All language subtitles for FA8C514878D03297A9FEB579DBA38EA1_eng

The Bahamas, a stunning
nature lover's paradise,

spread over more than 100,000
square miles of the Atlantic Ocean.

About 150 miles from
Florida's southeastern coast, it's

3 ,000 islands, islets, and
caves Fringed by white sandy

beaches and calm turquoise waters,
were forged over millions of years.

The islands of the Bahamas
rest on two massive banks of

limestone, nearly two and a
half miles deep, and created by

ancient marine sediments, such as sand
and the skeletal remains of coral reefs.

Just 30 of the Bahamas'
700 islands are inhabited by

humans. Twenty-seven national
parks spread throughout the

archipelago and provide
protection for critical habitats

and endangered species,
such as the rock iguana.

The Bahamas is roughly the
same size as New York State

and is home to a dazzling
array of diverse ecosystems.

Thick forests, twisty mangrove
swamps, and the deep and

mysterious vertical submarine
caves, known as blue holes.

But perhaps its most breathtaking
ecosystems lie under the

clean blue water, the world's
third largest barrier reef,

measuring 190 miles
long, provides food and

shelter to more than 160
species of coral and fish.

Shallow coastal waters nurture
ancient creatures, perfectly

adapted to life on the sandy
bottom. But the waters of the

open ocean belong to sharks.

For a diver, the Bahamas will
give you for sure a guarantee

that you're going to see some
sharks. So if you're a diver

and you have never seen a
shark Bahamas, guarantee you that.

Some 40 species of shark
cruise these clear blue Bahamian

waters.

These are nurse sharks,
Caribbean reef sharks, and

where the shallow turquoise
waters give way to the deep

blue, one of the open ocean's
great wanderers, the oceanic

whitetip shark.

Oceanic whitetips are stocky,
heavy set creatures, reaching

weights of 370 pounds
and lengths of up to 10 feet,

and are not to be confused with their
smaller cousins, whitetip reef sharks.

Oceanic whitetips typically
prowl the deep waters far from

shore. This shark stays
close to the upper layer of the

ocean.

Its large, rounded dorsal
fin breaking the surface.

Its dark, lifeless eye
the size of a baseball.

The legendary oceanographer
Jacques Cousteau called these

powerful, silent animals the
most dangerous of all sharks.

It is a belief held by many
and stems from what has been

called the worst shark attack
in history. In 1945, a United

States naval ship called the
USS Indianapolis was sunk by a

Japanese submarine, leaving
about 900 men drifting in groups

in the waters off the Philippines.

Survivors of the torpedo
attack recounted how sharks,

believed to be oceanic
whitetips, preyed for days on both

the dead and the living.

Oceanic whitetips are pelagic
animals. They inhabit those

parts of the sea that are
neither close to the bottom nor

near the shore.

The open ocean is like a
desert with little life and little

food. To survive out here,
oceanic whitetips need to be

bold, opportunistic hunters,
urgently investigating any

possible source of food.
Some sharks will bump potential

prey before mounting an
attack, and there are stories of

marauding oceanic whitetips
fearlessly circling and bumping

uneasy divers.

In the open ocean, conserving
precious energy is essential

for creatures on a boundless
search for food. Oceanic

whitetips swim slowly, though
they are capable of powerful

bursts of speed when in pursuit
of fast-moving prey, such as

tuna, barracuda, and white
marlin. In this vast expanse

of the open sea, there is
nowhere to hide, and oceanic

whitetips are equipped
with large triangular serrated

teeth used to clench
and tear apart their prey.

Like all sharks, the oceanic
whitetip has an acute sense of

smell. As it swims, water
passes into its nostrils on the

undersurface of its
snout and across sensory

cells, allowing the shark
to locate prey by scent.

Incredibly, each nostril can
detect smells separately. The

shark is able to identify the
direction of a scent by which

nostril detected the smell first.

Oceanic whitetips swim
with an entourage of pilot fish,

so named because they were
once believed to lead or pilot

larger fish to prey.

Pilot fish follow the sharks
to feed on skin parasites

and leftover scraps of food.
They also conserve energy by

hitching a ride in the slipstream
created by the larger fish.

This shark has a tag
attached to its dorsal fin, which

allows a researcher to
collect information about its

behavior.

Because they live so far out
in the open ocean, oceanic

whitetips are among the
least studied of all marine

creatures. A large-scale
tagging operation conducted by

researchers in the Bahamas
made surprising findings. Oceanic

whitetips will roam as far
as 1,200 miles, then return to

their home base in the
Bahamas within a few months, the

first evidence of return
migration in these sharks.

Commercial shark fishing is
banned in the Bahamas, but when

sharks venture far from these
islands, they enter dangerous

waters. Oceanic whitetips are
often caught in long lines set

for other species. The findings
from this tagging operation

will be used in conservation
strategies to protect this

species. The oceanic whitetip
was once one of the most

abundant apex predators
on the planet, but it is now

considered critically endangered.
Overfishing has resulted

in huge declines in their
population. Oceanic whitetips are

killed cruelly and illegally
for their fins, the costly and

destructive key
ingredient of shark fin soup.

Each year, about 70 million
sharks are killed. The Bahamas

is one of the few places on
Earth where oceanic whitetips

thrive in relatively large
numbers, plying the open ocean,

consumed by the endless
search for food. But oceanic

whitetips aren't the only
sharks that flourish here.

The Caribbean reef shark is
one of the largest predators

in the tropical coastal
waters off the Bahamas.

Reaching lengths of 10 feet
and weights of up to 150 pounds,

Caribbean reef sharks are not
dangerous to humans, unless

provoked. They are the main
attraction of shark dives, in

which bait is used to lure
sharks to within arm's length of

divers.

It's not a dangerous animal
because, in reference to sharks,

people feel intimidated when
they see a shark, or they're

most likely to think that
something's wrong or something's

going to happen. But I'd
encourage anybody to feel safe if

they see a Caribbean reef
shark, because they scavengers.

They have no interest in
humans, so you never see a

Caribbean reef shark attacking
a human. If you're not a dad

of sick fish, you have no
worries about seeing a Caribbean

reef shark.

A shark, it's magic. It's
majesty. It's elegant. It's

excellent. It's a warm, fuzzy
feeling that you get because

they're so beautiful. They
just glide through the water.

And they've got your little
eye, and they look at you, and

they're not interested in
you. They're just living their

life. It's like a good neighbor.
So how do you feel? You

just feel free.

The experience of coming
eyeball to eyeball with these

majestic predators has proved
popular, and shark-related

tourism now brings an estimated
$40 million annually to the

Bahamian economy. And while
humans may not be part of the

food chain of the Caribbean
reef shark, another species is

not so lucky. The southern
stingray is a favorite food of

the sharks that prowl these
waters. They are the largest

rays in this part of the
Atlantic, reaching six feet in

diameter. Though they appear
weightless, floating over the

sea grass, southern stingrays
can tip the scales at more

than 200 pounds.

Unlike most fish, the ray does
not have an air bladder, the

internal organ that provides
buoyancy in the water. If the

ray stops swimming, it will
sink to the bottom, but it is

perfectly adapted to life on
the coastal sand flats of the

Bahamas, feeding on mollusks
and worms buried in the sand.

Electro-receptors on the
underside of the ray detect

vibrations created by buried
prey, which the ray uncovers by

blowing water through
its mouth and gills and

flapping its large pectoral
fins to disturb the sand.

It is a feeding behavior
known as hydraulic mining.

The southern stingray is a
peaceful fish, but if threatened,

it will raise its long tail
like a scorpion to stab

predators with a venomous
barb. Divers and waders must

exercise caution to avoid an
unwanted stingray encounter. If

you're shuffling your feet
through the sand and the stingray

is aware that you're coming,
it'll just swim away. But if

you were to suddenly step
on one, it would shoot that barb

as a defense mechanism to
defend itself. It's apparently a

burning sensation, a very
painful sensation, like a

wash sting, but I'd say
probably times a thousand.

Meanwhile, near the shoreline
is one of the most unique

creatures in the Bahamas,
the cassiopeia, or upside-down

jellyfish.

As the name suggests, these
jellies live upside down on the

sea bottom. Their ancestors
roamed the oceans 500 million

years ago.

Upside-down jellyfish are farmers, offering
algae a home among their tentacles.

Algae use photosynthesis to
turn sunlight into energy, which

is then absorbed by the
jellyfish. By floating upside down

in the shallow water, the
jellyfish provides ample

sunlight to the algae, thereby
getting itself a free meal.

One jellyfish alone is
an extraordinary sight.

Millions of jellyfish, all
together, are spectacular.

A dense bloom of thimble
jellyfish shimmers in the twilight sea.

Thimbles are the most common
jellies in the Bahamas. They

explode in swarms in the late
spring, feeding on crustacean

zooplankton and barnacle
larvae, which they sting with

venomous threads. The
uncoiling of these threads is one of

nature's most remarkable
feats. Each thread is armed with a

venomous barb that can fire
faster than a bullet from a gun.

These vast swarms of jellyfish
appear to be occurring more

often around the globe,
either part of a natural cycle or

possibly the result of climate
change. As oceans warm, jelly

embryos develop more
quickly, and jellyfish populations

explode.

They may have no brains,
no blood, and no heart,

but these thimble
jellyfish can be a menace.

Swimmers can pass through
a swarm of invisible thimble

jellyfish larvae without
even realizing it. That is until

the appearance of a nasty,
itchy rash, caused by the stings

of young jellyfish no larger
than a speck of ground pepper.

As twilight turns to night, an equally
mesmerizing sight unfolds on the reef.

Tom Tate. Thousands of them.

It's something that makes you
belong. You are surrounded by

life. Life is all around you,
and that's what you feel under

the water, you know, a big
school of fish. And if you move

slowly and calm, they let you
be in the middle, and you feel

surrounded by life, very
powerful life. The sea never stops,

never gets tired, so it's a
special feeling, yes, very

strong.

Each night, shortly after sunset,
these Tom Tate migrate off

the reef, to the sandy seagrass
bed, where they will prey on

small bottom-dwelling
invertebrates, such as shrimp, crabs,

and mollusks. Just before
sunrise, they will return, en

masse, to the safety of the reef.

Tom Tate are just one of
about 150 species of marine fish,

known as grunts. As their
name suggests, these fish make a

grunting sound that is
caused by the grinding of their

teeth. The peculiar noise
made by a grunt is not unlike that

of a pig.

The creatures of the ocean
are locked in a daily battle for

survival, and like many fish,
Tom Tates swim in schools to

protect themselves from
predators. Targeting individual prey

from a tightly packed school
is no easy task for a visually

oriented hunter. For the
Tom Tate, there is safety in

numbers. Swimming in unison,
the fish may appear as a single

large creature to would-be
predators, such as groupers and

sharks. Schooling also helps
the Tom Tate forage for food on

the sandy sea bottom. Thousands
of eyes are better than two,

and can mean the difference
between finding prey or going

hungry. There is another reason
why fish swim in schools, to

conserve energy. Those at
the back of the school are pulled

along by the slipstream
created by their neighbors,

conserving precious energy
needed for this nightly forage.

Schooling fish maintain
these stunning synchronized

formations by using what's
called a lateral line, cells

along the head and body
that are sensitive to gentle

currents and vibrations.
As a fish swims, it displaces

water, which creates ripples.
When those ripples hit the

lateral line of another fish,
it is able to detect both the

direction and the speed of
its neighbor. This allows the

school to turn with astonishing
precision, and to close

ranks tightly in the
presence of a predator.

A cloud of sand is stirred
up by one of the largest

predators in these waters,
the nurse shark. These bottom

-dwelling hunters can reach
lengths of up to 14 feet. For

divers, getting close to even
a smaller nurse shark can be

exhilarating. Of course you
can feel the power, the speed

and the strength. They maybe
are five feet, but these guys

can swim very fast in a very
explosive way. Something for a

diver is completely impossible.
They are very peaceful and

one of the beautiful creatures underwater.

The nurse shark is an apex
predator in the Bahamas. Only

larger sharks feed on these
strong hunters. At night, it

prowls the sandy bottom, using
a whisker-shaped organ near

its mouth, called a barbell,
to detect shrimp, squid and

lobsters. It sucks them into
its mouth with tremendous

force. And swallows them
whole. Then expels inhaled sand

through its gills. As the
night begins its retreat, the

nurse shark will return to the
submerged ledges on the reef,

to rest up for the next nighttime hunt.

Another day breaks in the Bahamas.

These islands sit atop a thick
bed of limestone, comprised

of sand and the broken skeletal
remains of marine organisms.

Limestone is porous, and
salt water from the surrounding

seas penetrates the rock
beneath the island's surface.

During past ice ages, fresh
rainwater, made acidic by carbon

dioxide in the air and soil,
percolated down into the earth.

It mixed with the salt
water, eating away at the

limestone, to form sinkholes
hundreds of feet deep.

As the earth warmed and
oceans rose, sinkholes filled with

salt water, creating dark and
mysterious underwater caves

that may now unlock the secrets to the
earth's past, and its future. Blue holes.

The Bahamas contain the
highest concentration of blue holes

on the planet. In the dark
waters, deep below the surface,

is an ecosystem unlike any other on earth.

A thin layer of fresh rainwater sits
atop a denser layer of salty marine water.

The freshwater lens prevents
oxygen in the air from reaching

the salt water. Yet somehow,
extreme life forms manage to

thrive in these deep
oxygen-deprived waters.

Cave diving scientists have
discovered colonies of microbes

that are toxic to most other
organisms. By studying these

hardy bacteria that are able
to survive in the anoxic waters

of blue holes, researchers can
deepen their understanding of

what life was like on the
planet more than three billion

years ago, when earth was
an oxygen-free environment and

bacteria the primary life
form. Similar inhospitable

conditions exist on distant
planets and moons. The

mysterious blue holes of the
Bahamas may hold the key to how

life is able to survive in
oxygen-free environments on earth

and beyond. These blue
holes also act as a time capsule.

Deep sheltered waters that
are low in oxygen are ideal for

protecting fossils. The
skeletons of ancient crocodiles,

tortoises and bats have all
been found here remarkably

preserved. Without blue
holes, much of the fossil record

of the Bahamas would be
gone, destroyed by hurricanes and

exposure to the elements.
For divers, each descent into a

blue hole is an opportunity
to visit a strange and distant

past. This kind of feel like
you are diving through the

arteries of Mother Earth. You
are going through a history of

geology of our planet. It's
like flying and getting into

another time. You stop
thinking about anything else.

These vast underwater chambers
house monumental formations

that hang like glowing icicles.
These are stalactites. They

are formed when dissolved
limestone in the water escapes

into the air and hardens as
calcite. Over time, miniscule

amounts of calcite build up
and drip from the cave ceiling.

Mineral-rich water that seeps
through the cave ceiling or

drips off the end of stalactites
creates stalagmites, which

rise from the cave floor.
Each of these remarkable

sculptures begins with a
single drip. You feel, in another

word, you are in a cave. You
are no longer in the normal

living realm of your days.
You are under the water in a

cave, sometimes 600 feet in
into a cave, and you are just

enjoying but also very
focused on what you are doing,

exploring a new territory.

Few have explored the farthest
reaches of these vast and

twisting underground waterways.
Cave diving is extremely

dangerous. In the darkened
depths, it is easy to become

disoriented. A single wrong
turn or equipment failure, and

you're doomed. Hundreds of
divers have perished in caves

like these. It's believed that
less than 20% of the 1,000

blue holes in the Bahamas
have been explored. These

dark underwater passageways
remain one of Earth's final

frontiers.

On the island of Eleuthera,
another unusual underwater

environment continues
to fascinate scientists.

An inland saltwater lake,
separate from the ocean, is home

to an extraordinary and
intelligent creature. This is the

Caribbean reef octopus. The
octopus is believed to be the

smartest of all invertebrates
on the planet. Experts believe

they have the intelligence,
memory capacity, and skills

development of a three-year-old
child. In captivity, they

have managed to unscrew a
bottle cap to remove a crab inside.

In the wild, an octopus can
remember the location of a

predator and stay clear.
When faced with a predator, the

octopus is armed with multiple
defense strategies. It is one

of the few creatures on Earth
able to completely alter its

appearance in a flash.
Thousands of color-changing cells

just below the surface of the
skin allow it to blend in with

its surroundings. A complex
network of muscles and nerves

controls projections on the
skin, creating bumps and spikes

that match the texture of
plants or rocks. Predators, such

as sharks and dolphins, may
swim over the octopus without

even noticing it. If discovered,
an octopus can make a fast

getaway by sucking water
into its mantle and expelling it

through a siphon tube to
jet through the water. When

cornered, an octopus will
release a cloud of black, foul

-tasting ink to blind and
disorient an attacker and even

dull its sense of smell, while
the octopus makes its escape.

And if caught by a predator,
the octopus has a remarkable

last line of defense. It is
able to lose an arm, then

miraculously regrow it
later, without lasting damage.

In this saltwater lake, there
are few predators, and the

octopus swims freely on the
lookout for crabs and mollusks.

It grips prey with powerful
arms as long as eight feet, then

paralyzes it with nerve poison
secreted in its saliva. The

oldest known octopus fossils
date back almost 300 million

years, well before the age
of the dinosaur. Creatures like

these have roamed the
oceans, adapting perfectly to their

surroundings. The octopus has
three hearts. Two pump blood

to the gills. The third keeps
circulation flowing for the

organs. When the octopus
swims, the third heart stops

beating. It crawls along the
seabed to conserve precious

energy.

In the shallow seas that flank
the islands of the Bahamas,

sunlight penetrates the
surface, nourishing the seagrass,

which in turn nourishes one
of the ocean's gentle giants,

the manatee. These peaceful,
slow-moving creatures are

sometimes called sea cows,
though they actually evolved from

the same land animal as the
elephant more than 50 million

years ago.

At 10 feet long and reaching
weights of up to 1,200 pounds,

the average adult manatee
is similar in size to a large

polar bear.

A powerful tail pushes the
manatee along the sea meadow.

It will cover three to five
miles in an hour. Manatees are

voracious herbivores and
will spend up to 12 hours a day

feeding on seagrass, weeds and
algae. A manatee can consume

10% of its body weight in
plants every day. Coarse hairs

around its lips enable it
to detect and grasp plants,

especially helpful when the
manatee is feeding in murky

water. Scientists believe the
bristles are as sensitive as a

human fingertip.

Like all marine mammals,
manatees must surface to breathe air.

A resting manatee can stay
submerged for as long as 20

minutes by slowing its heart
rate by 80% to conserve oxygen.

When the manatee does take
a breath, it replaces 90% of the

air in its lungs. In comparison,
humans replace just 10%.

Manatees are sluggish and
docile. They have no defense

mechanisms because they
have no natural predators. And yet

these placid creatures
are at risk of extinction.

They are illegally slaughtered
by hunters, seeking their

hides, carelessly entangled
in fishing nets and accidentally

killed by motorboats in the shallow coastal
waters favored by these gentle beasts.

At the surface, another
air-breathing marine creature

catches a breath. The
loggerhead turtle is the largest of

all hard-shelled turtles in the sea, and
is named for its sizable log-shaped head.

This female is a bird of prey.
She is about five feet long.

Her shell is as broad as a
table for four. Loggerheads swim

slowly, but are capable of
bursts of up to 20 miles an hour

when fleeing predators such
as sharks. You feel like small

compared to them, and they
are so fast. They are so agile

under the water. We, as divers,
even with the best buoyancy

that we can achieve, we are
not so good swimmers as them.

This loggerhead turtle has
company. The remora, or

suckerfish, are highly
specialized creatures. A modified

dorsal fin on the top of its
head acts as a suction cup and

allows it to cling on the
turtle for a free ride. Remoras

will feed on parasites and bacteria on the
turtle's shell, as well as leftover scraps.

The loggerhead's days are
spent soaring to the surface

for air, then down to the
bottom to search for prey.

Powerful jaws crush jellyfish,
conch, and crabs. Older

loggerheads, such as this
female, show no fear of divers.

Loggerhead turtles have an
enormous range. An adult female

will migrate thousands of
miles from its feeding ground to

lay its eggs on the same beach
where it hatched years before.

These warm and shallow
waters are home to another long

-distance traveler. The green
sea turtle. Like its cousin,

the loggerhead, its homing
behavior is remarkable. Tiny

magnetic particles in the
brain allow it to use the Earth's

magnetic field to navigate the open ocean,

to locate the exact stretch of
coastline where its life began.

Hatchlings have been
observed tasting the sand as they

scurry down the beach to
the surf. It's believed this is to

create a chemical memory
of their birthplace so they may

return to the same spot in
12 to 15 years to continue this

cycle of life.

Life in the open water of
the Bahamas is a struggle. By

returning to a successful
nesting site to lay its own eggs,

the sea turtle increases the odds
of survival for the next generation.

Unlike most sea turtles,
the adult green sea turtle is a

true herbivore. It feeds
entirely on algae and seagrass,

which colors its fat green
and gives the green sea turtle

its name. They eat as much
as five pounds of seagrass a day

and control the growth of
these flowering plants. They are

the cattle of the sea. Without
the green sea turtle, this

sandy sea floor would be invisible.

Beautiful white sand beaches
fringe the islands of the

Bahamas, comprised mainly
of the shells and skeletons of

marine organisms. The fine
sandy bottom extends for miles

into the sea and underpins
the oceanic food chain. Plants

that grow in the sand
provide food and protection for

fish, which attract one of
the ocean's most playful and

intelligent creatures, the
Atlantic spotted dolphin.

It's not that easy to get close to
the dolphins unless they want it.

Of course they feel like they
don't know you, they don't

know if you're a threat, but
when they feel curious and they

feel safe, they can swim
around you very fast, very agile,

they are like surfers under
the water. I wouldn't say

spiritual, but it's a loving
feeling inside when you embrace

something like that, that
has such intelligence and such

power and speed. It's a good
feeling, sometimes you get a

little nervous because it's a
smart animal and you never

know what it's going to do.
Atlantic spotted dolphins are

social animals. Traveling
through the shallow coastal waters

in pods of 10 to 100, groups
can include males and females,

adults and young dolphins
that are yet to develop their

trademark spots.

Like whales, dolphins breathe
air, taking in oxygen at the

ocean's surface through a
blowhole on top of the head. And

just like whales, dolphins
are conscious breathers. They

never fall completely asleep.
One hemisphere of the brain

always remains awake, so
even while sleeping, the dolphin

is able to surface for air
and remain alert to predators.

Their brain-to-body ratio,
which is believed to be a measure

of intellect, is second only to
humans. Dolphins use touch

and posture to communicate.

These three touch fins to stay
in contact as they accelerate

through the water. Swimming
belly up can signal a male's

interest in mating.

In a large social group,
efficient communication is

essential. Dolphins use
clicks and whistles to keep in

touch. Each member of the
pod uses a signature whistle to

identify itself, a useful tool
for a mother keeping track of

a young calf. Adults emit loud
pulses of sound to discipline

young dolphins or even
scare off sharks. Even more

impressive is the way these
dolphins see with sonar. They

are expert at echolocation,
making clicking sounds, as many

as 500 per second, that
travel through the open ocean,

bouncing off of potential
prey and echoing back to the

dolphin to reveal the size,
shape and location of a

potential meal. This sensory
system is so precise that

dolphins have been employed
by the U.S. Navy to locate

underwater explosives. The
complex social network of

dolphins is designed for one
purpose, survival. Dolphins

will coordinate hunts, herding
and then harvesting schools

of fish. A whistle then signals
the catch to other dolphins

in the group. Spotted Atlantic
dolphins have also been seen

taking part in post-mortem
rituals that researchers believe

are consistent with grieving.
Adult dolphins will use their

backs and heads to buoy up
recently deceased calves at

the surface, as if unwilling
to part with the dead. Adult

dolphins will hold on to their
dead young for as long as 30

minutes before surrendering
them to the sea, where they will

nourish other creatures.
Energizing the food chain and

ensuring new generations
will thrive in this beautiful and

complex underwater world.

From rich coral reefs and
deadly underwater caves to apex

predators of the open ocean
and majestic creatures linked to

a prehistoric past, the
Bahamas is a treasure trove for

explorers and one of the
many wonders of the great blue

wild.

In the Bahamas we have
great visibility, end of story. I

think what is special about
it is the geological landscape

and the fact that it is unspoiled
and it's really unspoiled.

It's a magical place, very
still. You feel a good strong

contact and a balance. About
70% of the planet is water, so

diving puts you really close
to what it's feeling and living

this planet.

The Bahamas are a
great place to live. The

Bahamas are a great place
to live. The Bahamas are

a great

place to live. Thank you for watching!