06x06 - The Amazing Comeback of Gray Seals + Shark Performances in the Philippines

[bunniefuu]

[uplifting music]

- [Narrator] Today on "Blue World,"

Jonathan learns why fishermen are feeding

the biggest fish in the world.

First, he meets some
adorable undersea puppy dogs.

[upbeat music]

Meet Jonathan Bird,

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

In freshwater,

or salt reefs, wrecks, or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

Welcome to the "Blue World."

[uplifting music continues]

- It's summer in
Gloucester, Massachusetts,

and I'm boarding the dive boat
down under with Captain Fran.

We shove off from the dock

and make our way out of Gloucester Harbor.

Then we set a course north.

We're heading to the Isles
of Shoals, a small group

of islands at the border of New Hampshire

and Maine, in the
Northeastern United States.

It takes about an hour to cruise north

as we take in the beautiful
New England coastline.

Finally, we reach Jimmy's
ledge at Duck Island

and drop anchor in shallow water.

From all directions,

curious seals come to
the boat to have a look.

[inspiring music]

Like aquatic dogs, seals
have a natural curiosity,

but they're also cautious and
they have good reason to be.

Seals used to be extremely
plentiful on the shores

of New England, so plentiful

that fishermen felt they were a nuisance

eating way too many fish.

As more and more fishing
boats took to the waters

and the catches of haddock, flounder,

and codfish began to decline,

the fishermen blamed the seals.

All over New England,

a seal hunt began just
to reduce their numbers.

Massachusetts even issued a bounty system.

They actually paid people to go out

and k*ll seals, not for meat or hides

or oil, just to get rid of them.

By the time seals finally got protection

under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act in 1973,

they were virtually gone from New England.

The gray seal formerly
known to breed as far south

as Cape Cod had been virtually
exterminated from US waters

with only small populations
surviving in Eastern Canada.

Seals were also the primary food

of apex predators like
the great white shark.

Once there were no more seals,
there were no more sharks,

probably a blessing for
fishermen at the time

who were terrified of sharks.

Now, after more than

seals in New England have
made a fantastic comeback.

Here at the Isles of Shoals,
gray seals pop their heads

above water all around the boat,

and this season's generation
of adolescents, born only six

to seven months ago,
are playful and curious.

As the summer water in New
England is in the mid-60s,

I don't need a dry suit.

My seven millimeter full
wetsuit should be more

than enough protection.

That's realistic right there.

Can't kick anything on. Here we go.

I drop into the green water

and head to the bottom,
fairly 20 feet below the boat.

The key to interacting with a seal

is to pique its curiosity

so it wants to come and check you out.

Seals are way too fast to
chase, and that's ill*gal.

They can hear you coming
a hundred yards away,

so you can't sneak up on them either.

To the seals, cameraman Tim

and I are bumbling, noisy,
flailing bubble blowers.

But because we are so utterly
ridiculous underwater,

the seals actually find us interesting.

So my trick is to look like I'm
doing something really cool.

Something so interesting
in fact that a seal just

has to come check it out.

Since summer in New England

means murky plankton-filled water,

the visibility's not that
great, so the seals have

to come pretty close to
see what we're doing.

Only the adolescents are curious.

The adults have much more
important things to do.

First, they make quick
passes to check us out,

but it doesn't take long
for one of the young seals

to muster the courage to come
over for a close look at me.

He's first interested in my fins,

[uplifting music]

but once he feels my soft
neoprene wetsuit, he wants

to know more.

Seals investigate with their mouths.

I'm not worried about being bitten.

This is just his way of learning.

Meanwhile, another seal is
checking out cameraman Tim,

doing pretty much the same thing.

Like under sea puppy dogs,

the seals are curious and
completely non-aggressive.

[uplifting music continues]

Their curiosity extends
to things beyond divers.

A lobster trap on the sea
floor has a rope that leads up

to a buoy on the surface;

the seals play endlessly with the rope.

Many times I fear that this
young seal will become entangled

and need to be rescued.

Yet time after time, she manages

to untangle herself and swim away.

Down at the bottom of a gully

where this lobster trap is
sitting, the water is cold,

cold enough that I wish
I had worn my dry suit.

It's freezing!

[uplifting music continues]

Even though I'm shivering, I
hang in there a little longer

because the seals are so fun to watch.

But eventually I get low on
air and it's time to head up.

Woo, the surface water's so nice and warm.

my seven mil wetsuit,

but the seals are hanging out
on the bottom 40 feet down,

and it's 48 degrees down there.

I was freezing my butt off.

But the seals were awesome.

Six months later, it's
winter in New England

and I have just arrived on
the quaint sleepy island

of Nantucket.

Nantucket is a small
island in Massachusetts

south of Cape Cod.

Off the west end

of Nantucket is an even
smaller island called Muskeget.

This tiny uninhabited

and privately owned
island happens to be home

to the southernmost breeding
colony of gray seals.

I've been invited to join a
team of researchers working

with gray seals at Muskeget Island.

We board a couple small boats

and head out on a perfect calm day.

It's bitterly cold.

The surface of the ocean
actually has ice forming on it,

but the sun is shining
and it's not too windy.

Only perfectly calm conditions
allow reaching Muskeget

at this time of the year.

I would much rather be
doing this in the summer,

but alas, gray seals give birth
to their pups in the middle

of the harshest time of the year.

Within 30 minutes,

our team reaches the
sandy shore of Muskeget.

We have permission from the
island owner to go ashore,

and the team has permits from
Noah to approach the seals

for their research.

Even I had to get a special
permit to join them.

The seals like to come
here to have their pups

because it's secluded and safe.

They give birth in the winter

because the water's too cold for sharks.

Everywhere I look, there
are moms nursing their pups.

The pups are pretty
much the cutest animals

you will ever see.

Little white fuzz ba*ls
laying helplessly on the sand.

While the pup is snoozing,

his mom might wander off to socialize.

If she doesn't come back soon
enough, he cries for her.

[pup crying]

But when she does finally come back,

it's time for some milk.

A pup receives only three
weeks of care from its mother,

and that's it.

Then the pup is on its own.

It will shed its baby fur
and learn to catch fish.

To accomplish that,

gray seal pops feast on the richest milk

in the world, up to 60% fat.

Compare that to cow's milk,
which is under 4% fat.

Some of them don't make it.

The big males, up to 800
pounds, come here to mate,

and they are not patient.

On the beach, a female
is protecting her pup,

but a pair of males are
waiting for a good time

to make a move.

The larger male tries to sneak up to her,

but she's having none of it.

She is not ready to mate
until her pup is weaned.

Being patient is difficult.

As another hopeful male looks on, the pair

of males begins to fight.

If they can't have the female,

they can at least figure out
who's more likely to get her.

[casual uplifting music]

The vanquished has learned his lesson.

A few hours later, the big bull
has found a different female

who seems a little more receptive,

and again, another bull is watching,

hoping to steal her away.

He has little chance given how charming

and persuasive the larger bull is.

Nobody will ever accuse
seals of being very romantic.

Eventually, the female
succumbs to his charms.

Males are known to crush
the pups while trying

to mate with a female.

Most pups learn quickly
to stay out of the way.

[offbeat uplifting music]

In the more than 40 years
since seal hunting stopped

in New England, gray seal
populations have undertaken

a slow recovery.

But now with more

and more females producing a
new pup every year, the numbers

of seals are really starting to climb.

Mike Jack, Jennifer Johnson,

and Beth Josephson from Noah are trying

to learn about the rate
of population growth.

They're doing annual aerial surveys

to count pups using a drone.

By flying up the beach

and taking pictures at regular intervals

with a high resolution camera.

They can get a good assessment each year

of the growth in the population.

[inspiring music]

What they have learned is that
the seals are on the rebound,

but it's not necessarily
good news for everyone.

Private pilot Aaron Knight shot
some video from his airplane

that illustrates the issue.

Seals are taking over Cape Cod beaches.

People are starting to
worry about the impact

on the beaches, the fish populations,

and something you might not expect:

great white sharks.

The recovery

of the seals has
contributed to the recovery

of their greatest predator.

But while it's possible this could lead

to a shark attack at one of
the beaches, the sharks seem

to be focused very
specifically on eating seals.

Some local residents say

that the sharks are
not eating enough seals

to control the population,

and the seals are becoming a big problem.

Do the seals need to lose
their protected status?

That is a battle which is
almost certainly coming,

but the good news is
that gray seals are back.

A species which had almost
vanished from the United States

has recovered thanks to more
than 40 years of protection.

For anyone who's ever had the chance

to see a fluffy gray seal pup,

or scuba dive with an inquisitive

and playful adolescent, this
can be nothing but great news.

Let's face it,

there's something wonderful
about an animal so adorable

and curious as a gray seal.

- [Narrator] Coming up,
Jonathan visits the Philippines

to meet some big friendly sharks.

- The whale shark is the
largest shark in the world.

Growing longer than a school bus,

the whale shark survives by
filter, feeding small fish

and plankton from the water.

[inspiring music]

At the Georgia Aquarium, I saw

how these massive animals are
fed by hand from a small boat.

[inspiring music continues]

I never thought I would
see this in the wild,

but 9,000 miles from the Georgia Aquarium

in the Philippines, something
amazing is happening.

It takes me two days of travel,

but I fly to the city of Dumaguete

on the island of Negros.

Woo, I made it.

I'm picked up by Atlantis Dive Resort

where I'll be staying for
a week of exciting diving.

I get a ride back to
the resort in a jeepney,

basically a fancy bus.

I'm here.

I arrive at the beachfront
Atlantis Resort,

dive boats ready for action.

[inspiring music]

The grounds and pool are gorgeous,

but I'm not here for the pool.

The next morning, I'm back on the jeepney

for a day trip adventure.

We drive to the ferry terminal.

Well, we're taking the ferry to Cebu

so we can go see some whale sharks.

Hopefully this ferry
can hold our giant bus.

We'll find out.

They back the jeepney onto the ferry,

along with a bunch of
cars and motorcycles,

and we're on our way to Cebu
Island, a short 30-minute ride.

Then everyone drives off the ferry

and it's another half
hour to the town of Oslob.

The water around Oslob is clear and blue,

and inhabited by giant sharks.

At the welcome center, we
encounter a huge number of people.

As many as 1,000 people
show up here every day

for a glimpse of the whale sharks.

After a briefing, everyone
stands around waiting

for their group number to be called.

Just offshore,

the larger boats with the
tourists are lined up in rows.

As I wait my turn, I can see

that the larger boats are not very big.

Just waiting with 1,000 other
people to see a whale shark.

I'm not sure that my camera
is gonna fit in that boat.

Soon, our group number is called

and the Blue World Team boards a boat.

I think this camera might
sink the boat, you guys.

- Marty, go real easy on
that bulkhead connection.

[tour guide speaking in foreign language]

Well, this is the
craziest whale shark trip

I've ever been on.

We paddle out to join the
rest of the boats in line.

Feeders in small boats

parade the sharks in front of the tourists

by dolling out food.

I put on my mask, fins, and snorkel,

and hop over the side.

In the Philippines,

I've just hopped into the
water with whale sharks.

Usually I have to chase
whale sharks swimming as hard

as I can to keep up, but here,

they bring them right past me.

The feeders paddle with one hand

and toss krill into the
water with the other.

They lead the sharks back

and forth in front of the tourists.

It's odd to be able to easily
position myself in front

of a whale shark to see how it feeds

by gulping enormous volumes of water.

Being a filter feeder,

the whale shark is harmless,
even though it's huge.

[inspiring music]

There are eight whale
sharks here, wild animals,

but happy to accept some food in exchange

for posing for pictures.

I used to joke about
chumming for whale sharks,

but this really is chumming

for whale sharks, and they love it.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking.

Yeah, this is kind of cool,

but feeding the wildlife
is never a good idea,

and you're right.

But on the other hand,
it was not that long ago

that whale sharks were
hunted and k*lled for food

and fins in the Philippines.

In Oslob, a handful

of whale sharks may have become
somewhat dependent on people

for food, but they're
also acting as ambassadors

for their species, allowing

to actually see

and swim with a real
whale shark in the ocean.

And in my experience, this
causes people to fall in love

with whale sharks, which in the long run,

is in the best interest
of sharks everywhere.

So, in the big picture,

I honestly see more good than bad in this.

People are not allowed to
touch or harass the sharks,

and the sharks come of
their own free will.

This thing is absolute proof that sharks

are good for tourism.

They're definitely
better alive than finned

and turn into soup.

Given the number of people in the water,

I'm pretty impressed

at how smoothly the whole operation runs.

It's fairly organized and a lot of fun.

These big harmless sharks
will convert anyone

that can float into a shark lover.