All language subtitles for B.W.S08E10.Sting.King.of.the.Deep.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

Welcome
back to Guadalupe, Mexico,

the site of our very first
great white shark encounters.

Aboard the Socorro Vortex,
we traveled over 175 miles

to this prehistoric
island, in hopes

of getting up close
with the world's

largest predatory shark.

Here we go.

And as millions
of you witnessed,

that's exactly what we did.

But what if I were to
tell you that we really

didn't come all this way for an
ordinary shark cage adventure?

What if I were to tell you, the
real reason we came this far

was to embark on the
single-most daring mission

we've ever attempted.

Today, I will take
you even closer

to the most famous
set of jaws on Earth

in one of a kind
shark cage submarine.

By now, I'm sure everyone
watching this video

has at least seen images of
a great white shark before.

But have you ever seen a SPOC?

Probably not because the
self-propelled ocean cage

is highly experimental and can
only be piloted by one of two

people in the entire world.

Now, the sharks will
let us get close in this?

Or are they going
to get close to us?

- Both.
- Both.

Yeah.

Meet Eric Higuera, our
pilot for today's mission

and a world-renowned
marine biologist,

and ocean photographer.

So no matter what,
we're not going to sink?

Well--

That could be the second--

That's not-- that's not
what I wanted to hear.

Eric, I want you to say,
yeah, we're not going to sink.

You are in charge
of monitoring

your own air supply system.

I won't be able to monitor that.

If you run out of air, it's
going to be your fault.

You're
probably asking yourself

or maybe even yelling
at your screen,

why are you putting
yourself in this situation?

Well, what we know of
these mysterious creatures

has been limited to years
of topside observation,

cage-diving, and the infrequent
free dive experiences that only

a few have lived to speak of.

So this vehicle truly
represents an evolution

in our understanding
of the world's most

famous shark, which
is also, perhaps,

the world's most famous animal.

All right, so we had
our debriefing with Eric

on the self-propelled
ocean cage AKA SPOC.

And I have to say, I
am so excited to get

out there and in the water,
in this research vehicle.

This is going to be probably one
of the most unique experiences

you could have with great
white sharks in a safe way,

without free diving.

I mean, certainly, someday, I'd
love to have the opportunity

to free dive with
great white sharks,

but this is about
as close as you're

going to get here in Guadalupe.

And now, all we need to
do is go get suited up,

get our cameras ready, and
get out there for some action.

As if this activity in and of
itself wasn't dangerous enough,

the technical nature of this
dive was also quite daunting.

I would need to wear a full
face regulator in order to,

maybe, have communication
with the pilot.

However, underwater comms
are notoriously unreliable.

I would also be wearing
a pony bottle BC

in the case of an
emergency bailout,

in which I would need to rip
off my full face reg to use it--

not ideal.

Additionally, I would be wearing
nearly 30 pounds of weight

without fins.

And I would sink like a rock,
one foot outside the confines

of the cage.

Oh, and did I mention this
was an experimental craft?

The connections and
critical mechanisms

were all exposed and at risk
of damage from the divers.

If I were to kick
one accidentally,

it could prove catastrophic.

Eric is in the SPOC.

I'm about to get in the
SPOC, and then we're

about to go get up close--

OK, your time to get in.

OK, here we go, guys.

See you.

This was potentially

the most dangerous step
of the day and potentially

of my entire life.

Jump in and miss grabbing
the cage, you sink fast.

This was a one-shot
deal, a no-miss scenario.

This wasn't just water.

It might as well
have been looking

off a 50-story skyscraper.

This was it.

As soon as I got
hold of the bar,

I pulled myself into the cage.

And what it seemed roomy on
the deck had suddenly shrunk,

and there was barely
any room to move.

All right, I'm all set.

Ready to go.

But what was worse,

my headset was silent.

The communications
had already failed.

Eric and I would rely
solely on hand signals

for the entirety of the dive.

In a way, I was now
completely on my own.

Once settled and breathing
normally, I set the cameras

and gave Eric the
signal to launch.

In an instant, we were off.

The rush of water
pressing against me

as we glided below
the boat was much

more intense than I expected.

Great, another obstacle.

After adapting to
these new sensations,

the environment came into view.

Clear and brilliant
blues to my sides

and above, with a dark
ominous floor below, which

wasn't really a floor at all.

Instead, literally,
thousands of feet of water.

The sharks were all around us,
yet none of them were in sight.

So we began our descend in hopes
of meeting a great white shark

face to face.

Eric zipped the
SPOC up and down,

checking different depths for
shadows and signs of movement.

The thermal lines or temperature
layers were dramatic.

Each dive down would zap us
with freezing cold water,

and the light would retreat
right along with it.

It was very dark below 60
feet, a perfect environment

for these sharks as they
have adapted retinas that

are actually split, one part
suited for surface light

and one part adapted
for darkness.

And while we certainly require
wet suits to regulate our body

temperatures to keep
from hypothermia,

the sharks are able to regulate
their bodies all on their own.

We had been looking
for nearly 25 minutes

without a single
sign of a shark,

but then, I saw a
shadow to my right.

It was big.

I signal to Eric
to turn starboard.

And as soon as he did, the
great white swam into view.

I should have been
alarmed the way it

seemed to appear from nowhere.

However, with my
camera rolling, I

was thrilled to feel
our speed increase

to keep up with the predator.

I couldn't risk
missing the shot.

The shark easily outflanked
us and, for a moment,

seemed to be gone entirely.

Then, it quickly doubled-back
and was in front of us again.

However, we never
really got that close.

A first sighting, yes, but the
shot we were after, not at all.

This adventure
was far from over.

After the relief of getting
some footage had washed over me,

I was back on the lookout.

Great whites can grow up to one
ton and over 18 feet in length,

and swim at speeds in
excess of 30 miles an hour.

Even with the SPOC
to protect us,

I couldn't help but feel
completely outmatched.

But who could blame me?

It's not every day
you find yourself

in the kill zone,
a favorite hunting

ground of the great white.

Again, we dashed
around the grounds.

Only sardines and other
fish came into view.

And after 45 minutes, I
began to think that was it.

That was as close as
we were going to get,

when then, Eric suddenly turned.

He must have seen
something I hadn't.

I knew we were near
the boat, but I

wasn't quite sure how close.

And then, I saw the shark.

It was swimming straight for us.

All I could do is breathe
and keep my camera as steady

as possible.

This was it.

The encounter of a lifetime.

Time slowed in that moment.

And as the shark moved and swam
back around for an even closer

look, the fact that
I was being observed

and calculated by this
creature was unmistakable.

A real connection between
myself and the shark

that I've been dreaming to
meet had finally happened.

As it turned and swam away, a
sense of relief came over me.

I was ready to be
back on the boat,

but I wanted to tell
everyone the tale of how

obvious and beneficial
vessels like the SPOC

would be for revealing
the true nature

of this misunderstood species.

I certainly would
be walking away

today with a brand
new perspective

that I never thought possible.

We got really
close to a shark.

That was awesome.

That was a shot we need it.

So much more intense than I
thought it was going to be.

Just give me a second.

I need to absorb the fact
that I'm back on the boat.

Wow, what an experience.

Getting to be in the realm
of the great white shark

in a shark cage submersible.

Are you kidding me?

That was the coolest
thing I've ever done.

The water ves got
pretty bad at the end,

but we did get to see some
great white sharks up close.

In fact, that last
one, I thought

was going to hit the camera.

Huge thank you to this Socorro
Vortex and all the crew

that helped us out today.

A special thanks to Eric
for captaining the SPOC

and keeping me safe,
so I get those up close

shots for everybody at home.

I hope you guys loved this
episode as much as I did.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next dive.

All right, I'm going to
go warm up and dry off.

As the boat departed back

from the mainland,
I couldn't help

but be grateful for all that
took place these last few days

in Guadalupe.

I knew I would be back.

When?

I don't really know.

For another round in the SPOC?

Probably not.

I won't lie, that
was pretty crazy.

Sorry, mom.

Stingray, a bizarre and
enigmatic ocean dweller

that tends to be the
topic of conversation

everywhere I seem to go.

And since we began
making wildlife videos,

the one creature that has
come up in the comments

on this channel
more than any other

is, of course, this
barbed glider of the sea.

And I think we all know why.

And I'm not out to
explain that story.

Incidents in recent years have
clearly given this creature

a menacing reputation.

However, I want to
experience for myself

the true nature of this animal.

And when I thought
of the best place

in the entire world
would be to do this,

my mind sailed right
toward the crystal

clear waters of the Caribbean.

So get ready.

If you're brave
enough, I'm bringing

you with me on my
quest to encounter

the sting king of the deep.

All right, here we are.

We finally made it to Stingray
City, just about 35 minutes

off the coast of Grand Cayman.

And I, for one, am super excited
to go diving with these rays

today because these have
become one of the most talked

about marine creatures
in the past decade

due to the numerous reports
of people being stung

or speared by their barbs.

So let's take a closer
look at this barb,

and this is a big one.

This is a cast of a stingray
barb, an exact replica.

And as you can tell, not
only is it like a dagger,

but it also has serrated edges.

So when the barb punctures
anything that it's stabbing,

it actually does a lot of
tissue damage on the way out.

And we're talking of
potential of multiple stings

when a stingray attacks.

It raises its tail in the
air, and then jabs upward.

So we have to be
especially careful today

when we're in the water
with these marine creatures.

And to add insult to
injury, there's also a venom

gland at the base of the barb.

So not only are you
going to get stabbed,

you're also going
to get envenomated.

OK, now before we
get in the water,

we do want to have a quick
safety briefing with the crew

and find out just
how we're going

to get these stingrays
up close today

in the safest way possible.

Let's go check it out.

So by the looks of this, Sean,
these stingray love squid.

Yeah, they
absolutely love squid.

They'll eat it right up.

Why are these stingrays
are [inaudible] humans?

So years ago, the
fishermen in Grand Cayman

would come here after their
catch and clean their fish.

And as they clean their fish,
they're going to just throw

all of the guts over here.

And then ray started coming in.

And from what I've heard, a
lot of the locals, because they

didn't really get in
the water back then,

they thought that they
were actually sharks.

They came in and told some of
the dive shops on the island

and some divers came
out here and discovered

there were giant southern
Atlantic stingrays.

So that's important for
everyone to realize at home.

This is a very special
situation that we're

going to be experiencing today.

This is a marine
interactive zone.

You would never want to
engage with a wild stingray

or any wild animal,
for that matter,

if you weren't absolutely
certain that it was safe to do.

Show me how we're
going to pass the food.

I'm going to
place it in your palm.

And then you want
to close your hand really fast.

Close your
hand really fast.

If I do this,
what's going to happen?

Those fish
are going to come

and take that really quick.

Boom, and,
potentially, take a piece of me

with them.

Yeah, just a little nip.

OK, that's not
what we want to happen.

Now, the rest of
this stuff, this

is what we're putting
in our BC's, right?

That's right.

And by our
BC's probably mean my BC.

We mean your BC, yes.

Great.

I think that about
does it, Sean.

I think I'm ready
to get down there

and interact with these rays.

So we're going to get
suited up, and I'll

meet you at the dive platform.

Sounds great.

All right, let's do it.

There's the tracking right
there, down the hatch.

Ready to go.

Time is finally here.

We're about to get the
water with the stingrays

of Stingray City.

Let's go.

Warm Caribbean waters

always a welcome to luxury
when diving in this region.

But as I regained my
bearings, I quickly

spotted a pesky barracuda
looking for a free meal.

I would need to keep my
eye on this squid thief.

The last thing I want
is to have my hand

chomped by its snarled fangs
for a tiny piece of bait.

Luckily, most of the
fish here that have teeth

mainly hunt by sight.

So as long as there is
nothing for them to target,

my hands should be just fine.

To my surprise, the rays were
already descending upon us,

as we attempted to set our
gear and ready ourselves

for the encounters.

No dinner bells required
here at Stingray

City, that is for sure.

There were two large females
and one smaller male.

As we were warned by
the crew, the males

tend to be more aggressive
and a little bitey,

so I'm going to have
to keep that in mind

when feeding the larger race.

The little male could come
and strikeout of nowhere.

Whoa, these rays
do not mess around.

They clearly can smell the
squid without any trouble.

And man, are they
quick on the take.

All right, let me focus here and
attempt this a few more times.

As you can see, Southern
Atlantic stingray

have flattened bodies composed
of pectoral fins, which

are joined at their
head and trunk

to form a diamond-shaped
disk, followed

by their infamous tail.

Their color varies
from dark brown,

gray, or black on the upper
side to white on the lower side.

This combination
acts as a camouflage

to help the stingray blend
in with its environment

as they like to burrow
in the sand to rest

while hiding from predators.

Their primary predator,
being the hammerhead shark.

Remember that dive?

Female southern stingray tend
to grow much larger than males.

The average female grows
to about 6 feet in length

while the average
male is around 2

and 1/2 feet, which
is, obviously, much

smaller as you can see here.

OK, let's try to feed the male.

Maybe a little bit of squid will
keep him occupied for a while.

He's getting a little too
riled up for my liking.

He almost bit me.

Man, their mouth plates
do not feel good.

I can feel them scrape
my knuckles right there.

All right, I won't be
making that mistake twice.

Stingray hunt by using
electroreception,

along with the strong
sense of smell and touch.

Their diet will typically
consist of small fish, worms,

and crustaceans.

Since a lot of the stingrays
preys often buried in the sand,

they will either flap
their fins over an area

or utilize a really cool
technique, where they will

force water streams from their
mouths to reveal the prey,

and then slurp them
up into their mouths

to be mashed by their
powerful plates,

cracking and smashing any
hard shells in the process.

Now, that's pretty
cool if you ask me.

I just don't want it to
happen to one of my fingers.

Another cool fact is
these stingray have two

eyes that sit atop their head.

And right behind them,
you'll notice two openings

that are called spiracles.

These allow the
stingray to breathe

by taking in oxygenated
water from above

and expelling it through their
gills on their underside.

This is a great
way to not breathe

in sand or other debris
from the ocean floor

while they're hunting.

OK, now to the business end.

Southern Atlantic stingray
have a whip-like tail,

which, as we mentioned earlier,
wields a deadly defense

known as a barb.

Stingrays are typically
docile creatures

and only use their barbs as
a method of self-defense.

So the only way for me
to get stung right now

is to startle a ray from above
or unintentionally step on one.

And yes, those barbs will
go right through my fins,

so I definitely need to
be careful, especially

down here on the ocean floor.

All right, that's all the squid.

Time to head back to the boat.

I can't believe it.

That was so cool.

Oh, man, that was amazing.

So many stingrays down
there, and they were big.

Let me get my tank off my back,
and I'll tell you all about it.

I did not think the
stingrays were going to hang

out with us for that long.

I thought they would come in,
take the bait out of our hand,

and then zip right off.

But sure enough, those rays
hung out the entire dive,

and we got a lot of great shots.

I know they came up and
made a lot of contacts.

After what we witnessed
today, it goes without saying,

stingrays are not an animal
that you need to fear.

If you see one at
your local beach,

if you see one at
your local dive site,

just give it safe distance, and
you're going to be just fine.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next dive.

You would never

want to get this
close to stingrays

under any other circumstance.

What we have here at Stingray
City is a very unique situation

and is regulated
by professionals,

so please don't attempt to
do this at your local beach.

All right, let's get started.

The first thing we want to do
is to create the environment

for our creatures.

So I'm going to
use just some sand,

and we're going to
hopefully let that settle.

So now that we have all
the sand in the bottom,

we're going to introduce
some of our living rocks,

very colorful and
very natural-looking

to this tide pool aquarium.

This one has a
sea anemone on it.

And when I put it in the
water, it's actually going

to bloom and look really cool.

Oh, look, you can
already see it.

There it is.

It got a nice bloom
on that sea anemone.

Very cool.

Glad we got that one.

So we've got our rock set.

I'm going to add some plant
life because how could we have

a tide pool without plants?

How's that look?

Nice.

These are no longer
living creatures,

but we have the skeleton
of some sea urchins here.

Now, certain types of sea
urchins around the world

are venomous.

And if you're spined,
it hurts really bad.

But these purple
sea urchins out here

in California are
fairly harmless,

and their spines
are fairly blunt.

It's not going to prick me
just handling it like this,

as long as I hold it carefully.

Let's stay in the
echinoderm family.

These brittle stars
are very, very similar

to sea stars, except their
appendages, as you can see,

move a lot more.

They're a lot more mobile
than most sea stars.

Look at them, they're
like wriggling

around like little octopus.

We'll put these down in there.

And you'll see how
quickly these brittle star

find their way to cover.

Next up, let's look at
these cool sea stars.

These are awesome.

Look at that.

This is like the tank
of a echinoderms.

Echinoderm city,
we've got sea urchins.

We've got two species
of brittle star,

and now we're adding
these beautiful sea stars.

So awesome.

And Corey, reach out your head.

Touch that.

Oh.

They're pretty rough, right?

It's like sandpaper.

Yeah.

Yeah, they're not as
soft as they look.

They're pretty rigid.

These are two
little hermit crabs.

Look at this.

This is pretty cool.

This crab actually has
eggs underneath its tail.

This is a mammoth crab.

Next up, I would love to add our
fish of the day, the sculpin.

Now these fish can
actually be out of water.

They can breathe air.

So you look at it
there breathing air?

This was absolutely gorgeous,
beautiful greens and grays.

It almost has a little bit of
peach flecking on the face.

Look at the eyes on
that, so beautiful.

All right, there it is.

Our tide pool
aquarium is finished.

And I have to say, I'm
really proud of this one.

We caught a variety of
species this morning,

and it looks really accurate
to this environment.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.