Spear Mantis Shrimp Deadly 60 Bites


Spear Mantis Shrimp

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On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

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Here's just one of my many favourites.

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This is Deadly 60...Bites!

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This time on Deadly 60 we're with the sea gypsies of Borneo.

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It's here!

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Some of the happiest, smiliest, friendliest people on the planet.

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I have absolutely no idea what we're going to find on this programme.

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But trust me - we're going to get wet!

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Argh!

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'The waters around these tropical islands are berserk with wildlife.

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'But to give myself the best chance of finding the deadly ones,

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'we're cutting through the waves bound for the coral reef.'

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Most of the places we go to on the Deadly 60

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we're going out with a good idea of the sort of animals

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we're likely to find,

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but it just isn't like that when you're diving.

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Especially on a coral reef, where anything can turn up.

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Really, the next dive I could find a tiny brightly-coloured fish

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I've never seen before the size of my finger,

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or I could get chased by a shark the size of the boat.

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You just never know what you're going to find

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and that's what makes it so much fun.

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A coral reef is a living thing.

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Well, actually several billion living things.

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All clustered together like some undersea city.

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The building blocks of the city are the shell-like skeletons

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of millions of microscopic animals

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that have built up over thousands of years.

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The lumps of coral provide shelter and some surprising animals.

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Wow! This is something you don't see very often,

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a turtle, properly sleeping.

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Look at that!

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Sea turtles can sleep under water

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because they can stay submerged for three hours!

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The reef's not just about shelter.

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Because it's a living thing, there are animals that will eat it.

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Look at this.

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These are...

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As you can see, they're feeding on the coral,

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munching it down with their hard beaks.

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These bumphead parrotfish are about half as big as me.

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They graze on the reef like cows graze on a field

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and poo out a fine powder that ends up as sand on tropical beaches.

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But some reef fish eat even stranger things for dinner.

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These plate-shaped fish are called batfish.

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They're well known for hanging around

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where there's lots of turtles, feeding...

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Well, there's no nice way of putting this,

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they eat turtle poo.

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It seems like a weird way to make a living.

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Speaking of turtles, it seems our sleepy friend has woken up.

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What a wonderful creature.

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It doesn't get much more beautiful than that.

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There are so many beautiful animals here,

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I just don't know where to look. But the reef has a dark side.

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Already, I can see clues that there are deadly predators about.

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See what happens.

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As a large fish gets close,

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they all disappear into the coral.

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The tiny fish duck into the shelter of the reef as I pass.

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I'd never be able to catch them,

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but there are plenty of fish around here that could.

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These are...

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They're a very fast moving fish,

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sticking together and hunting in huge silvery schools like this.

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It's an amazing sensation to be totally immersed in fish like this.

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Nothing wants to get caught in the open by these guys.

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And then another silent hunter, a white-tip reef shark.

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How about that! I tell you what, I've not seen that before.

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It's almost as if the trevally are mobbing him.

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The trevally mob the shark like a small bird will mob a bird of prey,

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driving it from their territory.

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The powerful shark gives way to the greater number of trevally.

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The coral city is buzzing with life,

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and a fair few candidates for my Deadly 60 list.

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Before I decide, I want to dive when it's dark

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and check out the night life.

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At night, the sea changes character completely.

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Plant-feeding animals hide away and the predators start to hunt

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which means more deadly animals.

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Loads of creatures with teeth, stings and tentacles,

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all out looking for food.

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I'm approaching very slowly.

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Very purposely,

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because what lives in this hole here

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is an animal I've been trying to find

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for many years.

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One of the most remarkable creatures

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you'll find anywhere around here

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and possibly THE most amazing hunter.

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It's called the mantis shrimp.

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Let's see if we can get it out to play.

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Shrimp by name, but certainly not by nature, this is a lethal assassin.

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Oh!

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That was absolutely remarkable!

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The mantis shrimp strikes!

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It's back in its hole.

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Wow!

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Ha-ha!

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When they come out and they catch that shrimp

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just like a preying mantis would.

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In fact, this stunning killer is neither mantis

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nor even a true shrimp.

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Some species are known as thumb splitters

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for the damage they've done to divers.

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Ouch!

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Any small fish that gets too close to the burrow is going to be history!

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But today, my thumbs are not on the menu!

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It's the king of ambush predators,

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waiting patiently for its prey...

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..then bang, the mantis shrimp uses its claws like some medieval weapon

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to stun, then impale its victim before dismantling and devouring it.

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Ah!

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That...was so fast!

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I've heard it said that that strike

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can be as fast and have as much power as a small-calibre bullet.

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I can't say I disagree.

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It has to be one of the most stunning animals you'll find around here.

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The mantis shrimp -

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absolutely awe-inspiring!

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With some species punching with the power of a bullet,

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the mantis shrimp is one awesome animal -

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wicked weapons, scintillating speed.

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One of my favourite Deadly 60 stars.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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E-mail [email protected]

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