All language subtitles for Life.2009.S01E04.1080p.BluRay.x265-RARBG

A'i'i'en borough:
Ours is truly a blue planet.

Water co vers most
of the world '5 surface.

Here, we are the outsiders.

But under the waves, one group thrives.

Fish.

Fish are masters of the waters.

And sailfish are the fastest
of them all.

Their speed makes them one of
the ocean's most fearsome predators.

Off the coast of Mexico,

30 sailfish have surrounded
a ball of sardines.

To catch their prey
requires more than speed alone.

In the tightest turns,
fins maintain stability.

Their sickle-shaped tail
powers them forwards

and that extraordinary dorsal fin
helps intimidate their prey.

To the naked eye,
the action is too fast.

Slowed, their challenge becomes clear.

Just picking a target is hard enough.

I(nocking it off balance separates it
from the shoal.

This requires extraordinary skill.

Not every attempt is successful.

But as more sailfish join in,

when one misses,
another takes its place.

The shoal of sardines
is methodically wiped out.

Sailfish are top predators,
very little threatens them.

But for the majority of fish,
this is not the case.

For most fish, the open ocean
is extremely dangerous.

And some go to extraordinary lengths
just to survive.

Flying fish.

Free of the water,
they soar on elongated fins,

Lea ving their predators far behind.

A flight of fish.

Escaping predators is not the only test
facing the flying fish.

They must also protect
their developing young.

These flying fish are searching
for the one thing

that will make this possible.

In such a vast ocean it's not easy.

They're in luck.

A palm frond.

It's a tiny island
adrift in a huge ocean.

And like an island it offers shelter,

not for the flying fish
but for their eggs.

The females lay eggs on the raft,
where the males fertilise them.

The first fish spawn
and this triggers the others to start.

Soon, thousands join the melee.

Innumerable strands of eggs are laid.

The raft starts to tilt
under their weight.

The best place to lay eggs
is right inside the frond.

For some, the attempt proves fatal

and living fish become entombed.

The raft starts to sink
under the weight of so many eggs.

But this is far from a disaster.

Sinking away from the surface

actually improves the eggs'
chances of survival.

In just a few days,

having been safely hidden in the depths,
they'll hatch out.

Other fish protect their offspring
in different ways.

Some go to far greater lengths
to care for them.

The shallow waters of southern Australia
are home to many strange creatures.

It's a fairytale world of seahorses,

stargazers

and stingrays.

But none compare with the beauty
of the weedy sea dragon.

The dragon's tiny fins beat frantically

to prevent the current
from sweeping it away.

It's the beginning of spring,

the season when sea dragons
begin their courtship.

And in the evening light,
they start to dance.

In a graceful duet, each partner
mirrors the actions of the other.

Darkness will soon draw a veil
over the pair,

but they will dance on into the night.

Two months later and the result
of their courtship is re vealed.

It's the male

and he's the one
that's carrying the eggs,

with rows and rows of them embedded
in his tail.

That night, the female
transferred her eggs to him.

Since then,
the male alone has cared for them.

By carrying them with him,
he's kept them safe.

And now it's time for his efforts
to be rewarded.

The eggs are ready to hatch.

In the calm of a summer morning,

a baby sea dragon,
with yolk sac still attached, is born.

The weed bed shelters older dragons

that are already able
to feed themselves.

Although these dragons
were well cared for by their father,

now they must find their own way
in the world.

There are fish, however,
which provide their young

with a safe refuge for far longer.

The southwestern pacific.

A convict fish, and it's something
of a marine architect.

Underground, it has created
a labyrinth of tunnels.

This adult never ventures out
of its burrow.

What it eats is a mystery.

But it doesn't live here alone.

A t another entrance, faces peer out.

Juvenile convict fish.

Unlike their parent, the youngsters
are not tied to the burrow.

And as they start to emerge,
a trickle becomes a flood of fish.

There are thousands of them.

And they all help with the chores.

Many hands make light work.

The young fish swarm together
thousands of miles, gulping plankton.

What the adults eat must somehow
involve these youngsters.

Whether the young feed their parents
by regurgitating food

or through some other mechanism,
we just don't know.

Whatever the answer, the youngsters
provide their parents with a meal

and in return,
get a roof over their heads.

Producing young is just one challenge.

Finding food and somewhere to live
are further trials fish must face.

The californian coast.
A wide range of species live here.

But all this life means
competition for living space is intense.

Old shells are highly prized.

And this one is occupied
by a sarcastic fringehead.

These fish
are exceptionally quarrelsome.

They have to be
to defend their living space.

An octopus.

Inadvertently, it's wandered
into the fringehead's territory

and that can't be tolerated.

The octopus' impressive jab
holds the fringehead at bay.

There is more to this behaviour
than being bad-tempered.

The fringehead needs to defend its patch
if it is to get enough to eat

and the octopus was competition.

Crabs are not the easiest of mouthfuls.

Because of the shortage of living space,
there are constant boundary disputes,

especially with other fringeheads.

And this one has got too close.

Despite the most extravagant threats,

neither is prepared to back down.

Success. And it's quick to get back
to its shell.

A fringehead can never drop its guard,
there's too much competition.

Some fish have moved to places
where they have fewer rivals.

A mudskipper, a fish that spends
most of its life out of the sea.

It can walk on land and breathe air.

Its life is very different
from that of most fish.

A fish out of water, maybe.

But they thrive here in Japan.

So what's made this upheaval worthwhile?

The answer lies in the mud.

As the tide retreats,
it exposes mudfla ts.

Sunlight hits the rich silt

and tiny plants and animals
flourish there.

All food for a mudskipper,

But life on land
is not without problems.

It's hard work to find a mate.

Jumping high above the mud
will get you noticed.

With eyes perched
on the top of their heads,

the mudskippers keep a lookout
for both friend and foe.

And males fight those who intrude
on their territory.

They must also take care not to dry out
in the sun.

Rolling in the ooze keeps the skin
cool and moist.

For this smaller species,

a better option
is to retreat underground.

So he digs himself a tunnel
down into the mud.

His heap of spoil is an indication
of the extent of his excavations.

With the tide flooding the tunnel
twice a day,

maintenance is a real burden.

The tunnel is more than a refuge
from the sun.

It serves
another very important purpose.

The tunnel is actually u—shaped.

And at the far end is a sealed chamber,

the walls of which are lined with eggs.

The eggs are kept in air,
as it's richer in oxygen than the water.

The problem is the air
that's trapped here won't last for long.

So the male travels to the open end
of the tunnel to gulp fresh air.

Back he goes down his tunnel, where
he releases it into the egg chamber,

replenishing the oxygen
on which the eggs depend.

He will repeat this hundreds
and hundreds of times,

until his young hatch.

This lifestyle is very demanding,

yet the mudskipper has found a way
around every problem.

The harsh challenges of life
in the ocean

have encouraged other fish
to leave the sea.

Not for land, but for fresh water.

Hawaii is the remotest island chain
on the planet.

These pools look the perfect place
for a fish to live,

secluded and free from competition
and predators.

Yet few contain fish,
for one very considerable reason.

Surely no fish could swim up this.

But one fish comes from the ocean
intent on colonising these streams.

It's a tiny goby
and it's a rock climber.

With pelvic fins fused into a disk
which acts like a sucker,

all the goby needs is a film of water
to climb through.

The pioneer is soon followed
by many others,

possibly following its scent trail.

They clamber on, ever upwards
against the flow.

Drops of water fall like bombs.

False leads waste crucial energy.

Some must rest.

For others, the effort is just too much.

Many die in their attempt
to reach the top.

Against all the odds,

a few heroic individuals do make it
to the top.

They find themselves
in a near perfect fish habitat,

Where the gobies can feed and grow
and breed in peace.

In time, their own young will be
swept downstream and out to sea

and the cycle will begin all over again.

Fresh water presents
particular challenges for fish.

Nutrients can be in very short supply
in spring water,

so here, fish must take
every chance they can to find food.

The rain that falls
on these I(Enyan hills

percolates through the rocks,

finally emerging
as crystal-clear pools...

Pools that are home to fish
including barbel.

The fish share these waters
with all sorts of creatures...

Including hippopotamus.

These giant vegetarians are
no threat to the fish.

In fact, they're key
to their survival here.

After a night of grazing on land,

these hippos return to spend the
daylight hours in the cooling waters.

And the barbel come to meet them.

Soon, each hippo is trailed
by a shoal of fish

waiting for their breakfast,

hippo droppings.

But it's not just the hippo's dung
the fish are interested in.

When the hippos reach
one particular spot in the pool,

they stand still and wait.

And the fish start to clean them,

removing ticks, parasites
and other tasty morsels.

To the fish,
the hippos are a mobile cafeteria.

The hippos seem to be
enjoying the sensation.

The only thing that
interrupts the feast

is the need to take
an occasional breath.

Cleaning the hippo's skin was
just the hors d 'oeuvre.

Now it's time for the main course.

So in addition to providing skin care,

the fish look after
the hippo's dental hygiene.

It's an arrangement
that suits both parties.

But perhaps it's the fish
that are the overall winners.

For thanks to the hippos, they are able
to feed on the abundant vegetation

that would otherwise be
beyond their reach,

growing around their pool on land.

Providing a cleaning service is clearly
a good way of getting a meal.

And there is cleaning to be done
in the sea as well.

The life of this wrasse is centred on
removing parasites from other reef fish,

Including preda Tory Jacks.

Normally, they would snap up
such a little fish,

but this is an established relationship
and both sides know the rules.

With so man y Jacks and
only a few wrasse in attendance,

not all the Jacks are
going to get cleaned.

But all this life attracts
other predators.

Silvertip sharks.

The reef pro vides shelter
for the smaller fish,

but the Jacks remain exposed.

Yet this may be a chance for the Jacks
to solve their cleaning problem.

The y've spotted an opportunity.

Sharks have skin like sandpaper.

And bumping into the sharks' flanks

helps the Jacks to rid themselves
of parasites and dead skin.

Perhaps the Jacks find this
a more effective alternative

to the cleaner fish.

And soon swarms of Jacks
pursue the sharks,

all itching to have a scratch.

Unsurprisingl y, all this attention
bothers the sharks

and they head back to the blue water,

leaving the residents of the reef
to resume life as normal.

Coral reefs are the richest
habitats on earth.

It's not surprising that with
so many different kinds of animals

living so closely together,

some extraordinary relationships
have evolved.

The clownfish, a small and
defenceless resident of the reef.

It seems to have picked
a tough place to live,

amongst the tentacles
of the sea anemone.

Each tentacle is armed with
paralysing stings that can kill a fish.

Yet the clownfish are totally immune.

For this pair,
the anemone is like a castle.

So long as they stay surrounded
by the tentacles, they're safe.

And so this is where
they choose to lay their eggs.

After carefully selecting the site,
work begins on preparing the surface.

Both fish share in the labour,

though it's the larger female
who decides when all is ready.

Lines and lines of tiny eggs are
stuck to the rock and then fertilised.

They're laid so close to the anemone,
they will be safe.

And for the next seven days,
the y'll receive constant care,

much of which is provided by the male.

His seemingly obsessive concern
for the eggs is for good reason.

His position in the anemone
is far from secure.

The female watches his every move.

She's in charge here

and if his efforts don't match up
to her standards, she'll get rid of him.

In line to take over are
a host of immature clownfish,

each waiting to move up the hierarchy.

For the male, the best way to stay
in the female's favour

is by la vishing care on the eggs.

So he focuses all his efforts on
keeping them clean and healthy.

The eggs grow rapidly and soon
their tiny beating hearts are visible.

It seems he's done a good job.

Clownfish can hide away
within an anemone.

But most fish don't have this option.

For some, the only way
of avoiding danger

is by hiding amongst their own kind,

In shoals.

Packed close together,
no one anchovy stands out.

By sensing and reacting to the movements
of their immediate neighbours,

thousands can move as one.

For a predator, picking out an
individual becomes nearly impossible.

The shoal's unity is its strength.

Yet each fish is acting
from selfish motives.

Moving together, the fish confuse
the sea lions so much

that they leave to look elsewhere
for a smaller, less tricky target.

The sheer size of the shoal
defeated the sea lions,

but there are fish that
can overcome such strategies.

Off the coast of South Africa,

this huge shoal of sardines is shadowed
by a ragged-tooth shark.

Other sharks join the menacing escort.

The shoal has been driven into
the shallows by a cold ocean current

and this gives the sharks
an opportunity.

Hundreds have moved into position.

Sharks have a special sense.

They can detect the electrical signals
their prey gives off when it moves.

It's a sixth sense that
can give them an edge.

But with hundreds of thousands of fish
crammed into the shallows,

the sharks need only rely
on their speed and agility.

As the first shark
starts to hunt in earnest,

a feeding frenzy breaks out.

The shoal's defences are weakened.

There isn't enough space to manoeuvre.

And the sharks can gorge themselves.

Despite the casualties,
the shoal is so vast

that the sharks have
little effect on its size.

Fish not only come together
in great shoals for defence,

but at other critical times
in their lives

when the y're ready to spawn.

These events only occur
for a few days each year.

Snapper are normally solitary,

but they've travelled here
from hundreds of miles away

to gather off the coast of Belize.

Along this one reef cubera, dog and
mutton snapper form huge shoals.

60 metres down,
there is an eerie coolness to the scene.

But things are about to hot up.

It's the evening of the full moon,
the tides are just right.

A great column of fish
leaves the bottom.

As they rise through the water,
small groups break free of the shoal.

Each burst is led by a female
with the males racing behind.

As she sheds her eggs,
they add their sperm to the mix.

By synchronising the time
when they gather together,

the maximum numbers of fish
can join in this mass spawning.

Millions of fertilised eggs are
released, cast into the ocean currents

and straight into a dangerous world.

Whale sharks, the largest fish on earth.

Each shark might weigh 70 tons,

yet they feed on the tiniest creatures,
including snapper eggs.

Life is being created, sustained
and destroyed simultaneously

in one huge event.

The struggle for life encapsulated
into a single moment.

The oceans are perilous places to live,

yet fish have developed the most
extraordinary means for survival.

Their astounding diversity,

the product of
millions of years of evolution,

has enabled them to triumph,

dominating the one habitat

that we have so far
failed to make our own.

Filming underwater raised all sorts of
problems for the life team,

not least of which was that
they were only able

to experience the underwater world

for as long as the air on their backs
or in their lungs held out.

But over three years, the team were
lucky enough to capture on film

some extraordinary moments
in the lives of fish.

The waters off the
Yucatan peninsula in Mexico

are a rich hunting ground for sailfish.

Cameraman Rick rosenthal

has teamed up with sport fishing
captain Anthony mendillo

to try and film the hunting behaviour
of these amazing animals.

Men dillo: It's fish.

Ati'en Bo roug h: Feeding birds lead them
to the sailfish.

- Right here.
- Right here.

Getting to the bait balls
and into the water quickly is key

before the feast is consumed.

Men dillo: Get ready.

Or they're gonna eat it,
then we'll be screwed.

Everybody hang on.

They're out there swimming now, now.

Come on, get in there.

It's all very well
telling Rick to hurry,

but these fish are capable of swimming
at over 60 miles an hour.

Just keeping up with them
is hard enough.

Getting right in amongst
the action is vital,

but Rick has to try to avoid
becoming part of it.

Bills nearly one metre long,

scything through the water
at breakneck speed,

are guaranteed to get the heart racing.

But Rick holds his nerve

as the sailfish pick off sardine
after sardine right in front of him.

Almost as soon as it started,
it was all over.

Had a wild sea show out there today.
Really wild.

Must have been 50 sailfish
if there were 49.

But very aggressive fish, very hungry,
everybody on the move.

And I had to just keep kicking
and kicking and kicking

and kicking and kicking and kicking
to keep in the action.

But after a while the sardine patch
was eaten up to just a little sliver.

And then it was over.

Ati'en borough: Nearly 2,000 miles away
on the other side of the Caribbean,

another crew is taking
a slightly different approach.

They are trying to film flying fish.

The team sets out at dawn on the
hog snapper, a commercial fishing boat.

Conditions are in stark contrast to the
gleaming sport fishing boat in Mexico.

There's Doug, he's ready for action.
Look.

What's up?

Ati'en borough: They are hoping to use
a local fisherman's expertise

to put them in the right place
at the right time.

Yeah, Roger that. Yeah, Roger that.

Oh, you catching today's food.

You catching dinner,
lunch and breakfast, you know.

Man: Roger.

Ati'en borough: It's not a big boat

and the crew's bedroom
has now become the kitchen.

We're having fried bacon,
fried egg this morning.

Fried bacon, fried eggs.

I'm the trainee chef, so I don't get to
wear the white wellies.

Ati'en borough: Rather than racing around
the ocean chasing the action,

the flying fish team have to sit it out
and wait for the fish to come to them.

Flying fish will spawn
onto debris in the water.

And the team tie onto
a floating palm frond

to try and make sure the y're close by
in case the action begins.

And sure enough, they don't
have long to wait.

Thousands of fish have massed
below the surface,

all intent on reaching the frond.

And the frond is not the only thing

that the y're trying
to lay their eggs on.

The weight of the eggs
sinks the palm frond

and puts an end to the spawning
and to the crew's filming.

Well, it's moments like that
we do the job for.

Everything was right.
The light was right, blue water,

the four tons of flying fish
all going mental.

- Thanks, Barry.
- You're welcome.

Ati'en borough: But now the fishes'
attention is turned to something bigger.

They're spawning directly onto the boat.

Barry is worried as he drags up
a huge sheet of eggs.

Want to bring it in the boat and
check it out? I cleaned this off

like five minutes ago, right?

Right now the problem is that there are
too many flying fish around us.

If we go through the night
with the lights on and stuff,

more and more and more will keep coming

and what they're doing here is
they're actually laying on the boat now.

So the boat has become their object
and that is not good.

So basically you're worried that
if we just stay on this drift,

we're gonna sink the boat.

Five hours from now,
that will be 3,000 pounds, yeah,

in the back here,
it will sink the boat.

- Okay, so we're going to leave.
- Yeah, we can't stay here.

Ati'en borough: Just five minutes
of spa wning has produced this.

The team have no option but to move on.

The next day, the search for flying fish
begins all over again.

This time the team want to film the fish
doing what the y're famous for.

We've got some lovely shots
of them spawning

but now the really hard bit
of trying to get them flying.

It's gonna be a good challenge.

Ati'en borough: The fish are around
but the y're all too far off to film.

The action is impressive this morning.

Unpredictable but impressive,
but it's distant.

And it's not happening
next to the boat today.

They're either being chased off by
something or they're just not inter...

Look, look, look. It flies!

Ay-yi-yi!

Ati'en borough: The next day,
the crew decides

to try a different approach.

Cool

all right, let's go.

Now they're just where they need to be,

but it puts them directly
in the firing line.

I guess that's one.

Despite being bombarded,
their strategy is paying off.

That was amazing. We spent a long time
in that wee boat today. Thanks.

The last two hours were
just off the scale,

we were just getting shot after shot.

We need... can't wait to watch on the
big monitor, but that felt really good.

Ati'en borough: And Doug is right.
It worked.

Flying fish taking to the air
and flying,

slowed down 40 times.

By working with people more used to
catching fish than filming them,

the life team have been
able to gain a unique insight

into the hidden world of fish.