Original subtitles

We live on a crowded planet...

..but there are still vast areas...

..where nature has the upper-hand.

It looks like another planet.

I'm heading to the last great wildernesses.

I'll try to cross four of these rugged landscapes...

Oh, my God!

..on my toughest journeys yet.

I have to be honest.

Things are not going brilliantly.

A bit of a medical situation.

Help is a long way away.

- Well done.

- I want to meet the people for whom the wilderness is home...

Testicles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

..to see how they live alongside nature.

Whoa!

I can stay down there for a minute or so,

he's still down there now, walking around!

And in this critical time for our world...

Huge carcasses of great trees.

..seek out the rare and majestic creatures that still survive...

My heart is racing.

..in some of the most hostile environments.

Are you OK, Jonathan? - Yeah, yeah.

- ..and the remotest regions...

Bloody hell!

..of our wild planet.

Coo! - Coo!

- Big cats roaming free.

This surely is the absolute definition of a real wilderness.

HORN TOOTS

I'm on the coast of Indonesia,

onboard the Bernetta -

a converted fishing boat

that's going to be my home for the next three weeks.

We're taking on board fuel

and supplies for the long journey.

All right. We're off!

We're heading out to sea.

We're travelling just a small area on this map really

and that's going to take us days and days,

and nights out on the ocean.

This is the remote south-west corner of the Pacific Ocean.

A vast expanse of tropical sea...

..dotted with thousands of jungle-clad islands.

It's known as the Coral Triangle.

My guide here is Nesha Ichida.

- Oh, oh, dolphins, dolphins!

That's a dolphin.

- Just there? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw it.

- She's a marine conservationist,

who's spent her career

studying and protecting the wonders of the Coral Triangle.

- So, the Coral Triangle is the centre of all marine biodiversity.

It's just generally home to hundreds

and hundreds of inhabitants,

from coral reef, fishes,

large megafauna -

it's insane how many species are in one little area.

- Just here, look.

What a reminder they are of how much glorious life there is.

I think this is a very good omen

because we're going to travel

about 1,000 miles to the East

by boat, and if something goes wrong,

help is a long way away.

The "Coral Triangle" is a name for the sea around mainly

the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

It might just be the most important patch of sea on the planet.

I'm going to be travelling almost 1,000 miles

through the very heart of this marine wilderness,

starting in the remote Togean Islands of Indonesia.

I'll sail east to a stunning tropical archipelago

called Raja Ampat.

On from there,

I hope to reach a remote bay on the coast of New Guinea

to search for one of the Coral Triangle's

most spectacular creatures - whale sharks.

These are the Togean Islands.

We're heading in sort of that way and we're going to meet a community

of people who spend most of their lives living in and on the water.

I'm visiting a people called the Bajau.

They're known as sea nomads.

For centuries, they've roamed the tropical waters of the region.

I'm hoping the Bajau can introduce me

to the underwater wilderness of the Coral Triangle.

Here in the Togean Islands,

1,000 miles from Indonesia's capital city,

perched on a coral reef in the middle of the sea,

they've built a village on stilts.

- So, we're arriving at the Bajau village called Cabanatuan.

- What an extraordinary place.

NESHA INSTRUCTS

We've got coral reef just on the edge of the community.

We've got to find our way through.

Because it's so shallow,

we might...we might hit something.

- That is a stunning reef.

- It's quite impressive that it's here,

so close to the community, isn't it? - Yeah.

- The kids being dragged out on the boat there!

- Hello! CHILDREN SHOUT

- Little tots.

Hello!

Oh, little tots in the water here!

What a way of life, eh?

Perched right out over the sea.

Right, let's go and say hello.

Bari!

Bari Lahama is one of the elders of the village.

Thank you very much indeed for having us come to visit.

What work do most people do here?

Bari and his family rely on what he can catch,

trap or spear sustainably in the sea.

He's renowned as one of the best fishermen in the village.

Oh, we're going that way. That's good. - Yeah.

- Bari has agreed to take us out

and show us the wonders of the undersea world.

That looks very...stable.

Right, and we're off!

Are you leaning back to try and make it a bit more stable?

- Yes.

- I think we might be in a spot of bother in terms of that.

- We're good!

- This is the real wilderness of the Coral Triangle,

beneath the waves.

With one huge final breath filling his lungs,

Bari begins his descent.

His only equipment is a home-made speargun,

made with a piece of elastic on a pole.

Within a minute, he's 15 metres down

and beginning the hunt.

Every second he's down is a calculation.

If he pushes himself too far,

he could easily blackout and drown.

After just under two minutes,

he's down at 20 metres...

..below the level even most scuba divers should be going.

Oh, my goodness.

I mean, he is an astonishing human being.

I can stay down there for a minute or so, not much longer.

But he's still down there now,

just walking around on the seabed,

looking for more food.

I'll go back down and try and join him.

Finally, Bari's having some success.

But all he's getting are smaller reef fish,

which means he keeps diving for hour after hour.

The bodies of the Bajau have evolved over thousands of years.

Scientists have established their blood can actually absorb

and hold more oxygen than the rest of us,

keeping them alive under water for longer.

They're like human seals,

able to free dive down as deep as 60 metres underwater.

It is an astonishing sight to see.

I mean, the Bajau can stay down for not just

two, three, four minutes,

but 11, 12 even 13 minutes,

without coming up for a breath.

They've just adapted to their watery world.

For generations, the Bajau have lived like this

from the riches of the Coral Triangle.

Such a simple landscape here.

There's land, there's sky, there's sea,

but under that surface there is a whole other dimension of the planet.

Back in the Bajau village, Bari and his wife,

Mamma Henni, offer to put us up for the night in their house on stilts.

In here...

So this is the wash area,

the shower and the toilet as well.

A hole down here, and beneath it,

well, that's the sea.

The Bajau have kept an intimate connection with the ocean

for generations,

but now, of course, they're also linked to the wider world,

and many teenagers here are scrolling screens like everywhere else.

A critical job has been delegated.

- Shiraliah. - Shiraliah?

- Yes. - That is a beautiful name.

BABY GRIZZLES

I think it's a mission fail.

And then this is where I am tonight.

I'm going to sleep on the Premier League.

Night, all!

COCKEREL CROWS

THUNDER RUMBLES

RAIN PATTERS

That was just about the worst night's sleep ever.

Total truth.

COCKEREL CROWS

Wish it had rained last night, to be honest.

It's noisy, but it would drown out the bloody cockerels!

The chickens provide some meat and eggs,

but most of life here revolves around fishing.

The family eat what Bari catches

but, to buy clothes and other essentials,

he also sells fish at a nearby market to people from other islands.

I'm trying to help with breakfast.

OK.

Are you proud of Bari for what he does?

Do you worry about him when he goes fishing?

It's not surprising Mamma Henni worries.

Bari usually goes out alone in his small boat,

sometimes miles out to sea,

diving to crazy depths.

That's risky enough, without even thinking about the powerful

tiger sharks that hunt in these waters.

Bari, is what you do dangerous?

Bari, I'm really sorry to ask,

but what happened to your brother-in-law?

Bari can't afford to stop fishing.

A paltry catch during the day

means he's heading out again.

He's going to face the demons, the sharks,

and the depths, in the dark.

I do like the sea when I can actually have some vision,

where there is a sun above.

Going into the sea at night... Um...

A little bit apprehensive about it.

At night, the beautiful reef I saw in daytime

is transformed into an eerie world,

almost ghostly.

Many fish are asleep or hiding from the sharks

that come out to hunt at night.

In the dark ocean, alone and miles from any help,

it does feel dangerous,

as if anything could emerge from the inky black gloom.

That's a danger Bari is facing more and more often.

He doesn't take much from the sea

but commercial fishing around the Coral Triangle

by trawlers and foreign fishing fleets

has decimated the population of larger, more valuable fish.

So, Bari has to target smaller reef fish, like this goat fish.

It means he has to take chances

and dive more often to feed his family.

Bari's aware of the risks, but feels he has no choice.

Increasingly, it can be a tough life,

surviving on the edge of a wilderness.

I just want to say thank you so much for your hospitality.

Man hug.

Sweaty man, that's me.

Thank you very much indeed. Thank you so much.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Thank you. All right.

We will gather our stuff, and we will head off.

Bye, guys!

Reluctantly, I'm leaving Bari and Mamma Henni.

I've got hundreds of miles to travel across the Coral Triangle.

The Bernetta is the cosy home for all our kit and filming crew.

At the helm is Captain Lindra and a small crew of Indonesian sailors.

We're travelling across the Malacca Sea,

towards a small cluster of islands

off the Indonesian coast of New Guinea,

an area called Raja Ampat.

It's just about the richest and most spectacular undersea environment

on Earth.

The bull's-eye at the heart of the Coral Triangle.

It's not the fastest boat on the sea,

but that does give me time to soak up the surroundings.

There's a few birds out there fishing.

There's some flying fish as well.

Time passes slowly on the ocean.

He's playing a game.

What's it called?

Look. He's played it a lot!

Level 3,657, I just saw.

It's not long before we spot evidence of one of the threats

to life in the Coral Triangle.

It's so strange to suddenly see a fishing boat emerging.

It just appeared almost from nowhere.

The Coral Triangle has a fair claim

to be perhaps the richest eco-system anywhere in our oceans.

But it's still fished by international industrial trawlers

that take out millions of tons of bigger fish, like tuna, every year,

and bottom trawlers that rip up the seabed

for prawns and other shellfish.

But Nesha's taking me

to a place where marine life is protected like nowhere else.

It's still a long way across open ocean.

And, even with modern communications on board the Bernetta,

there are real risks in being this remote.

VOICE OVER RADIO

It's our third night at sea, and one of the team is in trouble.

So, we've got a bit of a problem.

Eric, our director,

has come down ill.

He's not in a great way,

and we're just trying to work out how far we are

from proper medical help,

and it would seem we are...

We're quite a long way.

Eric has a serious fever.

He's had his vaccinations,

but nothing is 100% effective.

Travelling in remote tropical parts of the planet,

you can pick up anything from Malaria to Typhoid,

as I know myself.

Are you feeling comfortable, or do you want another pillow or anything?

- My head feels like an iron.

- Oh, Eric.

I'm just going to put this on your forehead, all right? - Thanks.

- I'm so sorry, pal. Do you want a bit more ice and another towel?

- This is fine.

- All right, let's... We'll just go outside and confer, OK? - Yeah.

- So, his temperature is 39.5,

which is...is not great.

So, now I've got to keep an eye on him, of course,

and we've also got to see where the hell are we,

and can we get him to a hospital?

A temperature of 40 degrees can be life-threatening.

So, we need to come up with a plan in case it continues to rise.

- So, we'll be right under here at 5am tomorrow.

- Right.

- But the nearest airport is Seranti right here.

- Oh, - BLEEP. - So, it's far.

- When I say it's far, it's far.

We need to work out what we're going to do.

We think that five o'clock tomorrow morning, we'll be...

On our current course, we'll be

two hours from a community

on an island,

but whether they've got a clinic there is unclear.

We need to dig out a satellite phone

and start calling to try and get some...

some more information and some help.

What did he... What did the captain say?

- Medivac is the next thing.

- Helicopter? - Yeah.

- It'll take hours of sailing to reach a place

where a chopper can land,

but we head in that direction.

We treat Eric, get him comfortable,

and hope his raging fever subsides.

So, a quick update on Eric.

He's doing a lot better.

He's just had some toast, which is a very good sign,

and we are just going to leave him to rest and recover.

- Yeah, let's see how you go.

Feel better, Eric.

- Thanks.

- It's a bloody relief, to be honest.

I mean, if you can imagine,

we're out here -

just have a look around.

There's nothing out here.

Not another boat, nor another ship.

It looks completely empty.

EXHALES

How far to go now?

- 111.

- 111 miles or kilometres?

- No, 110. Miles.

- With Eric well and truly on the mend,

we'll press on for a couple more days towards our next destination.

Land ahoy!

I've always wanted to say that!

We're arriving into Raja Ampat.

This would be a welcome sight any time, wouldn't it?

Particularly after you've been on a long journey across the sea.

Our planet can still be so sublimely beautiful.

Raja Ampat has been described as

one of the last real paradises

left on Earth. Quite a claim,

but possibly justified.

Raja Ampat is home to more than 2,000 species of fish

and hundreds of corals.

It looks like a welcoming committee is heading our way.

So, apparently, there's a patrol coming.

Oh, bloody hell. He's got an assault rifle.

Do you know what they're doing?

- So, they're checking on the onboard paperwork.

- OK. - That's part of the patrol around here in Raja Ampat,

to make sure there's, you know, you're following the rules,

there's no fishing, for example, in a no-take zone.

- Is it a Government patrol? Is it a police patrol, or what?

- There is one police, water police, in there.

They're law enforcers.

- It's more like a conservation patrol. - Yes.

Conservation patrol, but it is an MPA.

So... - A Marine Protected Area?

- Yes.

- So, they're definitely good guys.

- Yeah, for sure. We need this.

It's very, very important.

- Marine Ranger Mohid Eniba combs boats in this part of Raja Ampat,

checking for illegal catches.

I mean, a fishing boat, like any boat,

has got 1,000 different little places you can hide something,

hasn't it?

And how did you feel when you discovered that?

This patrol is part of a revolution that's happened here in Raja Ampat.

A couple of decades ago, this area was chockfull of fishing boats.

Fish life was steadily being wiped out.

But Indonesia decided to protect Raja Ampat as a treasure,

seizing and sinking hundreds of illegal fishing boats.

Across thousands of square miles,

fishing is now heavily restricted, or banned altogether.

The results have been spectacular.

A wilderness can be restored.

Just look at that colour.

Raja Ampat is Nesha's world.

This is where she's spent most of her career

as a scientist, monitoring and protecting.

Immediately, it's clear.

This is an undersea paradise.

Three-quarters of the world's coral species

are found in the Coral Triangle.

Within moments, I'm surrounded by shoals of damsel fish...

..and great clouds of fusiliers.

That's a trigger fish.

Raja Ampat is at the heart of the Coral Triangle,

which is like nowhere else on Earth.

You can see why it's been described as the Amazon of the seas...

..and it's a crucial part of the global ocean system

on which all life depends.

After all, it's ocean eco-systems

that produce half the oxygen we breath.

Of all the fish here, there's one in particular

that's vital for a healthy sea.

The shark.

The smallest sharks are just six inches long.

The biggest, the size of a truck.

They still evoke fear...

..but now we know nearly all sharks,

including this beautiful white-tipped reef shark,

are, of course, totally harmless to humans.

However, as apex predators,

they maintain order and balance

in the entire underwater eco-system.

Oh, my.

That was...

That was completely breathtaking.

Honestly, I mean, maybe this is just normal for you being here,

but that was utterly spectacular.

But it's... It's so deceptive.

Just look at the...the water.

You have no comprehension

of what is beneath the surface here.

- I'm still very happy to see so many different fish.

Every food chain level is there, and you got to see some sharks as well.

- But globally, sharks are in trouble.

Overfishing, legal and illegal,

is killing tens of millions each year.

They're eaten around the planet,

and shark fins are used

in a tasteless soup in China and elsewhere.

Just a decade ago, many sharks here were facing extinction.

One species was only spotted three times in 20 years.

Today, this is a protected marine reserve,

policed by patrols like the one that stopped us earlier.

Overall, shark numbers are now an incredible 25 times higher

than in unprotected areas...

..and right now, Nesha and her colleagues

are taking shark conservation

one big step further.

- Are you ready to see the pups?

- I'm ready, yes. I think.

"Pups"?

- So, we've got two here.

This is our first-born, Mali.

- That is a sight of epic cuteness, quite frankly.

I know that's not a very scientific thing to think or say, but...

Oh! She's...

He/she is moving. - She. - She.

Oh, my goodness.

Hello. - Oh, she's saying hi to you!

- Hello to you, too!

- Hey, Mali.

- She doesn't look really like a shark to me.

She looks... At the front like a cuddly toy,

and then...

..strange wings.

The tail and the rest of her is a bit sharky...

..but she just looks so cute.

- Mali is a zebra shark,

or better known as Indo-Pacific zebra shark.

- Right.

- In the last 15 years of monitoring,

we've only seen about less than 20 sights

and that's very little comparing to how much the other sharks

like blacktip, grey reef,

whitetip, they've all rebounded and have, like, insane numbers.

But these guys unfortunately haven't done so well.

- So, where did she come from?

- So, Mali comes from Sea Life Sydney.

Over there, the second one, she actually come from Las Vegas.

- No! - Yes.

The zebra shark will actually lay eggs, which are known to be hardy

and can survive trans-pacific shipment,

and obviously it's much easier to ship eggs than pups.

These two will be released in about two and a half months.

She is part of this whole initiative of re-sharking the world.

- "Re-sharking"?

That is not a phrase I've heard before.

- ReShark is an initiative to repopulate the oceans

with sharks,

and we're working with public aquariums all over the world

who have built the experience of animal care

and also breeding them,

especially those species that need a little bit of help

and haven't done very well in the wild.

- Wow.

I haven't heard that anywhere, ever.

I'm here at the start of something huge.

This is a global first.

ReShark has massive ambitions.

It's a worldwide collaboration between governments,

universities, aquariums and conservation groups.

So, we're going to go and collect some snails and clams

for the sharks.

- Right here, a snail.

One of their favourite, actually.

- Oh, they're tiny.

- They are tiny, but they're still pups.

- The aim is to breed and reintroduce hundreds of harmless,

helpful sharks, like little Mali here,

and possibly re-shark other world sites,

perhaps even off the coast of Wales.

There it goes.

Tail's wagging, almost!

- Yeah, she's amazing.

She's the... I would say, like, the best species to work with.

It's hard not to fall in love.

- But to make a project like this work,

the local community needs to be involved as well.

The answer here is eco-tourism.

This marine reserve is partly set up and funded

by a diving resort,

which also provides jobs and careers for local people,

so they don't need to hunt for sharks to put food on their table.

It's not the full answer, is it?

We can't just keep decimating shark numbers around the planet,

and think that Nesha is going to be able to put

all of that life back into the seas.

- We need to turn off the tap, first and foremost.

But, of course, we can't just be blanketing the oceans

with no-take zones, without alternative livelihoods

for the people who actually depend on the ocean.

So, the fact that zebra shark is a highly sought after

species for snorkelers and divers,

really is a main driver

why this project is so loved and embraced by the local community

and government, because it is part of the

alternative livelihood, instead of fishing them out.

- It's time to leave Raja Ampat

and set off on the last stage of my journey across the Coral Triangle.

It's also time to say goodbye to Nesha.

Nesha!

Farewell.

- Have a great trip. - Travel safe. - Thank you.

- Thank you so much for all you've done,

and all you've shown us!

- It's been a pleasure.

- Good luck, OK?

- Good luck to you!

- So, we're heading out again, back to sea,

into a slightly wilder, choppier bit of the ocean.

These are not uncharted waters, of course not,

but they are for this team.

This boat has never been there,

and we're going to look for the great giant of our oceans,

the largest fish in the sea.

We're on a hunt, searching for whale sharks.

My voyage in search of these giant fish

will take me around the Indonesian coast of the island of New Guinea.

Three days of sailing should hopefully get me

to my final destination -

a remote area of New Guinea called Cenderawasih Bay.

I am ludicrously excited at the thought

we might...we might see whale sharks.

Despite their size, whale sharks have always been elusive.

The legendary Jacques Cousteau only saw two

in decades of exploring the sea,

and, now, they're even rarer.

The global population of whale sharks has halved in recent

decades mainly because, obscenely, they're fished for their fins.

To up our chances of spotting them,

one of the world's top whale shark experts has agreed to come aboard.

Abam Sianipar is one of the few scientists

who have conducted research in Cenderawasih Bay.

We're heading towards the bay.

We're heading towards this hot spot, really, isn't it?

- Yep. - It's a bio-diversity hot spot...

- Yup. - ..of planetary significance.

- So, some fish scientists might also consider this place

as a cauldron of evolution for marine biodiversity

because, you know, these areas are so remote

there's very little research happening around here.

And this area seems to produce more and more new species of fish

in the year that we studied them.

So, again, yes, it is a special place for whale sharks,

but for marine biodiversity, it's also a very exciting place.

- But first we have to get there...

..and that means back into the daily rhythm of life on the boat.

It wouldn't really be an expedition if anything went entirely to plan.

THUNDER CRASHES AND RUMBLES

It's going to be pretty tricky

spotting whale sharks in this weather.

We're making pretty slow progress now as well, there's a bit of wind.

I'm just not sure we'll make it to the area we wanted to get to.

But eventually, the weather picks up.

A few days more pottering along

and we finally make it to the edge of Cenderawasih Bay.

Within the vastness of the Coral Triangle,

this is another huge protected Indonesian national park.

The bay is 200 miles across...

..and here is our best chance of seeing whale sharks.

- No fins, no fins.

- Oh.

- When they travel, they don't always stay on the surface.

From our last study,

one of the whale sharks dived up to 1,000 metres

inside of the bay,

and from the... - A kilometre down?

- Yeah. - In the bay? - In the bay. - Wow!

- And then that's kind of like also one of the biggest why,

in kind of, like, the whale shark communities,

why this, you know, animal does this dive,

what's down there.

To certain depths people might argue there might be food there.

But when you go close to 1,000, and even beyond...

..there's basically nothing there.

- Is there any creature on this planet

of such comparable size

about which we know so little as the whale shark?

- It's still one of the biggest mysteries.

- Whale sharks can be 18 metres long,

and weigh up to 30 tonnes.

They migrate thousands of miles across the seas,

but we don't really know why.

Nobody really knows where they breed or where their babies are born.

We do know they can live to 100 or 150 years old.

That means there could be whale sharks swimming

Earth's oceans right now

that were born before the invention of light bulbs!

To try and solve some of the many mysteries about them,

Abam and his colleagues have set up a monitoring programme

to photograph and track the whale sharks of Cenderawasih Bay.

Thank goodness Abam knows one place

where we have a really good chance of finding them.

What on earth is that structure?

- That is what we call a "bagan".

- A bagan?

- A bagan.

So, a bagan is a lift-net fishing platform

that the people in the village have developed to

specifically fish for bait fish, and also small...

Other small fish during the night with the help of lights.

- So, how come they're here, inside such a protected area?

- These fishermen have got a special permit,

both from the national park but also from the...

..the local people, which is the custodian of the...of the areas.

- They're allowed to fish here because this is a more traditional

form of fishing -

it's not dragging an industrial size net...

- No. - ..through the entire bay. - Exactly.

There's some fins just popping up to the surface there.

- You saw something? - Just here.

- Oh, my goodness.

It can't possibly be!

Are you serious?

- I think... - There's one waiting for you here? - Yeah.

- No way!

There's a whale shark here already!

Oh!

- Hello, hello!

- It's the size of a bus!

- Yup.

- This is like a time traveller,

or something from another planet.

I've never been so close to anything remotely of this size in the ocean.

It's utterly... It's just breathtaking.

- They are quite amazing.

One thing that always captivates me is also how...

how gently they move,

how graceful they manoeuvre their bodies,

like doing a ballet under water.

- I can't quite believe this.

I didn't think we would actually see them...

..let alone right underneath us.

What a staggering creature.

- Even the biggest one that we've seen,

I think 7-7.5 metres in length...

- Mm-hm. - ..and we still consider them as a non-adult individual.

So, probably juveniles,

and they use some areas like Cenderawasih Bay

as a nursery for them to eat as much as they can... - Right.

- ..to grow as fast as they can,

and then potentially leaving the bay when they get bigger.

- Whale sharks come to this platform

because local fishermen here share their catch.

Because of that, this is one of the only places on the planet

where scientists can monitor large numbers of whale sharks.

Abam and his colleagues have put satellite tags

on dozens of these giants.

They're running the largest whale shark tagging project in the world.

They also take photos to identify and record sharks.

They each have a unique pattern of spots.

This is astonishing.

I know you need to do some science,

rather than me just getting a lump in my throat looking at them.

What do you want to do?

- I want to get in the water with them.

- Oh, my God!

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my God!

And by any chance, do you need somebody to, you know,

hold your camera? - Sure, of course!

- Well, I'm game.

Let's get in the water. - Let's do it.

I think we try to avoid them as much as we can.

I try to maintain a distance, like, three metres... - OK.

- But of course, they are swimming around.

Sometimes they creep up on your back, we can't do anything about it.

But we'll just try our best.

Three, two, one...

- Whale sharks aren't hunters like some of their shark cousins.

They're not interested in me.

They're more like vacuum cleaners,

filter feeding and sieving plankton and small fish

through their huge mouths.

Their teeth are tiny,

and their throats can be just the width of a 10p piece.

The visibility around the platform isn't amazing,

so you don't see them coming from far off -

they just emerge almost out of the gloom,

and then suddenly this enormous,

ancient, prehistoric,

present-day, other worldly alien creature

is coming right at you...

..and I absolutely bloody love it.

Abam's work is shedding new light on the life of the whale shark.

Here in Cenderawasih Bay,

there's thought to be a population of around 130 of them,

mostly juveniles.

Some live in the bay, while others come and go.

For some unknown reason, all the sharks here are males.

Where the females go is another mystery.

It's early days, but the project here is one of our best chances

of finding out more about these magnificent creatures

and protecting them.

And it's all made possible

because of the local Indonesian fishermen

who have, for years, fed the sharks.

Nerdin has fished on this bagan since he was a boy.

What do the whale sharks mean to you?

You do feed them quite a lot of fish, don't you?

Why do you give them so much?

I've reached the end of my voyage across the Coral Triangle.

This miraculous corner of our world.

I've learnt how this little-known wilderness

is vital to life in the wider ocean...

..and I've seen on this journey

how its crucial local people are involved in preserving it.

Nerdin and the fishermen here are an inspiring example

of how people can live alongside nature,

cherishing it without over-exploiting it.

How do you feel?

I saw you smiling as you were feeding them.

As you're putting food almost into the mouths

of these enormous creatures.

What an amazing place to end this part of the journey,

with Nurdin on his fishing platform

giving away great big boxes of his fish to the whale sharks!

I absolutely love it.

HE LAUGHS

Bloody brilliant.

You really are.

Next time...

LOW GROWLING

There are lions going past my tent!

..I'm crossing one of the world's great deserts...

..on an epic hunt with the legendary trackers of the Kalahari.

Man, this is intense.

Coo! - Coo!