06x10 - Tiger Sharks + Night Diving With Sharks

[bunniefuu]

[bright upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Today on "Blue
World", the Bahamas shark fest.

Jonathan goes night
diving with lemon sharks,

but first, tiger shark
diving with guest star,

Coyote Peterson.

[bright music]

[bright 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".

[bright upbeat music]

[shark knocking]

- [Jonathan] Today, I'm helping
the "Brave Wilderness" team

film the first episodes
of their new series,

"Blue Wilderness".

It will be hosted by Mark Vins,

who's been producing "Brave
Wilderness" with Coyote

since the beginning.

Their whole team has
recently learned to dive,

and this is their first big dive trip.

[bright upbeat music]

Since they're new to diving
and underwater filming,

they came to me for some advice,

and we decided to get together

for a week long dive adventure
on my favorite dive boat,

the Dolphin Dream.

[bright upbeat music]

We have a lot planned for the week,

our first stop, tiger sharks.

[upbeat percussive music]

Our adventure begins in
West End, Grand Bahama.

We sail north across
the Little Bahama Bank,

a shallow area of mixed sand and reefs.

[bright music]

It will take several hours
to reach our destination,

a large shallow area
called White Sand Ridge.

Along the way, we have some time to relax,

but it's not long before
we stop for a warmup dive.

Mario, the "Brave Wilderness"
cameraman, just got certified

and this will be his first dive

since finishing his scuba class.

Mark and Coyote have done a few dives,

but they haven't been
in the water in a while.

- See, I've changed out my head attire

from cowboy hat to huge
size beanie, maybe?

I dunno, that's what it feels like.

- You look like a seal.

[Coyote imitating seal barking]

- [Jonathan] I hop in the water first

to get some shots of Mark
and Coyote jumping in.

Coyote is going first, and I
can tell he's a little nervous,

scuba is still new for him.

[water splashing]

But he does a perfect giant
stride entry like a pro.

[bright music]

We drop down to the bottom

and there isn't really very much to see,

just some sand and a few soft corals.

But that's not the point,
Coyote, Mark, and Mario

need to get comfortable
in their scuba gear

before we add sharks to the mix.

[bright music]

Mark also has a brand new
Gates housing to figure out.

[bright music]

And Coyote has camera envy.

[bright playful music]

Soon, everyone is ready, and
we head back to the boat.

[bright music]

We pull anchor and head to Tiger Beach,

which isn't actually a beach at all,

it's the unofficial nickname
for a shallow, sandy place

far from land where they
chum for tiger sharks.

[bright music]

[knife thwacking]

As soon as we arrive,
the crew starts chumming

to begin the process of attracting sharks.

[water splashing]

Then, Captain Jared gives
the group a dive briefing.

- That if you guys don't
follow our suggestions

for protocols and safe practice of diving,

there's a very good probability
that you will get bit.

And from that, there is
a very good probability

that you will die,

about six hours from land,

and about eight hours
from actual medical care.

- And after that cheerful speech,

I have to reassure Mark and Coyote

that they're going to be fine.

This is gonna be so much
fun, you're gonna love this.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

- I'm hearing "fun"-
- Yep.

- Is it safe?

- Well, yeah, it's pretty safe.

- Pretty safe?
- It's mostly safe.

- Okay, mostly safe, what's the game plan,

how do we stay safe?

- So, we're gonna wear gloves.
- Okay.

- Which keep your hands
from looking like fish.

- Sure.

- And we're gonna wear hoods,

so we have this sort of ninja look.

- Ninja?
- Yeah.

It keeps the sharks from thinking
of us as having any food.

- Does that make the sharks intimidated

that we're like ninjas
or is that for color?

[Jonathan laughing]

- That is just to keep us from looking-

- Okay.
- Like anything edible.

- Ah.
- And when we hit the water,

we're gonna go straight down,

so we don't hang around the surface

where prey would be.
- Okay.

- You know, we're gonna
get down to the bottom,

and once we're down
there, they think of us

as just something that lives in the ocean

and something competing
with them for some food.

So, they're gonna ignore you,

you're gonna love it.
- Okay.

- It's gonna be fine.
- Well, I'm excited.

Coyote, how do you feel, are you ready?

- I got my giant camera rig ready,

and I am 100 percent certain
we're gonna get in the water

and get some epic shots.

- After an hour of chumming,

the boat is surrounded by sharks.

[bright music]

So when we pulled up, we
immediately had sharks,

which is always a really good sign,

but there's a great hammerhead down there,

and I'm really hoping
that it sticks around,

'cause it is so rare to see
a great hammerhead here.

You guys coming down, it'll be awesome,

and I'll meet you on the bottom.

- See you down there, buddy.
- Woo-hoo!

[water splashing]

Down on the bottom,
there's a lot of action.

Already we have three species of sharks,

Caribbean reef sharks, lemon sharks,

and at least one nurse shark
hanging around the chum box,

plus about a zillion fish.

[bright music]

Within a couple of minutes,

Coyote and Mark are hitting the water,

[water splashing]

and things down below are in full swing.

[water bubbling]

Then, the first tiger shark shows up,

[bright music]

and I'm pretty sure she just sneezed.

[bright music]

[bright music continues]

[bright music continues]

And soon, the great hammerhead appears.

[bright dramatic music]

This isn't just any great
hammerhead, this is a friendly one

that's been showing up
at Tiger Beach a lot

for the past two years.

[bright music]

And they call her Patches for
her patchy ventral coloration.

[bright music]

Normally, hammerheads do
not show up at Tiger Beach,

either they're afraid of the tiger sharks,

or they're just too skittish
around all the divers,

but Patches is different.

Patches is in fact so awesome,

we're going to do an
entire segment about her.

[bright music]

The appearance of Patches
and the tiger sharks

means that we now have
five species of sharks

present on a single dive,

and I'm pretty sure that
Mario is super excited.

I'm getting a kick out of watching Mark

get comfortable with his
new underwater camera,

and I can tell he's in the zone
where he's focusing on shots

and his fear is gone.

[bright music]

It's fun to be part of it

and to see these guys
falling in love with sharks

right in front of my eyes.

[bright music]

After an hour, we get a few last shots

and then reluctantly
head back to the boat.

Nobody wants to get out of the
water, but we're low on air.

I can hardly wait to hear
what they thought of the dive,

but when I pop up, Mario
has the camera ready

and he wants to know what
I thought of the dive.

Five species in one dive,

I don't know if that's ever happened!

To me, I mean, that's amazing!

As the sun sets, we're already
looking forward to tomorrow,

because things are about
to get even more wild.

[bright gentle music]

[bright dramatic music]

The next morning, the boat
is swarming with sharks,

but we're doing a shark
feed, so we have to jump

into this mass of sharks

and swim down quickly to the bottom.

[bright dramatic music]

[water splashing]

We hit the water and head
over to the sandy area

where the feed will take place.

[bright exciting music]

Coyote and I are first on the scene.

[bright exciting music]

Soon, Houston arrives with the bait box.

[water bubbling]

The sharks know the deal,
they immediately come over

and start circling, waiting for
the free breakfast to start.

[bright music]

Mark arrives with his camera ready.

[water bubbling]

As Houston starts feeding,
Mario, Mark, and Coyote

are all keeping a safe distance,

with cameraman Tim
filming from behind them.

[bright music]

As the feed goes on, more and
more sharks come to the party.

[bright music]

Coyote and Mark get more comfortable

moving closer and closer to the action.

[bright music]

Then the sharks come
around to investigate,

Mark has a close encounter
of the sharky kind,

[bright music]

but he handles it calmly, no problem.

[bright music]

Coyote is getting right
up close with his camera.

[bright music]

[bright music continues]

And then Coyote has his
own close encounter.

[bright music]

And he recovers like a pro.

This was not an act of
aggression from the shark,

it was just investigating Coyote
to see if he had any food.

[bright music]

You don't need to read sign language

to understand what he's saying,

that is one big tiger shark.

At the end of the dive, we
all head back to the boat

to celebrate.

We took the "Brave
Wilderness" team shark diving,

and Coyote didn't get bitten by anything.

Mario and Mark got some
valuable experience

filming underwater for their
new series, "Blue Wilderness".

[upbeat percussive music]

And guess what?

We're planning a bunch of
upcoming collaborations

between "Blue World", "Blue Wilderness",

and "Brave Wilderness", so stay tuned

for more awesome underwater
action in the "Blue World".

[bright upbeat music]
[water splashing]

- [Narrator] Do sharks sleep?

Coming up, a dark and spooky
night dive with sharks.

- It's a beautiful evening as the sun sets

behind the Dolphin Dream dive boat.

But, the "Blue World" and
"Brave Wilderness" teams

are just beginning to embark
on our next Bahamas adventure.

[transition whooshing]
[upbeat percussive music]

We've all traveled to
West End, Grand Bahama

for a week of epic diving.

[upbeat percussive music]

And so far, it's been incredible.

On our first few dives, we had encounters

with five different shark species,

there were huge tiger
sharks, curious lemon sharks,

reef sharks, nurse sharks,
and course, Patches,

the famous hammerhead.

[bright exciting music]

The "Brave Wilderness" guys have gotten

some great experience
filming sharks underwater,

and we've all had a fabulous
time diving together.

So, we've done a lot of
shark diving on this show,

and we've done a lot of night diving,

but tonight, we're gonna combine the two

into shark night diving
just to see how many sharks

we can find after dark,

and I'm sure it's not
gonna be scary at all.

[bright playful music]

As the sun dips below the
horizon, we start suiting up.

[gentle upbeat music]

[gentle upbeat music continues]

[fins slapping]

Well, hopefully I'm gonna
go find some sharks,

and it'll be interesting to see

if the "Blue Wilderness"
guys have gotten eaten yet.

[Jonathan laughing]

[water splashing]

- This is gonna be a piece of cake.

[water splashing]

- On the bottom, we meet up with Mario

from the "Brave Wilderness" team,

who's currently surrounded by tiger sharks

in the semi-darkness.

[bright exciting music]

As it gets darker, we'll
be able to locate the boat

by the bright lights on the stern.

[bright exciting music]

In the absence of sunlight,
the colors of the reef

really pop under our video lights.

[bright music]

As darkness fully falls,
basket stars unfurl

and catch plankton with
their tendril arms.

Purple rope sponges don't
do anything exciting,

but they look cool.

Even so, sharks are cooler,
and there are lots of them.

[bright exciting music]

With the limited range of our lights,

the sharks come and go into
the darkness regularly,

and it's pretty spooky.

[bright exciting music]

It's almost impossible to see the sharks

until they're right on top of us.

[bright exciting music]

Cameraman Bill and I come
across a resting lemon shark

covered in remoras that
look really annoying.

I inch my way up close to the
shark trying not to spook her.

While a few species of sharks
can never stop swimming,

most can in fact rest on the bottom

and gulp water to breathe,

a behavior known as buccal pumping.

[bright dramatic music]

Biologists don't really
know if sharks sleep,

but these lights are really
bright, so it seems plausible

that this shark is really zonked out.

I keep inching my way forward

until I can get an
awesome view of the teeth.

[bright dramatic music]

Ever coughed in your sleep?

Apparently sharks do
too, and now she's awake

and fully aware of 10,000 lumens

of LED video lights in
her face, time to leave.

Bill is annoyed that I
scared the shark away,

so now he has to find us another one.

[water bubbling]

Look behind you, Bill!

[bright exciting music]

Mark and Mario have found
another resting lemon shark

and they're getting
even closer than I did.

Wait a minute, is Mark petting the shark?

Pretty impressive for guys

that hadn't even dove
with sharks two days ago.

One bad idea leads to another,
I'm gonna try that myself.

[bright music]

I really think that sharks must sleep,

because that seems like
the best explanation

for this shark putting up with
being petted like a puppy.

[bright music]

I think the other sharks
are starting to get jealous.

[bright music]

I decide to try the tonic
immobility technique I learned

with master shark handler, Neil Harvey,

and gently rub the shark under the snout,

but all I manage to
accomplish is waking her up.

[bright music]

On a shark night dive in the Bahamas,

we spot a southern
stingray foraging for food.

[bright exciting music]

Unfortunately, sharks eat stingrays.

[bright exciting music]

Bill and I watch as a chase begins.

[bright exciting music]

We'll never know how it ends.

[bright dramatic music]

After an hour with the sharks in the dark,

our scuba tanks are getting low,

so it's time to make for the boat.

[bright exciting music]

As we ascend, the sharks circle below.

[bright exciting music]

We know they're not aggressive,

but that doesn't make
it any less unsettling.

[bright exciting music]

We do our safety stop on the descent line

while keeping an eye on the sharks,

and then we can get out.

[bright exciting music]

[water splashing]

Oh man, that was crazy.

Did you see that thing?

- I saw it all happen, amazing.

- Man, so the lemon shark was,
I thought it was sleeping.

- Yeah, I did too.

- And what happened?

- I was filming the
southern ray coming by,

"Oh, look, you know,
nighttime life, here we go."

And the southern ray got close and closer,

and all of a sudden about three feet away,

the shark woke up and
just went right after it.

- And went nuts!
- Yeah.

- I thought the shark
was completely asleep,

and as soon as that ray
was anywhere near it, man,

boom!
- Yeah.

- It was a big fight.
- Yeah, they were chasing,

the ray was darting all around,

the shark was swimming after
it, all over the place,

incredible.
- Yeah, I don't know

what happened, they-
- I dunno.

- They went off into the darkness

and we have no idea what
happened, but wow, man,

just when you think the shark
is sleeping, mm, not so much.

[Jonathan laughing]

- It was incredible.
- That was cool.

- That was incredible.
- Definitely worth that dive.

- Yeah.

- [Jonathan] The nightlife in the ocean

is always spectacular.

Although it may seem scary,

night diving's actually quite peaceful.

[bright music]

It's one of my favorite ways
to experience the "Blue World".

[bright music]

[bright upbeat music]

[dramatic music]