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The wild places of Arabia
are so hot and dry

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that they were virtually

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untouched by people
for thousands of years.

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But that ancient balance
has shifted

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in the wake
of one dramatic discovery.

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Oil and the wealth it has brought
have transformed this land,

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bringing the 21st century
to the desert.

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Arabia's animals
now live in a hi-tech world...

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..but Arabia's people

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are beginning to use their
technology to protect nature.

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Dawn at the Al Wathba
camel racetrack

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on the outskirts
of the city of Abu Dhabi.

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For centuries,
the Arabs held camel races
to celebrate special occasions,

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But in the last 50 years
camel-racing has been transformed,

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echoing changes that
have swept all across Arabia.

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Now this is one of the richest
sports in the world.

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The winner of this race
stands to win a million dollars.

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The prize money at stake means
that 21st century camel racing

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has moved far beyond anything

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these camel handlers' grandparents
could have imagined.

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In today's camel races,

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modern technology
is in the driving seat...

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literally.

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To save on weight,

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jockeys have been replaced by robots
weighing no more than a laptop.

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CAR HORN BEEPS

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The camel trainers drive alongside.

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They scream instructions
to their camels

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through a speaker on the robot.

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EXCITED CHATTER

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The frenzy is added to
by the fevered excitement
of the race commentator,

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broadcasting live to the nation.

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HE SPEAKS ARABIC

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When an extra burst of speed
is needed,

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each robot carries a whip

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which the trainer operates
by remote control.

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In today's Arabia,

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camel training
has become a sophisticated business.

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Scientific breeding
and state-of-the-art training

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have turned these camels
into elite racing machines.

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The average speed
of a race horse in Europe

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hasn't changed in half a century,

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while the average speed of
a racing camel has increased by 30%.

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To understand the vast changes

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that have swept across Arabia
in recent decades,

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you have to go back
millions of years.

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Then, most of the Arabian Peninsula
was under water,

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forming the seabed of a vast
ocean...

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..the Tethys Sea.

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The waters were rich
in tiny plants and animals

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which sank to the bottom
when they died.

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Over millennia, the decaying bodies

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of billions of these
tiny life forms turned to oil.

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Oil was first discovered

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in the offshore waters of the Gulf
and the Arabian desert in the 1920s.

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It was during the Second World War
and the boom years that followed

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that the global demand for oil
started to skyrocket.

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Arabia had struck it rich.

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All across Arabia, the oil men
found new supplies of black gold.

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Today, close to a third
of the world's oil

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is supplied by the countries
of the Gulf -

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that's about three billion
litres per day.

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25 major oil terminals
line Arabia's Gulf coast.

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Every year, some 5,000 tankers
pass through these waters.

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It certainly doesn't
look wildlife-friendly...

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..but in places,
the impact on nature

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is not as negative
as you might think.

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The divers who service the platforms

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get an exclusive view
of some very exotic animals.

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The legs of the platforms
become encrusted with corals.

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These, and the tiny animals
associated with them,

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in turn provide food for fish.

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The rigs are home to dozens
of beautiful species...

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..like the long fin pennant fish...

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..and the half moon angel fish.

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It's not just reef dwellers
that are found here.

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Fish from the open sea also gather,

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perhaps because the rigs
offer shelter from predatory sharks.

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Also, fishing near the rigs
is banned,

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allowing shoals to grow larger
than anywhere else in the Gulf.

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This is a popular spawning ground.

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The female Queen fish swims on her
side as she distributes her eggs.

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Males jostle behind her to be
the first to fertilise them.

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In summertime, the water is thick
with eggs, a feast for jellyfish.

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This cauliflower jelly
is a metre across...

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..but it's a tiddler

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next to some of the diners
attracted to this egg soup.

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A whale shark.

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At 12 metres plus in length,

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it's the biggest fish in the world.

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A sight to take your breath away.

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The diver needn't worry.

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whale sharks only have tiny teeth,

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and don't eat anything
more than a few centimetres long.

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Whale sharks feed by filtering
food particles from the water,

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though jellyfish
are not on the menu.

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Every shark is accompanied
by a cloud of remoras or suckerfish,

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which are thought to feed
largely on the shark's faeces.

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For most of their lives -
which can be 70 years long -

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whale sharks are solitary.

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But there is so much food here,

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that groups of over 100 sharks
can gather together.

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These sharks are only in
Arabian waters for the summer.

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Where they go
for the rest of the year is unknown.

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Even in these waters, much
of their life remains a mystery.

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They feed for just
a few hours every day,

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then disappear back into the depths.

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What they get up to down there,
nobody knows.

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The fish life
around the oil platforms

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also provides food for seabirds.

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90% of the world's Socotra
cormorants

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breed on low-lying islands
in the Gulf.

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During the breeding season -
from March to November -

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temperatures on the ground can reach
a scorching 70 degrees centigrade.

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The cormorants flutter
their throats to keep cool.

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Despite the heat,
successful colonies -

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like this one
off the coast of Bahrain -

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can be tens of thousands strong.

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But appearances can be deceptive.

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Although some large colonies
do remain,

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over half have disappeared
in the last 50 years

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and oil pollution is thought
to have played a large role.

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The oil industry
is a lot cleaner than it was,

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but parts of the Gulf
remain polluted

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because of the legacy
of large spills in the past.

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This was the site of
the world's largest ever oil spill.

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During the Gulf War in 1991,

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the Iraqi army set fire
to huge numbers of oil wells

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and nearly two billion
litres of oil were lost.

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No-one knows just how many
fish and seabirds were killed,

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but it certainly had
a dramatic impact.

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Oil does eventually
break down naturally,

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but it can take many years for all
the toxic chemicals to disperse.

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The risk of further oil spills
will remain a threat to wildlife

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while so much oil
passes through the Gulf.

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Along the Gulf coast,

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the seabed is kept fertile
by dust blowing in from the desert.

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That means these shallow waters

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are every bit as important
for wildlife as the deep seas.

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But to exploit the food
that's on offer here,

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you need the right equipment.

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The beak of the Lesser Flamingo

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is the only beak that's built
to be used upside down.

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It's lined with bristles

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which filter out
prawns and algae from the water.

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It's the pigment in this food
that turns flamingos pink.

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Young birds start white
and become pinker with age.

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The rhythmic feeding and swallowing
looks like a graceful ballet,

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but the flamingos aren't above using
those beautiful beaks

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as weapons
to fight over personal space.

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And space is a key issue
for the Gulf's flamingos.

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Many of the lagoons they rely on

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have been swallowed up
by Arabia's fast-growing cities.

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This city-centre wetland
has been protected

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by an edict from the very top -
Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai.

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But the pressure on many other wild
places continues to increase.

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The population
of the United Arab Emirates alone

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has risen by nearly 10,000 per cent
since the 1960s,

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leading to an explosion
in construction and trade.

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The most extreme expression
of the wealth of the Gulf cities

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is in Dubai...

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..home to more skyscrapers
per square mile

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than anywhere else on Earth.

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This forest of concrete,
glass and steel

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is towered over
by the Burj Khalifa.

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At half a mile high,
it's 300 metres higher

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than any other building on Earth.

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As well as going up,
the Gulf cities are spreading out.

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This is the Palm.

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It's an extraordinary feat
of engineering,

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but each frond was created
by dredging sand from the seabed.

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And on the seabed is a grassland
as rich as the plains of Africa.

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The warm, sun-drenched
waters are perfect for sea grass,

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the only flowering plant in the sea.

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Just like the African grasslands,
these underwater plains

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are home to many predators and prey.

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A blue-spotted ribbon tail ray
hunts for buried shellfish.

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A blue triggerfish has the same
quarry in mind.

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Small fish, like this blenny,
have to lie low.

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An annulated sea snake,
two metres long

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and one of the most venomous
in the world.

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The snake can hunt for up to
two hours on one breath.

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Hole-dwelling blennies
are a favourite prey.

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Not all the reptiles here
are voracious hunters.

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Unlike most sea turtles, green
turtles prefer a vegetarian diet.

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Like the whale sharks, many turtles
are accompanied by remoras.

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These ones are squabbling over
access.

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Each remora has a suction pad
on its head

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which it can stick
to animals to get a free ride.

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A turtle shell is easy stick to
and worth fighting over.

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The growth of the Gulf's cities
threatens the sea grass plains...

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..and all the weird and wonderful
animals that depend on them.

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A dugong.

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Closest relative, the elephant.

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Dugongs eat almost
nothing but sea grass,

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using their flexible lips

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to pull up both the stalk
and the nutritious roots beneath.

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A group of remoras are trying
to hitch a ride on this dugong,

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but he's not tolerating
the hangers-on.

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Every spring the Gulf's dugongs
gather together

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in what are thought to be mass
migrations between feeding grounds.

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Protecting those feeding grounds
from development

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00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:06,680
would go a long way
towards protecting the dugongs,

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00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,160
but nobody yet knows where they are.

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00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,240
Luckily, help is at hand.

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00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,280
This is a project
run by the Abu Dhabi Government

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00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,720
that aims to find out
where the Gulf's dugongs are going

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00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,360
by fitting them
with satellite transmitters.

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00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,480
They've called in some assistance
from the far side of the world.

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00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,400
Ah, to the other boats, can you guys
keep on our starboard side?

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00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,840
Australian scientist
Richard Campbell

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00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,400
works with two
Aboriginal Australians.

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00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,880
Dwayne and Philip
grew up hunting dugongs for food...

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00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:52,800
..and now put their skills
to a different use.

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00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:03,320
Even for an expert,
finding a dugong isn't easy.

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00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,880
They only take a breath
every five minutes or so

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and barely break the surface.

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00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,400
The team need eyes in the sky.

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00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,240
HELICOPTER WHIRRS

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CHATTER OVER RADIO

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Once the dugong's been spotted,

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Dwayne and Philip
use their expertise

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to approach
with as little disturbance
to the animal as possible.

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Dwayne speared his first dugong
from an open boat at the age of 12,

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but today he's going to have to
grab the dugong,

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a third of a ton of slippery muscle.

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It's not for the faint-hearted.

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00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,320
Going to catch him, Dwayne? Yep.

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Dwayne gets a loop
around the tail...

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..and the team work fast

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00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,880
to secure the dugong safely
to the side of the boat.

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Protecting the Gulf's dugongs

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00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:01,480
means that a few will have
to carry satellite transmitters

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00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,920
but each one weighs just half a kilo

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and tied around the tail,
they do no harm.

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This is a chance to take
some useful measurements.

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00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,440
Get it on there, Yussef. OK?

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00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:25,880
Yeah, yeah, OK.

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00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,440
2.72. 2.72.

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Nearly 3 metres, a good size.

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This would have made for quite
a feast in Philip's youth.

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The team also take skin samples
for genetic analysis.

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00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:45,400
The hairs on the body are a clue

244
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,840
to the fact that dugongs' ancestors
used to live on land.

245
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,080
Yeah, just DNA, mate.
We don't need much.

246
00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,320
After just a few minutes,
the dugong is released.

247
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:10,840
Mission accomplished for the team.

248
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,720
Success! Good job!

249
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,680
Information about
this dugong's movements

250
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,520
will help determine
which regions of the Gulf

251
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,120
need to be protected
from future development.

252
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,800
In the great desert heartland
of Arabia,

253
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:42,760
the relationship between people
and nature goes back a long way.

254
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,560
The Arabs survived here
by hunting the desert's animals

255
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,440
and for 4,000 years,
one very special predator

256
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,800
has helped them catch their prey...

257
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,120
..the falcon.

258
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:16,400
For many Arabs, falconry remains
a passion bordering on obsession.

259
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,240
Mohammed Al-Kaabi
comes out from the city

260
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,600
to fly his birds every weekend.

261
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,640
This is Haty.

262
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:03,280
Pedigree falcons like her
can cost as much as $100,000.

263
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,400
Haty's trained to return to Mohammed

264
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,720
using a lure that simulates
her quarry.

265
00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:17,400
It's a workout that keeps her
agile and in top condition.

266
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,040
Mohammed is showing his sons,
Salem and Saif,

267
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:26,880
how to put Haty through her paces.

268
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,880
LAUGHTER

269
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:47,160
MOHAMED ISSUES COMMANDS IN ARABIC

270
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,000
This is a rite of passage

271
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,640
that Arab boys have enjoyed
for thousands of years.

272
00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,600
MOHAMED ISSUES COMMANDS IN ARABIC

273
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,280
It's time for the boys
to get hands-on.

274
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,520
It's crucial to keep calm.

275
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,000
A falcon must learn
to trust its handler

276
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,360
or it will never fly back to him.

277
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:06,000
In the morning, the boys
will move on to the next lesson.

278
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,560
Traditionally,
that's hunting live prey.

279
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,280
Sadly, the Arab love of hunting
with rifle, dog and falcon

280
00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:26,920
has pushed some desert animals -
like the houbara bustard -

281
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:28,560
to the brink of extinction.

282
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:32,000
But with the appliance of science,

283
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,080
there is now a solution
that can keep everyone happy.

284
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:54,120
With a lure attached to the back
of a remote-controlled plane,

285
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,240
Mohammed can stretch
the falcon to its limits.

286
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,760
No wild animals will die today,

287
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:32,600
but the thrill of the hunt
is just as strong.

288
00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:45,960
Mohammed's sons are growing up in
a world that's increasingly aware

289
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,560
of the need to look after
our natural resources.

290
00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:54,440
That's particularly challenging here

291
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,680
because of the difficulties
of living

292
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,360
in one of the hottest,
driest places on Earth.

293
00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:13,920
For much of the year,
Arabia is so hot

294
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:18,360
that many people are at their
most active after sunset.

295
00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:27,280
Even at night,
the heat can be unbearable,

296
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:32,040
so much of people's time is spent
indoors in air-conditioned spaces.

297
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,720
Dubai is home to the world's
largest shopping mall,

298
00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:39,800
kept cool all-year round -

299
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,880
good for the ski slope
and the ice rink.

300
00:34:55,200 --> 00:35:01,640
Dubai by night is a vision of the
most energy-hungry society on Earth.

301
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:16,720
The richest Arab countries

302
00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:20,800
use more energy per person
than anywhere else,

303
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:25,480
and virtually all of it
comes from burning fossil fuels.

304
00:35:28,720 --> 00:35:31,320
As well as contributing
to climate change,

305
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,120
that makes these countries
very reliant on oil.

306
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:41,720
And the Gulf oil wells will start to
run dry within the next few decades.

307
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,600
But there's an even more pressing
problem for Arabia

308
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,840
than its huge demand for power.

309
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:30,440
FIREWORKS CRACKLE

310
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:41,640
Every night of the year,

311
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:45,720
Dubai puts on the biggest
water show on Earth.

312
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,120
The fountains reach as high
as a 50-storey building.

313
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:07,680
Perhaps because it's a desert,
Arabia is addicted to water.

314
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,920
The Gulf States
consume more water per person

315
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,040
than anywhere else in the world.

316
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:29,880
In Saudi Arabia and Jordan,

317
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:33,840
water is pumped from hundreds
of metres under ground

318
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:36,680
and brings life to the desert.

319
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:49,680
Huge fields of crops, each one
several hundred metres across,

320
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:53,520
dot the landscape over huge areas -

321
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:58,200
clearly visible from space.

322
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:27,120
These man-made oases
have had a huge impact on nature.

323
00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:31,880
Songbirds now
flock into the desert.

324
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,880
This is a perfect place to drink
and grab a well-needed shower.

325
00:38:43,720 --> 00:38:47,720
The fields are also rich in food,
like grubs and worms.

326
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,120
They even have their
own public transport system.

327
00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:20,680
Thousands of birds have changed
their migration routes

328
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:22,520
to visit these fields

329
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,000
on their journey between
Europe and Africa every year.

330
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:53,360
Some species - like the pied wagtail
and the wheatear -

331
00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:55,160
are familiar in the UK.

332
00:39:57,320 --> 00:39:59,920
Others, like the hoopoe
and the bluethroat,

333
00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:02,520
usually spend their summers
further east,

334
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:06,040
in northern Russia
or eastern Europe.

335
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:15,120
But the songbirds who stop off here
don't have things all their own way.

336
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:21,560
Birds of prey also migrate

337
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:26,880
and they too gather here
in huge numbers.

338
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:36,040
These aerial predators aren't just
here for a shower and a drink.

339
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,760
All that flying
builds up a healthy appetite.

340
00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,720
Of all the songbird hunters
to gather here,

341
00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:06,560
perhaps the most graceful

342
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,760
is one that might be seen
on the Scottish moors -

343
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:12,600
a hen harrier.

344
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:25,120
The harrier has a dish-shaped face
like an owl.

345
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:28,120
This helps catch sound,

346
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:31,960
enabling it to hear the slightest
rustle of a hidden bird.

347
00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:41,800
And the long, narrow wings
can turn on a sixpence.

348
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,440
It's pied wagtail for dinner.

349
00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:03,840
In the short term,
this type of agriculture

350
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:10,080
is good news for the birds
and provides jobs for local people

351
00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:14,920
but it uses water
at a staggering rate.

352
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:24,960
The underground reservoirs
will begin to run dry

353
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,360
within the next ten years.

354
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,200
The land will be desert once again

355
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:34,600
and the people who work here
will lose their livelihood.

356
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:42,280
The fields sum up a problem
that faces all of us -

357
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:46,520
how to meet people's needs
in a world of limited resources.

358
00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:05,000
But the immense wealth

359
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,560
that's made Arabia a world leader
in energy and water consumption

360
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:13,440
is now being used to try and find
solutions to those same problems.

361
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,920
This is the solar power plant

362
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:28,920
for the most futuristic town
on Earth - Masdar.

363
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:42,960
Lying on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi,

364
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:46,760
Masdar is a prototype
for the cities of the future.

365
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:55,080
100 per cent carbon neutral,
but with all mod-cons.

366
00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:59,040
Some features are simple ideas

367
00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:02,160
borrowed from traditional
Arab architecture.

368
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:05,800
The overhang from the floor above
shades those below

369
00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:15,640
and the streets are narrow

370
00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:18,440
so that they are shaded
from the intense heat of the sun.

371
00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:25,760
Any breeze is captured
in a wind tower

372
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:27,920
and channelled down to the street.

373
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,640
Combined with a light spray
of water,

374
00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:37,480
this can lower the temperature
at ground level

375
00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,160
by 15 degrees centigrade.

376
00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:43,240
Simple solutions like this

377
00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:48,320
create a cool outdoor space,
even in midsummer.

378
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:12,480
In Masdar's vision of tomorrow,

379
00:45:12,480 --> 00:45:16,000
transport will be underground
in unmanned pods.

380
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:24,880
'Doors opening.'

381
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:31,360
'Welcome to Masdar City.'

382
00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:36,040
Here, in the heart of oil country,

383
00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:38,680
are the designers of Masdar,

384
00:45:38,680 --> 00:45:42,360
taking us on a journey
into the post-oil future.

385
00:46:07,720 --> 00:46:12,560
Arabia's cities are already world
leaders in design and architecture.

386
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,600
If the concepts from Masdar
can be expanded here,

387
00:46:19,600 --> 00:46:21,760
then maybe they can also
lead the way

388
00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:25,000
in reducing our impact
on the world around us.

389
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:54,200
Arabia is a place
where people and animals

390
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,480
have lived alongside each other
for thousands of years.

391
00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:05,760
Oil money has changed Arabia...

392
00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:13,760
..but there is still a deep affinity
for the natural world.

393
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,840
Even today's ultra hi-tech
camel racing

394
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:23,320
still has the Arab love of camels
at its heart.

395
00:47:26,720 --> 00:47:30,400
At the end of each race,
after the robots are dismounted

396
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:33,480
and the prizes distributed,

397
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:38,320
the camels are pampered
like beloved family pets...

398
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,000
..hand-fed alfalfa and dates.

399
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,800
The Arab people have never forgotten

400
00:47:55,800 --> 00:47:58,480
that it was their
relationship with the camel

401
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:03,320
that enabled them to survive
the inhospitable deserts
of Arabia in the first place.

402
00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:17,120
If that deep connection with
wildlife can be maintained...

403
00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:25,360
..then there will always be a place
for nature in the heart of Arabia.

404
00:48:52,880 --> 00:48:55,360
Spectacular gatherings
of whale sharks

405
00:48:55,360 --> 00:48:58,160
appear every year
off the coast of Arabia,

406
00:48:58,160 --> 00:49:00,800
but getting close to the biggest
fish in the sea

407
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:03,640
proved a challenge
for the Wild Arabia team.

408
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:17,880
Director Liz White
and cameraman Hugh Miller

409
00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:19,840
are travelling out
to the middle of the Gulf,

410
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:22,080
midway between Qatar and Iran.

411
00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:27,200
They've joined up with a team
of whale shark scientists.

412
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:32,960
Have you changed any of them?
Yeah. Good. What were they on?

413
00:49:35,080 --> 00:49:37,560
The scientists
want to understand more

414
00:49:37,560 --> 00:49:40,920
about the mysteries
of the Gulf's whale sharks,

415
00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:46,080
but they know that getting close to
them will be particularly difficult.

416
00:49:46,080 --> 00:49:48,320
The sharks here
are quite different from elsewhere

417
00:49:48,320 --> 00:49:50,200
because they swim quite fast,

418
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,200
so getting all of the data
that we need from one shark here

419
00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:54,480
will be a challenge.

420
00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:58,480
Hugh has been tipped off
about these high-speed sharks

421
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:00,720
so he's brought a secret weapon.

422
00:50:00,720 --> 00:50:05,200
So this thing on the back here
with the propeller

423
00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:08,920
is going to drive me through
the water in a stable manner.

424
00:50:08,920 --> 00:50:13,520
But before Hugh's had time
to prepare his kit,

425
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:15,480
word comes from the bridge.

426
00:50:15,480 --> 00:50:17,840
HE SPEAKS ARABIC

427
00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:21,640
The boat crew have spotted
a group of whale sharks.

428
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:29,960
We can just about make out the fins
if they turn the right way.

429
00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:32,480
We're just going to see
how many are there.

430
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:36,240
Got to watch out,
there's one right in front of us.

431
00:50:36,240 --> 00:50:38,520
Yeah, one right in front of us now.

432
00:50:38,520 --> 00:50:42,360
With only his snorkel and his fins,
Hugh goes into action.

433
00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:45,240
We've definitely
got three sharks here.

434
00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:48,480
Hugh and Dave are in the water,
but they move pretty fast.

435
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:50,920
The guys will be swimming
pretty hard to keep up with them.

436
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:55,760
Sure enough, under water,
Hugh is struggling.

437
00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:58,240
Whale sharks look like
slow movers,

438
00:50:58,240 --> 00:51:00,440
but every stroke
of that massive tail

439
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:02,400
pushes them forward
at great speed.

440
00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:05,720
Hugh can barely keep up

441
00:51:05,720 --> 00:51:08,320
and keeping a steady shot
while kicking so hard

442
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:10,240
is nearly impossible.

443
00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:18,520
Not much filming success,
but an amazing experience for Hugh.

444
00:51:18,520 --> 00:51:22,160
I mean, you don't appreciate
how many sharks there are.

445
00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:25,440
I mean, the visibility
means I can only see so far,

446
00:51:25,440 --> 00:51:30,680
and it's incredible
just to come up here

447
00:51:30,680 --> 00:51:33,360
and there's just black fins
everywhere.

448
00:51:33,360 --> 00:51:38,080
The scientists have also been
pursuing the sharks with cameras.

449
00:51:38,080 --> 00:51:43,920
They want to get ID photographs
of as many individuals as possible.

450
00:51:51,680 --> 00:51:54,480
The team uses
specially adapted spear guns

451
00:51:54,480 --> 00:51:56,720
to attach
the satellite transmitters.

452
00:51:56,720 --> 00:52:00,240
Whale shark skin
is over ten centimetres thick

453
00:52:00,240 --> 00:52:02,040
so the sharks never feel a thing.

454
00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:11,360
The scientists have collected
seawater samples

455
00:52:11,360 --> 00:52:14,040
that show why the sharks are here
in the first place.

456
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:17,240
I've got four pots here
full of fish eggs,

457
00:52:17,240 --> 00:52:22,040
so we can kind of say that
the sharks were certainly there

458
00:52:22,040 --> 00:52:23,720
to consume the fish eggs.

459
00:52:23,720 --> 00:52:27,560
If you looked to the density,
that's two good-sized fillet steaks

460
00:52:27,560 --> 00:52:30,040
in around about three minutes

461
00:52:30,040 --> 00:52:32,360
and these sharks were feeding with
us for five hours

462
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:34,680
and after we left the water,
they were still feeding.

463
00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:39,480
Scientists and film crew are happy
with the way things have started,

464
00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:42,600
but as evening falls,
the wind starts to pick up

465
00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:46,640
and the morning brings
heavy seas and bad news.

466
00:52:46,640 --> 00:52:50,800
I'm standing here with the weather
forecast for the next ten days

467
00:52:50,800 --> 00:52:52,880
and it looks like
we're going to have

468
00:52:52,880 --> 00:52:56,600
anywhere from 20 to 40 knots winds

469
00:52:56,600 --> 00:53:01,280
and there's no end to it.
It's just wind, wind, waves.

470
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:05,760
and the likelihood of seeing sharks
in this kind of weather,

471
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:07,520
is close to zero.

472
00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:11,880
The dreaded Shamal winds
blow from the north east,

473
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:14,960
bringing clouds of dust
from the Iranian desert

474
00:53:14,960 --> 00:53:16,520
and churning up the sea.

475
00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:19,480
Even if they could
see the sharks,

476
00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:23,680
it would be too dangerous to launch
the dive boats in this weather.

477
00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:28,280
The Shamal can blow
for weeks at a time.

478
00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:31,800
All the crew can do is wait.

479
00:53:33,800 --> 00:53:39,080
The science team take the chance to
look over some of their ID photos.

480
00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:44,280
They have a programme to help them
recognise individual sharks

481
00:53:44,280 --> 00:53:45,960
by the pattern of their spots.

482
00:53:48,040 --> 00:53:52,600
Every pattern is unique,
like human fingerprints.

483
00:53:56,080 --> 00:54:00,400
To everyone's relief, the weather
improves sooner than expected.

484
00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:05,680
Soon, signs of life
are spotted from the bridge.

485
00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:11,920
A school of bottlenose dolphins,
but no whale sharks.

486
00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:16,240
Strong winds disperse
the fish eggs

487
00:54:16,240 --> 00:54:18,480
which the whales
are here to feed on

488
00:54:18,480 --> 00:54:22,640
and the groups of sharks
often break up as a consequence.

489
00:54:24,800 --> 00:54:27,880
Liz makes use of a drilling
platform as a vantage point.

490
00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:39,080
Whale sharks are often seen
near the platforms

491
00:54:39,080 --> 00:54:41,480
because fish gather to spawn here.

492
00:54:47,480 --> 00:54:49,560
Watching the spawning fish

493
00:54:49,560 --> 00:54:52,400
is a popular pastime
for the platform workers,

494
00:54:52,400 --> 00:54:56,280
some of whom take notes
on any whale sharks they spot,

495
00:54:56,280 --> 00:54:58,840
to help the research project.

496
00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:02,800
While the crew are on board,
there's an encouraging sighting.

497
00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:04,600
Whale shark!

498
00:55:04,600 --> 00:55:06,840
Where is it?

499
00:55:06,840 --> 00:55:08,880
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. A big one.

500
00:55:08,880 --> 00:55:13,520
Could this finally be Hugh's chance
to try out his new toy?

501
00:55:15,160 --> 00:55:16,760
Are you ready?

502
00:55:18,480 --> 00:55:22,680
But just when it seems that
everything is going smoothly...

503
00:55:22,680 --> 00:55:24,640
Very unfortunate timing.

504
00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:28,160
What's happening is we have an
aggregation straight ahead of us

505
00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:31,320
and now we have
a big tanker coming in,

506
00:55:31,320 --> 00:55:34,240
so we cannot launch any boats.

507
00:55:34,240 --> 00:55:36,720
We don't know what's going
to happen with the aggregation,

508
00:55:36,720 --> 00:55:39,120
if they're going
to disperse and dive,

509
00:55:39,120 --> 00:55:42,520
Sure, they'll dive because the
tanker's heading right towards them.

510
00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:47,840
These are anxious moments for
the film crew and the scientists.

511
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:51,720
But the tanker takes a detour,

512
00:55:51,720 --> 00:55:54,160
leaving the whale sharks
undisturbed.

513
00:55:57,560 --> 00:56:00,840
Now, everything is good to go.

514
00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:08,960
Immediately, the propeller
starts to deliver on its promise,

515
00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:13,600
giving Hugh a smooth ride
alongside these gentle giants.

516
00:57:06,480 --> 00:57:11,200
After his magical encounter,
Hugh does his bit for science.

517
00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:15,000
He's frozen a few shots
from his video camera

518
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:17,560
to see if he can help
ID any of the sharks.

519
00:57:17,560 --> 00:57:20,560
Yeah, I think, Hugh,
we have actually got

520
00:57:20,560 --> 00:57:23,880
a completely new individual,
looking at this side of it.

521
00:57:23,880 --> 00:57:27,600
So you have to add it to the
database, maybe we'll call him Hugh.

522
00:57:27,600 --> 00:57:30,120
Brilliant, I'd love that.

523
00:57:30,120 --> 00:57:32,480
I think Hugh's a good name
for a whale shark.

524
00:57:32,480 --> 00:57:35,560
I think it's a very good name
for a whale shark.

525
00:57:39,680 --> 00:57:43,840
Out at sea, having given
film crew and scientists

526
00:57:43,840 --> 00:57:46,000
a glimpse into his life...

527
00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:51,200
..Hugh the Shark
swims off into the depths.

528
00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:07,240
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd