Sharks and Rays Deadly 360

This is Deadly 360.

The show that pits three of the world's deadliest predators

against their prey.

Examining their hunting strategies

and their escape tactics from every angle.

By delving beneath the fur and feathers,

we find out why a hunt succeeds

and why they sometimes fail.

One thing's certain, prey animals are anything but sitting ducks.

Their defensive strategies keep them alive.

And push predators to the limits.

Prepare for Deadly 360.

This is Deadly 360, Mission Control.

Where all of today's action and analysis takes place.

From here, we have access to some of the most enthralling hunts

ever caught on camera.

I recreated three of the most exciting and analysed them

from various angles and perspectives in true 360 Degree style.

These predators have to find and catch food or they won't make it.

In the wild world, managing to survive is the greatest challenge.

I present to you the sharks and rays.

We'll check out the awesome power and massive bite

of the world's largest predatory shark, the great white.

We'll plunge into the darkness

to reveal the shocking talents of the mysterious torpedo ray

and we'll meet the tiger shark.

A hunter as large and lethal as its namesake.

They look invincible, but there's a continual race going on

to ensure prey animals evolve spectacular ways

of taking care of themselves.

Today's defenders include a true master of the air

and owner of the largest wingspan on the planet,

the magnificent albatross.

Some reef fish that are surprisingly good at hide-and-seek,

and the seals who use their phenomenal aquatic abilities

to try and escape one of the world's greatest predators.

So, I've introduced you to all of our contenders,

let's meet our first deadly duo going head-to-head.

We begin with one of the largest and deadliest sharks.

It's the tiger shark.

Four metres long and weighing half a tonne,

it's a heavyweight champion of the ocean.

And up against it is this. It's the albatross.

You wouldn't think a flying bird could be at risk

from an underwater predator, but as a youngster,

even this master of the skies is a tasty target for a shark.

But which animal has the edge in the race for life?

It's time to go Deadly 360.

We drop straight into the action.

The young albatross chick is out on open water

and the tiger shark is closing in fast.

The bird weighs three kilos, the shark almost half a tonne.

Surely one strike and it'll be all flying feathers.

Based on size alone, you'd say it looks like the prey is done for.

But don't give up hope just yet. It's very rarely as simple as that.

Let's rewind to the start and begin our investigation.

First off, let's take a look at where we are.

This is the largest ocean on earth - the Pacific.

We're on a remote island in the middle.

Thousands of miles from both North America and Asia.

We're north of the equator,

which means warm water and good visibility.

There's also a strong breeze blowing onshore,

which could be an important factor in this hunt.

So, that's our location.

What attributes do our predator and prey have

to give them an advantage in this kind of environment?

First up is the tiger shark.

Like most sharks, it has an impressive set of teeth

designed to slash through flesh and bone.

In addition to a large, bulky but streamlined body,

it has an array of acute senses to help it track down its victims.

So, that's our predator. Time to find out about its prey's defences.

Obviously, our albatross' best form of defence is flight.

Those massive wings keep it well away from aquatic predators.

It also has excellent vision to warn it of any incoming threats.

That long, hooked bill can be used for catching fish and for defence.

We have two very different animals.

Which will come out on top in this hunt? Let's find out.

It's June. The end of the albatross breeding season.

And the beach is packed with hundreds of chicks

who have just left the nest and their parents

and now must fend for themselves.

If they're to survive, it's crucial they find food fast.

To do that, they need to get out to deep water

where they can hunt for fish and crustaceans

and that means taking their first ever flight.

It looks like this chick

is going to be one of the first to try out its wings.

It instinctively moves out to sea and into that onshore breeze,

which will provide the lift it needs to get airborne.

Heading in that direction is also going to put it

right in the danger zone.

So, where's our tiger shark?

No-one really knows for sure how the tiger shark knows

this annual event is going to occur.

It's actually possible they can sense

the vibrations from the waves and they close in,

knowing it's the perfect time for the birds to start getting airborne.

However, once they get closer,

a much better understood sense comes into play.

That's the shark's sense of smell.

As they start coursing through the water,

they can actually scent the tiny scent molecules

from the droppings of the birds at the surface.

You can see it coursing through that blue fog,

just trying to find out where the strongest source of that scent is.

They'll follow that until they reach the bird itself.

So, it's absolutely essential

for these birds to get airborne as soon as they can.

With the world's largest wingspan,

you'd think that wouldn't be a problem.

Well, let's get a closer look at those wings.

When you look at the skeleton of an albatross,

it becomes instantly obvious

that birds could be descended from the dinosaurs.

I mean, it looks like a pterodactyl.

This is a museum specimen, so I've got to be very careful.

You can probably just make out that here,

at the shoulder joint, there's a special notch.

And this wing bone can actually slot into there

with a special sheet of tendon

that lies over the top of it and fixes it into place.

That means it can fly without using its muscles,

which is incredibly efficient in terms of energy expenditure.

This animal can glide for hours at a time

without really having to ever beat its wings.

To get itself flying, particularly if it's taking off from water,

takes an enormous amount of energy.

It has to beat the breast muscles,

which are fixed to this heavily-keeled chest bone

with amazing intensity.

In addition, it will have to drive

the broadest set of wings found on any bird.

In fact, they have a record wingspan of about 3.5 metres.

That's that big.

So, is our chick going to manage it?

The onshore breeze may not return for days,

so if it wants to get out to sea to feed,

it's vital for this chick to try and fly today.

Here it goes.

If we just slow that down,

you can see the enormous amount of energy that it must take

to power those massive wings.

And this chick is simply running out of puff.

It looks like it's going to have to take a rest and try again later.

This, though, makes it a really easy target for our shark.

That sensitive nose has done its job

and guided the tiger shark right to the chicks.

Now the shark switches to vision,

knocking on target with its sharp sight.

The albatross seems completely unaware of the potential danger.

This could be curtains for the chick.

He's missed.

It looks like he's going to have to circle around and have another go.

What went wrong the first time? If we look closer,

you can see it's simply a matter of bad timing.

The shark surfaced too early, and the chick,

which also has excellent eyesight, had plenty of chance to get away.

So, what would be going on in the final few seconds

before that crucial attack?

Well, sharks have a whole array of super senses

that will enable them to zone in on prey,

and perhaps the most sophisticated is located here at the snout.

If you look at it up close, it almost looks like

it's got lots of dots over it.

And those are actually special pores filled with jelly,

linked to nerves that run to the brain.

That jelly is incredibly sensitive to tiny electrical pulses.

Exactly the same kind of electrical pulses

that are created in the moving muscles of other animals.

So even in the dingiest water,

the shark is still able to zone in on its prey.

Let's see if the tiger shark can use its super-senses

to find itself a meal.

The shark is circling around,

using that sophisticated detection system to lock onto target.

The chick really needs to get airborne,

but it used up most of its energy on its first attempt to fly.

Surely it can't survive another attack.

He's missed again. Let's find out why.

Let's find out why.

With the shape of the shark's nose and mouth,

they struggle to bite upwards.

It's pretty much nudging the bird away with its nose.

But it won't give up.

The albatross chick is actually trying to fight off

this massive predator. Go on, give it some!

He's trying to peck the shark's eye out! The shark is backing off.

There's just no way

he's been beaten by a fluffy chick!

But yes!

Look at that!

And he's done it.

I guess a shark trying to eat you is good motivation.

These might seem like an extraordinary, unusual encounter,

but one in ten chicks from this island

will end up being swallowed by a tiger shark.

Now that it's airborne, it has three years to spend out at sea

before it returns to land.

As for our tiger shark, it won't have to wait that long.

After all, there's plenty more chicks on the sea.

So, the tiger shark had size and strength,

superb senses and those massive jaws,

but the albatross chick used its sharp eyesight,

long, hooked beak and those huge wings

to finally get up and out of trouble.

The shark has missed its first target

but with hundreds of chicks heading into the water,

it's only a matter of time before it perfects its hunting technique.

Now on to our next pair of hunters, locked in a battle for survival.

The predator - the mysterious torpedo ray.

It may not be as big or fast as the tiger shark but it is armed.

Its weapon is one of the most sophisticated in the natural world.

And up against it is this.

It's an army of reef fish.

From snappers to wrasse, they are different shapes, sizes and colours,

but today they're all potential prey for the torpedo ray.

Which has the edge in the race for life? It's time to go Deadly 360.

This time, the action looks very different to our first hunt.

We're ten metres down on the seabed,

next to a coral reef.

The torpedo ray is using the darkness to creep up

on an unsuspecting victim.

It will unleash one of the most high-tech hunting methods

on the planet.

It's fish supper time!

Well, not for sure.

As you probably gather,

things don't really work that easily on Deadly 360.

So, let's rewind the action and see how things really unfold.

First off, where are we?

In the Caribbean, near the Bahamas,

in the warm waters around a coral reef.

Visibility is good but is that an advantage for our prey,

or our predator?

And the seabed is a maze of coral and rocks, with cracks, crevices

and fissures, which could be an important factor in this hunt.

So that's the arena for our gladiatorial contest.

What weapons and defences do the two animals doing battle have?

First off, the torpedo ray.

This incredible animal has actually harnessed the power of electricity,

and it can use it to not only track down its prey, but also to kill it.

It looks like a sophisticated hunter.

How on earth is the prey going to stay out of the predator's clutches?

The fish on this reef have developed plenty of ways of avoiding trouble -

some are lightning-fast,

some have superb vision,

and some are absolute masters of hide-and-seek.

OK, now we have all the background. Let's get the hunt underway.

Our starting point is the coral reef.

It's mid-afternoon. Thousands of fish are about,

competing for the best feeding spots. No sign of the torpedo ray.

During daylight, the fish would easily spot it approaching,

so let's wind on to dusk.

The ray's best chance is to hunt at night,

when it's dark and visibility is poor,

but the fish know this too, so as darkness falls,

most take advantage of their small size to hide in the coral and rocks.

This is a different way of staying out of sight.

Let's get a closer look

This wrasse is burying itself.

It can stay there all night, away from predators.

But how is it able to do that?

Let's take a look.

The wrasse angles itself down towards the seabed

at quite an acute angle,

and then drives itself head-first into the sand.

This is a fabulous way of protecting itself,

but it has one disadvantage.

The sand is full of parasites that would just love to bite this fish

and drink its blood, so it needs to protect itself.

How does it do that? Before it buries itself,

it secretes a special mucus from its mouth,

which completely encases it in a living cocoon.

When it's buried, it leaves a little gap at the front to breathe,

but this is enough to protect itself from those parasites.

So, the fish are buried or hiding in cracks in the reef,

but will this be enough to save them from the torpedo ray?

Let's see.

Night has fallen and it's time for our torpedo ray

to begin its search for food.

In the dark, with the fish hidden away,

it seems like the odds are stacked against it,

but the ray isn't looking with its eyes.

Like the tiger shark, it senses invisible signals

given off by other animals.

As the fish moves, its brain sends electrical impulses to the muscles.

The torpedo ray can sense the pulses and hone in on the fish.

It's an amazing sixth sense,

and if the fish is lying still, that doesn't mean it can escape.

The ray is so sensitive it can pick up the signals

sent to the heart and lungs when the fish is simply breathing.

So even though its prey is motionless and hidden,

the ray knows where it is. But it's still got to get to the fish.

Its flat body means it can't reach into small gaps in the coral.

However, not all prey are hidden.

This fish has left the safety of the reef to feed,

perhaps because at night there's less competition.

But its search for an easy meal may mean it's about to become one.

The torpedo ray is closing in, ready to unleash

its shocking attack.

But how can this remarkable animal use electricity

as a deadly weapon?

To understand that, we have to go below the skin.

So, as I've said, all animals create tiny electrical charges

in their muscles as they move.

In a normal muscle, these are pretty insignificant,

but the torpedo ray has found a way of actually harnessing

the potential power from this electrical charge.

Here in the body are two kidney-shaped organs

which function like batteries.

Inside them are thousands of muscles stacked on top of each other.

As they move, they generate charge, and it's stored and then discharged

in a lethal pulse, which can stun or even kill its prey.

It's one of the most phenomenal weapons in the natural world.

Let's see it in action.

The torpedo ray is closing in fast on the fish.

Remember, in low light with its electrical sixth sense,

the ray now has the edge.

It's just got to get close enough to use that remarkable weapon.

It's all over in around three seconds.

The ray closes its fins around the fish and delivers

several short but incredibly powerful shocks.

The electricity means the fish's muscles contract so violently

that it breaks its own back, causing instant death,

which leaves an easy meal for the torpedo ray.

It blows my mind that nature has come up with such a complex,

almost high-tech method of killing.

The way the torpedo dispatches other fish...

is truly shocking.

So, the reef fish had

sharp eyesight,

speed,

and clever hiding techniques,

but the torpedo ray got its meal using its on-board detection system,

stealthy approach and that lethal electric weapon.

The fish that hid survived,

but the one that strayed into the open ended up

as a midnight feast.

This is our last deadly duo, locked in a battle for life or death.

We couldn't do a programme on sharks and forget the champion,

one of the greatest predators on the planet - the great white shark.

And up against is this.

It's sleek, it's fast - a southern fur seal.

This gutsy mammal isn't afraid to get in the water,

even when there's a great white about.

But which animal has the edge in the race for survival?

Time to go 360.

We're near the end of the hunt.

Down in the depths, our great white shark is in motion.

He's already locked on to his target.

On the surface above is the seal.

Does it even know there's a great white about to attack?

The shark's closing in at tremendous speed...

It looks like the prey is in serious trouble,

but how did it get there? Is there any chance it might survive?

To answer these questions, we'll wind back to the start of the hunt,

break down all of the action

and find out what's happening that leads up to this strike.

The first thing we need to do is check out where we are.

This time it's the Atlantic Ocean,

off the coast of South Africa, in a place called Cape Bay.

The area's teeming with seals,

which makes it a perfect hunting ground for a great white.

Plus we're far south of the equator,

which means this hunt is in much colder and rougher seas

than the previous two.

So that's the location. Let's meet the animals.

First, the great white.

It's huge, it's dynamic, and it has some of the most impressive jaws

in the natural world, lined with flesh-tearing teeth.

It has an array of finely-tuned senses, and special skin

designed for speedy swimming.

All that makes our predator a pretty scary prospect.

What does our prey have to counter?

Well, the seal's main defence is agility.

Its streamlined body is quick and manoeuvrable in the water

and it has specially-adapted eyes to give it excellent underwater vision.

So, our predator will find it difficult to get near this prey.

Let's see what happens.

We're at the start of the hunt.

It's morning and the seals head for deeper water to hunt fish and squid,

but they have to swim through a narrow channel -

the perfect place for the great white to launch an attack.

It may have travelled from Australia to reach this hunting ground

and now it's just 250m away

from what it hopes will be the first of many seal suppers.

The great white shark is coloured light beneath and dark on top -

counter-shading, which makes it difficult to spot from below,

but also from above.

The seals haven't spotted it but the shark has to get really close

to stand any chance of a kill.

These seals are very fast and very agile.

In the freezing waters this far south of the equator,

staying quick and mobile requires a special adaptation.

One of the challenges facing any marine mammal

is the fact that water conducts heat 20 times more efficiently than air.

So any animal living in cold water like this seal

essentially has heat sucked away from its body

with every single second.

It's essential to keep its vital organs and its muscles warm

in order to keep them functioning.

So seals have a thick, insulating layer of blubber.

It keeps the inside of the body at a constant temperature.

But it is just fat, and the seal can afford to lose quite a lot of it.

It can take quite a serious bite from a predator

into this blubber layer and still survive.

It's almost like he's wearing a suit of armour.

Is this going to be enough

to deter the jaws of one of the mightiest predators?

Let's find out.

After migrating from Australia,

the shark may not have eaten for up to three months.

It looks like its first tactic is a direct approach.

It's not trying to stay hidden from the sharp-eyed seals.

It's just going to charge into the group to try to grab some fast food.

With so many seals in the water,

will it be able to pick out a single target? Here it goes.

Missed! Close, though. Let's have a closer look.

You can see that the seal has definitely spotted

the great white coming, and is using its incredible agility

to get out of the way of those terrifying jaws.

In these cold, clear waters, maybe the seals have got the edge.

Fish are generally cold-blooded,

but the great white shark has a neat trick.

It uses heat generated by its moving muscles to warm up its blood.

The blood is transferred to the stomach, brain and swimming muscles,

making them more efficient and warmer. And because of that,

it has more chance of bringing into play this absolute horror show -

The jaws of the great white shark. Look at these teeth!

You can see that they're lined up in rows in the back of the jaw.

These here aren't operational. It's those around the outside of the jaw

that do the biting, and these are shed continually.

It's believed he might lose as many as 30,000 teeth in a lifetime.

But every time one of these teeth drops out,

one of these new ones just swings into its place.

Absolutely extraordinary.

And look at the shape of each one of these precision tools.

It's symmetrical, triangular, kind of like a dagger,

with a serrated edge to it, and it's a perfect shape

for cutting into the blubber on marine mammals like seals.

Right, let's see if we can see this in action

in the mouth of a real shark.

OK, for the shark to get close enough to use its jaws,

it needs a different approach.

It looks like it's going to try a vertical attack.

The seal may have fantastic underwater vision

but it still needs to come to the surface to breathe.

When its head is above water, it's hard to spot an attack

from directly below

particularly with the great white's counter-shading camouflage.

The shark locks onto a single target from 30m down

then uses those internally-heated muscles

to power itself up towards the seal.

Wow! That was stunning.

Let's have a look in more detail.

As the shark comes towards the surface, it reaches speeds of 30mph.

The skin is covered in tiny fortified scales called dentacles

which reduce the skin's resistance, so it slips through the water,

and the powerful tail drives it forward at great speed.

Close to the surface, the eyes roll back, protecting it,

and the mouth opens up to as much as a metre wide.

Those 7cm-long, sharp, serrated teeth are just bared and ready.

The seal simply didn't stand a chance.

It never even saw the shark coming.

The speed and power of the attack

carries the shark right out of the water.

A layer of blubber is no protection

once the seal is in the grip of those fearsome jaws.

Pretty grisly stuff.

My belief is that the great white shark's danger to humans

is massively overstated, but that's not true if you're a seal.

This kind of hunt can result in as much as 50% success,

which means that the great white is truly death from the deep.

The seal had sharp underwater vision,

a mean turn of speed and supreme swimming skills.

But it was all no good against the shark's counter-shaded camouflage,

immense strength and power, and, of course, those lethal jaws,

all of which proves the great white shark's reputation

as one of the planet's greatest predators is certainly justified.

Sharks and rays have been around for 400 million years

but they're anything but primitive.

With electrical sensitivity, the electric shocks

and an incredible sense of smell,

they have some of the most advanced hunting techniques of any animals.

That's all we've got time for. Join us next time

as three more pairs of animals go head-to-head,

and we analyse the action, Deadly 360 style.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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