All language subtitles for OceanXplorers.S01E04.Hammerhead.Highway

The Ocean....

the last frontier on earth.

So much is unexplored
and unexplained.

To change that...

a kickass team of insanely
talented specialists is

setting out to push the
frontiers of what we know

about our oceans.

Oh my gosh.

Zoleka Filander,
deep sea scientist.

Being a
deep-sea researcher means

having front row tickets to
the best movie that everybody

wants to watch.

Melissa Márquez...

Straight ahead, 12:00.

Shark biologist.

We just saw
what no one has seen before.

Eric Stackpole...

Scan now!

Ocean
tech innovator.

I love
building tools that allow us

to see things in ways
we've never seen before.

And Aldo Kane...

This is insane.

Former
Royal Marine; special ops.

It doesn't get
any more cutting-edge

exploration than this.

Their secret weapon...

...the OceanXplorer.

The most technologically
advanced research vessel

ever built.

There's never been a more
urgent need to understand

our ocean and the animals
that call it home...

Because their lives
and ours depend on it.

This time, the team's
following one of the ocean's

most unique predators.

Hammer, hammer, hammer...

To
discover the superpowers.

Look
at the size of him!

Of
the great Hammerhead.

.

The team is
powering through the

Atlantic Ocean off the eastern
seaboard of the USA.

Green light
green deck we're lifting.

Firing up
the OceanXplorer's armory of

cutting-edge gear.

They're on a mission to search
out one of the strangest

sharks in our oceans and
one of the most recognizable

animals on the planet.

That's
what we're looking for.

The
great hammerhead.

These sharks haven't
changed for millions of years.

They are one of evolution's
most eccentric creations.

But why would nature select
for a head shaped like

a stealth bomber?

Science suggests:
Improved agility and

enhanced electro
sensor capabilities

make this shark one of the
most specialized in the ocean.

Hammerheads are found off the
coast of Virginia to the North

and Louisiana to the West.

But highly sensitive
to temperature,

every winter they migrate to
the warmer waters of Florida.

We think the sharks are
navigating this journey,

by following the
earth's magnetic field.

This field generated by
our planet's molten core,

creates the magnetic
north and south poles.

It's believed that hammerheads
can tune into this and use it

like we'd use a compass.

But as a mariner, I know even
one degree out and you're

soon miles off course.

So how do great hammerheads
navigate so accurately

across this vast ocean?

With the hope of
finding an answer...

The team is in Florida.

Their plan, to attach a
camera tag to a hammerhead.

Welcome aboard.

They're joined by

marine ecologist
Erin Spencer.

Here he is,
welcome aboard.

Let's go.

And shark
biologist Matt Smukall.

Everyone
ready to tag some sharks?

Hammer!

Hammer!

The only way
to catch a hammerhead is with

a baited line.

It might look stressful, but
these sharks are tough,

and their wellbeing is the
team's top priority.

Get out of the
way guys, get out of the way.

Alright. Coming up.

Neutral, neutral, neutral.

Go for dorsal.

I have the dorsal.

The team works
fast to take vital measurements.

80 to caudal.

180 to caudal.
180 caudal.

186 for fork length.

186.

Check the
sex Erin, remember sex.

They
attach a tracking tag.

Alright, it secure?

And release
the shark in under 5 minutes.

It's a physical
task holding onto that

main dorsal fin.

You know it's amazing but it's,
like it's a live animal and

it's, you know you, you are
fully tuned, you're focused.

We have
30 seconds to release.

You guys on tail
count it down.

3,2,1...

Tail's loose.

Looking good, swimming off.

Alright, Nice job guys.

Nice job.

How many hammers
have you worked up like this?

So we've worked
up quite a number of hammers

but it's the first time we've
been able to put out a

video tag with our speed sensor.

And so hopefully we're gonna
get some good footage to also

match up maybe with
some of that speed data.

The tag
is designed to fall off

within 24 hours.

What's that
just, at like 11:00?

See that floating?

Is that the tag?

Look how
small that is in the water.

Whoa.
We have a tag!

So you're gonna see what the
shark sees, are you ready?

You can see him turning
to look left and right.

That's amazing
getting that perspective of

the head moving.

We're
moving up towards the surface.

And he's right at the surface,

you can see the
water patterns at the surface.

Now we're back towards the
bottom down to about 80 meters.

It looks like
that's a choice to either be

up at the surface or down, it's
not just like a wandering.

You're
actually right, cos like if

you look closely, we can
actually see this up and down

movement of the shark, and it,

it resembles a yo-yo pattern.

And it looks like it
happened 20 or 30 times.

And I'm just wondering,
why would the shark be using

so much energy intentionally
moving up and down?

Do you think it has something
to do with its magnetic sense?

For a shark,
the earth's magnetic field is

clearest at the surface.

But the seafloor also has
local magnetic fields created

by geological formations.

It's believed that hammerheads
yoyo up and down to create a

virtual magnetic map.

This map allows them to
plot a more accurate course.

So that they can eventually
find their destination

hundreds of miles away.

Some hammerheads are content
wintering in Florida,

but others keep going.

Crossing the Gulf stream
into the Bahamas.

And eventually, even pinpointing
the tiny island group of Bimini.

Following in the wake of
the great hammerheads,

The OceanXplorer sets sail.

Matt's been
studying hammerheads in Bimini

for years, and knows
the best place

for Eric to meet the locals.

Ok, let's do it.

Ready.

Alright.

This feeding
station attracts more than

just Hammerheads.

Bull shark!

So those are the sharks that

you know have a
pretty bad reputation.

Looks like
a shark that means business.

Eric.

Hammer hammer, hammer.

Look at the size of him.

He must be at
least 12 feet long.

I just need to keep telling
myself they don't eat people,

they eat stingrays.

So do
you recognize this shark?

Yeah this is Atlas.

He's one of the
regulars around Bimini.

And he's been coming
back at least 6 or 7 years.

So he's an old friend.

Maybe he
recognizes you as well.

Seeing Atlas return to this
island year after year

is incredible.

I mean it's a tiny little
speck in a big ocean,

but you don't get that ability
without having some

crazy navigation skills.

But I guess that's
evolution in action.

Thanks to
Matt's research, we know

hammerheads like Atlas
keep coming back to Bimini.

But it's only 7 miles long.

Even with geomagnetic
navigation, finding this place

is a longshot.

So how do these
sharks get here?

Could they be using other
senses to help guide them in?

Zoleka wants to map
the seafloor using the

OceanXplorer's sonar.

In the hope it
uncovers an answer.

The sea
floor in this area has never

been mapped to this resolution
before, and so I'm really

hoping we pick up
on some anomalies.

Different features that can
give insights as to how these

hammerhead sharks are
coming here to Bimini.

The ship scans
for 12 hours straight,

mapping this area for
the very first time,

and generating detailed images

of what lies
beneath the surface.

Wait so this
has got to be exaggerated relief

right, I mean these are
really sharp features

that we're seeing here.

It's not exaggerated.

This is
actually what it looks like?

There's huge, tall pillars

sticking out of the
bottom of the ocean?

Yeah. Yeah.
This is very exciting.

The sonar
reveals a labyrinth-like terrain

hidden on the ocean floor.

These are
meter marks, it's 100 meters.

So that's like a
300-foot tower.

I mean, I'm just trying to
picture that standing up

from the bottom of the sea.

These towers
are the height of the

Statue of Liberty.

This is
off the west coast then?

Right on the,
right on the drop off to

the gulf stream.

Is this what
you thought, is this a surprise?

We
didn't know this was there.

There's a lot going on there,
that's really exciting.

It would be
great to do a sub dive and

to get like some visuals
on what's there, you know.

We always go out to find the
known unknowns, but we stumble

on the absolutely unknowns,

like something we've
never seen before.

To discover if
these towering outcrops could

be influencing the great
hammerhead's navigation,

Zoleka and Matt take a
dive into the deep.

This is
real, real exploration.

No idea what we are
getting ourselves into.

Bridge, SO
that's Neptune off deck.

Copy that!

Ah Roger SO.

SO, this is Neptune,
venting now.

Venting now.

The sub team
will be accompanied by the

remotely operated vehicle.

Controlled from the surface
it sends up live pictures

from the seafloor.

Control, control.

This is Neptune,
passing 500 meters.

Descending.

Depth under keel 21 meters.

Over.

Roger.

Where these
pinnacles are is, is right in

the gulf stream and that gulf
stream is, is cranking north

the whole time
there's no rest there.

That's a
strong current.

The Gulf stream
is the fastest ocean current

in the world, running
up to five miles per hour.

And 1600 feet down

the deep dive team
is feeling its force.

Zoleka can you see?

I can't see much.

The strong
current is picking up sediment

and visibility is
reduced to near zero.

Conditions us sub pilots
refer to as "off-nominal".

Out of the gloom.

Ah man,
that's massive.

A
towering pinnacle.

Oh
this is so beautiful.

Control,
this is Neptune.

Intention is start
working up wall, over.

Roger, walking up wall.

Oh my gosh.

A
mountain underwater.

Shark port side.

Oh yeah.

There it is there, night shark.

Oh came right under the...

came darting under the uh...

There it is. Port.

Ah.

He darted off pretty quick.

Yep.

We are at the top.

Ah look at this.

Control,
control this is Neptune.

We are at the top of
the first pinnacle.

Depth 408 meters.

The minute
we got to the top,

it was beautiful.

Absolutely stunning.

Guys do we wanna
move to the next pinnacle?

Yep. Yep.

Now the sub
and ROV teams begin to survey

the pinnacle field,
looking for sharks.

Oop
little shark here.

Oh yeah.

A
dusky smooth hound.

Ohh.
Look, shark, shark, shark.

And a Tiger shark.

Just like Atlas, tiger sharks
must cross hundreds of miles

of open ocean to find
their way to Bimini.

And this complex field of
pinnacles could hold the key

to getting them there.

When I'm navigating,
I don't just use a map

and compass to
find out where I am.

I use other senses like sight
to look for landmarks and

that's what we think sharks
are doing but with smell.

As water
from the Gulf stream hits the

towering pinnacles, nutrient
rich water is forced to the

surface, creating
distinctive 'scent trails'.

Sharks like Atlas, with their
powerful sense of smell,

are able to detect these
scent trails and follow them,

like an underwater signpost
pointing straight to Bimini.

The discovery of this vast
pinnacle field could finally

answer how these sharks locate
this tiny group of islands.

But once here, does this
unique adaptation give them

any other advantages?

The team meets in the mixed
reality lab to investigate.

I notice just how
huge that cephalofoil is and

then underneath it how,

how small in comparison
the, the mouth is.

You can tell
they're just not designed to

take down massive prey but
what they are designed to do

is actually chase down rays
or smaller sharks and use that

big cephalofoil, almost
sometimes pin down the animal

and then that that mouth is
right underneath there and

they could potentially, you
know, bite off one of the

wings of a stingray and
kind of incapacitate it.

But also
they're a sensing machine right?

They've got all these um, you
know sensing olfactory glands,

they can detect electrical
signals from fish and

I imagine that's
got to be useful?

Yeah, and and
having all of those senses

spread out over a wider area
can probably help them hone in

on certain things like
a stingray that's buried

under the sand.

So it's the
spread out array that's making

the Hammerhead sharks
such an accurate hunter?

Absolutely.

That's what allows them to be
such an efficient predator.

To observe the
shark's hammerhead in action

Aldo and Matt are going out
with a camera tag designed

to give them a
view rarely seen.

1, 2, 3 go.

But to attach
it, first they must get

up close and personal
with the hammerheads.

She is big.

These sharks are huge.

They can be up to 900 pounds
and when you're in the water,

they are all around you.

You need your
head on a swivel.

But with this mask you get
quite a lot of tunnel vision.

Shark coming in your right.

Alright here we go.

Here she comes.

Almost, almost.

Coming in again.

Ah man that's on.

Yeah that one
looked like it went

on really well.

Topside, topside.

If you copy, that's
successful deployed tag.

After
eight hours, the tag releases.

And once retrieved, the
footage is ready to view.

You know you can
actually just see what a

nice view these cameras are
giving us of what the shark's

actually doing
in that habitat.

He's got his
head down, and scanning

back and forth.

It looks like it's hunting.

He's cruising
along relatively calm,

probably looking
for some prey there.

Yeah they
generally cruise at

five miles per hour and they can
burst to like 20 miles per hour.

Look he's picking up speed.

He must have gotten
his eyes on something.

With its wide-angle field of
view, this camera tag reveals

where the great
hammerhead is hunting.

That little
strip along the the reef where

you kind of have the
convergence of two habitats.

You have the the seagrass
flats coming to meet the

the reef area.

That is the area that they're
using most of the time and

probably hunting in both
of those types of habitats.

Yeah.

Is this,
this is night-time now.

Even in the
pitch-black waters of the night,

using its electro sensors,
this hammerhead...

Fish.

Can
still detect prey.

Whoa.

He senses the fish and
goes precisely at it.

He's sensing the
electric field, or vibration.

This network of sensors that you
find along this broad head.

No luck this time.

But the team has gained
key information on where

the hammerheads are hunting.

Eric and Matt head out,

their destination: the
seagrass flats of Bimini.

It's amazing
because this is a really

shallow area.

I, I wouldn't have expected
hammerhead sharks to come

around here.

These shallows
are home to the hammerheads'

favorite prey,
the southern stingray.

Look
at all the stingrays.

But see how they're all right
up close up to the shore?

These waters
offer the rays protection,

and a place to hide.

Too shallow for
most predators.

But not the great hammerhead.

It's a shallow
water specialist.

And these rays
carry the scars.

You can see right
there at the base of her tail.

She actually no
longer even has a barb.

So you can imagine that might
be from a shark coming in and

biting off a
section of that tail.

Now they know
what and where the hammerheads

are hunting, the
team sends up the Helo.

If the aerial crew can
capture footage of a hunt,

the team on the ship

will see how the
hammerhead is uniquely

adapted to life
in these shallows.

The aerial crew
returns with footage to share.

Once again the shark is
head down looking for prey

and this time it finds it.

The
tail movement is wild.

Oh!

Oh yeah.

Look
how quick it can turn.

To lock on
this stingray, the hammerhead

attacks from the side.

These waters
are only one meter deep,

it's really well adapted for
hunting in these shallow waters.

As the water
starts murking up she's still

able to use all her other
senses beside sight to keep

tracking that ray down.

In this
visibility it must be using its

electro receptors to detect the
electrical signal from the ray.

This is so wild!

This is
really a gem of an encounter.

Oh, hectic!

Look at those sharp turns.

The shark is
trying to pin that ray down

whereas the ray's trying
to come up to the surface.

Which is basically the safest
spot because the mouth is

actually on the
underside of that shark.

The
hammerhead is making much

tighter turns than I would
have pictured possible for an

animal that size.

You know maybe even the
cephalofoil is useful as, as

being a sort of extra control
surface to help it get those

tighter turns.

It does shows
you how powerful and agile

they are.

I mean the
hammerhead is like a perfect

ray hunting machine.

Right there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You can see the instant
that, that ray is captured.

Rarely filmed
in its entirety, the hunt

lasts nearly four minutes.

A long arduous battle of
attrition, finally won

by the great hammerhead.

It's
the ultimate shark

for this environment.

In their time
following the great hammerheads,

the team has deep
dived into the world of

this mysterious creature.

The great
hammerhead has a sixth sense.

Opening up a magnetic map,
leading it across the ocean

and that is just incredible.

They've
revealed hidden landscapes

on the ocean floor.

Oh my gosh.

Absolutely stunning.

Every single time we scan the
seafloor, we find something

that we never knew existed,

and these are the
sort of clues that help us

solve the greatest
ocean mysteries.

And they've
captured images that offer

a rare insight into
the lives of these

little-understood creatures.

I mean the
camera tag got us right in there

and we got to spend a
day watching what the

shark does from its perspective.

The team was
able to study hammerheads here

because the Bahamas
is a shark sanctuary.

But elsewhere in our oceans,

great hammerheads are
critically endangered

and they need our protection.

We have to do all we can to
safeguard the future of this

extraordinary species.