Mammals Life


Mammals

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Mammals. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Antarctica.

0:00:280:00:29

The earth's coldest continent,

0:00:290:00:33

the one that is most hostile to life.

0:00:330:00:36

Here, 800 miles from the South Pole,

0:00:430:00:46

it's 40 degrees below zero.

0:00:460:00:49

Of all the millions of species of animals on Earth,

0:00:530:00:56

only one can live here permanently.

0:00:560:01:00

A Weddell seal.

0:01:090:01:11

She can survive because she can dive below the ice.

0:01:150:01:20

Here she is protected from the storms above,

0:01:240:01:27

and here too, she can find food.

0:01:270:01:29

But she is a mammal, and she has to breathe air,

0:01:490:01:54

so she has to keep a lifeline open to the world above the ice.

0:01:540:01:58

Not only for her,

0:02:000:02:02

but now for her newborn pup.

0:02:020:02:05

SEAL GRUNTS

0:02:050:02:06

PUP CRIES

0:02:060:02:07

He's less than a week old, and still very vulnerable.

0:02:090:02:12

A blizzard blows in, and with it, storm-force winds.

0:02:240:02:28

It could last for a week.

0:02:280:02:30

Being mammals, seals can generate heat within their bodies.

0:02:400:02:45

And their fur, with a thick layer of fat beneath it,

0:02:450:02:49

prevents most of that heat from escaping,

0:02:490:02:51

even in cold conditions like this.

0:02:510:02:54

What is more, she is able to feed her youngster

0:02:590:03:03

with that mammalian speciality, milk.

0:03:030:03:07

And while she does so, she shields him from the worst of the blizzard.

0:03:070:03:11

She has worked hard throughout the winter to prevent her breathing hole

0:03:370:03:41

in the ice from freezing over.

0:03:410:03:43

That requires constant attention -

0:03:540:03:56

filing back the edges of the hole with her teeth.

0:03:560:03:59

Her pup needs to join her under the ice as soon as he can swim properly.

0:04:070:04:11

She encourages him to take his first plunge, but,

0:04:150:04:18

hardly surprisingly, he is not keen.

0:04:180:04:21

Now, guided by his mother, he has to learn how to hunt underwater,

0:04:430:04:48

and to find his way back through the maze to his hole in the ice.

0:04:480:04:52

A warm body, fur, milk and maternal care are essential

0:05:080:05:14

for the Weddell seal's survival in this freezing environment.

0:05:140:05:18

And those qualities have helped the mammals

0:05:200:05:24

to colonise the entire globe.

0:05:240:05:27

Equatorial East Africa.

0:05:360:05:38

It's hard to image a place more different from Antarctica.

0:05:400:05:44

To survive here, mammals need additional talents.

0:05:460:05:51

This tree shelters the territory of a tiny mammal

0:05:530:05:57

that spends its whole life in frenzied activity.

0:05:570:06:01

It used to be called an elephant shrew,

0:06:030:06:06

but now it's called by its African name of sengi.

0:06:060:06:09

This is a female rufous sengi.

0:06:160:06:20

And, like all sengis, she's so active, she's permanently hungry.

0:06:220:06:26

To get all the food she needs,

0:06:290:06:31

she has to be both industrious and ingenious.

0:06:310:06:34

She has made an intricate network of trails

0:06:410:06:44

that enable her to hunt her insect prey very efficiently.

0:06:440:06:49

But these pathways have another important function

0:06:500:06:54

when she meets her enemies.

0:06:540:06:56

Having a map of these trails in her head can mean the difference

0:07:280:07:32

between life...

0:07:320:07:33

..and death.

0:07:360:07:37

Like most mammals, and unlike reptiles,

0:07:420:07:45

her legs are directly beneath her body.

0:07:450:07:48

That makes her less stable, but much faster and more agile.

0:07:490:07:53

Not only has she outrun this reptile, she's outwitted him.

0:08:120:08:17

And just as well,

0:08:230:08:24

for she is a mother and has a youngster to care for.

0:08:240:08:28

The sengi relies on speed and cunning for its success.

0:08:370:08:41

Other mammals have very different techniques.

0:08:410:08:44

ANIMALS CALL OUT

0:08:490:08:53

Here in Madagascar,

0:08:530:08:54

one of the most bizarre of all mammals is on the prowl.

