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The coast. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:38 | |
Nature's most demanding hunting ground. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:41 | |
So hazardous that few predators stay here all year. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:53 | |
This frontier between sea and land is continuously changing. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:08 | |
Opportunities never last long. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
To hunt at the coast, you have to be in the right place | 0:01:23 | 0:01:28 | |
at just the right time. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:30 | |
On the east coast of America, in the tidal creeks of South Carolina, | 0:01:46 | 0:01:51 | |
a team of hunters is about to leave the safety of their natural habitat. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:56 | |
This group of bottlenose dolphins has perfected | 0:02:18 | 0:02:22 | |
a unique hunting strategy. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:24 | |
It relies on teamwork, intelligence and timing. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:32 | |
But beaching themselves like this is also difficult and dangerous. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:47 | |
Hunting is only possible for three hours around low tide, | 0:03:06 | 0:03:10 | |
when the mud banks are exposed. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:12 | |
Razor-sharp oysters cover much of the shore. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:22 | |
Beaching here could be lethal. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:24 | |
The hunters need to find a stretch of shoreline | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
with just the right slope. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
Too level and the dolphins risk stranding. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
Too steep and they can't force their prey from the water. | 0:03:50 | 0:03:54 | |
Working as a team, the dolphins surround the fish, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:10 | |
driving them towards the shore. | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
Attacking in perfect synchrony, the dolphins create a bow wave. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:39 | |
It carries their prey onto the muddy banks. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
Other fish-eaters profit from their daring. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
Herons and gulls follow every hunt. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
To get to the fish first, | 0:05:27 | 0:05:29 | |
the dolphins drive themselves high up the bank. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
But if they go too far, they risk stranding. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:36 | |
To prevent fish escaping between them, | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
the dolphins all beach themselves on the same side. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
Always the right. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:01 | |
But this has a cost - | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
each time they grab a fish, they also take in a mouthful of mud. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:09 | |
The grit gradually wears down their teeth... | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
..but on one side only. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:21 | |
In time, these teeth get so worn down that older dolphins can no | 0:06:27 | 0:06:32 | |
longer hunt like this and must find other ways to catch fish. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:36 | |
Within a few hours, the banks will vanish once again | 0:06:51 | 0:06:56 | |
beneath the muddy water. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
The ebb and flow of the tide dominates the lives of all | 0:07:04 | 0:07:08 | |
who try to hunt on the coast. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:11 | |
Northern Australia has the highest tides in the tropics, | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
which expose vast areas of shoreline. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
And here lives a truly extraordinary species of octopus. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
Octopuses are marine animals - they live and breathe underwater. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:55 | |
At low tide, most octopuses would be imprisoned in their rocky pools. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:07 | |
But this is no ordinary octopus. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
It's the only one specially adapted to walk on land. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:54 | |
It pulls itself along, | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
