Original subtitles

What's going on, everybody, and welcome back

to another "Blue Wilderness" adventure here on the edge

of the Caribbean Sea at night.

Now we're at Grand Cayman Island,

and we did come here to swim with stingrays

at Stingray City.

And that was awesome.

We saw all kinds of cool reef fish and, of course,

got up close and personal with those giant rays,

but if we truly want to see something

unique, something really bizarre,

the best time to do that is at night.

So what we're going to do is we're

going to get our dive gear ready,

head out into the darkness of the sea,

and get up close with some of the most alien looking

creatures you can imagine.

Before we can make our descent, we had to swim away

from shore out to deeper water.

The visibility along the way was poor and churned up

by the waves making this process much

more nerve racking than usual.

Plunging into dark water is without question disorienting.

And it isn't until you regain your visibility and bearings

that your instincts to turn back retreat and allow you to press

forward further into darkness.

My eyes struggled to scan the empty space around me

for a glimpse of anything, but just like that,

we have our first visitor.

Drawn in by my camera lights, I find

these Caribbean reef squids stunning and very

interesting to observe.

Oddly enough, it actually might be as equally interested in me.

They can be quite the characters and are extremely intelligent.

It's mesmerizing how its bright coloration and translucent skin

glimmer as it flutters its fins against the dark inky water.

Isn't it incredible how it can remain in perfect position

with so little effort.

Closely related to octopus and cuttlefish,

these torpedo shaped cephalopods have 10 appendages set in front

of two very large complex eyes.

And while Caribbean reef squid are

normally social creatures seeing one

all alone isn't that uncommon.

Wow, they really are something.

What an interesting creature to kick off tonight's dive.

It's a surreal sensation to descend into the black abyss

of the ocean at night.

Some would argue the scenario would easily

rank as their greatest fear, and I wouldn't

necessarily blame them.

Your first night dive can be scary.

Luckily, our camera lights are strong and almost

create a force field literally pushing back

the fear of the unknown and establishing the reality

that exists in front of us.

I learned long ago that a strong sense of curiosity

can be the best defense against any fear.

Curiosity, like our dive lights, can illuminate our minds

to focus on what we can see instead

of imagining what figments may exist beyond the shadows.

And in this world, almost anything

my light touches brings my curiosity to a boil.

The weightlessness of diving combined

with this foreign landscape feels like nothing

less than a space odyssey.

So in the spirit of worlds beyond our imagination,

tonight we are on the hunt for something

truly bizarre as I hope to encounter

the aliens of the reef.

Between the maze of shapes and spectrum

of vivid colors that make up the coral reef,

its inhabitants are equally as colorful and unusual.

And as I get closer to the reef, many of the smaller creatures

start to reveal themselves like this arrow crab.

As are most of its other crab cousins,

this one is an opportunistic feeder hunting for worms

and other easy prey items.

But if that doesn't look like an alien, I'm not sure what does.

OK, let's move on and see what we can find

on the other side of the reef.

Oh, wow, so in complete contrast to the arrow crab,

here we have a huge reef spider crab also known

as a channel clinging crab.

This species of spider crab are commonly

found in waters off of Florida, the Bahamas,

and various Caribbean islands, but this one is

by far the largest I've seen.

We're currently at about 60 feet below the surface,

but these crabs can actually be found--

get this-- in excess of 100 feet,

a depth we don't often explore for marine life.

But maybe we should search for some deep water

creatures on a future dive.

The walls of the reef are really impressive covered

in brightly colored sponges that tower up at steep angles giving

way to flatter coral beds.

Wait, what was that?

I heard a crunch, like some sort of popping sound.

Whoa, that's what I heard.

That grunt just smash that smaller--

oh, and look at that.

There's an octopus.

Did you see it before it changed color.

That's a Caribbean reef octopus and a big one, too.

This is definitely the all star creature of the night.

Now they can be extremely difficult to find

but once spotted will flicker with color,

and these color displays are remarkable.

It's both attempting to blend in with the reef

to camouflage itself, and just when I get close enough

does that.

That is a defensive display.

See it flash white and blue and balloon up to appear

larger than it really is.

It's incredible how adaptive these creatures are, not only

able to change color but also able to change their shape

and skin texture completely.

Seeing these behaviors is very rare.

This is actually the first time I've ever witnessed it.

Now let's talk about danger.

All octopus are venomous including this one

and use their beaks to inject their prey

with a toxic saliva that paralyzes

them while they're consumed.

However, unlike their smaller cousin the blue-ringed octopus,

this species does not have a lethal bite

when it comes to humans.

But besides their venomous ways and bizarre appearance,

these animals are indeed strange.

Having three hearts, 360-degree vision,

and possessing inexplicable intelligence

has some scientists suggesting that these creatures are indeed

aliens from another world.

In fact, there are few fossil records to suggest otherwise,

but we'll save that debate for another video.

OK, well, our computers are telling us

it's time to return back to the surface,

but what an epic way to end our adventure.

Wow, that was by far the biggest octopus I personally ever

seen out here in the Caribbean, and it showed

us all kinds of crazy displays.

I mean, it changed color a dozen times.

It went from blues to reds to oranges to stripes,

and then it had those brilliant dominance displays

where it ballooned up and tried to make

itself look bigger on the reef.

That was incredible.

I cannot believe we just witnessed that.

And how about that Caribbean reef squid.

That's nothing to shake a stick out either.

That was pretty awesome to see the bioluminescence

cascading up and down its fins.

And I hope everybody at home enjoyed

tonight's night adventure just as much as we did.

The crew and I are absolutely exhausted.

We're going to get this gear off and head

back home for the evening.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next dive.

While a person's first night dive

can be a frightening ordeal, I have

found that any journey through this mystical landscape

will quickly replace feelings of fear with pure excitement.

These days whenever I have the chance to dive at night,

I find myself jumping at the opportunity,

literally, just as long as my light batteries

are fully charged.

What's going on, Brave crew?

We're back in Queensland, Australia,

about to head off for another epic tide pool adventure,

and we absolutely love these tide pools because they're

jam packed with super unique creatures including some

of the most deadly on Earth.

So if you're ready, it looks like the tide's headed out,

which means it's time for us to get our feet wet

and try to find something we've never seen before.

OK, let's go.

So you'll notice that all of the surface of the rocks

right now is wet and slippery.

We want to move extremely slow.

The last thing we want is for someone to take a nasty spill

because we're moving too fast.

Looks like there might be some more pockets ahead.

Let's head up a little bit further this way

and make moves toward the point.

Hey, guys, I think I got a crab here.

Got him.

Ha, ha.

This is a swift-footed shore crab,

and they are very difficult to catch because like their name

they are very swift.

Now these crabs are very, very common in these tide pools.

In fact, we were here last year, and I caught one.

I took a photograph and put it on Instagram,

and it was one of my most like Instagram posts

of our entire production last year.

But unfortunately we could not catch one again

to get it on camera, so I'm really

happy that I was able to find one today to show you guys.

This one does feel like it did just molt, which is perhaps

why it was a little easier to catch

and maybe a little bit slower.

I can tell that because its shell is slightly soft.

But what's really cool about crabs

is they're sort of like the custodians of the tide pools.

They're like the cleanup crew.

They're opportunistic omnivores, so they're

out here eating a lot of the dead things

and all the carrion.

And they also eat some of the plant life including

some of the algae and some of the plankton scum

that washes up, so they do a very good job at managing

these tide pools and keeping them pristine for all

the other creatures.

So thank you for doing that and we're going to let you go now

so you can go about your day.

See you, buddy.

Thanks for hanging out.

There he goes.

Oh, look at this.

This tide pool is brimming with life.

It's a lot of fish, a lot of fish around here.

Wait a second.

That is a cone snail, and cone snails are very venomous.

So what I want to do real quick is I'm going to place

the cone snail on this glove.

This is actually sting proof and bite proof to use when

you handle venomous creatures.

All right, there you have it.

You can see that patterning on the shell,

and that's how I was able to identify it as a cone snail.

Some might say this is actually an aposematic coloration

because of how venomous this creature is.

You can actually see its foot reaching out to right itself

right now.

That's pretty cool.

All right, so let's talk about what makes a cone

snail such a lethal predator.

They're actually armed with a very specialized radular

tooth up by their mouth.

They can actually shoot a venomous barb out

like a harpoon to dispatch their prey.

Now this barb is laced with a neurotoxic venom,

so it immediately paralyzes the prey so then the snail

can catch up and consume it because some of them

actually eat fish.

And those cone snails are actually

very dangerous to human beings.

So if you're ever going to come out shelling

or pick up a snail in this region of the world,

you definitely want to be aware of what a cone snail

looks like before you do so.

All right, let's put it back and see what else we can find

out here in the tide pools.

Well, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is we've already found some pretty cool animals.

The bad news is the weather that's

been pushing through the last few days

is really not letting this tide drop quite

as low as I thought it would.

So I have a GoPro wearable that I'm

going to throw on my shoulder, and I'm

going to head out there with this net, get in those rocks,

and hope to get lucky.

Whoa.

I'm glad I moved that mic back .

Nothing around here.

I'm going to move through this way.

Getting a little precarious.

Oh, boy.

Woo.

I'm really glad the mic pack's on this side and not that side

because I just got drilled.

This storm surge is for real.

OK, let's make your way around here.

Getting soaked.

Nothing.

Seeing a bunch of fish darting in and out.

Hold on.

What's that?

There's something right there.

An eel.

Oh my goodness.

Check this out.

Wow.

Look at that.

OK, I can't keep it out of water for too long.

We got to go find a spot to do the presentation.

Let's go over here to this pocket.

Wow.

I think what I want to do to present

this eel because I can't really handle it out of the water.

I'm going to put it in one of our cubes.

Here.

Can somebody hold that eel in the water there just like that?

OK, cool.

I get my pack off.

Let's fill this up with water.

OK.

This is a delicate little maneuver.

Now get this real quick.

OK, got it.

Perfect.

Yes.

First things first, let's talk about the type of eel

that we found here.

This is a snowflake eel.

It's called a snowflake eel because as you can see

on its side through the center line,

it has all these beautiful patterns

in the shape of snowflakes.

Now an eel is actually a fish, not a snake.

A lot of people confuse these animals with snakes,

with sea snakes, and they are not venomous

like a sea snake at all although they do have razor sharp teeth.

In fact, they have two rows of teeth

on the top, one row of teeth on the bottom, and then get this.

Inside their throat, they actually

have another set of jaws called the pharyngeal jaws, which

is an inner jaw structure that it uses to actually munch

on its meals and draw in food as it has the rest of the prey

item clasp in those front teeth, which is pretty creepy if you

think about it but a highly adapted mechanism that has

allowed these eels to thrive in ecosystems like these tide

pools in Australia.

Wow, did you see that?

It's trying to bite its reflection.

Now eels in particular are actually

fairly aggressive animals.

They're actually one of the animals

we have to worry the most about when we're out there diving.

They don't really back down they're

very courageous creatures, and they're not

really afraid of human beings.

And they have been known to attack divers at times when you

get too close, so whenever we see eels underwater,

we always want to keep our safe distance from them.

But in a unique situation like this, I'm able to take an eel

and put it in a container and get it

right up close to the camera.

That is so amazing.

Now eels have extremely poor eyesight.

Even though it has very beautiful eyes,

those bright yellow eyes on each side of its head,

they really can't see very well, so they rely heavily

on their sense of smell.

Their sense of smell is incredible.

In fact, if we get a tight enough shot,

you can see it has these little yellow appendages coming out

of its nostrils, and it can use those

to direct its sense of smell.

So it's a pretty cool little adaptation that it has.

And these animals like most mores

can filter waters by opening and closing their mouths

and then dragging the water across their gills

for respiration.

Well, I say that caps off an excellent adventure today.

We came back out to Australia's tide pools

to find something we've never found before.

And lo and behold, we find our very first eel.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, let's let this one go and head home.

Hi, everybody.

I'm Mark Vins and welcome to a special edition

of "Blue Wilderness."

So far on this series, we've encountered some pretty

incredible marine animals, but nothing has sparked

our imaginations like sharks.

And, man, have we seen sharks.

Near the Bahamas we swam next to a great hammerhead,

got up close with some massive tiger sharks.

That was a little too close.

And who can forget that slumbering lemon shark that I

was actually able to pet.

These were some of the most eye-opening experiences

of my entire life and have most certainly changed the way

that I think about sharks.

As we all know by now, they are certainly

not the brutal killers that movies portray them to be.

They are ancient, graceful, and often

curious creatures that play a tremendously important

role in our ocean ecosystems.

But no matter how close we get or how crazy the footage is,

we always get these two questions.

One, Mark, aren't you afraid you're going to get eaten,

and, two, what in the world are those little fish

stuck to the sides of the sharks?

To answer the first question, no, I'm not

afraid of being eaten, guys.

But that doesn't mean we don't have to be cautious.

We are extremely careful around these apex predators,

but truly they aren't interested in eating us at all.

And to answer the second question,

those little creatures are called remoras.

And like the shark, their role in the undersea world

is a little more complicated than it may seem.

We've encountered remoras almost everywhere we've been.

Sometimes referred to as the sucker fish,

these amazing animals front dorsal

fins have evolved over millions of years

into an organ that acts like a suction cup,

and with this suction cup, they can sneak up underneath a shark

and very carefully hitch a ride.

But it doesn't just piggyback on sharks.

The remora will latch onto a wide variety

of large marine animals including rays, whales, larger

fish, and even sea turtles.

So you might be asking yourself what gives.

Why do they do that?

Are they just lazy?

Not at all.

In fact, many believe that their interaction with their host

is actually a well-adapted strategy that creates

a mutualistic relationship.

Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship

in which two different biological organisms

both benefit from each other.

In other words, the shark and the remora

are both positively affected by this little arrangement.

While the shark will give the remora a ride and easy access

to food, the remora in turn feeds off

the scraps and parasites found on and around the shark,

keeping it both clean and healthy.

Now that's not to say that sharks

and other large marine animals always

love having a bunch of sucker fish attached to them.

You can imagine the enormous drag created by all

those fish along for the ride.

This relationship between the remora and other larger

marine animals has evolved over millions of years,

and seeing those fish swimming along with these massive sharks

reminds me of the interdependence of all things

in the marine ecosystem.

Our oceans consist of an enormous and delicate web

of life.

Every species depends in some way on every species

whether it's for food or just a good old

fashioned parasitic cleaning.

We've seen a lot so far on "Blue Wilderness,"

but in truth, we've only just begun to scratch the surface.

It is estimated that only 5% of our world's oceans

have actually been mapped and explored.

So it sounds to me like we've got a whole lot of adventures

ahead of us, and I can't wait.

Until next time, I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave, stay wild.

And we'll see you on the next dive.