0:08:540:08:59

The aye-aye, like the sengi, lives on insects.

0:09:070:09:10

But the ones that she seeks, she can't see,

0:09:110:09:15

for they're buried deep inside branches.

0:09:150:09:18

They're beetle grubs.

0:09:180:09:20

To find them, she has a special talent.

0:09:230:09:27

She taps her fingers on the wood up to eight times a second,

0:09:270:09:31

and listens for the tiny change in resonance

0:09:310:09:33

that indicates a hollow spot within.

0:09:330:09:37

Her hearing is so acute, she can identify the precise position

0:09:370:09:41

in which to gnaw a hole in order to reach the grub.

0:09:410:09:45

And she has a grotesquely long middle finger

0:09:470:09:51

with which to skewer it.

0:09:510:09:52

It takes a young aye-aye four years to perfect this technique.

0:10:040:10:10

But once it has done so,

0:10:100:10:12

it can collect prey that no other mammal can reach.

0:10:120:10:15

The Arctic tundra.

0:10:350:10:37

Food is hard to find here too.

0:10:370:10:40

Indeed, this land is so barren that few large animals can live here.

0:10:400:10:43

Yet one mammal has found a way to do so.

0:10:470:10:50

It's late spring,

0:11:020:11:03

and as the mounting strength of the sun warms the land,

0:11:030:11:07

eight million reindeer move north.

0:11:070:11:10

But the vegetation is so meagre

0:11:220:11:24

that the only way the herds can get enough

0:11:240:11:26

is to keep constantly on the move.

0:11:260:11:29

Newborn calves soon discover

0:11:360:11:38

that they will have to spend every day walking in search of food.

0:11:380:11:42

They have extraordinary endurance.

0:11:450:11:47

Some of these animals, before they die,

0:11:470:11:50

will have trekked for a distance

0:11:500:11:52

equivalent to three times around the earth.

0:11:520:11:55

Grazing is now at its best.

0:11:590:12:02

But this also the time when the reindeer' worst enemy appears...

0:12:020:12:06

BUZZING

0:12:070:12:09

Biting flies.

0:12:090:12:10

The flies not only drive them to distraction,

0:12:130:12:15

but they can drain a pint of blood each day.

0:12:150:12:19

But the reindeer have a defensive strategy.

0:12:290:12:33

Each individual tries to push its way into the centre of a group

0:12:390:12:43

where there are fewer flies.

0:12:430:12:44

With all this pushing and jostling,

0:13:010:13:03

mothers need to keep their calves close.

0:13:030:13:06

Sometimes the flies become so bad

0:13:130:13:16

the reindeer can stand them no longer

0:13:160:13:18

and they bolt to higher ground where the flies can't follow.

0:13:180:13:22

But the price of escape can be high.

0:14:180:14:21

In the rush, one mother has lost her calf.

0:14:240:14:27

REINDEER CALLS OUT

0:14:290:14:31

Others have already found it.

0:14:510:14:54

BIRDS CALL OUT

0:14:550:14:57

The herd has long since moved on,

0:15:090:15:11

but her maternal instinct is so strong

0:15:110:15:14

she'll stay to search for her missing calf for days.

0:15:140:15:18

The reindeer are free from flies for now,

0:15:210:15:25

but with no food on these high slopes,

0:15:250:15:29

they will eventually be forced to descend to find new pastures

0:15:290:15:32

and face the biting swarms once more.

0:15:320:15:36

No animal makes a longer migration across the lands of the earth

0:15:390:15:44

than these mammals.

0:15:440:15:45

Other mammals have found a more economic way

0:15:530:15:57

of travelling huge distances and at greater speed.

0:15:570:16:01

They go by air.

0:16:010:16:03

BIRDS CHIRP

0:16:080:16:10

Giant straw-coloured fruit bats

0:16:320:16:34

inhabit the great forests of the Congo.

0:16:340:16:37

Their wings are nearly a metre across.

0:16:420:16:45

In late October every year,

0:16:510:16:53

they set off on a long journey across the forest canopy.

0:16:530:16:56

Flocks of hundreds become thousands.

0:17:020:17:04

And tens of thousands become hundreds of thousands.

0:17:120:17:16

They are fast and powerful fliers

0:17:200:17:22

and can travel a thousand miles in just a few nights.

0:17:220:17:26

THUNDER RUMBLES

0:17:260:17:28

How they know where and when to travel is a mystery,

0:17:340:17:38

but they all end up in one place - Kasanka, a remote swamp in Zambia.

0:17:380:17:44

There are ten million of them here.

0:17:520:17:55

They crowd together in just one small patch of forest,

0:18:090:18:12

no bigger than two or three football pitches.

0:18:120:18:16

And here they take up residence for a few weeks.

0:18:160:18:19

It's the largest fruit bat roost on Earth.

0:18:190:18:22

After their long journey, they need to rest and relax.

0:18:360:18:41

The roost is so crowded that complete strangers rub shoulders,

0:18:500:18:54

and even snuggle up together.

0:18:540:18:56

As evening approaches,

0:19:000:19:02

they prepare to reap the reward for their long journey.

0:19:020:19:05

They've come from all over Central Africa to this one place,

0:19:190:19:22

because here,

0:19:220:19:24

at this time of the year,

0:19:240:19:25

there is an extraordinary glut of mangoes and other fruit.

0:19:250:19:29

Streaming out from the roost, they set off to collect it.

0:19:310:19:35

Each bat guzzles at least two kilos' worth of fruit every night.

0:20:060:20:11

In just a few weeks, this mega-roost

0:20:150:20:17

will devour more than a billion separate fruits.

0:20:170:20:21

It's only the power of flight that allows these mammals

0:20:230:20:27

to travel so far and so fast that they can reap such a brief harvest.

0:20:270:20:32

After six weeks, the trees have been stripped of their fruit.

0:20:340:20:39

Then, once again, the immense aerial armada takes to the air,

0:20:390:20:44

each bat returning to its own particular patch

0:20:440:20:48

of the vast Congo forests.

0:20:480:20:50

The land mammals of Africa

0:21:300:21:32

also travel together in stupendous numbers.

0:21:320:21:35

The herds that graze the East African plains

0:21:380:21:41

are not nearly the size they were a century ago,

0:21:410:21:44

but they are still immense.

0:21:440:21:46

Grazing together is a good defence.

0:21:490:21:53

There's safety in numbers.

0:21:530:21:54

But hunting together also brings advantages.

0:21:550:21:59

LION SNARLS

0:21:590:22:01

This hyena, however, is searching for food on her own.

0:22:060:22:11

She needs to be careful.

0:22:130:22:16

But she smells food.

0:22:220:22:24

And she takes risks.

0:22:250:22:28

HYENA YOWLS

0:22:340:22:36

HYENA SHRIEKS

0:22:500:22:52

Bruised and bloodied, she is lucky to have survived her mistake.

0:23:330:23:37

But she's not totally defeated -

0:23:420:23:44

she belongs to a clan.

0:23:440:23:47

A call to arms rings out through the night.

0:23:470:23:50

HYENA CALLS OUT

0:23:500:23:54

Reinforcements assemble.

0:23:590:24:01

Every adult in the clan responds.

0:24:070:24:09

If a clan attack together, they have a chance of challenging the lions.

0:24:170:24:22

HYENAS CALL OUT

0:24:220:24:24

LION SNARLS

0:24:300:24:32

It's a clan against a pride, each at full strength.

0:24:380:24:42

And the clan outnumbers the pride.

0:24:450:24:49

The combined power of the hyenas

0:25:250:25:27

eventually forces the lions to retreat.

0:25:270:25:30

Attacking as a coherent team

0:25:320:25:34

requires a high degree of social cooperation,

0:25:340:25:38

and that is another of the mammals' specialities.

0:25:380:25:42

Social bonds between mammals begin

0:25:530:25:56

when mothers feed their young on milk.

0:25:560:25:59

And few look after their young with greater care

0:26:000:26:04

than the mammal which dominates this landscape.

0:26:040:26:07

A female polar bear is trying to find food for her cubs.

0:26:110:26:15

But this is a particularly

0:26:170:26:18

difficult time of the year.

0:26:180:26:20

The sea ice on which she hunts is melting beneath her feet.

0:26:220:26:27

She must look for food on land.

0:26:270:26:30

They're all safely ashore, but they could still face months of hunger.

0:27:050:27:10

Finding food is not so easy on this cold and barren coast.

0:27:100:27:16

The search may be a long one.

0:27:160:27:20

Polar bears have an extraordinarily sensitive sense of smell.

0:27:260:27:30

And she has caught a faint whiff of something promising.

0:27:300:27:35

It's the immense carcass of a bowhead whale.

0:27:470:27:51

A whale carcass could provide more than any one family could eat.

0:27:540:27:59

But they're not the first here to find it...

0:28:010:28:04

by any means.

0:28:040:28:07

The smell has brought in bears from miles away.

0:28:120:28:15

ROARING

0:28:150:28:17

Bear families seldom get on with one another.

0:28:200:28:23

She's taking a risk bringing her cubs here.

0:28:330:28:37

Male bears can, and do, kill and eat small cubs.

0:28:410:28:45

ROARING

0:28:500:28:51

Another family challenges her.

0:28:510:28:53

She must decide whether to compete for food, or run away and go hungry.

0:29:010:29:07

She keeps her cubs close to her and stands her ground.

0:29:160:29:20

Their mother's courage has won the cubs a meal.

0:29:330:29:38

Living as a family may bring rewards,

0:30:040:30:07

but it can also create problems, for siblings can also become rivals.

0:30:070:30:12

A coati - a South American relative of the racoon.

0:30:150:30:19

These babies were born in a nest high in a tree,

0:30:240:30:28

and are about to come down to the ground for the first time.

0:30:280:30:31

Some more reluctantly than others.

0:30:370:30:40

Once on the ground, the mother coati rounds her babies up

0:30:590:31:04

and takes them away to join a single large group.

0:31:040:31:07

Together, these families form a gang up to 40 strong.

0:31:110:31:16

Once again, numbers bring safety.

0:31:220:31:25

The first to spot danger will warn everyone.

0:31:250:31:28

But keeping order isn't easy,

0:31:420:31:44

and when they find food, it's a free-for-all.

0:31:440:31:47

Meerkats in the Kalahari Desert

0:32:050:32:07

also live in large groups, but they are rather more organised.

0:32:070:32:11

Each family band is controlled by a queen,

0:32:340:32:37

who is nearly always the only female to breed.

0:32:370:32:40

She has been kept very busy suckling her five pups,

0:32:430:32:47

and it's high time they became more independent.

0:32:470:32:51

Today is the new brood's first trip to get breakfast for themselves.

0:32:530:32:59

It takes weeks for youngsters to learn how to find food.

0:33:090:33:13

MEERKAT SQUEAKS

0:33:170:33:19

This one is trying to catch ants,

0:33:190:33:21

but hasn't quite grasped the necessary technique.

0:33:210:33:26

But this youngster has persuaded an adult to show him what to do.

0:33:310:33:36

The tutor is not his parent, just an enthusiastic instructor,

0:33:370:33:41

and one who will adapt his lessons to the ability of his student.

0:33:410:33:46

This new one is a beginner,

0:33:480:33:50

so he starts with something easy - how to dig for insect larvae.

0:33:500:33:55

Other meals, like this one, are much trickier.

0:34:080:34:12

So the tutor disables the scorpion's sting

0:34:120:34:16

before he lets the youngster tackle it.

0:34:160:34:18

The family also cooperates in defence.

0:34:360:34:39

Every member does a tour of guard duty, keeping an eye out for danger.

0:34:400:34:46

So, while one watches,

0:34:460:34:48

everyone else can rest.

0:34:480:34:51

And, on warm days, one can easily nod off.

0:34:570:35:02

The secret of meerkats' success

0:35:300:35:33

is that everyone takes a turn in communal duties.

0:35:330:35:36

But many mammals do more than just share their workload.

0:35:560:36:00

Some can share their knowledge, and do so across several generations.

0:36:000:36:07

Elephant survival depends on profiting

0:36:080:36:12

from the experience of many lifetimes.

0:36:120:36:15

This baby elephant was born last night,

0:36:180:36:21

and the whole herd seems to welcome this new addition.

0:36:210:36:25

But the mother is young and inexperienced.

0:36:280:36:31

This is her first baby.

0:36:310:36:33

If she is to produce milk, a mother must drink.

0:36:530:36:56

And the newborn calf must keep up with her

0:36:560:36:59

as the herd continues on their long journey to find water.

0:36:590:37:03

After five miles, the calf is flagging.

0:37:060:37:10

Enough is enough.

0:37:140:37:16

The young mother encourages her calf to continue,

0:37:250:37:28

but there is still a long way to go,

0:37:280:37:30

and the calf is already getting dehydrated.

0:37:300:37:33

The elephants are now so close to water that they can smell it.

0:38:010:38:05

Water, at last.

0:38:310:38:32

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

0:38:340:38:36

This is the calf's first encounter with a waterhole.

0:38:550:38:58

She's not sure what to make of it or, indeed, how to get out of it.

0:39:000:39:04

Her mother tries to help her,

0:39:120:39:14

but she has no experience of dealing with babies.

0:39:140:39:17

BABY ELEPHANT CRIES OUT

0:39:180:39:20

As the herd moves deeper into the swamp, the calf follows,

0:39:260:39:31

but now she is in real trouble.

0:39:310:39:33

BABY ELEPHANT CRIES OUT

0:39:380:39:40

Elephant babies can, and do, get permanently stuck in deep mud.

0:39:420:39:47

Her mother's attempts to help her baby are only making matters worse.

0:40:120:40:17

It's stuck beneath her and she's pushing it deeper still.

0:40:170:40:21

But now the baby's grandmother spots the problem and steps in.

0:40:240:40:29

MUFFLED THUMP

0:40:360:40:37

MOTHER TRUMPETS

0:40:370:40:39

Drastic action! She pushes mother out of the way

0:40:390:40:42

with an unceremonious poke in the rump,

0:40:420:40:44

and enables her granddaughter to scramble free.

0:40:440:40:48

Mother and calf have learned a valuable lesson from grandma.

0:40:540:40:58

Such passing of wisdom across generations

0:41:010:41:04

has been an important element in the survival of elephants.

0:41:040:41:08

The largest animal on land, the elephant is a mammal.

0:41:240:41:29

And so are the largest animals in the sea.

0:41:310:41:35

A female humpback whale and her calf.

0:41:490:41:53

Every few years, she will travel 3,000 miles,

0:41:550:41:59

from the rich waters of the Antarctic

0:41:590:42:02

to these warm, but comparatively sterile, waters of the Pacific

0:42:020:42:06

to give birth to a single calf.

0:42:060:42:09

The seas around Tonga are not only a nursery for humpbacks,

0:42:360:42:42

but also their mating ground.

0:42:420:42:45

WHALE CALLS OUT

0:42:450:42:48

This 50-year-old female has come here to seek the best partner,

0:42:570:43:02

and she starts by announcing her arrival to potential suitors.

0:43:020:43:06

One by one, the males arrive.

0:43:300:43:33

But as they do, she swims away,

0:43:460:43:49

compelling her half a dozen or so suitors to follow her.

0:43:490:43:54

She leads, while the males jockey for position behind her.

0:44:060:44:12

WHALE BELLOWS

0:44:120:44:14

The males bellow threats to one another,

0:44:140:44:17

creating huge plumes of bubbles.

0:44:170:44:19

So far, it has been a relatively gentle affair.

0:44:280:44:33

Now the competition becomes serious.

0:44:330:44:35

Hour after hour, the males battle for position, right behind her.

0:44:380:44:42

And now the 40-tonne males begin to smash into one another.

0:45:040:45:09

This is the most massive battle in all nature.

0:45:310:45:36

Rival males can kill one another.

0:45:360:45:38

As the conflict reaches its climax,

0:45:480:45:52

they try to force each other downwards.

0:45:520:45:54

At last, a victor takes his place alongside the female

0:46:130:46:17

and remains unchallenged.

0:46:170:46:20

By inciting the males to fight,

0:46:230:46:26

the female has secured the best mate for herself -

0:46:260:46:30

the one who is most likely to father the strongest offspring.

0:46:300:46:35

Together, the couple dive to the depths.

0:46:480:46:51

But still, no-one knows where they will mate.

0:46:520:46:56

All mammals, including ourselves,

0:47:230:47:26

share a set of winning characteristics.

0:47:260:47:30

Warm bodies, extraordinary senses and highly-developed intelligence -

0:47:350:47:42

and those qualities have contributed to their, and our, success.

0:47:420:47:48

But perhaps the most important characteristic of all

0:47:530:47:56

lies in the strength of our family ties.

0:47:560:47:59

It is the mammal family that has conquered the earth.

0:48:020:48:07

Tonga is famous for humpback whales,

0:48:400:48:43

but even here, finding and filming whales in the open ocean

0:48:430:48:47

would prove challenging.

0:48:470:48:49

For the Life team,

0:48:490:48:50

capturing the humpback whales' unique mating contest,

0:48:500:48:54

known as a heat run,

0:48:540:48:55

would need local knowledge, hours on the water, and a big slice of luck.

0:48:550:49:01

We've heard that one of the boats further inland

0:49:010:49:05

has seen a female with a calf and an escort,

0:49:050:49:09

which is something which might build to, hopefully, a heat run,

0:49:090:49:13

so we're gonna head over there and take a look.

0:49:130:49:15

Any adult female with a calf could be coming into season,

0:49:150:49:20

and so might be a target for amorous males.

0:49:200:49:22

When we got there, I was pretty excited,

0:49:230:49:25

a little bit nervous, didn't know what to expect.

0:49:250:49:28

Once I got in the water and dived down,

0:49:310:49:34

it was surprisingly quiet and mellow.

0:49:340:49:36

Certainly didn't expect what happened next.

0:49:380:49:41

The calf just came straight up towards me.

0:49:410:49:43

She seemed really relaxed, and definitely interested in me.

0:50:110:50:15

It's literally just swimming around within metres of them,

0:50:220:50:26

flicking its tail, just being inquisitive I think,

0:50:260:50:29

and having a bit of fun.

0:50:290:50:30

It's obviously quite young,

0:50:360:50:37

so it's staying on the surface quite a long time.

0:50:370:50:40

It's not diving down for very long,

0:50:400:50:41

maybe a couple of minutes. The mother will be

0:50:410:50:44

about five or ten metres below just keeping an eye on it.

0:50:440:50:47

But even a calf has great power in its fins and tail.

0:50:570:51:00

Roger will need to be careful.

0:51:000:51:04

Got it?

0:51:140:51:16

That was the most silly thing I've ever seen in my life.

0:51:180:51:23

It was just gambolling around like a little newborn lamb.

0:51:230:51:27

But it's two tonnes.

0:51:270:51:28

THEY LAUGH

0:51:280:51:30

Couple of bumps as it's come round, splashed his fluke at me or whatever.

0:51:300:51:34

I got a great shot of it, Jason.

0:51:340:51:36

Jason was backpedalling like this!

0:51:360:51:39

It's just a baby. Like a little puppy,

0:51:420:51:44

you're playing with a little puppy, but it's four metres long.

0:51:440:51:47

-It's just ludicrous.

-Was his mum all right?

0:51:470:51:51

She is just totally chilling out underneath.

0:51:510:51:53

Pecs back. Just hanging like this at about 15 metres.

0:51:530:51:57

Yeah, just hanging there.

0:51:570:51:59

Probably didn't even see it, I don't think.

0:51:590:52:01

It's one thing to be close to a playful baby.

0:52:040:52:07

It will be another to be in the path

0:52:070:52:09

of a testosterone-charged group of males,

0:52:090:52:12

each ten times her size.

0:52:120:52:16

MUTTERED CONVERSATION

0:52:160:52:18

There are enough males here for a heat run, but are they in the mood?

0:52:210:52:26

Oh!

0:52:270:52:28

-Woo-hoo!

-Yes!

0:52:280:52:30

That was pretty good.

0:52:330:52:34

When you guys are ready.

0:52:380:52:39

Quick as you can.

0:52:410:52:42

These whales can weigh up to 40 tonnes and move surprisingly quickly.

0:52:510:52:55

As well as getting the camera to get the shots -

0:52:550:52:57

they have to be fairly close -

0:52:570:52:58

we have to be careful they don't get bumped.

0:52:580:53:01

If they get a knock from one of these guys,

0:53:010:53:03

it could do some serious damage.

0:53:030:53:05

He's right towards you.

0:53:120:53:13

To avoid disturbing the whales' behaviour,

0:53:130:53:16

the team need to free-dive, without scuba tanks,

0:53:160:53:22

holding their breath as long as they can.

0:53:220:53:24

On a good dive, I can hold my breath for maybe two minutes.

0:53:240:53:28

These guys, they can go for 20 minutes or more

0:53:280:53:31

before they have to come up for air.

0:53:310:53:33

There's no contest.

0:53:330:53:34

More and more whales are gathering,

0:53:340:53:37

but it's not turning into a heat run yet.

0:53:370:53:40

Hard to say what's going on.

0:53:480:53:50

Were there five that time?

0:53:510:53:54

They're kind of moving around, coming up and under and over.

0:53:560:54:00

Hopefully, something's starting to happen.

0:54:000:54:02

Maybe love's in the air?

0:54:020:54:03

HE CHUCKLES

0:54:030:54:05

Love may be in the air, but it isn't in the water.

0:54:090:54:13

Despite keeping tabs on the whales over the next ten days,

0:54:130:54:17

there was still no sign of a heat run starting.

0:54:170:54:19

You'd think it'd be quite easy to keep track of a 40-tonne animal.

0:54:190:54:23

And we've got six of them out here,

0:54:230:54:26

and we keep losing them. One minute they're there,

0:54:260:54:29

we get up reasonably close,

0:54:290:54:30

and within 30 seconds, they've dived and they're gone again.

0:54:300:54:34

And then it takes another maybe five minutes, ten minutes,

0:54:340:54:37

and then they'll come up again and they'll be 300 yards away,

0:54:370:54:41

and it takes ages just to get close to them.

0:54:410:54:43

So we're just playing a continuous game of cat and mouse.

0:54:430:54:47

Cat and mouse? It's whales.

0:54:490:54:52

The mating season is coming to an end,

0:54:530:54:56

and the crew haven't completed their mission.

0:54:560:54:59

But then, at last, the whales' behaviour seems to have changed.

0:54:590:55:03

Well, this is it!

0:55:050:55:06

We just spotted about six or seven humpbacks on the horizon.

0:55:060:55:09

We think it's a heat run.

0:55:090:55:11

The last 16, 17 days on the water

0:55:110:55:14

are probably gonna come down to the next two hours,

0:55:140:55:17

as to whether we get our shots or not.

0:55:170:55:19

The chase is on!

0:55:190:55:21

There was at least three or four males going past -

0:55:480:55:51

they were competing and knocking into each other

0:55:510:55:53

as they tried to get the poll position behind the female.

0:55:530:55:56

It's right at you, it's right at you.

0:55:560:55:59

The whales are moving so fast that, to stand any chance of filming them,

0:55:590:56:03

the crew needs to be dropped right in front of the charging group.

0:56:030:56:07

Just as Roger gets alongside the males,

0:56:220:56:25

the tempo of the chase suddenly shifts to full bore

0:56:250:56:28

with a flick of a tail.

0:56:280:56:29

Facing the charging males deep underwater, Roger keeps shooting,

0:56:440:56:49

holding his breath until the group pass over.

0:56:490:56:51

A quick gasp of air, and Roger's back down again.

0:57:000:57:04

The whales continue to rush by.

0:57:140:57:17

In the end, Roger just can't keep up any longer.

0:57:170:57:20

Exhausted, it's time to return to the boat for the last time.

0:57:270:57:33

Amazing! That was the most amazing experience I've ever had.

0:57:330:57:36

There was about...

0:57:360:57:38

seven or eight. Both dived down about 20 metres in front.

0:57:380:57:43

And then the female came through first, quite close.

0:57:430:57:47

And then they all just started diving towards me,

0:57:470:57:49

it was like standing in a stream of traffic.

0:57:490:57:52

It was just one one side, one the next side, one the next side.

0:57:520:57:55

And then, after about 40 seconds,

0:57:550:57:57

40, 45 seconds, I was getting a little bit out of breath.

0:57:570:58:01

And then I looked up, and there's one sitting right on top of me.

0:58:010:58:06

-Did you get it?

-I think so. Hope so.

0:58:060:58:09

If not, then we're both fired!

0:58:090:58:11

It's taken 18 days and hundreds of dives,

0:58:130:58:18

but at last the team have been able to reveal a secret

0:58:180:58:21

of these whales' lives that few people have ever seen.

0:58:210:58:25

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:440:58:47

E-mail [email protected]

0:58:470:58:50

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS