California Deadly Pole to Pole

My name's Steve Backshall!

And THIS is Deadly Pole To Pole.

Oh!

From the top of the world to the bottom.

Whoa! Ha-ha!

Deadly places.

Deadly adventures.

And deadly animals.

And you're coming with me every step of the way!

Argh!

Our expedition's made its way to California's Pacific coast.

The marine dream, primeval predators and a shiver of sharks.

'California may be known for its beach life,

'but it's what's further out to sea that I'm interested in.

'Around 3,600 miles into our journey,

'we're hitting the San Diego coast on an underwater adventure

'to find peculiar Pacific predators.'

'Whilst here, I dive with impressive ocean acrobats.'

Whoa! That was quick!

'And hunt out a clumsy looking killer.'

Incredible. Simply incredible.

'But we start in super-charged style,

'with the fastest shark in the seas, the mako.'

The mako is not only the fastest shark,

it's also one of the fastest of all fish.

There are very, very few that can match it.

As an idea of how fast they can go,

right now our boat's doing about 35km an hour.

Well, the mako does 50,

and could cruise straight past us as if we were standing still.

That is a seriously fast fish!

'The seas are flat calm,

'making it easier for us to spot fins breaking the water.'

Oh, my goodness!

We've just come upon a big pod of bottlenose dolphins.

Oh, wow! They're going absolutely crazy all around us.

Looks like they could well be feeding.

And it's too good an opportunity to miss.

They're not the animal we came here to find but we have to hop

overboard and see if we can get some shots of them underwater.

Bottlenose dolphins, just one of the best animals in the world.

'Jumping in alongside the pod,

'we're instantly surrounded by delightful dancing dolphin.

'They are the most enchanting of beasts.

'Their acrobatic skills help them snap up shoals of fish.

'But now they're simply fooling around.'

That is one of the great wildlife encounters.

Bottlenose dolphins are the circus performers of the Deadly world.

One second they're a clown, the next minute they're an acrobat.

But there's no taking away from the fact that these are one

of the fastest, most intelligent, lethal beasts on earth.

'Seeing such a large pod of dolphin is a sure sign that these seas are

'teeming with fish for them to feed on.

'And that also bodes well for our mako shark mission.'

We're now about nine miles out in the open sea,

we've cut the engines and we're just drifting with the tide.

And what we're going to do is get this stuff into the water.

This is essentially the old chunks of fish that nobody wants,

and it's going to create a slick of lovely fishy goo that goes

out behind the boat, and hopefully, attracts in our sharks.

Once it's in the water, all we have to do is watch and wait.

I think we might have something.

There was just a fin came up alongside the bait.

I don't know. Certainly didn't see it clearly enough

to say even that it was a shark, let alone it was a mako.

'If it is a mako, we're going to have to kit up quickly.

'These sharks do not hang around.'

I'm going to be putting on some dark gloves

to cover up the white of my fingers.

The last thing you want when you're in the water with these animals

is fingers which look kind of like white sardines,

and therefore food, in its face.

'But the first shark shape did not stay long.

'All we see is the deep blue sea.'

At the moment, our mako shark seems to have disappeared.

Haven't seen him for quite a while now.

'Wildlife watching is all about patience.

'We decide to give it a while longer.'

'Then another distinctive silhouette appeared.'

'It's a blue shark. It may have swum in from many miles away.'

'It's a long, thin species built for cruising the open ocean,

'catching the few fish they find.'

This is absolutely wonderful.

There's at least two blue sharks around us now.

They are so aptly named.

They have the most glorious blue shade to the skin. It almost...

That one just nudging my camera now, look at that!

He's right in my face!

They're sort of like...

the equivalent of a puppy dog.

So inquisitive, so interested!

Just sticking their noses in absolutely everything.

They're fabulous animals.

'These sharks have such a curious nature.

'And that's part of their deadly strategy.

'Drawn in by the electrical pulses coming from the cameras,

'they're keen to check us out,

'see if we might offer a small bit of food in this vast ocean.'

'Suddenly, the two tiddlers give way to a blue

'that's the biggest I've ever seen.

'He's over three metres long and seems to have no fear.

'But far from trying to sneak a bite out of me, he seems

'inquisitive, intrigued, even friendly.'

I keep ducking down with my mask

because he was coming ever so close to us.

But he's so gentle, so placid!

And these creatures really have individual personalities.

It's not surprising. Any predator has to have a good sized brain.

They have to have processing power to figure out problems,

to figure out how to catch their prey.

You can see that that big brain

has developed a big personality in this shark.

It really is just like - I don't know - a friendly dog.

I think I might have a new favourite animal.

'Blue sharks have won our hearts,

'but they certainly haven't demonstrated their deadly abilities.

'After hours in the water with the blues,

'we begin to give up hope of seeing a mako.

'Until the crew on deck spot another shape fast approaching.'

Mako shark!

Coming right at 'em, coming right at 'em!

'The mood in the water instantly changes.

'These sharks have a wholly different demeanour.

'They're feisty and foreboding.'

Look at the attitude of the mako shark.

It's so different to that of the blue.

'These sharks are not interested in playing.

'They smell blood and are primed,

'ready to explode into action at any time.'

And they're such a sinister shark.

The two of them are patrolling around us.

One second they're there, the next second they're gone.

They just disappear into the blue.

'The speed of these makos is insane.

'A couple of thrusts of their crescent-shaped tail,

'and they explode forwards.'

I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.

Even sailfish and tuna don't look as fast as mako underwater,

like a falcon or a cheetah or a racehorse.

It just always looks like it's on edge,

always looks like it's ready to burst out into speed.

'Their speed means they can outsprint a huge range of prey,

'including dolphins, other sharks and turtles. And they're sneaky,

'attacking their prey from below with a vertical lunge,

'biting down hard,

'leaving the animal to bleed to death before coming in to feed.'

This is without doubt one of the most impressive predators

you'll ever see anywhere in any environment.

'So different from the blues.

'These sharks come in with an angular, agitated movement.

'There's no doubt they mean business.

'And they've got a face full of sharp teeth that almost seem to be

'spilling out of their mouths,

'adding to their chilling impression.'

The mako shark.

A shark that can go from cruising to exploding

in the blink of an eye, is without doubt deadly.

'The fastest sharks in the sea.

'Jaws overflowing with gnarly teeth.

'And a sneaky, speedy attack.

'Makos are speedy killers of the California coast.'

'Our next aquatic adventure takes place much closer to the shore,

'with a synchronised swimmer that's blessed with super senses.'

The classic carnivore of the California coast is an animal

that really doesn't have any problem with people.

In fact, here in San Diego,

they can be found living a stone's throw from the city.

It's that most playful of predators, the California sea lion.

'Mature males could weigh five times my body weight.

'On land, they're a regular seal out of water, lumbering, clumsy.

'But that's just a tiny part of the seal story.'

This rocky outcrop is what's known as a haul-out.

It's a place the sea lions come to recover their energy after

fishing trips. The water around me is full of sea lions.

When they're under the water,

they're a completely different animal,

transformed by their ability to hunt in the water.

So that's where we have to go next.

Usually on Deadly, we go out of our way

to go to the most wild, remote places on the planet.

Today we're doing things a little bit differently.

We're diving right on the edge of the city of San Diego.

The main haul-out of the sea lions is just around this corner.

So we're going to have to time the waves just right,

wade in here, dive round,

and hopefully we'll get an extraordinary underwater encounter.

'It's pretty odd, in my full dive kit,

'wandering past sunbathers and sandcastles,

'but the best sea lion encounter is only just off the beach.'

Ohh!

All the animals around me at the moment are females.

They're extremely elegant. Ballet dancers of the deep.

But all the tricks they're using

to twist and turn through the water are exactly

the same ones they use when they're chasing their prey.

Whoa! That was quick!

Every once in a while, a sea lion will zip in at speed

and stick its nose right in your camera or in your face.

It's almost like they're showing off.

They're showing you how much faster and more agile they are than you.

'These tussles and play fights can be about dominance, mating,

'or training for catching food.'

So much play fighting goes on between these animals.

They've got ferocious teeth.

But these animals have a thick layer of blubber and hair,

which keeps them insulated and also keeps them safe from friendly nips.

And if I was to get bitten by one it would hurt like heck!

'That bite is just one element of their deadly side.'

Sea lions are perhaps the most underrated

and underestimated of large carnivores on the planet.

The reason they're called sea lions is that they have teeth

which wouldn't look out of place in the mouth of a big cat.

They're one of the finest fishermen on the planet.

'Sea lions catch individual fish in relatively short chases,

'but can hunt continuously for 30 hours, showing remarkable endurance.

'They'll dive down to 200 metres in search of fish and squid.'

'They detect movement in the water using their whiskers,

'many times more sensitive than those of a cat.

'The vibrations lead them straight towards their prey.'

Oh!

That's a male California sea lion.

He is absolutely enormous!

A male sea lion of that size could weigh five or six times

my body weight, and is enormously powerful.

'Their physical prowess is matched by their intelligence.'

Sea lions are mammals,

and like any good-sized mammal predator,

they need to have a big brain to deal with

the problems of finding their food.

And because of that big brain, they're also very social animals.

'Sea lions have everything going for them.

'They simply outgun everything in their world.

'With their giant size...

'..teeth that wouldn't look out of place in the mouth of a real lion,

'and acrobatic abilities...

'..these sea lions are sleek, clever,

'streamlined and...'

'Deadly.'

'This stretch of coastline is one of the best places on the planet

'to immerse yourself in an other-worldly dreamscape.'

We're bound for one of the most exciting of all environments.

It's kind of the equivalent of a cloud forest

with stunning light, and haunted by strange predators.

The only real difference is, it's underwater.

'We're heading out to track down a venomous,

'glamorous alien in a beautiful submarine jungle.

'There's not much hint from the surface of how special

'what lies beneath really is.'

It's like being in some weird orange cave.

This extraordinary, dense forest is kelp.

It looks like a plant, but it's actually much more closely

related to the algaes

and it's probably the fastest-growing living thing

on the planet.

In ideal conditions, it could grow as long as my arm in a single day.

This forest is home to an enormous amount of exciting animals.

This is a giant black bass.

It's a huge fish.

It looks like it could swallow my head in one single mouthful.

They are predatory but do most of their hunting by night.

And I don't think he's interested in us. Well, not to eat, anyway!

He's certainly curious.

Fabulous creature.

'But my target animal could not be more different.'

In many ways, a kelp forest is similar

to a conventional forest.

Down on the sea bed you have holdfasts

that work almost like roots to anchor the kelp in place.

Up here, it's like the canopy, blessed by sunlight,

which gives it all the energy it needs to grow.

We descend to the base of the kelp -

it's the equivalent of the forest floor.

Little light penetrates down this far.

We need to stick close together here, guys.

It'd be really easy to get lost.

The woods down here are full of plankton.

You can see all of these tiny morsels in the water are actually

living creatures but they are greatly decreasing the visibility

so you really can't see very much.

It makes it all rather spooky and sinister.

This creepy underworld is home to many mysteries,

but not yet the one we're seeking.

But at the edge of the forest,

where kelp meets open ocean, we find our marine murderer.

This is an unusual and beautiful predator

to find lurking in amongst the kelp.

It's a black sea nettle jellyfish.

And it's pretty big.

It stretches out over five metres

from the end of the skirt to the head of the bell here.

And it is extraordinarily beautiful.

This area is like the flouncing skirts of a flamenco dancer,

pink and scarlet.

Glorious colours, which hide its deadly secret.

'This gorgeous jellyfish might look glamorous,

'but it has a hidden lethal side.'

This part of the jellyfish is known as the bell.

The top of it is completely harmless

and it can pulsate that to swim along.

But these tentacles here are covered with stinging cells

called nematocysts.

They're like tiny harpoons linked to a venom sac.

When they make contact with prey such as fish,

they'll fire off, ejecting their venom

and paralysing the prey.

