0:00:04 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60...Bites!
0:00:16 > 0:00:20This time on Deadly 60 we're with the sea gypsies of Borneo.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22It's here!
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Some of the happiest, smiliest, friendliest people on the planet.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I have absolutely no idea what we're going to find on this programme.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32But trust me - we're going to get wet!
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Argh!
0:00:38 > 0:00:41'The waters around these tropical islands are berserk with wildlife.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45'But to give myself the best chance of finding the deadly ones,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48'we're cutting through the waves bound for the coral reef.'
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Most of the places we go to on the Deadly 60
0:00:55 > 0:00:57we're going out with a good idea of the sort of animals
0:00:57 > 0:00:59we're likely to find,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01but it just isn't like that when you're diving.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Especially on a coral reef, where anything can turn up.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Really, the next dive I could find a tiny brightly-coloured fish
0:01:11 > 0:01:14I've never seen before the size of my finger,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16or I could get chased by a shark the size of the boat.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18You just never know what you're going to find
0:01:18 > 0:01:21and that's what makes it so much fun.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38A coral reef is a living thing.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43Well, actually several billion living things.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46All clustered together like some undersea city.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50The building blocks of the city are the shell-like skeletons
0:01:50 > 0:01:52of millions of microscopic animals
0:01:52 > 0:01:55that have built up over thousands of years.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00The lumps of coral provide shelter and some surprising animals.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Wow! This is something you don't see very often,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10a turtle, properly sleeping.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13Look at that!
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Sea turtles can sleep under water
0:02:17 > 0:02:20because they can stay submerged for three hours!
0:02:24 > 0:02:27The reef's not just about shelter.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Because it's a living thing, there are animals that will eat it.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Look at this.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39These are...
0:02:39 > 0:02:42As you can see, they're feeding on the coral,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44munching it down with their hard beaks.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51These bumphead parrotfish are about half as big as me.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53They graze on the reef like cows graze on a field
0:02:53 > 0:02:58and poo out a fine powder that ends up as sand on tropical beaches.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03But some reef fish eat even stranger things for dinner.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08These plate-shaped fish are called batfish.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13They're well known for hanging around
0:03:13 > 0:03:15where there's lots of turtles, feeding...
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Well, there's no nice way of putting this,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21they eat turtle poo.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26It seems like a weird way to make a living.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32Speaking of turtles, it seems our sleepy friend has woken up.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34What a wonderful creature.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47It doesn't get much more beautiful than that.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52There are so many beautiful animals here,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55I just don't know where to look. But the reef has a dark side.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Already, I can see clues that there are deadly predators about.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01See what happens.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03As a large fish gets close,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08they all disappear into the coral.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11The tiny fish duck into the shelter of the reef as I pass.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13I'd never be able to catch them,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15but there are plenty of fish around here that could.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21These are...
0:04:23 > 0:04:27They're a very fast moving fish,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31sticking together and hunting in huge silvery schools like this.
0:04:38 > 0:04:44It's an amazing sensation to be totally immersed in fish like this.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Nothing wants to get caught in the open by these guys.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53And then another silent hunter, a white-tip reef shark.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57How about that! I tell you what, I've not seen that before.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It's almost as if the trevally are mobbing him.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07The trevally mob the shark like a small bird will mob a bird of prey,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09driving it from their territory.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13The powerful shark gives way to the greater number of trevally.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The coral city is buzzing with life,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and a fair few candidates for my Deadly 60 list.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Before I decide, I want to dive when it's dark
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and check out the night life.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38At night, the sea changes character completely.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Plant-feeding animals hide away and the predators start to hunt
0:05:41 > 0:05:45which means more deadly animals.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Loads of creatures with teeth, stings and tentacles,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57all out looking for food.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I'm approaching very slowly.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Very purposely,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14because what lives in this hole here
0:06:14 > 0:06:17is an animal I've been trying to find
0:06:17 > 0:06:20for many years.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23One of the most remarkable creatures
0:06:23 > 0:06:24you'll find anywhere around here
0:06:26 > 0:06:28and possibly THE most amazing hunter.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30It's called the mantis shrimp.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Let's see if we can get it out to play.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Shrimp by name, but certainly not by nature, this is a lethal assassin.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44Oh!
0:06:53 > 0:06:55That was absolutely remarkable!
0:06:55 > 0:06:59The mantis shrimp strikes!
0:06:59 > 0:07:01It's back in its hole.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Wow!
0:07:11 > 0:07:12Ha-ha!
0:07:12 > 0:07:15When they come out and they catch that shrimp
0:07:15 > 0:07:17just like a preying mantis would.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21In fact, this stunning killer is neither mantis
0:07:21 > 0:07:23nor even a true shrimp.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Some species are known as thumb splitters
0:07:26 > 0:07:28for the damage they've done to divers.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Ouch!
0:07:31 > 0:07:36Any small fish that gets too close to the burrow is going to be history!
0:07:36 > 0:07:39But today, my thumbs are not on the menu!
0:07:40 > 0:07:43It's the king of ambush predators,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45waiting patiently for its prey...
0:07:45 > 0:07:51..then bang, the mantis shrimp uses its claws like some medieval weapon
0:07:51 > 0:07:57to stun, then impale its victim before dismantling and devouring it.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Ah!
0:08:01 > 0:08:04That...was so fast!
0:08:05 > 0:08:08I've heard it said that that strike
0:08:08 > 0:08:13can be as fast and have as much power as a small-calibre bullet.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20I can't say I disagree.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28It has to be one of the most stunning animals you'll find around here.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30The mantis shrimp -
0:08:30 > 0:08:33absolutely awe-inspiring!
0:08:38 > 0:08:41With some species punching with the power of a bullet,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44the mantis shrimp is one awesome animal -
0:08:44 > 0:08:48wicked weapons, scintillating speed.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50One of my favourite Deadly 60 stars.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:08:59 > 0:09:01E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk