All language subtitles for Sharks.Reef.Rivals.2026.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.GG - YTS.BZ]

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NARRATOR: In the heart of
Australia's Great Barrier Reef

lies a secret battleground.

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A violent Colosseum
that draws in some of

Australia's biggest sharks.

ADAM: We're on!
LAUREN: Ok!

NARRATOR: As giant Bulls,
Hammerheads and Tigers converge

scientists face a race
against the clock to uncover

what's luring these
gladiators in.

50 miles off the coast
of north-east Australia.

A research vessel picks its way
through the web of corals

that make up the
Great Barrier Reef.

Onboard, shark experts Richard
Fitzpatrick, Lauren Meyer,

and Adam Barnett make
final preparations

for their 10-day expedition
into the wilderness.

RICHARD: OK, so, this
is North West Island.

It's about one square mile
of prime turtle nesting site

and it's sitting on the
edge of this huge lagoon

that's about 14 square
miles in size.

NARRATOR: Just a couple
of feet deep at low tide,

the entire lagoon is
surrounded by a defensive wall

of coral reef.

RICHARD: So, it's like
a massive fortress.

But the weak point for this
whole thing is when the tide

comes in, the water level
goes up about 6 feet so,

the large predators can swim
over the top into the lagoon

and get access.

NARRATOR: Over the past 10 years
the team have been catching

and satellite tagging
Australia's biggest sharks

up and down the Great
Barrier Reef and every year,

like clockwork, many of them
make a beeline for this tiny

speck in the ocean.
North West Island.

LAUREN: We know that these
coral lagoons are often home

to a bunch of different
fish, you've got rays,

you got other small sharks.

And with this bit here
you'd have all of your

nesting seabirds.

Our mission coming to Northwest
Island was to understand

how so many big sharks can
congregate in one area.

ADAM: What brings them to this
island, and who's eating who?

NARRATOR: Anchoring
just outside the lagoon.

The team begin scouting.
-Take off

NARRATOR: Richard sends up a
drone while Lauren and Adam

take a tender, through a
narrow cut in the reef.

ADAM: Richard, Richard,
Richard this is the tender.

RICHARD: yep, go ahead.

ADAM: It's pretty shallow, we're
just going to nudge our way in,

but we may have to walk.

RICHARD: Roger that, more of a
footpath than a channel, over.

NARRATOR: Created by guano
miners over 100 years ago,

at low tide.

The channel offers
the only access

from the ocean to the island,
across the shallow lagoon.

LAUREN: When we first arrived
and jumped into the tender

I was really excited, like
almost giddy because

what you have is this huge
lagoon which I know

is just going to be chocked
full of marine life,

and then as you get in close
enough you can see on the sand

all of these turtle tracks.

Got one here and look there's
one that goes all the way up

this way.
ADAM: Popular

LAUREN: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Made by
Green Turtles,

the tracks lead to nests
on the edge of the forest.

ADAM: It's like the moon crater.
LAUREN: Yeah.

ADAM: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 this
is a really compact area,

there's lot of turtles here,

and lots of turtles
means lots of food.

NARRATOR: The biggest nesting
beach in the Southern

Great Barrier Reef, thousands of
turtles nest here every summer.

But as they wander the island,
no turtles can be seen.

The only shadows visible
belon to Stingrays

which Richard spots from
the air, in the hundreds.

After 25 years of studying
the sharks of Australia's

Great Barrier reef,

for Richard, this expedition
is a deeply personal one.

RICHARD: I grew up in
this part of the world,

my earliest memories are
camping on North West Island

and seeing the sharks
in the shallows.

NARRATOR: Now he's using his
drone skills to unlock

the island's secrets.

RICHARD: Having the drone is
just a whole fresh way

of looking at this island.

As a kid, I used to be there at
the water's edge looking out

at the horizon, or go
snorkeling but you can only see

a couple of feet in front
of you, getting that drone

up 100 meters in the air looking
out over this massive expanse,

it's like you're looking
at a battleground

and you can see the troops,
the sharks moving here,

the prey moving here and it
really gives you this sense

of looking at the strategy
of predator and prey.

NARRATOR: At low tide,
Northwest Island's vast lagoon

is a hostile frontier.

The water bakes under the
relentless Australian sun.

And life is trapped in ever
shrinking pockets of water.

Temperatures in the
lagoon rapidly rise.

And as the water heats,

oxygen levels drop
Intensifying the extremes.

For big sharks,
it's too shallow.

And too harsh to survive

But for one hardy hunter, these
shallows present an opportunity.

RICHARD: OK, we've got
our first shark,

going like a bat out of
hell in the shallows!

NARRATOR: Lemon Sharks are
masters of the low tide

lagoon zone.

With two golden trevally riding
its bow wave, hoping to pick

of any scraps from a kill the
Lemon stalks the shallows.

Small, agile hunters they can
get to places other predators

can't reach and can remain in
the lagoon, even at low tide.

RICHARD: They're really
trying to use that beach,

like a barrier,

they're trying to get rid
of all the escape routes.

The water's shallow, herding
them in, and when they get

to the right density,
have a crack.

NARRATOR: At low tide, Lemon
Sharks are undisputed rulers

of the lagoon.

Even the rays stay
clear of them.

Almost beaching themselves
to stay out their way.

But this dominance is temporary.

In a few short hours
the tide will rise,

giving bigger sharks
access to the lagoon.

And big sharks can
eat smaller sharks.

These Lemons will need
to watch their backs.

Inland, Lauren and Adam uncover
another reason why so many

big sharks might be
descending on this island.

LAUREN: These trees
are awesome.

ADAM: Yeah, the
trees are amazing.

That smell, Imagine
camping here.

LAUREN: ooohh!
ADAM: It's so strong.

NARRATOR: Northwest island is
home to over 90,000 Black

Noddy birds. One of the biggest
colonies on the planet.

Their droppings, or guano,
is everywhere and has helped

build up a thin layer of soil
on the sand which supports

an incredibly rare,
but deadly forest.

ADAM: So, these trees,
Pisonia trees, look at them,

they are the perfect nesting
tree for these birds right,

but like everything in
Australia, they can be very,

very vicious.

So, these trees at a certain
time of year produce

these sticky seeds and that
and when the birds get them

on their wings they actually
can't fly and they'll end up

falling on the ground
and then dying.

And when they die they actually
become part of the island's

nutrients and that
feeds the trees,

so it's a like a giant
Venus bird trap.

NARRATOR: With these many
birds on the island,

the team's hunch is that
they could be on the menu

for big sharks too.

LAUREN: It sounds kind of crazy
to think about sharks eating

birds, I mean they're up in
the air, they're in a tree,

but they spend a lot of time
actually rafting on the surface

of the water and there they're
essentially sitting ducks,

I mean if you're even a
remotely capable predator,

you should be able to sneak up
underneath and kind of slurp

them off the surface.

NARRATOR: As the afternoon draws
on, and high tide approaches,

water pours over the
defensive coral wall.

The lagoon depth
rises to six feet.

And the battleground
completely changes.

Temperatures drop,
oxygen levels rise

and predators pour
into the lagoon.

But the clock is ticking.

In just a few short hours the
tide will switch once again.

And any big sharks hunting here
run the risk of getting trapped

and stranded.

RICHARD: Woah, that is
a big Tiger Shark

in really shallow water.

NARRATOR: For big sharks
to thrive here,

timing is everything.

RICHARD: This Tiger is
probably about 12 feet long,

probably a bit bigger

and it's swimming just within
a few feet of the edge

of the beach in water that
would only be 3 or 4 feet deep,

so it's belly would almost
be touching the sand.

This is typical of these
Tigers, as that tide comes in,

they'll come up with it and
time it so they can get

right up against the beach and
do a lap around the island

just to see what's there
and if there's anything

they can take advantage. It's
a really cunning strategy.

NARRATOR: Armed with one of
the most sensitive noses

in the ocean,

Tiger Sharks are perfectly
evolved to pick up the scent

coming from dead seabirds
in the shoreline.

But these incredible sharks are
far more than just scavengers.

RICHARD: Tiger Sharks
historically have been regarded

as the garbage collectors
of the sea, because

when they cut them open they
see this range of items inside

their stomachs, and they
kind of had this image

as being mindless, you know,
something that's just going

to eat dead stuff, but
they're not, when you dive

into it and you look at
what they feed upon,

I think they're probably one
of the most strategic sharks

that we have out there.

NARRATOR: Known bird hunters,

they've developed different
tactics for different prey.

RICHARD: They do these
surface lunges.

Where they come at high
speed horizontally,

pop the upper jaw ab and
literally suck the birds down.

NARRATOR: And they're more
than capable of taking

down bigger prey.

RICHARD: its teeth are like
a mouthful of steak knives,

big broad serrated teeth, so
they can bite through anything.

They can take out a huge chunk
of meat from out the side

of dead floating whale,

they can crack through
the shell of a turtle,

they can deal with anything.

And their success is
driven by their teeth.

NARRATOR: They're also
capable of incredible acts

of navigation, and a memory
for where pulses of food are.

Some individuals travel
over 1,000 miles

to reach this island.

RICHARD: you can see that
they're moving to Northwest

predominantly during the summer
period, and this is when

that's the peak turtle nesting
time, bird nesting time.

When it comes to winter,
they start to venture away.

NARRATOR: Is it the birds,
turtles, or something else

that's drawing so many
Tigers to this island?

ADAM: Hello Richard,
Richard are you there?

RICHARD: Yep, go ahead.

ADAM: Have you seen
anything on the drone?

RICHARD: I've just seen a really
big Tiger right up against

the water's edge, it's on the
opposite side of the island

to where you are at the moment,
but heading around

and anticlockwise, but the
good news is I can see turtles

are starting to move in close
to the beach with the incoming

tide as we're getting
close to sunset, over

ADAM: Ah ok. It's good that
they're here at least.

I guess we'll just stand
by and wait to see

if any turtles come in, over?

RICHARD: Roger that, if I see
any, I'll give you a yell over.

ADAM: Ok, thanks, bye.

As it started getting dark
and dusk was coming in,

beautiful sunset, but the
thing that caught me was

how many birds were actually
returning from feeding at sea.

I t was just endless.

LAUREN: It was actually hard
for my brain to register

that all of those little dots,
it looked like a big swarm

of gnats or something, but it
was just a gazillion birds.

ADAM: At first it was the
Noddies that were coming in,

and that was sort of on
dusk, and they were smaller

as they were coming in,
and then after dusk,

then we get the wave
of shearwaters.

And when the coming they're
not the most graceful bird,

they're coming crash landing
in and they're squawking

and it sounds like someone is
being murdered half the time.

The noise, and the sheer
site of it, amazing.

NARRATOR: Also known as
mutton birds, over 100,000

of these seabirds nest on
the ground on the island.

It's thought they
spend most of the hours

around dusk rafting up in huge
floating colonies offshore.

Only returning to their burrows
under the cover of darkness.

Yet another prey item that could
be drawing these big sharks

to Northwest Island

8pm and with high
tide at its peak,

the team are in night mode.

Using an infra-red light
which the turtles can't see,

they scan the shoreline
looking for signs of them

and any sharks.

A Lemon shark stalks the
shoreline, but is no match

for the size of the
Green turtles

that are heading inshore.

ADAM: So, there's a turtle
coming up the beach

to actually nest. Only, she's
quite slow as you can see,

and it's a lot of effort.

You see this big body she
has to drag up the beach.

I mean I'm tired
just watching her.

NARRATOR: This female has
likely spent the last year

roaming the South Pacific
before returning to this beach

where she herself was born.

ADAM: She's just stopped
for a rest again.

It looks so hard.

LAUREN: Yeah, far out, I
mean how much does one

of these things weigh?

ADAM: I don't know actually
but that would be pretty heavy

going to lift that frame.
LAUREN: Ah yeah.

NARRATOR: After 20 minutes of
crawling, the turtle reaches

the edge of the forest where
it begins digging a pit

in the sand.

Half an hour later,

she settles down
to lay her eggs.

Going into an almost trance
like state which allows

the team to get closer.

ADAM: You see turtles in the
water and they look big,

but to see them up close you
sort of get a sense

for the weight of them, though.

LAUREN: These are
not small turtles.

They're humongous and
they're really well armoured

and even their flippers are
covering in this thick,

thick skin and you just see
the strength it takes for them

to get up the beach
and you go ok,

they are not a sitting duck.

They are a tough prey
item to take down

and if you're a big shark,
yeah it's a big meal,

but it's going to cost you
a lot to actually hunt

and then be able to eat
a live sea turtle.

NARRATOR: Each turtle can
produce over 100 eggs.

And will make up to 6 trips
to this beach over the course

of the nesting season.

Every trip takes
its physical toll.

And every year, many
succumb to exhaustion.

Over the course of the night
over 50 turtles emerge out

of the surf to lay
their nests.

The bulk of them focusing on
the south side of the island.

The stage is set for
an epic battle

between turtle and shark.

But as dawn breaks, the
waters are eerily quiet.

LAUREN: We've seen no signs, or
no indications of any predations

No big splashing, nothing, so
if we really want to start

figuring out what's going,
I think it's time

that we get some more
eyes on ears underwater.

NARRATOR: But back on the
boat, there's bad news.

WOMAN: This is a severe weather
warning for coastal Queensland.

A powerful storm system is
currently moving north

along the Queensland coast,
having developed south

of the region earlier today.

ADAM: Fingers crossed we get
a couple of days in before

it really blows in.

NARRATOR: With bad
weather closing in,

and after pulling
an all-nighter.

The team head straight
back out.

Their mission to catch and tag
the island's biggest sharks,

track which species dare
enter the lagoon at high tide

and collect vital
tissue samples.

which could reveal what's
drawing them to this island.

It's low tide, and with all
the big sharks forced outside

the lagoon, they fish
along the coral wall.

ADAM: Bit feisty
LAUREN: Far out. Yep Yep

Nothing?

RICHARD: The first catch of the
day was a massive Bull Shark,

and they are big Bulls
around North West.

LAUREN: That is a fat shark.
She's heavy.

RICHARD: Yeah, the team got sort
of what we call rag dolled.

ADAM: Grab that. That's it.

She was a bit hard to
handle, you know,

she knocked my hat off.

RICHARD: Watch your hat Adam!

They were hanging on to the
line and just getting dragged

around you've got to play
the shark, you've got to get

to that balance point where
you wear the shark down enough

that you can pull it up and
start handling it safely.

LAUREN: let me know
when you guys are on.

ADAM: Yeah, we're on.
LAUREN: Ok! Alright.

RICHARD: It's a lot of work, I
mean these are really powerful

animals and I don't think
people appreciate the amount

of power in them, and when
you're on those lines,

it's a lot of work.

NARRATOR: Finally subdued,
an flipped upside down,

the shark is put into
a catatonic state,

which allows the team
to get to work.

ADAM: Two, eighty,
three total length.

283. Alright.
-Alright.

NARRATOR: Over 9 feet in
length, this is a big female

and a serious predator.

RICHARD: So Bull Sharks are
very much a coastal shark,

living right in
along our beaches.

And they're well known for
the fact that the females

will swim up the rivers
and give birth and then

the pups will go up into the
fresh water for the first

couple of years of their
life and come out,

so they're very much associated
with the coast of Australia.

NARRATOR: Bull Shark are
experts at hunting

in low visibility waters.

In addition to a great
sense of smell,

they can actually feel
the presence of prey

through pressure-sensitive
pores that run along

the length of their bodies.

Agile, fast and aggressive
everything from sharks

and dolphins, to fish and
turtles have been found

inside their stomachs.

But what they're doing here,

50 miles offshore,
remains a mystery.

ADAM: Compared to other
places on the reef,

this place seems to be
a real hotspot, but why?

I mean it normally has to be
they're either coming here

to feed, they're coming here
to breed, and because

they're big sharks, they're
not here to shelter or hide

from anything, so you got
to think that some sort of

resource is bring them in.

NARRATOR: To help find out,
Adam makes a small incision,

and fits the shark with
a tiny acoustic tag.

The team have a network of
listening stations positioned

around the island.

If this shark comes
within 1600 feet of one,

it's name, time and
location will be logged.

It could reveal why it's here.

Next, Lauren takes blood
and tissue samples.

The stable isotopes inside
could provide further clues.

LAUREN: Nice, that's a
really good biopsy there,

we've got lots and
lots of muscle.

So this we'll take back to
the lab, run some biochemical

tracers and figure out what
this shark has been eating.

NARRATOR: Work completed,
the shark is released.

ADAM: No rough's good for 'em.

NARRATOR: Over the next 6
hours, and a storm closing in

the team hustle to get as
much data as they can.

ADAM: I don't think I've
ever fished anywhere

where I've been so busy.

This is the highest catch
rates I've ever had.

In one afternoon we did 16, 17
sharks just in an afternoon!

Great Hammerheads,
Lemon Sharks,

Reef Sharks, Bulls, Pig
Eyes which look like

Bulls, Blacktip Sharks,

I think it was about
ten different species.

LAUREN: The more different
species we caught,

the more it really made us
double down on our desire

to figure out how are so many
big sharks sharing this area,

and who's eating what?

ADAM: And this interesting
thing was many of them

were at the largest size
that species grows to.

That really blew me away and
start thinking this place

has got something going on,
there's resources here.

Something is bringing
all these animals in.

NARRATOR: As high tide
returns and water surges

back into the lagoon.

Adam prepares to dive the
outer walls of the reef,

on the south side
of the island,

which the nesting
turtles seem to favor.

His mission to see what sharks
are moving over it's defenses

and into the rich
hunting grounds inside.

As soon as he dives in,
the ghostly silhouette

of a shark starts
to track him.

Moving over the reef, the
first life he comes across

is a new gladiator in
this predator Colosseum.

The giant Trevally.

Growing up to five and a half
feet, these formidable hunters

often gang up in groups to
terrorize the inhabitants

of the reef at night.

The best strategy is
to hide in the coral

and stay completely silent.

As the Trevally stir
up the reef,

the commotion attracts others.

A White Tip Reef
shark joins the fray.

And is soon followed
by a Gray Reef Shark.

The Trevally wisely
make their exit.

The small reef sharks use
their agility to squeeze

inside gaps in the coral
Jelly-filled pores

on their snouts can detect
the tiny electrical signals

given off by the heart
beats of hiding prey.

Once detected, the fish
don't stand a chance.

As soon as a kill is made,

the noise and scents
bring in others.

They may not be the big
sharks Adam is looking for,

but evidence of yet
another battle going on,

at this special island.

ADAM: The action of
the Reef Sharks was like

super interesting, somebody
gets a hold of a fish

in the reef, and then once that
happened and everybody's trying

to grab it, everybody's trying
to steal it off each other

even as well right, so it
was pretty crazy to see,

it was a bit hectic, but

there's no
co-ordination there,

they're just looking for an
advantage to get a free feed.

NARRATOR: Day three of the
operation and with the storm

just forty-eight hours away

Richard spots something
unusual on the reef wall.

ADAM: Oh, you've
got a turtle there.

RICHARD: Yeah, I'm just over on
the edge of that reef, and um,

that turtle is very high in
the water. I think it's dead.

LAUREN: Yeah, doesn't
look like its moving much.

RICHARD: No, not when they're
sitting that high up.

LAUREN: Is it bloated?

RICHARD: Yeah, it's
floating high, and umm

LAUREN: Oh, wow, what's that?
RICHARD: A little Reefie?

NARRATOR: Likely dead
from exhaustion,

it's presence has drawn
in small reef sharks.

RICHARD: you could see little
reef sharks just swimming

around underneath it,

but they weren't engaging
with the turtle at all.

NARRATOR: Too small and
lacking the power to bite

through something as tough
as a turtle shell,

these sharks have got
a different strategy.

LAUREN: Oh, wow, what's that?

ADAM: Woah! Tiger Shark on.

LAUREN: OK.
ADAM: yeah.

NARRATOR: As a Tiger Shark shows
up, they stop milling around,

and form up in a line
behind it.

RICHARD: Coming in
from down current.

LAUREN: Look he's got his
little entourage of small

grey reef sharks.
ADAM: quite a few grey reefs.

NARRATOR: Circling the turtle,

the Tiger finally
makes its move.

Cracking through the shell
with its razor-sharp teeth.

LAUREN: You can see him
really try to wrench it off

like using its whole body
to get enough force to rip

that flipper off.

NARRATOR: The smaller
sharks bide their time.

ADAM: all the guts
and stuff coming out.

RICHARD: The Tiger has bitten
the back of the Tiger out

and it's all popped out.

LAUREN: Oh, now you
see all these other

sharks swimming through it.
ADAM: They're all getting a bit.

LAUREN: Yeah, coming
out of the woodwork.

Made the Tiger Shark
do all the hard work.

RICHARD: So these little sharks
were basically hanging around

waiting for the Tiger Shark
to come in with its teeth

to act like a can opener

and open up this can of
soup for the little sharks.

ADAM: they were
all just going in.

NARRATOR: It's a high
risk, high reward tactic.

Tigers are known to
eat smaller sharks.

Avoid the Tiger's jaws
and you get a free feed.

But time it wrong, and
this is your last meal.

LAUREN: It's just wonderful to
have such a productive place,

and a place where we can start
to learn how these predators

use such unique different
tactics and strategies

and you get to watch their
interplay not just with each

other, but with the prey
items available,

and oh, to get to see it
first hand is wonderful.

NARRATOR: It's a big
breakthrough for the team,

It's clear dead turtles
are on the menu

for the island's
Tiger Sharks.

And that their work is being
profited on by smaller sharks.

But questions remain.

What are the Bull Sharks
and Hammerheads doing here?

And do the Tigers ever
tackle live turtles?

To find out, and with just
36 hours of good weather

remaining the team step up
their fishing efforts

and attempt to deploy another
weapon in their arsenal.

a camera tag an hour later,

one of the buoys is pulled
under the water.

It's a Tiger, and
at 10 feet long,

right on the cusp of being
capable of taking down

a live turtle.

LAUREN: I'm good
when you guys are.

NARRATOR: Working fast,
Adam slips the camera

on to the dorsal fin.

Designed to stay on for 8
hours, it will give the team

a shark-eyed view of the island
for the very first time.

RICHARD: By doing a really
quick release, we were hoping

that it would get back to
normal behavior as fast as

possible and deliver with
the footage we had on it.

NARRATOR: Over the next 8 hours,
the shark circles the island

moving in and out of
the lagoon at high tide.

Before the camera tag releases,
and floats to the surface.

Back on the boat, with
the data downloaded,

the team pour over
the footage.

RICHARD: So this is Where we
released it, and it's going

over the reef top so you can
see it's pretty shallow.

LAUREN: There's a bit of fish
life around here,I mean,

you know that would be a
great prey item probably

for a smaller shark, but
our Tiger doesn't seem

too interested in it.

ADAM: Woah, What was that?
RICHARD: That was a fin kick.

ADAM: That was a
very active movement.

LAUREN: Looks like it's
spotted something,

but I don't see anything.

ADAM: Jeez, It almost looked
like a bit of a false start,

it started to go and
then decided not to.

RICHARD: Oh hello.
ADAM: It's a turtle!

LAUREN: OK.
ADAM: look at this!

Look its going
straight at it.

RICHARD: He's on his
side, too the turtle.

ADAM: He just went
straight past it.

Didn't even seem to notice!

This Tiger was actually
approaching the turtles

and we could see how
the turtles reacted,

how it turned its shell.
You always hear,

oh maybe they use their
shell to protect themselves,

but we could actually
see that happening.

RICHARD: Turtle's like, I've
seen you, and the shark's

like ok, I'm not going
to expend any energy.

LAUREN: yeah right. It gave
us the first indication

that of the fact that these
turtles are not easy prey,

you've got to be
really, really

calculated in how you're
going to approach them.

ADAM: Jeez, it turned on its
side really earl, didn't it.

RICHARD: Yeah.

ADAM: Looks like he's
going a bit faster is he?

ADAM: Oh what's that?
RICHARD: Woah! Looook!

NARRATOR: Just two hours later.

RICHARD: Check this
LAUREN: oh!

ADAM: Woah!

NARRATOR: The shark
approaches another turtle.

LAUREN: The turtle
hasn't seen him.

RICHARD: Still hasn't seen him.

NARRATOR: And this time it
changes its angle of attack.

ADAM: What?
LAUREN: Oh!

Why did he not go for it?
ADAM: Why'd he not go for it?

That turtle didn't know?

LAUREN: It had no idea He had
his little back flippers

ready to be chomped.

ADAM: Go back and
see that again.

What the hell, he
didn't do anything?

RICHARD: That is
perfect positioning.

ADAM: Did he touch it?
RICHARD: Yeah.

This Tiger tracked right in and
bumped into the turtle shell.

ADAM: Man, that turtle
should buy a lottery ticket.

and he would have had it.
That turtle was, uhhh

RICHARD: It was a practice run.
ADAM: must be the size.

I just think, why
would it not do it?

RICHARD: This Tiger wasn't
big enough quite yet

to take down a turtle
of that size,

I think it kind of knew
because it didn't even try

and open its mouth, but
to see it like practicing

and having a practice run
at it, that was amazing.

ADAM: This is excellent right.

It's really, really interesting
to see how they actually hunt.

If we'd seen a predation
we'd have been confirmed,

bang, awesome, but we've
still got a very good idea

as to how they would hunt.

NARRATOR: It's another big
breakthrough for the team.

And the fincam footage
provides more clues as to

what's happening
around the island.

In the late afternoon,
the shark moves offshore,

spending a lot of time
scanning the surface.

Could it be looking
for bird rafts?

LAUREN: With that in mind we
really started investing more

time in to finding these
big rafting birds,

because that's where we
assume these Tigers are going

to come up and try to eat them.

RICHARD: Ok, so I'm tracking
over a mile and half out

at the moment, it's
not a massive raft,

but they're not large birds,

so that's not going to be the
shearwaters, or the muttonbirds,

it's going to be those
white cap noddies

that you see up in the trees.

NARRATOR: At other islands
off Australia's east coast,

birds raft up in
the thousands,

and the team have found they
make up a huge proportion

of the shark's diet.

But as they survey
the area here,

the rafts are thin on the ground
and spread over a huge area.

LAUREN: It is weird, that's
way too large an area

if you're a big predator to
search and get a pay off

if you catch something of
only just one tiny bird,

I don't know, I think maybe
sticking around the island

and getting the reef fish,

rays and turtles will
be a better bet.

So we're thinking if it's
this difficult for us to find

rafting birds it's probably
just as hard for the sharks

so we started to focus our
attention back on the island.

RICHARD: Oh, cool.
I've got a great hammer!

NARRATOR: It's high
tide on the island.

And with just 18 hours before
the storm is due to hit

Richard spots the unmistakable
outline of a Hammerhead.

RICHARD: Out of all the
shark species we have here,

the unicorn is the
Great Hammer.

We don't see them that often,
but it is such an impressive

animal growing up
to like 5 metres.

And when you see one of
those things in just

a few feet of water, the
adrenaline just pumps

and you're on it and
you're just like.

Hammer time!

It's just tracking in across
the sand making a beeline

for the island.

NARRATOR: On the drone,
the shadow of rays

can clearly be seen.

RICHARD: Filming natural
predation at any time

with sharks is such an
extremely rare event,

I've only done it a few
times in my entire career,

and the tides coming
everything is just lining up.

Like, this is going to be it,

and you're getting
nervous as hell.

And it was interesting, it came
past a couple of eagle rays

and the eagle rays were
really big, so it did turn

and have a look and then it
was like too much effort.

NARRATOR: Heading towards the
beach, the Hammer changes

tactics and quarry.

RICHARD: it's really taking
advantage of this incoming

tide to push in where the water
is so shallow and any potential

prey is really going to be
trapped in a two

dimensional environment.

NARRATOR: Stingrays
flood the shore,

trying to escape it's jaws.

Approaching a rock wall
sticking out from the beach,

it spots and corners
a stingray.

RICHARD: It's head is
pinned down on the ray.

The whole body is
spinning full 360,

the tail is coming
out of the water.

It's splashing around,
it's absolute chaos,

other rays swimming past.

And then the Hammer
turns around,

swims off, and then you see the
huge tail out the side of

its mouth, and as it's swimming
along a big head shake

and slurp, you get the tail
get sucked in, like a bit of

fettucine, like Lady and
The Tramp, it's awesome.

NARRATOR: With the storm almost
upon them the team rush

to analyze the blood
and tissue samples.

And collect the data from the
listening stations positioned

around the island.

LAUREN: Our mission coming
in was to really understand

why are there so many big sharks
here and who's eating what,

and as we started
throwing gadgets

and observations and movement
data and diet together,

all the pieces in the
puzzle started fitting

together quite nicely.

So what we've found is we've
got these Lemon sharks

which are really small
and agile and they're

these low tide specialists.

RICHARD: The fish they're
eating are at the bottom

end of the food chain, so
they're probably hitting

a lot of the herbivores in the
shallows, the parrotfish,

the rabbitfish, all those ones
that are living on that reef

edge grazing on the algae.

LAUREN: Then you've got your
Hammerheads which are still

using that lagoon area,
but they're hunting rays

on the sand flats.

RICHARD: That's what
they're here for.

It would have a hard time taking
down a turtle or you know,

trying to surface feed on a
seabird because of the position

of their mouth is a bit further
back than on most shark species.

NARRATOR: Tracking data from the
bull sharks showed they only

visited the island for one or
two days before disappearing.

RICHARD: The Bull Sharks
when we're looking at those,

ok, they're a fish eater and
shark eater and also hitting

rays, so they're hitting
that part of the food chain.

LAUREN: Whereas our Tiger
Shark's I mean they are

perfectly engineered to battle
it out with our sea turtles

and in the absence of many
rafting birds, it seems

that that's what they're
at this island to do.

RICHARD: You know we have the
whole ecosystem working here,

and the different species
of sharks are feeding

on different parts of it.

ADAM: To get the data we did
already and this is like

the start of it, is amazing.

This place is off the charts.

This is a really special place,
there's just so much life here,

so much resources that must
be feeding these animals.

NARRATOR: For the team, just
one big question remains.

Are the Tigers taking
down live turtles?

And here again, the movement
data from the tagged Tigers

gives them some clues as
to where this battle

might take place.

LAUREN: They're really using
this southern end of the island

right along here.

That's where they spend
almost half of their time.

ADAM: Well I guess that
sort of makes sense.

Turtles coming off the island
wouldn't waste their time

trying to get across the
shallow lagoon and risk getting

caught up there when it's dry,

they're probably heading
straight to the deep water

as fast as possible right,
which means if the Tiger Sharks

hang around here, they're right
where the turtles are coming.

NARRATOR: Final night of the
expedition, and with the wind

picking up the team decide to
stakeout the Tiger Shark

hotspot along the southern
edge of the island.

Using a state of the art
starlight drone,

never deployed on
this island before,

Richard soon sees turtles
making their way up the beach.

RICHARD: We were gob smacked
with what we were seeing

and the sensitivity of it.

We were seeing species of
fish coming in that

we weren't even seeing in the
day, and we were just out

flying transects are out and
just trying to get a handle

on what happens at night,
because no-one

does shark research at night!

NARRATOR: Lemon and reef
sharks stalk the beaches,

but the island's bigger
sharks remain elusive.

Then, at 2am, Richard spots
something unusual on the drone.

RICHARD: Check it out.
ADAM: Is that baby turtles?

RICHARD: It's an emergence.
ADAM: Woah.

LAUREN: Oh my gosh!
Like a little army.

ADAM: Oh this might be
interesting actually.

RICHARD: A nest erupted, and
about 100 babies came running

down the beach.

ADAM: you could see crystal
clear what was going on.

NARRATOR: As they hit the surf,

the hatchlings are
swept into the lagoon.

And a familiar face
appears out of the gloom.

RICHARD: Oh there's one.

And a Trevally is
smashing them.

LAUREN: It's got 'em.
Boom boom boom

ADAM: Man, they've
got no chance.

LAUREN: Oh it's going
to get another one.

ADAM: As soon as it
hit the water,

Trevally just
gobbling them up.

LAUREN: it's amazing how quick
those Trevally were on to it,

I mean as soon as
one hit the beach,

oh man they came
out of nowhere.

RICHARD: Oh, there's a
shark, there's a shark.

LAUREN: Is that a Lemon?
-What's that?

I don't know. How big
do you think it is?

RICHARD: Bigger
than the Trevally.

Look, all those little
hatchlings there.

In the shallows.

LAUREN: They're all
going to get munched.

RICHARD: They're
getting cooked.

ADAM: Little shark cookies.

Lemon Shark came through and
ate cookie after cookie

after cookie and I think
you'd be lucky if one of them

got through.

LAUREN: It is just
scooping them all up.

RICHARD: It's coming
in to beach itself.

Look at that right
in the water line.

LAUREN: oh my gosh.
RICHARD: Woah!

LAUREN: It just took off.
ADAM: Something spooked it.

LAUREN: yeah, far out.

It just absolutely
got out of there.

NARRATOR: The team may not
have caught the Tiger,

turtle predation they
were hoping for

but what they have unearthed
is evidence of yet another

battle going on at this
island colosseum.

LAUREN: Seeing this battle
erupt in the shallows

really made me realize that
there's lots of battles going on

around this island, I mean
you've got your baby turtles

versus fish.

You've got your Hammerheads
versus rays.

RICHARD: There's Tiger
Sharks taking out turtles.

ADAM: There's even trees,
trees are killing birds

It's just chaos going
on everywhere here,

it's just blood and death.

RICHARD: The entire ecosystem
is a battlefield.