Shark Island Deadly on a Mission: Pole to Pole

My name's Steve Backshall.

Whoa! And I'm on a mission searching for...

Deadly places, deadly adventures

and deadly animals.

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

Argh!

I've developed a fascination bordering on obsession

with the true icon of Deadly - the great white shark.

So we decided to dedicate a whole episode

of our Pole To Pole adventure to this perfect predator.

We've come to the ultimate shark-watching location -

Guadalupe Island, over 4,000 miles

from our starting point in the Arctic Circle,

this is great white central.

Heading out into the middle of the ocean,

I will have an encounter with this lord of the sea like never before.

I've been lucky enough

to bounce up against one in a tiny inflatable boat.

Wow! Next to me! Look at this!

To see one from the safety of a shark diving cage.

Agh!

Even to see them leaping -

breaching out of the water in one of the world's most impressive attacks.

No way!

Just one big smack!

But this time, we're going one better,

we're going to dive with a shark

out in the big blue, outside of the cage.

This is quite simply the greatest shark encounter on the planet.

That is no exaggeration.

Great whites are the largest predatory shark on Earth.

With over 300 serrated, sharp teeth,

they can snag and slice through prey.

Their exceptional sense of smell

means they can detect blood from miles away.

And when they focus in, their streamlined,

torpedo-shaped bodies and crescent-shaped tail

propel them through the water at a phenomenal speed.

This mission is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

It's coming back towards us.

So, with no time to lose we get loaded up,

as this boat will be our home for the next five days.

Our destination is Guadalupe Island, better known as Shark Island.

It's one of the best places in the world to see the great white shark.

It'll be a 24-hour journey through some very rough seas,

but it will all be worth it.

This is Guadalupe Island.

It's uninhabited, unimaginably wild

and surrounded by an infinite expanse of big blue Pacific Ocean.

And, down there, are dozens of the most-feared predator on Earth.

It's a very, very special place indeed.

With just two days to complete our mission,

we need to start drawing the sharks in,

as stage one of this challenge

will be to assess the personality and mood of each individual shark

from the safety of a cage.

We're going to use the great white sharks' supersenses as a tool

to attract them to come in close to us.

They have an exquisite sense of smell

and they'll be attracted from miles away

by the scent of blood in the water.

As soon as we see a shark in close,

we're going to get down into the shark-diving cage

and try and get a sense with the particular animals.

If I'm going to leave the cage, it

has to be with the right shark.

After a few hours, the first shape appears,

drawn in by those tantalising drops of blood.

Shark coming round. Shark coming up.

And it's hungry.

Whoa! It's completely taken the bait all in one go.

That whole, huge tuna, which was the length of my leg,

gone in a mouthful.

Wow, things happen really quick round here.

So with no time to lose, we get kitted up.

Hopefully, this shark is going to stick around.

I head down, with Johnny the cameraman, into the cage.

Even though this is just stage one, my heart is already racing.

Sitting, waiting - for perhaps the greatest predator on the planet

to appear from the deep - is a daunting experience.

I'm starting to imagine things.

I just keep thinking that I've seen something.

But it's always just a shadow.

Then, out of nowhere...

Shark, shark!

We have a shark!

Boy, do we have a shark! It's a monster!

-Where did he come from?!

-I know!

It's just incredible that in water this clear,

where you can see for what seems like an infinity,

a shark can just appear out of nowhere.

And this animal must weigh over a tonne,

probably four metres in length. It's huge.

But, somehow, they still manage to surprise you.

The reason for that is its camouflage.

It's called "countershading" and is very common amongst marine animals.

Seen from below, the white underside merges into the bright sky above.

Seen from above, the dark back blends into the deep, deep blue.

Ooh!

He put on a burst of speed there.

I'm just trying to suss out what this animal's all about.

I think he might be a little bit feisty to get out of the cage with.

But I do have another plan for this animal.

I'm going to see if we can measure the strength of its jaws

using a bite-force test gauge.

Oh, and he's coming straight in for it! He's coming in for it already!

Got very, very close on his first pass.

Unfortunately, the shark's more focused on our bait

than on our bite-test gauge.

Pretty close, pretty close!

And so much explosive power,

coming out for a few tries with that tail.

I tell you what, with this shark, I am very, very glad

that I've got the safety of these bars between me and him.

But, again, the shark is only interested in the bait

and crashes into the cage.

Good grief!

I guess it just looks a bit weird. It doesn't look like food.

I think we'll call the bite-test gauge a noble failure.

Well, that was a great start,

but the main one that's hanging around right now,

I think, is perhaps a bit too aggressive.

I wouldn't feel comfortable swimming out into the water with him,

so I think we are just going to need a little patience

and, while we're waiting, the perfect way to spend our time

will be to go and see what brings great whites to Guadalupe.

I want to go and see their prey.

So the crew and I head right up to the cliff edge

as, when you're the prey of a big apex predator,

you never want to be far from safety.

There's an animal that occurs here

that lives in the world of the great white

every single day of its life.

It's a true survivor - the Guadalupe fur seal.

This is a really dangerous place for fur seals to make a living.

I mean these incredible volcanic cliffs

just drop straight down into the sea

and then go down to real depths very, very quickly.

It means that the only place they can truly be safe

is right up close to the shore.

I've dived in dozens of seal colonies around the world

and, usually, sitting this close to the shore,

you'd be surrounded by seals.

They'd be dancing around in the water around you.

But not here. The animals keep very, very close to the edge

and that is for a very good reason.

One, two, three, go!

I'll need to get to the bottom quickly,

so I'm safe from becoming prey myself

and can enjoy this magical environment.

Wow! What an extraordinary place!

This is right at the edge of the world

of the Guadalupe fur seal and the world of the great white.

There is so much life here.

It's like being in the world's greatest-ever aquarium.

Oh, look at this!

In no time at all, I'm surrounded by fur seals.

There are two very distinct groups of seals.

There are the true seals

and the fur seals and sea lions, the eared seals.

You can see these have external ear openings

and long, broad flippers at the front of the body

that they use for propulsion.

Very inquisitive, this one.

Look at her, what a beauty!

Hello.

I think she could see her reflection in my mask.

How good is this?! Absolutely amazing!

They make everything underwater seem so effortless, don't they?

I would give anything to be able to swim like that underwater.

But no matter how hard I try, I just don't seem to have the same grace.

These fur seals might just look like they're having fun,

but, for them, life is all about one thing -

surviving against great whites.

I mean, once you're in the water, they hang at the surface

with their heads and those big eyes looking down,

always on the lookout for a shark.

They're incredibly fast,

agile, manoeuvrable creatures. But they have to be.

As to escape a great white, you need to be quick.

But fur seals are predators in their own right.

All over the world, they use these same skills to hunt prey.

With their speed, agility and lion-like teeth,

they can catch food in all kinds of shapes and sizes with ease.

This animal has had to face so many challenges

in its life here in Guadalupe,

from the great white sharks it shares the seas with

to having to hunt in waters

where everything can see them coming, they're so clear.

But they are such sublime predators,

they still manage to succeed.

Oh, they are stunning!

They're beautiful, they're playful,

they're balletic,

but they're also deadly.

Well, I would say there are few more beautiful dives

in the whole world than that.

But I reckon we've had our fair share of beauty now.

Now it's time for the beast.

But right now the sharks have disappeared for the day.

So we'll have to wait until tomorrow

to leave the cage behind and attempt the ultimate Deadly challenge,

to free-dive with the great white.

'But ahead of tomorrow's dive,

'I get the team together for a final briefing.

'Safety will be paramount.'

If I go to swim out the cage,

then the first thing I do is get the OK from you,

because you're much more experienced with this than I am.

So you look at the shark, you suss it out,

you figure out it's OK and then

-you're going to be watching my back...

-Yes.

..and then I look down for that splash.

And your last look should be looking down.

Always look down first and then swim out.

And, I guess, try and come alongside the shark

-as it comes up to the bait?

-Yes.

But not in front of it. You don't want to be in front of the shark

-and getting in-between it and the food.

-Yes.

Once the shark locks up on the bait, they don't change their minds.

They'll go for the bait. Even if we are close by,

they never change their minds, they just lock on the bait.

Um, and, you know, obviously,

we don't want to even think about things going wrong,

but what is our kind of escape plan, if anything does happen?

Oh, bottom line is something bad happens,

we've got to get you out of the water.

Because we're so far out from any type of civilisation, trauma centre,

dive chamber. We've got to start evacuating you immediately.

OK.

Any bite from any of these sharks,

whether it be a juvenile or a large female or whatever,

is going to be a catastrophic event.

If someone gets bit, it's going to be catastrophic.

'As I probably won't be getting the best night's sleep,

'I take the opportunity to go out with local scientists

'on the hunt for a bizarre beast.

'It's so rare it's only ever been filmed three times.

'It's only 50 centimetres in length but has oversized teeth

'and will take chunks out of all kinds of bigger creatures,

'from seals to dolphins, tuna,

'even the great whites themselves.

'It's called the cookie cutter shark.

'We're heading to an area where our scientist Mauricio

'believes these sneaky sharks are hiding out.'

So, the first thing that we are going to try is to set the tuna

with a big camera with light,

and we wait until the cookie cutter gets the tuna,

and then we have to pull the bait very, very fast,

because the cookie cutter gets the tuna and stays there a few seconds.

-Yep.

-So we will try to get it to the boat. So, we will see about that.

Fingers crossed, then, I guess!

We've got a decent-sized tuna here,

and what they do is incredibly sneaky.

They'll swim in to large prey,

get a hold of it with their grippy upper teeth,

and then the bottom teeth, which are like scalpels,

will get stuck right in.

They suck down, creating almost like a vacuum suction power,

and then twirl around,

taking a big, circular chunk out of their food.

So what we've got is here, a camera system with a light,

which will be aimed down at the tuna.

We can watch the images from this camera up here on the boat,

and hopefully if the cookie cutter comes in, we'll see it here,

we can draw the tuna in and try and catch it with a net.

It is a real long shot. I'll be amazed if it works!

But if it does, this is going to be an incredible glimpse

into the secret life of a shark that is almost entirely unknown.

'We place the tuna in the water.

'All we can do now is sit and watch the screen.'

This is what the camera's seeing,

looking down to the upper surface of the tuna.

All of these small particles in the water that look like snow,

those are plankton, and some of them are tiny jellyfish,

being illuminated by the light shining down.

There's lots of small fish coming in and checking it out, though,

which is a really good sign.

'But the waiting just goes on and on.'

Well, I've been staring at this screen for ages now,

and no sign of a cookie cutter shark.

But then again, very, very few people have ever seen one,

and there is no doubt that this tiny, sneaky shark

that feeds on some of the biggest organisms on earth

is definitely deadly.

'Deadly but ultimately elusive.

'So we head back to our boat,

'as tomorrow is going to be a very big day.'

So, today's the day.

A lot of people might ask why I would even consider

going outside of the cage with a great white shark,

and, for me, it's very simple.

I've spent a lot of my life trying to convince people

that sharks are not the misunderstood,

man-eating monsters that a lot of people think they are,

and this is kind of the best way of proving that.

These animals have so much to fear from us

and we have next to nothing to fear from them.

Across the world, sharks are being destroyed at an alarming rate.

For every person killed by a shark,

around ten million sharks are killed by man.

From habitat loss to overfishing

to the demand for shark-fin soup,

sharks are being decimated.

By swimming with the greatest shark of them all, the great white,

hopefully people can see

that sharks are not the monsters they seem to be.

But at the moment, we're playing a waiting game.

So much of wildlife-watching is just about patience

and waiting, and this is no different, really.

We're just staring off into the inky blue,

hoping to see that distinctive silhouette of a shark

popping up to the surface.

But at the moment, it's just not happening,

and we're running out of time.

'So we're ready when they do appear, we start kitting up.'

The important thing is that diving with whites,

your heart always skips a beat.

It doesn't matter how many times you do it.

'And our first shark of the day appears.'

Shark, shark!

This shark is definitely a player. This is perfect,

this is one who will hang around if we play it right.

It's really tricky. You've got to force yourself to go through

all of your checks, your air,

with the microphone, with the mask, with your fins,

with all of the things that you have to have working

just to do a normal scuba dive.

But all the time in the back of your mind,

is the fact that you're about to swim out in the open ocean

with one of the most epic predators on the planet.

But somehow you have to put that to the back of your mind

and focus on the important jobs.

'I can't let nerves get the better of me, as animals can sense fear.

'This is the moment. We can't wait any longer.'

Are we ready?

'It's time to head out into his world.

'This shark is known to the team,

'so we're confident we can open the cage door.

'But before I head out into the deep blue,

'we need to be absolutely sure this shark is on its best behaviour.'

It's an eerie sight, seeing a great white swim past you like this

with the door of the cage open.

It's a male shark, but it's a mature male and of a good size.

This is an animal that isn't going to have anything to prove.

'And the conditions are perfect.'

So I think it's time to head out through the open cage door.

'Leaving the cage, I suddenly feel very small.'

They are so completely transfixing,

almost hypnotising.

But once you see one shark, you can't take your eyes off it.

But the fact is,

it's not the shark you can see that you have to be worried about,

it's the shark that you don't see.

'So I'm very glad I have lots of eyes in the water.

'But even then, sharks can still surprise you.'

Watch behind you, Jose! Watch behind you!

'Sharks are not the mindless killers people believe them to be,

'but they're still predators.

'Even an exploratory bite from a great white,

'where they mean no harm, could be fatal.'

Coming back towards us, Johnny, straight at us.

It's incredible,

the power they can create with a couple of whips of that tail.

So dramatic. And he's coming back round for the bait again.

This is very similar to the way that white sharks here in Guadalupe

have to go for fur seals.

There's too much visibility here.

They have to rely on sneak attacks,

bumping into their prey,

taking a bite then releasing, swimming away

and letting it bleed to death.

'And their camouflage is so impressive

'that sharks simply appear out of the blue.'

Look at that coming straight towards us.

Different shark. Completely different shark.

It's obviously been in battles with other males.

It's lost an enormous chunk of flesh from its back.

It's a newcomer. We haven't seen this one before,

so I'm going to watch it very carefully

before I think about swimming alongside it.

In fact, I'm going to get back in the cage.

'But the new shark doesn't stay long before our other male is back.

'I have enough air left

'for one final encounter with this incredible predator.'

This is quite simply wonderful.

'This shark seems so at ease,

'gliding alongside me through the water.'

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

I'm not suggesting it's deadly

because of its danger to people - far from it.

But in terms of its mastery of the ocean,

this creature is unparalleled.

That is one of THE great wildlife encounters.

Unbelievable!

To share the open water with a great white shark,

probably the most feared creature on the planet.

Extraordinary.

I will never, ever forget this moment.

What an experience.

The great white is one of those animals

that just seems to be perfect.

Everything about it - its streamlining,

its simple camouflage, its teeth,

all of those supersenses -

it's perfection. It just cannot be improved upon.

And if you were a tuna or a seal,

it would probably be the very last thing you'd ever see.

'To human beings, it does have the power

'to make us feel incredibly fragile and small.'

To everything else in the sea, it is deadly.

Join me next time as we continue south.

to a land of giants...

of fire...

and the bizarre.

'(Deadly.)'