using the hundreds of tiny suckers that line its arms. | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
Hunting for crabs, it walks from pool to pool. | 0:09:08 | 0:09:12 | |
Apart from a rather startled fish... | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
..this one is empty. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
So the octopus moves on. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:45 | |
A rock pool may seem like a safe refuge. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
But the octopus' suckers enable it to move | 0:10:13 | 0:10:17 | |
just as stealthily in water as out of it. | 0:10:17 | 0:10:20 | |
CRUNCHING | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
Nowhere is safe when this octopus is around. | 0:11:00 | 0:11:04 | |
Everything living here must march to the rhythm of the coast. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:13 | |
Regiments of soldier crabs, several thousand strong, | 0:11:43 | 0:11:47 | |
march and counter-march across these Australian beaches. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:52 | |
They sift out microscopic food. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
But they can only feed for a few hours while the sand remains damp. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
And it's not just the tide they're racing against. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:19 | |
Hunting birds follow in their wake. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
But the army is undeterred. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
They swarm in such huge numbers | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
that their predators make little impact upon them. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:46 | |
But safety in numbers isn't the only defence on these flats. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
Another crab here has a different strategy. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
The sand bubbler crab - no bigger than a pea. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
They also sift out tiny food particles | 0:13:08 | 0:13:11 | |
and then leave the sand as pellets in their wake. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:15 | |
Sand bubblers are wary and never venture far from their burrows. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:25 | |
The crabs position their sand balls very carefully | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
to ensure there is a clear path back to safety. | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
As soon as the coast is clear, they're off again, | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
racing to feed before the sand dries out. | 0:14:06 | 0:14:09 | |
The industry of thousands transforms the whole beach... | 0:14:26 | 0:14:30 | |
..until the tide returns once more. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
Few hunters make the coast their permanent home - | 0:14:45 | 0:14:49 | |
most only visit to take advantage of short-lived opportunities. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:54 | |
On the coast of Thailand, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:02 | |
a most unlikely visitor waits for the tide to ebb. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:07 | |
Long-tailed macaques feed mostly on fruit and leaves in the forest. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:27 | |
But these have learnt to supplement their vegetarian diet with seafood. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:33 | |
As the tide begins to fall, the macaques make their way | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
down to the shore - a beach-side restaurant is about to open. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:45 | |
There's plenty of food here, if you know how to get at it. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:02 | |
The macaques have learnt to use heavy rocks as tools | 0:16:08 | 0:16:12 | |
to break open the sea snails. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:14 | |
It takes a great deal of skill to master this technique, | 0:16:17 | 0:16:21 | |
but not everyone has got the hang of it. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:25 | |
You have to be ingenious to make a living at the coast. | 0:16:56 | 0:17:00 | |
As the tide falls still further, it reveals the next course. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:07 | |
To feed on this dish, | 0:17:12 | 0:17:14 | |
they need a stone tool with a very particular shape. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
They're after rock oysters. | 0:17:19 | 0:17:21 | |
To crack the shells open, they must strike the oyster | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
in just the right place with their chosen tool. | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
The lowest tide reveals a course that is particularly delicious... | 0:17:51 | 0:17:56 | |
..but also very hard to collect. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:01 | |
Crabs have good eyesight and can move fast. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:19 | |
So catching them requires a special trick. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:23 | |
Before pouncing, the macaques wait for a wave to obscure their attack. | 0:18:29 | 0:18:33 | |
Macaques learn their skills by watching their parents. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
But some techniques do take time to perfect. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
And time and tide waits for no macaque. | 0:19:26 | 0:19:30 | |
The returning water closes the beach restaurant for another day. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:46 | |
It's not just tides that rule the lives | 0:19:59 | 0:20:02 | |
of those that live on the coast. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:03 | |
The shores of Chile are battered | 0:20:09 | 0:20:11 | |
by some of the wildest and coldest seas. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:15 | |
This coastline is home to a remarkable little hunter... | 0:20:21 | 0:20:25 | |
..the South American marine otter. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
The world's smallest sea mammal. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
This rare and elusive otter is half the size of its European cousin. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:50 | |
They live along the Pacific coast of South America, | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
right down to Cape Horn at the very tip of the continent. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:09 | |
Surprisingly, the pounding breakers | 0:21:14 | 0:21:16 | |
aren't a problem for the little otters... | 0:21:16 | 0:21:20 | |
..but the cold water is. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:23 | |
A continuous frigid current sweeps up from Antarctica. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:32 | |
A small body loses heat faster than a large one, and so these tiny | 0:21:41 | 0:21:46 | |
otters can only hunt in the chilly water for 20 minutes at a time. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:51 | |
But their small size enables them to reach the fish and crabs | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
that hide amongst the boulders. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:02 | |
To stay warm, marine otters have to eat a quarter of their body weight | 0:22:15 | 0:22:20 | |
in seafood every single day. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:23 | |
And things are particularly hard for this female | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
because her cubs aren't yet old enough to hunt for themselves. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:38 | |
Before each fishing trip she rolls in seaweed, | 0:22:50 | 0:22:54 | |
trapping air in her fur, | 0:22:54 | 0:22:56 | |
so insulating herself from the chill of the seas. | 0:22:56 | 0:23:00 | |
The cold isn't her only challenge. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
Being so small, these otters can only hold their breath | 0:23:14 | 0:23:17 | |
for about a minute, making every dive a race against time. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:22 | |
This otter lives on a calorific knife-edge, | 0:23:31 | 0:23:35 | |
often only getting enough from one hunting trip to fuel the next. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:39 | |
Success - a meal for the youngsters. | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
These otters spend their entire lives at the coast, | 0:24:42 | 0:24:46 | |
so they must accept its day-to-day challenges. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:50 | |
But coasts pulse to much more than just the daily rhythms. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:55 | |
On the shores of Alaska, | 0:25:20 | 0:25:22 | |
a spectacular annual event is about to take place. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:26 | |
Each July, predators gather for the biggest feast of the year... | 0:25:30 | 0:25:36 | |
but it will only last a few weeks. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
Brown bears come down from the hills. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
Wolves appear out of the woods. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:55 | |
And seals assemble in the ocean. | 0:25:57 | 0:25:59 | |
The coast is the only place where hunters from the sea | 0:26:02 | 0:26:05 | |
meet those from land and air. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:08 | |
Bears have a sense of smell 2,000 times better than ours | 0:26:11 | 0:26:16 | |
and can even detect prey out at sea. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:19 | |
They know the salmon are coming. | 0:26:22 | 0:26:25 | |
BARKING | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
They also know the best fishing spots... | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
..and are prepared to fight for them. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
GROWLING | 0:26:44 | 0:26:46 | |
GROWLING | 0:26:56 | 0:26:58 | |
After years feeding out in the Pacific, | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
the salmon are returning to spawn. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
But before they head upriver, | 0:27:16 | 0:27:17 | |
they must pause and modify their bodies to function in fresh water. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:22 | |
The young and overeager try to catch the salmon | 0:27:32 | 0:27:35 | |
while they're still in the surf. | 0:27:35 | 0:27:37 | |
Those with experience are more patient. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:43 | |
After six months of starvation in a winter den, | 0:27:48 | 0:27:51 | |
all this food is just too tempting for the youngster. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:55 | |
Wise old bears wait for the salmon to move into the river, | 0:28:14 | 0:28:18 | |
where they know the fishing will be easier. | 0:28:18 | 0:28:21 | |
The incoming tide signals a change. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:28 | |
The experienced bears now take up their prized fishing spots | 0:28:32 | 0:28:36 | |
at the mouth of the river. | 0:28:36 | 0:28:38 | |
The salmon are finally here. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
As the fish are funnelled into shallower water, | 0:28:47 | 0:28:50 | |
a seal gets its chance. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:52 | |
The wolves will have to wait. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
Bears dominate the river-mouth. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:29 | |
These bears rely on the salmon run | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
for nearly 90% of their year's food. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:05 | |
Most of the salmon make it upstream past the bears, | 0:30:11 | 0:30:15 | |
but now they must run the gauntlet of wolves. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:19 | |
The salmon will sustain the wolves through the rest of the summer. | 0:30:56 | 0:31:01 | |
The sheer abundance of this seasonal bounty | 0:31:04 | 0:31:08 | |
has made these bears the largest in North America. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:12 | |
Estuaries are the meeting place of rivers and sea, | 0:31:21 | 0:31:26 | |
and they're vital staging points for migrating birds. | 0:31:26 | 0:31:30 | |
In Europe, each autumn, they're visited by millions of waders. | 0:31:33 | 0:31:38 | |
The birds are returning from their breeding grounds in the Arctic | 0:31:42 | 0:31:45 | |
to overwinter in Africa, and are stopping off to refuel. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:50 | |
Knot can only feed when the mudflats are exposed. | 0:31:56 | 0:32:00 | |
At high tide, they're forced onshore | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
where they must wait for the tide to turn and reopen the larder. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:09 | |
A peregrine falcon. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:21 | |
BIRDS SQUAWK | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
Young peregrines come to these estuaries in autumn... | 0:32:40 | 0:32:44 | |
to hunt waders. | 0:32:44 | 0:32:46 | |
Peregrines are the world's fastest aerial hunters, | 0:32:48 | 0:32:52 | |
but this is a very challenging environment for a young falcon. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:56 | |
It's one predator faced with thousands of prey. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:03 | |
Flashing black and white, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:09 | |
the swirling mass of wings dazzles the falcon's sensitive eyesight. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:14 | |
An individual target may be a better option. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:43 | |
A peregrine's plumage is not properly waterproof, | 0:33:54 | 0:33:58 | |
so he can't afford to get his feathers wet. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:00 | |
He must flush his prey into the air. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
But as soon as he gets close, | 0:34:13 | 0:34:14 | |
the waders ditch into the sea where he can't follow. | 0:34:14 | 0:34:18 | |
Success depends on keeping his prey away from the water. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:52 | |
Now it's a dogfight at close quarters. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:00 | |
Peregrines only stay around estuaries | 0:35:33 | 0:35:36 | |
for the few months the waders are there. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:38 | |
As soon as their prey leaves, they will head back inland. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
Some animals come to the coast, not to feed | 0:35:52 | 0:35:55 | |
but to have their young. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:57 | |
SEA LION CALLS | 0:36:10 | 0:36:12 | |
Patagonian sea lions. | 0:36:13 | 0:36:15 | |
These are just a few months old. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:19 | |
Sea lions can't give birth at sea, | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
they must come to land to have their pups. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:33 | |
Each summer, thousands cluster in colonies | 0:36:40 | 0:36:43 | |
along Argentina's Valdes Peninsula. | 0:36:43 | 0:36:46 | |
The mothers regularly return to sea to hunt... | 0:36:53 | 0:36:56 | |
..but their young stay on the beach | 0:36:57 | 0:36:59 | |
for they have not yet learnt to swim. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
Orca. Killer whales. | 0:37:28 | 0:37:31 | |
They come at exactly the same time each year to hunt the pups. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:38 | |
It's a narrow window of opportunity | 0:37:44 | 0:37:47 | |
and the odds are stacked against the hunters. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:51 | |
Just like the dolphins, | 0:38:00 | 0:38:01 | |
orca take great risks in leaving their natural habitat. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:05 | |
With every attack, there's a real danger of being stranded. | 0:38:12 | 0:38:15 | |
Orca can only hunt for a few hours each day, | 0:38:34 | 0:38:37 | |
because at low tide a rocky reef blocks their access to the beach. | 0:38:37 | 0:38:43 | |
So until the tide is high, the pups are safe. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:54 | |
Early in the season the orca have one big advantage... | 0:39:00 | 0:39:04 | |
..the pups are naive and don't yet recognise the whales as a threat. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:10 | |
But the young sea lions will learn quickly. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:20 | |
Silently, the killer whales move into position. | 0:39:25 | 0:39:29 | |
Less than half the attacks are successful | 0:39:51 | 0:39:54 | |
and with each attempt, the pups grow wiser. | 0:39:54 | 0:39:57 | |
The orca's advantage is slipping away. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:04 | |
For the next few weeks, | 0:40:18 | 0:40:20 | |
hunter and hunted are locked in a desperate race... | 0:40:20 | 0:40:25 | |
..the orca to seize pups, | 0:40:26 | 0:40:29 | |
and the sea lions to learn how to evade their attacks. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:32 | |
These young sea lions have triumphed. | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
They've learnt to recognise the danger and evade the killers. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:37 | |
For the orca, | 0:41:45 | 0:41:47 | |
the window of opportunity has closed for another season. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:51 | |
Newfoundland, Canada. | 0:42:01 | 0:42:03 | |
A unique seasonal event is about to transform this place. | 0:42:09 | 0:42:14 | |
It's the greatest coastal breeding spectacle on the planet, | 0:42:16 | 0:42:20 | |
but it'll only last a week or two. | 0:42:20 | 0:42:23 | |
Capelin. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:29 | |
Billions of them. | 0:42:29 | 0:42:30 | |
In early summer, these tiny fish mass just offshore. | 0:42:34 | 0:42:39 | |
The great shoals inevitably attract predators. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:47 | |
Humpback whales. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:55 | |
They've travelled over 3,000 miles | 0:43:07 | 0:43:10 | |
from their breeding grounds in the Caribbean. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:13 | |
Nowhere else in the world | 0:43:14 | 0:43:16 | |
do humpback whales gather to feed in greater numbers. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:19 | |
But no sooner have the whales arrived | 0:43:29 | 0:43:31 | |
than the capelin do something apparently suicidal. | 0:43:31 | 0:43:35 | |
They deliberately cast themselves ashore, | 0:43:49 | 0:43:52 | |
and, once out of water, they lay their eggs. | 0:43:52 | 0:43:56 | |
They're one of only two species of fish | 0:44:03 | 0:44:06 | |
that leave the ocean to spawn like this. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:08 | |
A fish out of water is an easy meal. | 0:44:19 | 0:44:23 | |
But capelin go to these extreme lengths | 0:44:26 | 0:44:29 | |
to give their offspring the best chance of survival. | 0:44:29 | 0:44:32 | |
For many, it's the ultimate sacrifice. | 0:44:34 | 0:44:37 | |
Cod. | 0:44:49 | 0:44:51 | |
Great numbers of them move in from deeper water | 0:44:51 | 0:44:54 | |
to plunder this brief bounty. | 0:44:54 | 0:44:57 | |
Their impact on the vast shoals is small | 0:45:02 | 0:45:05 | |
but as they hunt, the cod drive capelin off the seabed | 0:45:05 | 0:45:10 | |
and up into the range of the waiting humpbacks. | 0:45:10 | 0:45:13 | |
The whales herd the fish against the cliffs. | 0:45:28 | 0:45:31 | |
Then they unleash a secret weapon. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:49 | |
WHALE SONG | 0:45:49 | 0:45:53 | |
These bizarre calls panic the capelin, | 0:46:04 | 0:46:08 | |
driving the fish ever closer together, | 0:46:08 | 0:46:12 | |
making them a more concentrated target. | 0:46:12 | 0:46:14 | |
WHALE SONG CONTINUES | 0:46:17 | 0:46:20 | |
This bonanza will disperse within days, | 0:46:26 | 0:46:29 | |
so the humpbacks have to make the most of it while they can. | 0:46:29 | 0:46:32 | |
Hunters at the coast are always in a race against time. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:43 | |
The Hunt team came to Chile to film the world's smallest sea mammal... | 0:47:38 | 0:47:42 | |
..the South American marine otter. | 0:47:44 | 0:47:46 | |
The thing about these otters | 0:47:49 | 0:47:50 | |
is no-one really knows anything about them. | 0:47:50 | 0:47:53 | |
No-one's actually studied them for any length of time at all. | 0:47:53 | 0:47:58 | |
So Mark is going to have to work out | 0:47:58 | 0:48:00 | |
the otters' movements and habits for himself. | 0:48:00 | 0:48:02 | |
These otters have never been filmed before, | 0:48:06 | 0:48:08 | |
but Mark has a lot of experience with British otters | 0:48:08 | 0:48:11 | |
so it should be straightforward. | 0:48:11 | 0:48:13 | |
Filming them underwater, however, is a daunting prospect - | 0:48:19 | 0:48:23 | |
no-one has ever tried to dive with them. | 0:48:23 | 0:48:25 | |
It's not going to be easy. Maybe one shot a day, two shots a day | 0:48:27 | 0:48:31 | |
would be a successful trip. | 0:48:31 | 0:48:33 | |
But the underwater team has a plan. | 0:48:34 | 0:48:37 | |
Now, what we've got are these camouflaged wet suits, | 0:48:37 | 0:48:39 | |
camouflage tape on the camera, | 0:48:39 | 0:48:41 | |
just to try and help us to blend in a little bit more. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:44 | |
And so does Mark. | 0:48:44 | 0:48:45 | |
Well, you probably can't actually see me now, of course, | 0:48:45 | 0:48:48 | |
covered in camo. | 0:48:48 | 0:48:49 | |
But going to work, definitely going to work. | 0:48:49 | 0:48:51 | |
Much better than Pearson's camo wetsuit palaver! | 0:48:51 | 0:48:54 | |
Grown men dressed like that, it's ridiculous. | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
We can't just get into the water and see them | 0:49:03 | 0:49:05 | |
because they move too quickly. | 0:49:05 | 0:49:06 | |
So I've got this little comms unit inside of my mask | 0:49:06 | 0:49:09 | |
and I can listen to it underwater. | 0:49:09 | 0:49:11 | |
and Joaquin can talk to me from the search unit. | 0:49:11 | 0:49:13 | |
STATIC INTERFERENCE | 0:49:13 | 0:49:15 | |
Oh, there's one. | 0:49:15 | 0:49:16 | |
-JOAQUIN: -He's going west under rock one. | 0:49:21 | 0:49:23 | |
I repeat, west under rock one. | 0:49:23 | 0:49:25 | |
He's on the surface, swimming really fast to three. | 0:49:28 | 0:49:31 | |
A combination of eyes on the surface... | 0:49:33 | 0:49:36 | |
He's coming back to two. | 0:49:38 | 0:49:40 | |
..and camouflage below brings early results. | 0:49:40 | 0:49:44 | |
Filming otters underwater is turning out to be easier than Doug expected. | 0:49:47 | 0:49:52 | |
That was cool. | 0:49:52 | 0:49:53 | |
I wasn't sure we were going to see one of these guys underwater | 0:49:53 | 0:49:56 | |
but, yeah, very encouraging. | 0:49:56 | 0:49:57 | |
Success for the underwater team | 0:49:59 | 0:50:01 | |
means the pressure is now on Mark. | 0:50:01 | 0:50:03 | |
I've been here six-and-a-half hours | 0:50:06 | 0:50:09 | |
and I've got one shot. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:10 | |
Not very good shot of it on a rock over there. | 0:50:11 | 0:50:15 | |
It's not going to work. | 0:50:15 | 0:50:16 | |
It's not going to work like that. | 0:50:17 | 0:50:19 | |
I think the only way that we're going to get any more | 0:50:23 | 0:50:26 | |
is to find out a way of getting consistently close to them. | 0:50:26 | 0:50:31 | |
I think the only way of doing that is at a den | 0:50:31 | 0:50:34 | |
where there's cubs and they're coming back to it consistently. | 0:50:34 | 0:50:39 | |
Surprisingly, the most likely den site is in a busy harbour. | 0:50:41 | 0:50:46 | |
So we are just by the den of the otters | 0:50:48 | 0:50:51 | |
and we are going to put the hide on location | 0:50:51 | 0:50:54 | |
to hopefully get some shots of the otter up close. | 0:50:54 | 0:50:57 | |
It's just a very weird mixture of, like, trying to hide from the animal | 0:51:00 | 0:51:03 | |
when in fact it just sees people all the time. | 0:51:03 | 0:51:06 | |
Doesn't quite add up. | 0:51:08 | 0:51:09 | |
Right, well, you can just leave me in here now. I'm quite happy. | 0:51:11 | 0:51:14 | |
Just send me down empanadas every few hours. | 0:51:14 | 0:51:17 | |
See if you can have a word with the otters, | 0:51:17 | 0:51:20 | |
tell them that dinner's up. | 0:51:20 | 0:51:21 | |
I've been sat here now for three hours, looking at a rock. | 0:51:31 | 0:51:35 | |
After a week of surveillance... | 0:51:40 | 0:51:42 | |
Where's it gone, where is it, where is it, where is it? | 0:51:44 | 0:51:47 | |
..Mark is no closer to figuring out any pattern | 0:51:47 | 0:51:51 | |
in the otters' behaviour. | 0:51:51 | 0:51:52 | |
Oh, don't do that. | 0:51:52 | 0:51:55 | |
He's had only fleeting glimpses of the adults and no cubs. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:59 | |
The weird thing is, I've filmed otters in Scotland | 0:52:05 | 0:52:07 | |
and so I've been equating those otters with these otters. | 0:52:07 | 0:52:10 | |
The more you find out about these otters, | 0:52:10 | 0:52:13 | |
you realise that they're just not similar at all. | 0:52:13 | 0:52:16 | |
All your tactics that you thought would work with otters | 0:52:16 | 0:52:19 | |
are just straight out the window, | 0:52:19 | 0:52:21 | |
so it's like starting again. | 0:52:21 | 0:52:22 | |
News of another otter family nearby raises Mark's hopes. | 0:52:24 | 0:52:30 | |
(It's going to happen.) | 0:52:30 | 0:52:31 | |
The day starts out with promise. | 0:52:32 | 0:52:34 | |
-ON RADIO: -'I've just seen one of the cubs in the den. | 0:52:37 | 0:52:40 | |
'Just for... It was about half a second.' | 0:52:41 | 0:52:44 | |
That's great news. Over. | 0:52:44 | 0:52:46 | |
But the sun brings out unwelcome visitors. | 0:52:48 | 0:52:51 | |
Ah, yeah, there's been one around. About three hours ago, | 0:52:53 | 0:52:56 | |
but a few people have turned up on the beach | 0:52:56 | 0:53:02 | |
and we haven't seen it since. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:03 | |
The topside shoot is proving to be much more difficult | 0:53:08 | 0:53:12 | |
than anyone could have imagined. | 0:53:12 | 0:53:14 | |
This is rather depressing | 0:53:15 | 0:53:17 | |
because it's the only place that we have been able to actually see cubs. | 0:53:17 | 0:53:22 | |
The big worry, really, is that the cubs are being moved | 0:53:25 | 0:53:29 | |
from den to den. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:31 | |
If they are being moved from den to den, | 0:53:31 | 0:53:33 | |
then staking the dens out is almost impossible. | 0:53:33 | 0:53:37 | |
Such are the challenges of trying to film an animal | 0:53:38 | 0:53:42 | |
about which we know so little. | 0:53:42 | 0:53:44 | |
With all their options exhausted, | 0:53:49 | 0:53:52 | |
Mark and Ignacio dismantle their hide in the harbour. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:56 | |
Wow! Wow! | 0:53:56 | 0:54:00 | |
Oh, my... What the...? | 0:54:00 | 0:54:03 | |
The hide that was supposed to be for Mark has been used by the otters. | 0:54:03 | 0:54:07 | |
Look at his face! | 0:54:07 | 0:54:09 | |
I can't believe it. | 0:54:16 | 0:54:17 | |
They've been using the hide as a larder for their food. | 0:54:17 | 0:54:21 | |
I've never felt so utterly defeated | 0:54:25 | 0:54:28 | |
by an animal that I've tried to film. | 0:54:28 | 0:54:30 | |
After two months, I still have no idea about these animals. | 0:54:32 | 0:54:38 | |
Really no idea. | 0:54:38 | 0:54:40 | |
I thought that was an otter, then! | 0:54:44 | 0:54:46 | |
I just went to see in another cove this early morning, | 0:54:52 | 0:54:57 | |
and I just found two little cubs playing in the water with one adult. | 0:54:57 | 0:55:01 | |
What? | 0:55:04 | 0:55:05 | |
We've finally got within 100 metres of a mother and cubs. | 0:55:08 | 0:55:12 | |
Through sheer persistence, | 0:55:19 | 0:55:21 | |
Mark finally gets his chance to film an otter family. | 0:55:21 | 0:55:25 | |
You know, they don't feel like mammals, | 0:55:38 | 0:55:41 | |
they're almost like little eels, | 0:55:41 | 0:55:42 | |
you know, the way they disappear underneath the boulders. | 0:55:42 | 0:55:45 | |
I think we've genuinely revealed something new about them - | 0:55:47 | 0:55:49 | |
how they hunt. | 0:55:49 | 0:55:51 | |
You know, they go through these rocks | 0:55:51 | 0:55:52 | |
and that's why they're so small. | 0:55:52 | 0:55:54 | |
What makes the otters successful hunters on this coast | 0:55:58 | 0:56:01 | |
is also what makes them so hard to film... | 0:56:01 | 0:56:04 | |
..they're small, fast and have an affinity for nooks and crannies. | 0:56:06 | 0:56:10 | |
And Mark? | 0:56:15 | 0:56:16 | |
He's finally learnt the secret | 0:56:16 | 0:56:18 | |
to filming the world's smallest marine mammal. | 0:56:18 | 0:56:21 | |
Keep the faith. | 0:56:23 | 0:56:24 | |
Yeah, keep the faith. | 0:56:26 | 0:56:28 | |
Next time, in the final episode, | 0:56:32 | 0:56:35 | |
we examine the health of our planet's top predators. | 0:56:35 | 0:56:38 | |
We meet the pioneers on the front line, | 0:56:42 | 0:56:45 | |
searching for bold solutions. | 0:56:45 | 0:56:47 | |
Can people make room for the world's most celebrated hunters? | 0:56:50 | 0:56:54 |