Bahamas Beware Naomi's Nightmares of Nature

Welcome to my Nightmares Of Nature.

I'm Naomi Wilkinson!

SHE SCREAMS Oh, my goodness!

And I'm coming face-to-face with the nightmares of the animal world.

SHE GASPS

The ones that make your spine tingle...

Your heart beat faster...

SHE GASPS There it is! There it is!

..and your blood run cold.

Are they truly terrifying?

Or is there a twist in the tail?

Come with me, as I shine a light on wildlife's

deepest, darkest secrets.

And see if you can guess which will be my worst nightmare.

Greetings, air breathers.

This time I'm searching for the nightmares beneath the waves.

But don't be fooled by the clear water and the colourful fish,

this is the domain of sea monsters.

They're speedy...

..sharp-toothed...

SHE SQUEALS

..armed sea-dwellers...

SHE GASPS

Look at the size of that one.

..that call this water world their home.

Welcome to the Bahamas!

Just off the coast of Florida,

the Bahamas are packed with nautical nasties.

And sea creatures don't come much stranger than my first

nightmare contender.

Believe it or not, out there lurks a real-life monster.

A creature that hunts its prey using a super-sense that

we don't even have.

It's an animal that is much larger than me.

It has razor-sharp teeth and it eats sharks.

Now, obviously, I would love to go and find it, but sadly,

I've forgotten my snorkel. Oh!

It's all right, Naoms. You left it at the hotel. I got it for you.

Thanks, Rich.

But it looks a bit cold out there and I need a wet suit

-and I haven't got that either.

-Don't worry, I picked it up.

You've got that, too. But we're going to get burnt if we're not

-wearing sun cream, aren't we?

-Naoms, Naoms. I've got some.

-You have some of that.

-You've got some of that that we can use.

Cool, that means we've got everything we could ever need

and there is no reason we can't go and find it.

Yay... Let's go.

The monster of the deep I'm off to find is...

Hammerheads have all the usual sharky credentials

to be my ultimate nightmare,

but on top of this, they also have an otherworldly super-sense.

Special cells on their skin detect the electricity given off

by every living animal.

The more stressed an animal is, or the faster its heart is beating,

the more electricity it creates.

These sharks can, literally, sense fear.

I've teamed up with marine biologist and shark enthusiast Jillian.

Give me the camera, Stu.

All aboard?

Right, let's head out to sea and find this monster.

-So, how are you feeling?

-Terrified.

I've got to be honest. I am quite nervous.

'And I haven't got long to wait.

'Our shark site is less than 500 metres from the beach.'

Argh!

There are people in the water and they've got fish in their hands.

Yes, they do. There are people in the water.

They are baiting the sharks in.

SHE GASPS Is that it?

-Is that it?

-Yeah, that's it.

-Yeah, that's the hammerhead.

SHE GIGGLES

-Your first hammerhead.

-Oh, no.

-You should be saying, "Oh, yes."

-Oh, oh, no.

Oh, no.

'I have to work hard to contain my fear.'

-Come on. It's going to be all right.

-It's going to be amazing.

It's going to be all right.

-It's going to be better than all right.

-Urgh!

'The more nervous I get, the more the sharks will be interested.'

I've just become acutely aware that my heart is pumping.

I am one big electrical surge at the minute,

so I need to take deep breaths. It's going to be fine. Right.

Urgh.

SHE GIGGLES NERVOUSLY

SHE SCREAMS No, no, no!

'Below us, the sharks are circling around the crate filled with bait.'

What's it doing? What's it doing?

It's going to steal the bait crate.

What's it doing?

Yeah, they'll bite it, because they know the food is in there.

They can smell it, they want it.

'Having Jillian by my side and seeing the sharks focus on

'the food at the bottom eases my nerves.

'Just a little bit.'

I don't know if I'm staying as calm as I should.

It's quite difficult.

'But watching them, I realised, they're not interested in us.

'They are totally focused on the smell coming from the box of bait.

'Sharks can, in fact, smell blood for more than a mile away.

'And to top off this sharks' super-senses,

'hammerheads have 360 degree vision.

'Their eyes are so far apart they can see in front of them,

'and behind them at the same time.'

I don't think these sharks would miss anything

in their underwater worlds.

You just get the sense that they know exactly what is happening

all around them.

But honestly, they are breathtakingly big.

'And researchers here are working on just that.

'They're using laser technology to calculate exactly how big these

'monster sharks really are.

'But before they get to work, I can't resist testing the kit.'

I'm just being measured.

'Not bad, but how does that compare to our super-sized friends?

'This huge female measures in at 375 centimetres.

'That's nearly twice my length.'

What a whopper.

'As the light starts to fade, the hammerhead's switch into

'hunting mode and it's time for us all to leave the water.'

Oh!

That is one of the weirdest looking creatures I've ever seen in my life.

I mean, they're certainly big enough and scary-looking enough to

give many people nightmares.

But you've got to admire its super successful hunting technique.

And being in the water with it,

I feel like this huge animal with its peculiar-shaped head and

ferocious teeth didn't mean me any harm whatsoever.

So, the question is, will the great hammerhead swim its way to

the top spot, to be my worst nightmare?

'It's going to take a good deal of detective work to fathom out

'exactly what my next nightmare contender is.'

Visitors to these parts have returned with terrifying stories of

monsters lurking in the shadows, ferocious, ravenous beasts.

To understand exactly what this nightmares, first,

I need to build up an image of this creature.

'And like any good detective, I'll appeal to the general public

'for help.'

I've been told there are monsters lurking around here!

Oh, yeah!

Could you tell me, what do they look like?

-Yes, they're big, like that.

-They're big, like that.

Teeth in the front and teeth down here and they have a great big

-snout that looks like a snorkel.

-Let's ask these guys,

cos they look a lot friendlier than my picture so far.

-What are their eyes like?

-Eyes? Pretty squinty.

-Squinty eyes.

-Nasty looking teeth.

-Nasty looking teeth?

-Yeah.

Big and nasty.

'With my sketch complete, our mystery monster can be revealed.'

So, this is our culprit.

A monster indeed.

A true nightmare of nature.

MONSTER GROWLS

50 years ago, these beasts were introduced to an island.

It's believed the man who brought them here had hoped to return

and eat them, but they changed, they grew, they became clever and

resourceful and now demand food from the very people who put them there.

It's time to meet this monster face-to-face.

Shout if you see any movement, anyone.

Hello? We come in peace.

Oh! Oh! Oh! Yeah, there!

There! There! There! There! There! There!

Gosh, that's big.

What?

I don't believe it, it's a pig.

And they're very big. Oh, my word.

It's all right, though, because we're on the boat, they're on land.

So, we can figure out what we're going to do next.

What? It's swimming.

It's a swimming pig.

What?

They're really good swimmers, aren't they?

Oh, hello. Oh, you're not scary.

Look at your pig snout poking out the water, and big ears.

How hilarious is this?

'And we brought them a little offering.

Yum, apple! Mm.

His little curly tail.

'But it's not just food these pigs are after...'

Oh, that one opened his mouth!

'..fresh water is at a premium on this desert island.'

The only reason they can survive here is because there is

a fresh spring on the island.

As you can imagine, they are always...

PIGS GRUNT AND SQUEAL

..keen to enjoy...

This one's got big teeth.

'These ferocious looking teeth are used for defence

'and digging up roots.'

SHE GASPS

We've spotted some movement at the back there,

so we're just going to go and investigate.

You, stay there. Yeah, you distract that one.

They're following us.

SHE GASPS Oh, my goodness!

Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness.

I've just seen the cutest little thing I've ever seen.

Come and see.

They are brand-new little piglets.

I think they're only about three-weeks-old.

They're not a nightmare of nature, are they?

'And a good sign that the swimming pigs of the Bahamas are thriving.'

A little home-made water bowl for them.

Yes, that's right, I'm feeding a piglet out of a snorkel mask.

No, don't eat the mask.

Cheeky! It's only water.

Well, this is absolutely brilliant, but before I go,

there is just one more thing I want to do.

I'm going in.

How often do you get to see you've been swimming with pigs?

Play nice, OK? I haven't got any apples.

Oh, it's quite cold.

SHE PANTS Not doggy paddle, its piggy paddle.

Hello.

'These pigs may have been introduced to the island as

'a source of food, but my porky pals are now

'so popular with visitors,

'that they are in a well and truly here to say.'

It's actually not that surprising that pigs swim.

They've got to cool down somehow and, unlike us, they don't have

sweat glands, so getting in the water is their best option.

Let's go for the 100 meter badge, come on.

Backstroke.

And breaststroke.

You make it look so easy.

Now that I've met these apple-chomping, water-loving,

not-so-ferocious monsters that are only here because someone

brought them here to eat them, I can say with a total certainty that

the swimming pigs of the Bahamas are not going to be my worst nightmare.

Sharks have always featured heavily in my nightmares,

with their razor-sharp teeth, taste for blood, that ominous dorsal fin.

So, if I told you I was off to feed lemon sharks,

you'd probably tell me I was off my rocker.

But as is so often the case with nightmares,

things aren't always as they seem.

Lemon sharks, named for the yellow tinge in their skin,

are large, powerful animals growing up to

nearly 3.5 metres long.

With knife-like teeth and a killer bite,

they could well swim their way to the top of my nightmare list.

But before they get crowned, I want to meet one.

So, I'm joining shark expert Jillian again,

and Khahil, Ziron, Shanelle and India

on their school trip into the mangroves.

This is pretty cool. My school trip was to Minehead.

We enter a magic world of shrunken trees and twisted roots.

This, Jillian tells us, is ideal lemon shark habitat.

But the channel becomes too thin for our boats to pass.

From here on in, we're on foot.

All right, so, are you guys ready to go in the mangroves and

-see some sharks?

-Yes, ma'am.

-Yes.

-Yes, ma'am.

-Girl power.

-You got it, girl.

-Go. We're in.

Come on, Shanelle. It's all right, it's going to be all right.

SHANELLE WHIMPERS

-Let's stay together.

-We're all going to be together.

-It's going to be OK.

-You'll be all right. We'll get you.

-THEY GIGGLE

-You're giggling, so you're good.

We are giggling, so I think we're all right so far.

'Part of me feels that this is just a nice wade in the sunshine.

'But then I remember...

'And...

'And that we're going to meet one of the ocean's top predators.'

See, it's difficult enough for us to get where the sharks are, but look

what we're having to do to make sure all our kit arrives with us safely.

So we can hear and see what we're doing. This is a tricky procedure.

'We are now just a few metres away from the feeding site and we

'get word that the sharks have arrived already.

'But for once, on Nightmares, I'm in for a nice surprise -

'the sharks we've come all this way to meet are in fact

'baby lemon sharks.

'At a fraction of the size of their parents,

'they're not nearly as terrifying.

'But they could still quite easily bite my finger off.'

We're going to take this nice piece of barracuda and we're just going

to gently slap it against the water, OK?

GASPING that's quite big, isn't it?

-Do you want to try doing this?

-I would absolutely love to try.

So, there you go. Whoops! That's OK.

-That's OK, good job.

-Well done, well done.

-You just fed a baby shark.

-Well done!

SHE GASPS

I saw that one's teeth.

Here we go, here we go. SHE GASPS

-Oh, good job!

-It is amazing, we are feeding sharks.

Do you want another piece? There you go.

They are perfect carbon copies of their parents, aren't they?

They are. They have the same sensory systems, the same organs,

completely capable of taking care of themselves.

So, where are their parents?

So, on the high tides in the spring, the big pregnant females are going

to come back as close to the mangroves as they can

and they're going to give birth. Lemon sharks are born alive.

And then Mum's gone. She leaves and they're on their own.

-So, she doesn't stick around at all?

-There is no parental care at all.

-These little sharks are on their own.

-Wow. Aw!

So, why are they hiding here?

It's sort of like a nursery area.

They can find shelter, there's lots of food,

so it's a really safe place.

And larger predators can't get up here, because it's too shallow.

Good job.

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

But we're not just here to feed these babies,

our aim is to fit one of them with a tag.

-Do you guys think you can help?

-Yes.

All right, very cool.

This will allow researchers to keep track of these sharks when they

venture into the open ocean and provide information that will

help protect this precious mangrove habitat for years to come.

And I have the dubious honour of baiting them in.

Yeah!

'Bull's-eye! And it's time to meet our research shark.

'While the team prepare the tag,

'we get the chance to have a really good look at this amazing fish.'

Smooth. What's it feel like?

-Down here is smooth and up there is rough.

-Rough, is it?

Touching a shark.

Oh! It's like a nail file or something.

Sharkskin is actually made up of little teeth.

They're called dermal tentacles, which literally means skin teeth.

You're actually feeling the edges of those little skin teeth.

Why do they need teeth on their skin?

So, it's really strong and durable,

so it protects them from bites and other injuries.

And also, it allows them to move through the water easier.

They've actually designed Olympic swimsuits based on this,

because it's so efficient in the water.

-Go, shark.

-Yeah.

'It's time to tag our shark.

'A tiny microchip is inserted under the skin and will act like

'a name badge for the rest of the shark's life.'

This is like dogs or cats would have.

Yeah, this is the exact same thing

-if you have a pet that has a microchip in it.

-Yeah.

-Right.

'And our shark's name is...'

900236234.

'Hm, I think we can do better.'

What shall we call it? It's a boy.

-Ralph.

-Ralph? OK. Why not?

How you doing, Ralph?

Well, there is no doubting if I came face-to-face with

a fully grown adult lemon shark in the open ocean,

it would be a different story,

but meeting these little guys today,

finding out that they're hiding here in the mangroves for safety

until they're bigger, can I really call them my worst nightmare?

-What do you think?

-No.

-No. Not at all.

I named a shark. Oh, my God.

For my final nightmare creature,

it's back on the boat and full steam ahead to the open ocean.

My next nightmare creature is one of the most intelligent and

playful on the planet.

If I said to you this animal could be classed as a nightmare,

you'd tell me I was crazy, but prepare to be gobsmacked,

because the animals we're hoping to find are...

Dolphins.

Dolphins are expert hunters,

but that's the only time they show aggression, right?

Wrong!

In my mind, dolphins are basically sharks with smiley faces

and they have some very nasty traits.

Dolphins will use their size and intellect to bully each other.

They form gangs and use their language to pick on their victims.

They even turn their sharp teeth and powerful tails into weapons.

I'm joining dolphin expert Leesa, who has spent hundreds of hours

in the water with them, to see if these supposedly friendly

flippers could possibly swim to my nightmare top spot.

'But first, I want to find out how far dolphins will take their

'bully boy tactics.'

Have you ever seen or heard of dolphins fighting to the death?

I haven't seen it here in Bimini, but I certainly have heard about it.

Right, so do I need to be nervous getting in the water with them?

Absolutely not.

If I see any aggression between the dolphins, it's amongst themselves.

I mean, I've never seen the dolphins become aggressive with me.

In fact, if we see them becoming aggressive amongst themselves,

we'll, kind of, back off.

'I'm excited to see dolphins, but feel nervous

'about getting in the water

'with such large animals that are prone to this sort of aggression.'

Eyes peeled, everyone!

'And then, Leesa spots a fin in the water.'

-Oh!

-I saw a splash. I saw a splash.

-Yeah, they're moving fast.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was definitely one.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

We're getting close to them. We are getting close.

Look! Look! Look!

Oh, they're bottlenose, but there is one, two, three,

four, five. Wow, that one is huge.

Look at this one!

'These bottlenose dolphins can grow to over four metres in length

'and are the largest species commonly found in these waters.'

Shall we get kitted up then?

'They are clearly interested in us and are joined by another

'species - the smaller, Atlantic spotted dolphin.'

-Are we going to be safe, do you think?

-Yeah.

We're going to be get together. We're going to be great.

'Dolphins in position, it's time to take the plunge.'

Oh!

'Straight away, the dolphins come towards us

'and my first thought is, "Wow, they are big."

'But Leesa's confidence reassures me.'

Oh, my goodness, there's loads of them!

I don't know which way to look, there are dolphins everywhere.

We're surrounded.

SHE GIGGLES

One just jumped on my head. Argh!

Evidence of aggression within the pod is clearly visible.

This young dolphin, yet to develop its spots,

has rake marks along its side, made by the teeth of an adult.

But I feel no threat from them at all and find myself totally

in awe of these smiling, playing, twirling dolphins.

This is amazing! This is absolutely amazing.

All my fears just completely disappeared.

It just so lovely being in the water with them.

-It feels like they're protecting you, almost, in the water.

-Yeah.

It did feel like they're looking after you

and you can see their eyes looking at you.

They are constantly chatting to one another.

You can hear the all the clicks and whistles in the water.

It's absolutely amazing.

DOLPHINS CHATTER

They're like synchronised swimmers, aren't they? The way they move.

-They are so graceful.

-Oh, they're sleek and elegant.

-And quick.

-Yeah, and fast. I couldn't keep up with them.

Spotted dolphins are one of the fastest dolphin species in

the world, swimming over 20mph.

It's very rare for a wild animal to seek out human contact without any

reward of food, but these dolphins are just choosing to swim with us.

And right now, I can't think of any greater honour.

Because their mouths are curved,

it looks like they're just having so much fun.

They're constantly wearing this permanent grin.

I don't think you could spend time with a wild dolphin

and not feel happy.

I don't think that's possible.

Then with a final flick of their tails, they were gone.

Thanks, dolphins!

-We enjoyed that a lot.

-Wow.

That was just fabulous.

Argh!

That is up there with one of the most fantastic, magical,

unforgettable experiences of my life.

I mean, yeah, OK, so fair enough,

dolphins have the intellect to intimidate, to gang up and

bully, even to attack each other,

but what I just witnessed, there is no doubting they're capable

of great fun, playfulness

and I felt a bit of an emotional connection, too.

So, can I really call a dolphin my worst nightmare?

Well, it's time to bid farewell to the Bahamas.

We certainly tracked down a fair few sea monsters

in this watery wonderland.

Which tropical terror is going to be my worst?

Well, the lemon sharks may well swim into my nightmares,

but only when they're older.

SHE GASPS I saw that one's teeth.

So, while I felt relatively OK in the water with them,

there is no denying that because of their super-size and super-sense,

they are a formidable predators.

You rule the ocean, giant hammerhead.

So, I'm giving you my Nightmare top spot.

PIG GRUNTS Might have been a bit of pig poo.

LAUGHTER