTO THE SHALLOWS 477 00:40:57,010 --> 00:41:00,240 BECAUSE THEIR EGGS WILL DEVELOP FASTER IN THE WARMER WATER HERE, 478 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:01,680 AND WHEN THE YOUNG EMERGE, 479 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:04,070 THEY WILL FIND MORE FOOD MORE EASILY 480 00:41:04,270 --> 00:41:07,590 THAN THEY WOULD IN THE OCEAN DEPTHS. 481 00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:13,820 DAWN THE NEXT MORNING, 482 00:41:14,020 --> 00:41:17,520 AND THE SEABED FOR MILES AROUND IS COVERED IN EGG CAPSULES. 483 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:20,130 THE SQUID THEMSELVES HAVE ALL GONE. 484 00:41:20,330 --> 00:41:21,790 MANY WILL HAVE DIED, 485 00:41:21,990 --> 00:41:24,660 BUT SOME WILL HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR HOME IN THE DEEP. 486 00:41:24,860 --> 00:41:27,840 THEY WILL NOT RETURN TO THE LIGHT OF THE SUN 487 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:32,530 UNTIL THE NEXT TIME THEY ARE DRIVEN UP BY THE URGE TO SPAWN.