02x05 - Sea Stars, The Real Nemo, Shark Feeding Frenzy

[bunniefuu]

[gentle music]

- [Announcer] Coming up on
"Jonathan Bird's Blue World,"

Jonathan investigates clownfish.

Then he searches for a
shark feeding frenzy.

But first, Jonathan is on a mission

to learn the secrets of starfish.

And you might be surprised
at these predators.

- Wow.

- [Announcer] All of this today

on "Jonathan Bird's Blue World."

- [Announcer] Meet Jonathan Bird,

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[water splashing]

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

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Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

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In freshwater or salt,
reefs, wrecks, or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

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Welcome to the "Blue World."

[screen swooshing]

[water bubbling]

- You might not think of sea stars

as being very intelligent,
and you'd be right.

But you might be impressed
by some of the amazing things

they can do, especially considering
they don't have a brain.

Starfish, more correctly called sea stars,

live just about everywhere in the ocean,

from the tropics to Antarctica
and everywhere in between.

They come in all shapes and sizes,

from fat and stubby to long and skinny.

This brittle star walks
with a coordinated effort,

using its rays like legs.

But most sea stars get around
using hundreds or thousands

of tiny tube feet on their underside.

This is a Northern Sea Star

living in the coastal
waters of New England,

and it's a predator.

It's hunting a scallop.

It's a drama played out in slow motion,

as the sea star moves in for
a grip on the scallop's shell.

[stirring music]

But the scallop is not defenseless.

With a mighty blast of water,

the scallop jets away to safety.

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So the star wraps itself around a mussel.

Mussels are attached to the
bottom, and can't get away.

The sea star uses its strong tube feet

with suction cups to pull
the mussel open a tiny bit,

and digests its victim

by injecting its stomach
inside the mussel.

Picking up the sea star, I
can see that it has the mussel

firmly in its grip.

[stirring music]
[water bubbling]

But not all sea stars feed
on mussels and scallops,

a basket star feeds on
plankton in the water.

It has finely branched
arms that act like a net

to catch the tiny bits
of food floating by.

It positions itself to be
able to grab as much plankton

as possible in the current.

Some sea stars eat something
even more surprising.

Come take a look.

[water splashing]

[stirring music]

Exploring a reef in the tropical Pacific,

I find a crown-of-thorns sea
star dining on the coral.

This thorny armored sea star
is one of only a few animals

that can digest living coral.

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It wraps itself around the coral colony

and eats the polyps, leaving a dead,

bleached coral skeleton behind.

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Here's a healthy colony of plate coral,

and here's one that's been
eaten by a crown-of-thorns.

Outbreaks of these sea stars

have been known to k*ll entire reefs.

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Carefully picking one
up to avoid the sharp

and venomous spines,
I can see the stomach,

which the sea star
inverts out of its mouth

to digest the coral outside of its body.

These sea stars are the
second largest in the world,

growing bigger than a dinner plate.

But if you think these are big,

wait until you see the
largest sea star in the world.

To find it, I've come all
the way to British Columbia.

I'm looking for the
giant Pacific Sun Star,

and you won't believe
the size of this thing.

[water splashing]

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In the cold, murky waters of
the Canadian North Pacific,

I swim through beautiful
gardens of sponges, anemones,

and soft coral, searching
for a giant sun star.

And then, down on the bottom,
I find what I'm looking for.

It has up to 24 arms,
more properly called rays,

and reaches three feet across.

Wow. This is the world's largest sea star.

Look at that thing.

[water bubbling]

[oxygen tank hissing]

Compared to most sea stars,

the giant sun star is a speed demon,

cruising along the bottom in
search of its favorite food,

other sea stars and the
occasional sea cucumber.

[stirring music]

Here, a sea cucumber
makes an emergency retreat

to escape this hungry
sun star on the move.

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[stirring music continues]

a reef in the tropics,

I find a blue linckia
sea star on the bottom.

Like the vast majority of sea stars,

this one has only five rays.

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With tiny tube feed on its underside,

this sea star barely seems to move.

But when I speed things up
with time lapse photography,

linckia sea stars appear very active,

moving about and grazing
the bottom for food.

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But even more curiously, they're polite,

restraining from walking
on top of each other.

Like bumper cars, when one
linckia touches another,

they each go the other direction.

It's all very civilized.

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In an hour, a linckia on the move

can travel several car lengths.

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Sea stars are amazing animals.

They might look like
they're just sitting there

doing nothing, but they
survive by hunting for food.

And they do that in many ways,

from catching it as it floats by,

to chasing it down.

[water splashing]

There's such good predators,

that sometimes they can
destroy entire reefs.

It goes to prove that just
because something is slow

doesn't mean it isn't up to something.

You never know where a sea
star is going to turn up.

[water bubbling]

[pleasant music]

- [Announcer] Next on
"Jonathan Bird's Blue World,"

Jonathan investigates
a shark feeding frenzy.

But first, the real Nemo,
the life of Clownfish.

[water bubbling]

- [Johnathan] Underwater
photography is a fantastic job.

Although I enjoy diving
all over the world,

I have to admit that exploring
coral reefs in clear water

is the most relaxing and
peaceful part of my job.

There are all kinds of
wonderful animals to meet

on coral reefs, such as a pointy lionfish,

or a curious octopus
looking me in the eye.

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I never get tired of
watching anemone fish though.

Outside of the world of
diving, very few people

had heard of anemone fish until
Disney and Pixar came along.

In the film, "Finding
Nemo," an anemone fish

plays the starring role.

In real life, these little
fish are a lot different

from their Hollywood portrayal.

I mean, other than the fact
that they don't actually talk.

But you may find these colorful

little fish quite surprising.

Join me on a dive to meet
some real anemone fish.

[oxygen tank hissing]

[water splashing]

Anemone fish are found all
over the tropical parts

of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

They're quite common on coral reefs,

so it won't take me too long to find one.

[water bubbling]

Searching a reef on the
Pacific island of Yap,

I soon come across a pair
of orange fin anemone fish

frolicking in an anemone that
looks like a shag carpet.

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They're not afraid of me at all,

I can swim right up and
look them in the eye.

[water bubbling]

[gentle music]

There are 28 different
species of anemone fish,

all of which are very colorful.

But the clown anemone fish,
sometimes called the clownfish,

is probably the most beautiful.

This is the species that was the basis

for the character in "Finding Nemo."

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Anemone fish get their name

because they live in a toxic anemone.

This lush carpet has venomous tentacles

that sting most fish, but the anemone fish

is covered in a special slimy mucus

that keeps the anemone from stinging it.

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Because of this adaptation,
the anemone fish can live

protected by the anemone, happily playing

in the very tentacles that
would k*ll other fish.

Anemone fish are not the only animals

that can live in the anemone.

Cleaner shrimps hide here as well.

They eat by cleaning the
parasites from the fish.

And in exchange for their services,

the fish graciously don't eat the shrimp.

But it's hard to relax
when you're battered around

by hyperactive anemone fish all day long.

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[water bubbling]

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The protection afforded by the anemone

is the reason why the anemone
fish aren't afraid of me.

They know that the anemones'

stinging tentacles keep them safe.

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If another fish, like this damsel fish,

comes near the anemone, the
anemone fish become territorial

and chase it away.

They protect their anemone just as much

as the anemone protects them,

so it's a good relationship.

And if a fish gets too close,
the anemone gets a meal,

using its venomous tentacles
to sting and disable the fish.

This fish is lunch.

[water gushing]

[gentle music]

The anemone might look like
some kind of weird plant,

but it's actually a simple animal

with a mouth in the middle.

It's basically a
jellyfish that can't swim.

The anemone is a formidable
ally to the anemone fish

in more ways than one.

They use the protection of the anemone

to keep their eggs safe too.

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The female anemone fish
deposits her eggs on the reef

under the edge of the anemone.

Then her subservient males take over.

The males provide all the egg care.

[water bubbling]

[gentle music]

The female just sits back and watches.

In any group of anemone fish,

there's always one anemone
fish which is the largest.

This is the dominant female.

In anemone fish society,
the females are the boss.

One of the most interesting
things about anemone fish

is that they're all born male.

But as they mature,

some will completely
transform into females.

Only when the dominant female
dies will the next male

in line get the chance to
transform into a female,

and become the head honcho.

Until then, all the smaller anemone fish

in the anemone are subservient males.

Truth is stranger than
fiction as it turns out.

And as my dive comes to an end,
I realize that anemone fish

are even more fascinating

than Hollywood would have us believe.

The animals of the ocean
truly are remarkable.

[water bubbling]

[pleasant music]

- [Announcer] Don't go away,
Jonathan is about to go

into the water with 30
hungry gray reef sharks.

[gentle music]

- [Johnathan] Many people
seem to think of sharks

as k*lling machines that go crazy

if a single drop of
blood touches the water.

Gray reef sharks are one of
the most aggressive sharks

in the world, and they travel in schools

of dozens of animals.

[stirring music]

[water splashing]

When I dive into the
water with these sharks,

the splash gets their attention

and they come over for a look.

They quickly size me up,

and realize that I don't look like food.

Scuba divers not only
don't look like fish,

but don't act like them either.

The sharks soon get bored and move on.

[water splashing]

But what would happen if
there was blood in the water?

Will the sharks have a feeding frenzy?

Will they attack everything in sight?

To find out, I've traveled to Yap,

an island in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean

where large numbers of gray
reef sharks patrol the reefs.

The water is crystal clear,

an ideal place to perform
an experiment with sharks.

I can keep my eye on them
from a long way away.

[upbeat music]

The experiment begins
with some leftover fish

that we will use as bait.

I place this bait into a plastic crate

so it will create a scent in the water,

but the sharks won't be able to reach it.

[upbeat music]

Let's go find some sharks.

Soon, Captain John and
I depart from the dock

and make our way across the
lagoon to the outer reef,

home of the gray reef sharks.

[boat engine purring]

[upbeat music]

On site, I lower the ladder
and we discuss our experiment.

[water splashing]

- So John, you and I are
gonna be down on the bottom.

We're gonna go in first, right?

And we're going to wait for
Mike to put the bait in.

Is that the plan?
- Yeah.

- [Johnathan] I'm working with
two experienced Yapese divers

who are going to help with
my experiment to find out

if sharks will form a feeding frenzy

if we put a lot of bait into the water.

- When I see this on the surface, what-

- [Johnathan] First we
prepare our dive gear.

[stirring music]

And I get suited up.

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[buckles clicking]

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Next, John rolls into the water.

[water splashing]

He heads to the bottom and attaches a rope

to a dead section of reef,
where we won't hurt the coral

with the crate full of bait.

[stirring music]

[oxygen tank hissing]

[water splashing]

Now it's my turn to go into the water.

- [Mike] Here you go.

[water splashing]

- [Johnathan] Mike throws
the bait into the water

with the rope attached,
and I follow it down.

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The fish are the first to
figure out what's going on.

They feed on the little
scraps coming out of the crate

as it makes its way to the bottom.

John is pulling it down by the rope,

so he doesn't need to swim with the crate

among the sharks that are lurking.

[gentle music]

Once it hits the bottom,

I move the crate to a hole
in the reef with John's help.

The first part of my experiment
is to see if the sharks

will find the bait if they
don't actually see it.

[water bubbling]

It only takes about five
seconds for the sharks

to find bait hidden in the reef.

[stirring music]

More than 30 sharks surround me,

as they take turns swimming under

to investigate the source of the smell.

[stirring music]

If there's one thing that
sharks can do very well,

it's smell things, and
they smell dinner for sure.

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The sharks can't get to
the fish where it's hidden,

so I move it out into the open.

[gentle music]

I leave the wire cover on.

Surely this will drive the sharks crazy,

and they'll start attacking the crate.

[gentle music]

Well, not really.

The sharks seem to know that
they can't get at the fish,

so they just keep circling.

[gentle music]

[camera squeaking]

One bumps my camera, probably an accident

because I'm too close to the bait.

Well, if that doesn't drive the sharks

into a blood thirsty feeding frenzy,

maybe removing the top of the crate

will produce the expected result.

I open the top and stand back,

now the sharks are free
to feed all they like.

It doesn't take long for
the sharks to figure out

that something has changed.

I can see their excitement level increase.

They're swimming a little faster

and investigating the crate more,

but they still aren't going
into a feeding frenzy.

They look pretty civilized to me.

[gentle music]

Finally, one shark makes a bold move

and sticks her head right into the crate

for a tasty piece of fish.

Once all the other sharks see that,

they start rushing in for their own bite.

Now the sharks are getting really excited.

They all wanna get a piece
of fish before it's all gone.

But this certainly doesn't look
like a feeding frenzy to me.

The sharks are pushing and
shoving each other a bit,

but they aren't biting each other.

And they haven't paid
me any attention at all,

even though my camera is stuck

practically right next to
the crate full of fish.

[pleasant music]

In all of the excitement,
one of the sharks

grabs one of the tripod legs on my camera.

[stirring music]

[camera squeaking]

Watch it again from another angle.

[pleasant music]

[camera squeaking]

I'm definitely glad that
is just a piece of plastic,

and not my arm.

But to be fair, I had the camera

practically inside the crate.

So the sharks are grabbing
anything that looks biteable

in their competition to feed.

[gentle music]

After all the bait is gone,

the sharks return to
normal almost instantly.

They go back to slowly
patrolling the reef,

and pretty much ignore me.

As my tank gets low on air,
I swim out into the blue

to get a few last shots before
I head up to shallower water,

to decompress below the boat.

[water bubbling]

[water splashing]

That was incredible, so many sharks.

Gray reef sharks, silver tips, black tips.

And yet I still have all my
limbs, who can explain it?

Well, you know, it just goes to show you,

sharks are not blood thirsty
K*llers, they're just fish.

Later on my second dive at the same site,

we search the reef for souvenirs.

As the sharks feed, they often
lose teeth in the process.

Sharks have a never ending
supply of new teeth.

So when they lose a few,
eh, it's not a big deal.

I find a few in the cracks below the spot

where the crate was sitting.

And here they are.

They're pretty small,
they don't look like much,

but they sure are sharp.

So I tried to make a feeding
frenzy, and it didn't work.

I didn't get eaten alive,

and the sharks actually
seemed very much in control.

I proved something important.

Sharks are not stupid, they eat fish

and they have a pretty good
idea what a fish looks like.

Divers are just not on the menu.

Because of this, shark
diving has become a safe

and popular activity where
people can get up close

and personal to these amazing predators.

Woo-hoo!

[water splashing]

All over the world, tens
of thousands of divers

go diving with sharks every year.

It's exceptionally rare
for anyone to be bitten.

Most people find the experience

not just exciting, but interesting.

Sharks are beautiful animals,

and perhaps nature's
most evolved predators.

Yet we can watch them
from very close range

without being attacked.

You would not be able to get
this close to lions or bears

without being in great danger.

It's just another incredible thing

that can only happen in the ocean.

And another reason I love the blue world.

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