Original subtitles

Narrator: In 2019, an incredible discovery

Was made off the coast of the bahamas.

A tiger shark hotspot that many believe

May be the largest congregation of tiger sharks on the planet.

Like the famous white shark café in the pacific,

Experts are baffled as to why so many sharks are gathering here.

But what has scientists even more baffled

Is who's responsible for this incredible breakthrough?

It was...

This guy.

Cannonball!

[ muffled screaming ]

I love shark week!

Ugh.

Yes!

Narrator: On last year's "shark trip: Eat. Pray. Chum.",

Adam devine worked with marine biologist austin gallagher

To deploy a c.A.T.S. Camera tag on a massive tiger shark.

That's one small step for man, one giant leap for shark time.

Narrator: He didn't know it at the time, but, boy, was he right.

I knew when I tagged that tiger shark,

Something special happened, but I don't know how special.

So tell me, how special was it, austin?

Well, after we recovered your camera tag,

We were able to satellite tag

Several other large tiger sharks in the same region.

And what we learned is that they seem

To be congregating in this area.

So we really think that this area could be

A super site for tiger sharks.

It's kind of like a secret tiger shark lair.

Huh? You think?

Well, we're going to have to dive down there and prove

That it is a super site.

-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

Narrator: To prove the existence of the tiger shark super site,

Adam and austin have assembled the greatest shark research team

Available during a global pandemic.

Covid has made it really tough to find research assistants.

But I need people.

Devine: So you're thinking you need someone

Who's willing to risk it all in the name of science and fun?

I have just the perfect squad.

One is this amazing diver.

He's dove all around the world and he says

He has thousands of dives under his belt.

The other guy is a guy I know...

...And he's pretty decent to mediocre at most things.

So this should be a great team.

Adam devine and his best friends,

Blake anderson and anders holm,

Are embarking on the greatest shark week

Reunion special ever.

Anderson: The purpose of this trip for me,

Just hopefully get in there with the -- with the --

Rawr -- the sharks.

My elite level swimming experience

Has prepared me in no way to deal with these sharks.

Devine: So 'ders hasn't dove very much at all.

But, you know, you figure it out and the best way

To figure it out is surrounded by hungry sharks.

Narrator: Keeping them alive in the water

Is local bahamian shark wrangler andre musgrove.

So my experience as a diver started

When I was about seven years old.

My dad put a spear in my hand

And that's how I got introduced by spearfishing.

I've done thousands of dives around the bahamas

And also around the world.

And I was pretty excited when I heard

Who was coming along with austin on this expedition.

I was like, "I'm down."

Narrator: Finding the sharks is only half the battle.

This mission calls for some hard science.

So the main purpose of why we're here is because

We're trying to figure out if this really is

A tiger shark lair like dr. Gallagher thinks it is.

And to find out if they are hunting here,

If they are mating here and if they are pupping here.

And if we can check those three boxes,

There's a good chance that this really is a tiger shark lair.

Narrator: To study the ocean's top predators,

You need the ocean's top research vessel.

Well, not really, but it helps.

Let me tell you about my boat.

It's awesome.

Come on, I'll show you.

[ men imitating jet ski engines ]

The yacht marcato, pronounced marcato,

Italian for "really bitchin' boat."

Is a 141-foot expedition yacht

Providing comfort in the world's most extreme environments.

Patagonia, antarctica, the bahamas.

This is our massage room.

Little known fact, blake here,

Is a world-class masseuse.

It's little known 'cause it's not true.

Ugh.

How's that?

Want it harder?

After a long day of shark science,

Nothing's better than a little bubbles and bubbly.

Thank you, discovery channel.

This yacht is so marcato that even my boat has boats,

A 32-foot center console,

And a 23-foot rubber inflatable.

Put her in, boys.

♪♪

This is the state-of-the-art bridge deck,

A.K.A.: The captain's perch.

This is our home for the next week

As we study the mysteries of the tiger shark super site.

Hey, guys, come check this out,

Anderson: What?

This is some of the most incredible tracking data

Anyone has ever produced for tiger sharks.

And what we've learned is that there's so much residency here,

Almost more residency than anywhere else in the world.

So I really think that this place

Is a tiger shark super site.

So, doc, how do we prove this?

We got to get out there and collect evidence

To prove this location is a feeding ground...

Noshing. ...And mating ground...

Sexy time.

...A pupping ground.

Blasting out babies. Yep.

It's going to be a lot of work.

And this is going to go in scientific journals

Around the world, and I will be

An acclaimed scientist when it's all said and done.

Hands in.

All: Team tiger shark!

-Yeah! -Yes!

Narrator: Adam devine and the team head to the outer perimeter

Of the supposed super site, south west bay.

Our first objective is to get these guys

Comfortable with sharks.

Vellacott: This would be baby steps

Before we encounter larger tiger sharks.

-Whew! Let's do it. -Oh, yeah.

Whew! All right, austin,

What do we got to do, my man?

Gallagher: Adam, this is a refresher for you.

You've done this before. Very excited.

Excited to be back. Ders, good first

Kind of foray into the water and seeing sharks?

Yep. And then, blake...

It's just another day in the water for me.

Devine: Blake is obviously a very experienced diver.

He won't shut up about how experienced he is as a diver.

I'm really good. You'll be impressed.

How many dives? Upwards of thousands.

Wow.

Thousands of dives is very interesting.

Musgrove: What I heard about blake and his expertise as a diver,

He's apparently the best in the game.

Well, alanah, why don't you tell us

A little bit more about the site.

Vellacott: The name of the wreck is called the ray of hope,

And it was actually sunk in 2003 as an artificial reef.

Narrator: The shipwreck sits at a depth of about 50 feet,

Allowing for plenty of natural sunlight.

This promotes coral growth and attracts a myriad of fish

As well as hungry sharks.

So this is a reef shark hotspot. You can actually see them

Basically swimming around right now.

That's a good intro before we move up to the bigger species.

And these are small, but they're all larger than I am.

-Yeah. -This is true.

What are you trying to say, man?

I'm just trying to say that there's a food chain out there.

And we need to know where we fit in it.

Hey, just leave it. It's not worth it.

Alright.

This dive is going to be a great example of why

Tiger sharks could be using this region as a super site.

Musgrove: It's located right next to the drop off.

So that means anything can show up.

♪♪

♪♪

Anderson: Gearing up for the main event.

That's when I'll kind of step in and steal the show.

I don't know. Conditions are a little --

We'll see if these clouds hold up or not.

♪♪

Yep. Just right over here.

Beautiful, beautiful.

I don't know, it's not the best day, is it?

Uh...

Yeah, you know what?

I'm going to call it. We need to get back on the boat.

Yeah, it's a little -- it's a little choppy.

Narrator: Caribbean reef sharks rarely grow

To be more than eight feet long,

Making them much smaller than tiger sharks.

Ooh-hoo-hoo!

And unlike their bigger relative,

They have pointed noses and slender bodies

That make them very agile and fast swimmers.

♪♪

Compared to tiger sharks,

Nurse sharks have small, round mouths

That sit well below their snouts.

This helps them catch prey they find in the seafloor.

♪♪

Coming up, d.J. Devine spins the secret shark lair.

And later, the holy grail of shark science...

Nooky.

I'm the king of the world!

Narrator: Adam devine and his team are on a quest

To prove the existence of a tiger shark super site.

Their goal is to find evidence

Of three tiger shark behaviors --

Nooky, noshing, and blasting out babies.

But right now, they're caught in the middle

Of a real-life sharknado.

♪♪

Gallagher: Wow, that was amazing.

The guys did great.

We were really close to those animals.

So many sharks.

Maybe too many sharks.

Can they smell piss? Because I piss a lot.

They actually can't smell urine.

At least we don't think they can.

Alright, good. Yeah.

Blake, why did you not come down, dude?

I figured you would be down there,

I'm actually getting my wet suit tuned up

A little. Um...

Oh, it needs tuned.

I didn't realize it got turned up.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Well, when you have like a super specific like custom suit.

Yeah. They got to get tuned.

Narrator: With the check-out dive under their belt,

The team set sail for coral harbor.

Based on austin's tracking data. This area appears to be

The epicenter of tiger shark activity around nassau.

Okay, guys, so our first objective to prove that

This is a tiger shark super site is to go underwater

And see if this is a feeding ground.

So we're going to test that hypothesis with some tech.

That's how you say it, hypothesis?

Yeah, it's like a prediction.

I always thought it was hypothusis.

No. I told you.

So sharks are known to respond to low frequency sounds,

Kind of like prey getting crushed or moving around.

We brought this underwater speaker

And we're going to play music or sounds through that

To simulate what the sound of prey

Is like for these sharks. And of course,

To play those sounds, I brought my trusty ipod.

This is vintage. You could sell that probably on ebay.

So this is your state-of-the-art scientific equipment?

Yeah. Okay.

But how is this like science?

Well, actually, it's true that sharks are attracted to music.

It's actually been documented in australia

That they are attracted to heavy metal music.

Oh, dang. They're metalheads?

Sick. I personally believe

If I were a shark I'd be more into

Like the dubstep of it all.

Just that... [ imitating dubstep ]

Help me out. What?

Hit me with one. Well, I guess I...

[ beatboxing ]

Anderson: Yeah.

Nrrrrrrr. Drop.

You loved it.

The sharks are gonna like that.

Holm: Is that like what you're talking about?

Yeah.

Then we're on the same page. That's great.

Sharks have a really primitive

And fairly underdeveloped sense of hearing,

So they can only really pick up on low frequency sounds

Like prey that's struggling

Or things that are moving around in the sand.

Narrator: Sharks detect sound through an incredible

Sixth sense called lateral line,

This fluid-filled canal runs the length of the shark's body

And can detect vibrations in the water.

As sound waves pass over them,

They send signals to the shark's brain,

Allowing it to zero in on the source,

Whether it be a thrashing fish or an underwater speaker.

Essentially, what we're going to do here now

Is play deejay for these sharks.

Wait, you need a deejay?

-Luckily, we got a pro. -I'm your boy.

-You don't even know! -You have no idea.

♪♪

Ugh!

♪♪

Yes.

What we really want to see is the tiger sharks

Coming right up to that speaker

And proving once and for all that this is a feeding site.

Yeah.

Dj blake is going to hit the tracks.

I mean, I know blake's tunes are pretty hyped,

So let's just have a party.

♪♪

[ lmfao's "party rock anthem" plays ]

♪ party rock! ♪

Maybe I could turn the bass up a little bit.

Whoo!

Narrator: The reef sharks are responding to the vibrations,

But to prove that this is a super site,

The team must attract a tiger shark to the party.

[ laughing ]

Yeah!

If there's a tiger in the club,

I'm going to need you to take this equipment down there.

I need you to rock this party on the seafloor!

Narrator: With a tiger shark lurking nearby,

It's time to turn the party up.

Armed with special waterproof turntables,

Adam prepares to drop some serious tune-age.

Hell, yeah, adam. Yes.

[ heavy metal music plays ]

Hello!

Oh!

Narrator: The music creates a feeding frenzy without bait.

Whoa!

Oh-ho, yikes.

Whoa!

♪♪

Up next, comedians doing hardcore science with sharks.

And anders comes face-to-face with a monster baby shark.

Narrator: In the bahamas,

Shark researcher dr. Austin gallagher

Has teamed up with adam devine, anders holm, and blake anderson

To conduct groundbreaking research

On what could be the largest tiger shark sanctuary

In the atlantic.

I guess I'm like a shark expert now.

A lot of people are saying that.

Narrator: One of the boxes they have to check off

Is whether or not tiger sharks are here to feed.

And to do so, they're simulating the sound of prey with music.

Whoa!

♪♪

Just got back from the dance dive.

That was cool, okay?

It was like a little hot club down there, man.

He got those sharks very riled, a little too riled.

That is a true throw down down there.

Narrator: Sharks respond to underwater noise

Because it can indicate where there's prey.

So the tiger's appearance during adam's deejay set

Means it was searching for food.

So we've proved that these sharks are noshing.

Now we have to prove that it's a nursery,

That there is baby tiger sharks down there,

And that there's some nooky!

Narrator: To prove that tiger sharks are mating in the super site,

Austin has devised a plan to use cutting edge technology

To capture them getting their freak on.

-Oh, god. -Oh, there he is.

-Oh. -There's my guy.

What are you doing, dude? Wow.

Yeah. That looks hi-tech.

So I'm building a tag here that we're about to deploy.

Sick. This has a

360-degree camera on it.

And 360 degrees, that means...

All of the degrees.

Yeah. This is actually gonna go on the shark's dorsal fin

Just like this. This is going to help us

Determine if they're mating here.

That's the holy grail of shark science.

Narrator: Austin's plan is to deploy as many

360 fin cams as possible.

Scientists have never captured video of tiger sharks mating.

If the team is successful,

This would be an unprecedented discovery.

So we want this camera to pick up the sharks mating?

Yeah, exactly.

So we're making a shark sex tape, is what you're saying?

That's exactly what we're doing.

Wow. So we're basically spying

On shark sex.

That sounds pervy when you say it like that.

Ew!

-Alright. -Alright, boys,

-Let's go fishing. -We've made it.

Gallagher: This is where we're going to actually be trying to

Lure one of these huge predators up to the boat.

So we can put that tag on his dorsal fin.

Devine: Let's do it!

-Great throw. -Nice toss!

And now we wait.

Gallagher: Now we wait.

Narrator: With the line cast in the suspected super site,

It doesn't take long for a tiger to take the bait.

Oh, yes, he's at the surface.

Devine: How close are we going to get it to us?

Closer, closer, closer, closer.

Oh! That was awesome.

Narrator: The tiger shark the team captures is eight feet long.

Using their chase boat, they can deploy the 360 fin cam.

Devine: Yeah, she's a fighter.

Just let it tire out for a second.

That's what we need.

There we go.

It's a beautiful female tiger shark

Just on the brink of maturity.

What's this thing weigh?

Probably about a 300, 350 pound shark?

Wow. So the first thing

We're going to do is we're gonna measure it.

We want to get a rough idea of how big she is.

It's 230. 230, great job.

Nice. Okay. Next thing is

We're going to do the camera tag

Because we really want to see

Where the mating ground is. Yeah.

360!

Hold it just like that for me, okay?

We're going to put that in here.

You good, adam? -Yeah.

You're doing good, man.

I'm hoping this captures the holy grail of shark science --

Some nooky.

Narrator: The 360 fin cam is designed to release

After 24 hours on the dorsal fin of the shark.

Okay, here we go.

Then it will float to the surface

And trigger a homing beacon for the team to locate and recover.

-Whoo! -Yeah, baby!

Narrator: With their first camera tag deployed,

The team splits up.

Alanah stays behind to continue tagging...

Nice! ...While adam and his team

Set sail for a reef called the bar.

Anderson: And the pizza is ready for my two little shark divers.

Aah. Gallagher: What's up, guys?

-What's up? -Hey!

Great job checking that first box.

We still have two to go.

The next one I want to tackle is pupping.

We need to get down there and see if these

Tiger sharks are pregnant.

Holm: Okay, and how do we do that?

I have this awesome underwater ultrasound

That you can use to scan sharks underwater.

Narrator: Austin has designed a handheld ultrasound scanner

That can be used underwater

To perform ultrasounds on the sharks.

If they find a pregnant tiger, they will have hard evidence

That the sharks are pupping in the area.

What's going on in ders's belly right now with all that pizza?

Oh, we probably got a little pizza baby.

That doesn't look good.

That doesn't look good.

No, that does not look good.

Dude, that has a heartbeat.

What do you see? There's something.

What do you mean?

Doctor, can I see this? No,

That's confidential data now.

So I actually know this really good spot

That recently a lot of spear fishermen

Have seen a lot of big tiger sharks,

And I think would be a good spot

To check out to see if these sharks are big

Because they're pregnant.

And we'll do some spearfishing around,

Hopefully they're going to come in.

So you're a spear fisherman?

Yeah, I am. Actually, I am, too.

I'm like really good at it.

I'm like renowned for it.

So I don't know, maybe I could play with that thing.

You used this before?

Not that model, but similar.

Narrator: To attract tigers. Close enough for a reading,

Andre will spearfishing,

Ringing the dinner bell for any shark nearby.

Musgrove: When the sharks hear the sling go off

Or a spear hit a fish,

They feel the vibrations in the water.

It attracts the sharks around.

You go right hand first?

Yeah. Yeah, me too.

It's a prime spearfishing area, so keep your eyes about you.

You want to go first? You know what?

Why don't you hop in? I'll kind of just watch

What your form is and give you notes.

Hey, it's pretty deep.

♪♪

Oh, boy!

Yeah, there's a lot of sharks.

Screw 'em, they're shark bait.

[ struggling ]

[ sighs ]

This is a sonogram, not a mammogram.

They're different.

Narrator: Adam successfully gets a reading

On a pregnant reef shark.

While this is solid proof that this species is birthing here,

They still need to find a pregnant tiger

To check the pupping box.

Keep recording because that tiger shark

Could come out of nowhere.

Male or female?

Two claspers, male.

If they have penises, it's a male.

I'm going to try and get a scan.

♪♪

Narrator: In the waters off nassau,

Adam devine and his friends

Are two steps away from proving that this area

Is a tiger shark super site.

And right now, anders is one step away

From peeing in his wet suit.

Whoa!

Devine: So that was crazy.

This tiger shark kind of came out of nowhere.

Totally bit my fins.

How big? 8 to 10 feet.

Wow, how the ultrasound go?

I was doing all the mammograms.

-Sonograms. -What's that?

-Sonograms. -Did you get

The tiger shark sonogram?

-The mammogram? -Yeah.

I don't know what the difference is.

Narrator: Adam is unable to ultrasound the tiger shark,

But soon after they surface,

They get a call from the chase boat

That there's another shark on the line.

And this one is a very rare find.

A baby tiger shark.

Whoo!

Gallagher: Doesn't have claspers,

So we know this is a female.

This is probably only less than a year old.

It still has really big dots on its skin,

Which is really incredible. As the animal ages,

Those stripes will actually start to form.

Narrator: The baby shark is very fragile.

So the team completes their work up in double time.

Total length -- 119.

Spaghetti tag is in. -Nice.

Andersen: I love this little girl!

You want to name her? I mean, we got to go with

Mars, right? Mars the shark?

-Nice work, dude. -Yeah.

Gallagher: We're just going to cut the shark loose.

♪♪

Narrator: Mars is released healthy and strong,

But she's not leaving

Without giving the guys a proper goodbye.

♪♪

[ gurgling yells ]

♪♪

Whoo! The shark attacked ders's fin!

Gallagher: The baby shark swam away healthy.

It's a real awesome moment for the mission at hand.

We just tagged a baby tiger shark.

So this is a pupping area, and that that checks that box.

So it is a super site.

And it sort of attacked ders a little bit.

I'm a little shook, just a little.

What's really amazing is we put a 10-year acoustic tag

Inside that shark's body cavity, so we'll be able to monitor

The shark as it connects all of these regions

For this amazing tiger shark super site.

I can't wait to watch our little girl grow up.

♪♪

Narrator: The team is closer than ever to proving their theory,

But their last box is the most challenging data point

Of the mission -- sexy time.

Devine: Do you think that baby shark is the size of my arm?

This dude just wanted to flex.

Is it going to be as vascular --

Is it as vascular as this arm, do you think?

Gallagher: Hey, go for alanah, this is austin, over.

Oh. Come back, austin.

It appears that the camera tag popped over this blue hole

About six miles south of nassau.

And this definitely could be prime tiger shark habitat.

Send the guys up and we'll come up with a plan.

Alright. On our way.

Let's go. Let's go.

Narrator: The team races to the location of the 360 fin cam.

When they retrieve it,

The footage reveals an extraordinary peek

Into the tiger shark's world.

♪♪

The shark's behaviors can be seen from every angle

As it explores the secret tiger shark lair.

While the camera doesn't capture any mating behavior,

The location where the camera surfaced

Gives the team a new lead.

The 360 camera has popped off

And guess where it popped off?

A blue hole.

This is the blue hole.

Which I didn't know what that was.

But then you kind of look at it

And you're like, "oh, that just looks like a blue hole."

And they're like, "that's the technical term."

And I'm like, "should I just be a scientist already?

Because that's what I would call it.

It's a blue hole."

Narrator: Blue holes are massive sinkholes,

Sometimes extending thousands of feet.

The bahamas are thought to contain

Over 1,000 blue holes, and only about 20% of those

Have been explored by scientists.

There's no telling what the team may encounter

In the depths of this unique habitat.

Gallagher: This is where the camera tag popped.

So we have a really good chance of seeing some predators here.

Blue holes are really understudied by scientists

If we're going to find the mating spot

Of these tiger sharks. This could be our spot.

So the last box we need to check --

It's nooky.

Austin and alanah are telling me, "adam,

We're not going to see it. It's never been seen before."

And I'm like, "I also discovered a secret lair.

And they thought that that couldn't be discovered.

So what did they know with their years of school?"

Sometimes you got to be a dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb,

Dumb, dumb, dumb idiot

And things will fall into your lap.

Look at my whole career.

Yeah. I don't know if you've heard,

Like, it's the talk of the yacht,

But I'm a champion free diver

So thought maybe I'd show you some pointers.

Yeah, no, let's do that.

Awesome. That sounds great.

I'm excited.

-Ready? -Yeah, let's do it.

♪♪

Sting rays!

Alright, so check it out, if all of my calculations

Are correct, we're over the blue hole now

And I just want to do a quick little free dive,

Go down there and check it out.

If you just want to watch my form,

Scribble something down in your scuba journal or whatever,

Just kind of watch me and my style.

I do a panic kick. Okay.

It's rare, but it's very effective.

Here we go.

That scared me out of my fins.

Very sharky water.

I'm not used to that, I'm gonna be honest.

I mostly do sea turtle stuff.

I got you.

This is part of the exercise?

Yeah, you're doing great. A-plus.

You'll be a champ in no time.

Okay.

-Tiger shark! -Oh!

♪♪

Narrator: Off the coast of the bahamas,

Adam devine and his team

Are totally crushing it.

They are just one step away from proving to the scientific world

The existence of a new tiger shark super site.

♪♪

Now, they're over 100 feet down in a blue hole.

And they've just encountered a massive shark.

Oh, my god.

Narrator: Male and female tigers spend the year

In separate parts of the ocean and are rarely found together.

They are getting close.

Narrator: This could be a great sign of mating activity.

Gallagher: They're heading too deep.

We don't have the air to follow them.

They'll never catch me. Brrr!

Hey, topside, topside, this is adam down below.

Can somebody grab my phone

And take cool photos of us, maybe in slow motion

As we get out of the water? That'd be cool, thanks.

-Whoo! -Yeah!

This is a tiger shark super site, right, austin?

Yes, exactly proving all predictions.

New providence has so much diversity in terms of ecosystem.

Check all of the boxes as to why this really is a tiger shark

Super site.

Whoo! I'm a scientific genius,

Right, austin? Oh, yeah.

Yeah! He said it. Must be true.

[ all cheering ]

Yes! Yes!

Should probably get out of the water because

It is a tiger shark super site.

-Yeah. -Let's go. -I need a sandwich.

One of my favorite things about doing shark research

Is exposing it to people who are nonscientists.

It was so great to have adam and the guys here for that,

To not only observe,

But also play a little bit of a role as well

As researchers and research assistants.

Guys, thank you so much for -- ooh, thank you, kelly.

Thanks, kelly.

Dare I say I had the best time of my life?

Yeah, they like that headbanging music.

I dare. I dare say that.

Favorite moment, when we were surrounded by a cloud of sharks.

It was insane.

I thought it was pretty exciting

To get that cute, little baby shark

Get all our science done and send it off to the world.

I can't wait to check back when it's 10 years old.

Whoo!

We're scientists!

Thank you guys for coming with.

I love you guys. I love you too, man.

Isn't it nice? I love you, dude.

I love you, dude. I love you, dude.

Austin, we don't know other that well, but I love you, dude.

Yeah. Yeah. You guys are amazing.

Well, you didn't say "I love you."

I said I love you. You didn't say it.

It's so important to study sharks like this

Because they need protection.

Bahamas is a shark sanctuary, and proving that these animals

Can thrive here is so important.

And this data will really prove

That protecting sharks is critical.

We're going to change the world together by doing this.

That was really cheesy, but --

We're going to change the world!

All: World!

[ all cheering ]

Shark week! Whoa, we're tipping!

We're tipping!