That then gets delivered to the mouth in here -

where it's digested.

'The most venomous of all creatures is a jellyfish.

'They feed on plankton, fish and other jellies

'and are also the most ancient, complex animal on earth.'

They are animals that have been around for a very long time -

at least 500 million years.

Way back to the time when the only life on Earth was in the seas.

The soft, fluid, flowing body shape is surprisingly effective.

You can see this wonderful, pulsing movement in the bell.

It can swim using that. Some can swim powerfully enough

to swim against tides and currents.

It's certainly not just a blob of jelly.

Gaudy, glorious, glamorous and prehistoric.

Paralysing prey with toxic venom,

delivered with harpoon-like stings

and an enchanting appearance.

Black nettle jellyfish are exquisite killers.

'Deadly...'

But on closer inspection, this particular predator

has itself been the victim of another marine muncher.

This animal here has been preyed on by another predator.

There have been big chunks taken out of the bell.

Big mouthfuls. And round here,

that's almost certainly from another, even stranger predator.

That's what I'd really like to see.

Our best chances of finding one are from the surface so it's back

to the boat and off to scout out this stranger predator.

One of the most peculiar-looking fish in the ocean.

It's moving away, quite fast.

It should be right over here.

Just spotted from the top deck - a monster sunfish or Mola mola.

It's a fabulous animal and one which is deadly

as they feed on some of the most venomous animals on Earth -

jellyfish.

Only problem is they don't tend to stay on the surface long

when divers get in so we have to be careful about how we approach it.

It's just over there and it's huge!

About 30 metres that way.

Can you see him?

Erm, are you OK for me to drop in, Danny, are we in neutral?

-We're going to get the head.

-It's swimming in our direction.

All you see is this extended fin, sticking up out of the water.

I mean it looks like it could be a shark but it isn't.

It's this wonderful, wonderful bizarre animal

and once you've seen a sunfish,

it really is one of the most unusual creatures on the planet.

Right here.

We good, Luke? Am I all right to go in?

Yeah, don't worry about the weight belts - I'd just get in there, boys.

Right ahead of the boat.

These sunfish are such bizarre-looking creatures.

They almost look as if they've been run over by

a steam roller and are totally flat, with dorsal fins that they

waggle to move through the water.

This is the largest of all bony fish.

They can measure over four metres fin tip to fin tip

and weigh more than two tonnes,

but they start off as an egg smaller than a pea.

In fact they grow more in

their lifetime than any other animal on Earth.

Their boggle-eyed, clumsy appearance hides a deadly secret -

they feed on some of the most

venomous creatures on the planet...jellyfish.

They spend a lot of their time in the cold depths of the ocean

so often come to the surface to warm up.

Whilst up here they allow fish to come close

and pick parasites off their skin.

Sometimes even seabirds.

I'm going to see if this sunfish will let me to do it as well.

But for a fish that looks completely uncoordinated,

it's actually quite fast and really hard to keep up with.

But then it stops swimming, rolls onto its side,

and allows me to do the job of cleaning its sandpaper-like flanks.

The sunfish really seems to enjoy the contact and it will now be that

little bit more comfortable as it patrols the ocean for its next meal.

Incredible. Simply incredible!

He didn't make it easy for us.

I mean, they swim deceptively fast and keeping up with him

was taking all the puff I had, but then, finally, when I got up close,

it just flipped over, lay flat,

and invited me to pick parasites off its skin.

It's the same thing fish would do to clean the sunfish.

When you have a wild animal that actually

looks for an interaction with you like that,

it's one of the most special things in the whole world.

But curious, bizarre, unusual as the Mola mola is as a fish,

this is an animal that feeds on some of the most venomous

creatures on Earth - on jellyfish.

For that reason alone, this wonder of the deep has to be deadly.

Roaming the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Chomping down on a diet of venomous jellyfish.

And growing more in their lifetime than any other animal on Earth.

Sunfish are clumsy killers of San Diego's seas.

'Deadly...'

'Join me next time as I continue my journey on Deadly Pole To Pole.'

These fabulous animals!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd