01x01 - Realm of the Humpbacks

[bunniefuu]

[James Cameron] 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.

[Zoleka Filander] Oh my gosh.

[James Cameron] Zoleka Filander,

deep sea scientist.

[Zoleka Filander] Being a

deep-sea researcher means

having front row tickets to

the best movie that everybody

wants to watch.

[James Cameron]

Melissa Márquez

[Melissa Márquez]

Straight ahead, 12:00.

[James Cameron]

Shark biologist.

[Melissa Márquez] We just saw

what no one has seen before.

[James Cameron]

Eric Stackpole

[Eric Stackpole] Scan now!

[James Cameron] Ocean

tech innovator.

[Eric Stackpole] I love

building tools that allow us

to see things in ways

we've never seen before.

[gasps]

[James Cameron] And Aldo Kane

[Aldo Kane] This is insane.

[James Cameron] Former

Royal Marine; special ops.

[Aldo Kane] It doesn't get

any more cutting-edge

exploration than this.

[James Cameron]

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 is

among the giants of the ocean.

[Eric Stackpole] I cannot

believe that we are watching

this fight club.

[James Cameron] They face

an unexpected encounter.

[Kerri Seger] Oh my God.

[Mithriel Mackay] I can't

believe we're seeing this.

[theme music plays]

[James Cameron] The OceanXplorer

is in the Dominican Republic,

in the Caribbean.

It's heading 50 miles off

the island's north coast.

To an area of the Atlantic Ocean

Teeming with giants.

[splashing]

[whale song]

Humpback whales.

[Aldo Kane] Humpbacks are

one of the largest whales

on the planet,

they’re about 45 feet long,

and that’s the size

of a school bus.

[Zoleka Filander] We almost

hunted these whales

to extinction, but thanks

to the global efforts

to bring them

back from the brink,

just over 50 years ago,

these whales are now thriving.

[James Cameron] Every winter

thousands of Humpbacks migrate

to these waters to mate,

and give birth.

[blowing]

But as they spend the

majority of their time

beneath the waves,

details of their

lives remain a mystery.

[splashing]

That's why the team is here,

to uncover secrets

of these whales,

in some of the most

intimate moments of their lives.

[Crew] OceanXplorer,

OceanXplorer.

Ok, come in.

[James Cameron]

For this mission

[Aldo Kane] All set?

- Yup.

- Cool.

[James Cameron] The team

will need to draw on the

full capabilities of the ship.

[Crew] Zoom out a bit.

[Eric Stackpole] The

ship is incredible,

we have a helicopter,

we have a deep sea ROV,

we have two submersibles.

any question that we

would want to answer about

the humpback whale seems to be

answerable with the technology

and resources we have available.

[James Cameron] We know

that humpback whales travel

up to 5000 miles from

their feeding grounds

in the North Atlantic to

this small patch of ocean

and that they

come here to breed.

But how exactly does a female

humpback choose her mate?

To find out, Eric's job is

to first spot the whales

[Crew] Yeah you can power up.

[James Cameron] then guide

in Aldo and the dive team,

to get a rare

underwater perspective.

[Aldo Kane] Alright

Captain, good to go.

[James Cameron] Not so easy.

[Crew] Green light green deck.

Copy, green light, green deck.

[Eric Stackpole] Let’s

go find some whales.

[helicotper whirring]

[Crew] Chopper is up,

chopper is up.

[Eric Stackpole] The

conditions are perfect

you could not ask for a better

day to be searching for whales,

the water is extremely

calm so anything that comes

up to the surface of the

water we should be able to see.

Oh my god, there are

whales everywhere.

[splashing]

Oh wow, that is really cool.

[splashing]

[James Cameron] With eyes in

the sky it doesn't take long

[Eric Stackpole]

Oh look at this.

[James Cameron] to spot

some courtship action.

There's a single adult

female surrounded by males.

Peaceful gatherings like

these can suddenly erupt.

[blowing]

Turning into a frenzied pursuit.

[splashing]

[Eric Stackpole] Woah what

was that move all about?

The female is

leading the pack

She has a suitor and he's

following right behind her.

Female's speeding up.

If he loses his position,

the chance to mate with

her will be up for grabs.

Woah is it pushing that

one out of the water?

[Crew] Yeah.

[Eric Stackpole] It's

pushing it out of the water,

oh my gosh.

White water everywhere.

No wonder some scientists

call this 'a fight club'.

I mean there's just so much

muscle and energy in that.

I mean each of these weigh

more than a truck you know

and they're pounding

against each other

speeding through the water.

I cannot believe that we

are watching this fight club

like right below us.

[Aldo Kane] Mike Delta,

Mike Delta.

This is Eagle Ray.

[Eric Stackpole] Eagle Ray this

is Mike Delta we're watching,

we counted 11 whales,

in this group.

They've generally been

holding the same direction.

[Aldo Kane] Yeah, Roger that,

once we get on location,

we'll try and get in the

water if it's safe to do so.

[Eric Stackpole] This

is definitely a sprint and

it's gonna be

survival of the fittest.

[Aldo Kane] Roger that out.

[James Cameron] If

former Special Ops, Aldo,

and cameraman David can get

in the water with the whales,

they may be able to

record behavior that’s

invisible from the surface.

[Aldo Kane] Have you been in

the water with 11 whales before?

[David] Only once

before was I ever in a,

in a group this big.

So it’s pretty violent in

fact for the whales, and,

so we’ve just got to be

careful where we are.

[Aldo Kane] Every time I get

in the water with big animals

I am apprehensive you know this.

[David] Yeah.

[Aldo Kane] We are

in their territory,

in their environment and

we are tiny in comparison.

If you get on the wrong side of

one of those pec fin slaps

or a tail slap, then

it’s going to be game over.

[David] Yeah.

[Aldo Kane] Let’s try

and get in ahead of them.

[David] Yeah absolutely.

[Eric Stackpole] Oh

look at that quick turn,

the whole group just

turned 90 degrees.

[Crew] Just the whole

group turning like that.

[Aldo Kane] They’re

turning away, we missed it.

[helicopter whirring]

[Eric Stackpole] Alright,

I'm scanning around

for anything else.

[Pilot] There is a

big group 3:00.

[Eric Stackpole]

Yeah, there’s something.

[Pilot] Alright.

Go check these guys out.

[splashing]

[Eric Stackpole]

Devil Ray, Devil Ray,

Mike Delta we are moving over

to some breaching whales.

That’s the direction

we are going now.

[Aldo Kane] Copy that.

[James Cameron] There are

more males around a female,

but this group

appears more relaxed.

[splashing]

[David] You may want to try

to get in the water here.

[James Cameron] With

very little known about the

whales’ courtship rituals,

Aldo is concerned that any

bubbles could spook the animals.

[blowing]

So they’re diving without tanks.

[Aldo Kane] Free diving is the

closest that you can become to,

to being a mammal

in that environment.

In one breath you can dive

down and be in their world.

[James Cameron] Holding his

breath, Aldo swims to a

depth of 70 feet.

[majestic music]

These whales seem totally

at ease with their visitors.

[whale song]

[whale song]

There's a female

surrounded by five males.

The mood couldn't be more

different from the fight club.

She wants the fittest

father for her calf.

But how will she choose him?

One male moves closer.

He gently blows a stream

of bubbles onto her belly.

[whale song]

An encounter this intimate

has rarely been seen.

We need to try and

understand what's going on.

[whale song]

[dramatic sweeping music]

[grunting]

[lauhging]

[Aldo Kane] That was

has to be one of the best

experiences I’ve ever had.

Like when they cruise

underneath you,

it’s literally like having a

small plane underneath you.

We can take those shots

back and show some of the

scientists on board,

they can look at behavior,

they can maybe tell us

what those whales were doing

in that social circumstance.

[David] Yeah.

[blowing]

[Asha de Vos] Hey Eric.

I’ve got some cool stuff

for you to look at.

[James Cameron] The

footage will be analyzed by

whale scientist Asha de Vos.

[Asha de Vos] The more

we observe and the more we

document the more we can

start to actually understand it

from the viewpoint of the

whale and I think that’s what’s

really interesting

and unique for us.

[Eric Stackpole] Devil Ray,

Devil Ray, Mike Delta.

[James Cameron]

For the next week,

Asha joins the dive team.

Their aim

[David] Oh three

[James Cameron] to collect

as much footage as possible

[Aldo Kane] Hey

whale dead ahead.

[James Cameron] of

as many courtship groups

as they can find.

[Crew] Yeah we just saw

its fluke as it went down.

Ohh oh.

[James Cameron] Very

little is known about a

female's mate selection,

but by going

through every frame

[Asha de Vos] I hope you are

excited about what we’ve found.

[Eric Stackpole] Yeah I am too.

[James Cameron] Asha's

made some observations,

about the female

that Aldo dived with.

[Asha de Vos] We know

this is the female and

you can see her tail

is very characteristic,

I call her asymmetrical

because it's not

a symmetrical pattern.

She's, you know,

clearly rolling around

displaying herself.

We see this very intimate

moment where they're hanging,

they're not moving much,

and for about 15 minutes

they just stayed in

one place like this.

You feel like a

really strong bond,

then you're thinking this

can only lead to mating.

We find another group of six,

if you look carefully,

see that's her tail

remember asymmetrical.

I don't recognize any of

the other males in the group,

so she's found a

complete new group of guys.

[Eric Stackpole]

But I don’t understand,

she already found her mate.

[Asha de Vos] Well

that's what we thought,

she does similar things,

she rotates,

she does these

intimate movements.

And then we find a

group of 11 animals.

Amazing moment,

and then we start

seeing this pec-slapping

event going on.

And this pec belongs

to the same female

[Eric Stackpole] No.

[Asha de Vos] we saw in

the previous two encounters.

[splashing]

She has slipped from one group

to the other, to the other.

[Eric Stackpole] This is

more like dating and the

relationships just

aren’t quite working out,

but she’s still trying

to find the one.

[Asha de Vos] Yeah, she

wants a nice strong calf that

can survive into,

you know the future,

and she’s gonna take her time.

[Eric Stackpole] I have to

look at this, kind of like

online dating, you know swiping

away and trying to find,

you know, "Mr. Right swipe".

[Asha de Vos] Your ideal mate,

yeah exactly.

And in the short time

we've been here we now

have a little intimate peek,

into the life of this

little lady and how she's

chosen to maximize her time

here on the mating grounds.

[James Cameron] We don't

know if this female

mates with any of the males,

or carries on looking

for the perfect match.

But in this rare footage,

the team has observed

just how choosy a

female humpback can be,

and there's still so

much more to learn.

[splashing]

[James Cameron] Off

the Dominican Republic,

the Humpback breeding

season is in full swing.

But why do the whales come

to this specific patch in the

North Atlantic every year?

To find an answer, the team

is going to focus on another

Humpback behavior.

We know that for adult males,

it's important to sing

during mating season.

[whale song]

And they do this often.

and for hours at time.

[whale song]

The team wants to test a

hypothesis that the unique

underwater landscape here,

could provide an advantage

for the singing males.

Leading the mission is

Deep Sea Scientist Zoleka.

Armed with detailed

bathymetry

[Zoleka Filander] Hi Dave.

[Pilot] Hi.

[James Cameron] She’ll be

diving to a depth of 250 feet.

[Zoleka Filander] The

OceanXplorer has mapped

the sea floor and it's revealing

a hidden underwater world.

There are great mountains

rising to up to 2000 feet and

these are topped with a

plateau that stops just

below the surface.

So these plateaus have

bowl-shaped edges on

the wall which are around the

size of a football stadium

and these are what

we are interested in.

[Pilot] Ok team here we go.

[Zoleka Filander] OK.

[James Cameron] Zoleka is

joined by marine mammal

scientist Mithriel Mackay.

From her aerial surveys,

Mithriel has developed

an intriguing hypothesis.

[Mithriel Mackay] We could see

whales tucked into these

half circles, they remind

me of an amphitheater,

is it possible that they're

using these to do something

with their song, to make

their song easier to hear,

or maybe farther

to hear or louder,

for other whales and

so we started getting

into this whole hypothesis of,

whales are using

the amphitheaters,

these features out here

to sing in order to

broadcast their sound better

for humpback whales and that

could be a way to improve their

chances of finding a mate.

I saw something right above us,

just like a flash,

it was really strange.

[Pilot] I can hear whales

[whale song]

100%

[gasping]

[Pilot] 100%.

[whale song]

[gasping]

Oh my god.

[Zoleka Filander] I'm really

excited to see if Mithriel's

hypothesis is correct.

In order to test it,

our plan is to set up

a series of microphones,

within the bowl,

both deep and shallow,

to record soundwaves.

[Pilot] Ok where do you want it?

[Zoleka Filander]

Try right there

right in that same patch.

Yeah.

[James Cameron] Using

the sub’s robotic arm,

they carefully place the

deeper microphones around the

sides of the bowl.

[Mithriel Mackay] Very nice.

[Zoleka Filander] Testing

the amphitheater hypothesis

this is exciting hey.

[Mithriel Mackay]

It's very exciting.

[James Cameron]

Directly above them.

[Eric Stackpole] Alright,

I’m going to get four in the

bucket on my side.

[James Cameron] Eric and

acoustic scientist Kerri Seger,

are setting the shallower mics.

[Eric Stackpole] So

this is the actual part,

all of the work is being

done by this little bit here,

that's the hydrophone,

this is gonna be listening

to the sound reverberating

off the amphitheater.

[Kerri Seger] Right.

[Eric Stackpole] Alright,

here’s the hydrophone.

[Kerri Seger]

Alright, hydrophone in.

Ready to mark.

[Eric Stackpole] Ready to mark.

[Kerri Seger]

Number 11 in water.

[Eric Stackpole] Number

11 way point marked.

[James Cameron] A waterproof

speaker will play humpback song.

[Kerri Seger] So the plan is

that this is going to be about

the same depth that male

humpback whales sing at.

- Okay. And starting.

- Alrighty.

[Eric Stackpole]

Waypoint marked.

[Kerri Seger] And

we're not going to hear

[whale song]

Oh, we do hear it.

[Eric Stackpole] We can hear it.

Oh my gosh.

[James Cameron] All the

microphones, both shallow and

deep will register the volume

of the whale song recording.

[whale song]

Then it's back to the ship

to find out the results.

The acoustic data

has been processed.

[Zoleka Filander]

That's very exciting.

[James Cameron] And can

now be visualized in the

ship’s state-of-the-art hololab.

[Eric Stackpole] The hololens,

of all the different

pieces of equipment on the ship,

is the most futuristic,

it feels like living in

a science fiction movie,

where it's like you are

interacting with an imaginary

world like something

that's inside of your head,

but you can show it

to everyone else,

this is a great tool for

helping visualize and

communicate with others.

It looks like we have

gotten some results,

Kerri what have you seen?

[Kerri Seger] The first thing

we are going to see is the very

first sound signal

coming from speaker A.

Exactly what we would expect

from a soundwave moving away

from the wall.

The orange is a little quieter,

yellow quieter than that,

and then green is,

you know the quietest.

Now we're gonna add in

the echo from the wall and

see if it amplifies

these numbers.

So here's our echo, yup,

coming right off the wall,

and boom, boom, boom.

Look at the

added intensity there,

so everything's red,

everything's in the 90

decibels like 10, 11 decibels,

that's a huge amount of extra

sound energy in the system.

[Eric Stackpole] 11 decibels

that's like a multiple.

[Mithriel Mackay] So now

we know the benefit is,

that they could get

that sound to be louder and

behind them and

reach more whales.

This is pretty cool to

see that, you know, we've,

we've uncovered something

that's going on here.

[James Cameron] Mithriel and

Kerri now have proof of concept,

that the bowl-like features

really do amplify a whale's song

by as much as 11 decibels.

This could be one reason why

so many whales come here.

[Mithriel Mackay] Just

absolutely ground-breaking and

huge and a culmination of so

many years of my work that um,

it doesn't really get

more satisfying than that.

[James Cameron] It seems

that the underwater terrain

is providing an advantage

for humpbacks seeking a mate.

But it's not just whales

looking to breed that come here.

Females that became pregnant

here last year have returned

to give birth and to

rear their calves.

The warm shallows

which lie above the

submerged mountain tops,

provide the perfect nursery.

[splashing, blowing]

These waters are believed

to be the main reason why

a Humpback mother

travels up to 5000 miles

to raise her young.

[Asha de Vos] This is

a very important place,

it’s not just that

the calves are born,

but they are taught life skills.

This is a big schoolyard,

this is where they also

come to teach their young

how do you survive if

there are predators around,

so they don’t have a lot of time

to teach those life skills

before they have to

basically pack up their bags

and take this long

migration all the way back

to the North Atlantic.

[James Cameron] If

whale scientist Asha and

Cameraman David can get

an underwater perspective,

they may be able to capture a

rare glimpse of the intimate

bond between mother and calf.

[splashing]

[James Cameron] They approach

the mother and calf slowly and

the pair seem undisturbed.

Only the females are

involved in parenting.

[blowing]

This is mom's time to pour all

her energy into her single calf.

[calf trilling]

[mother calling]

Just a few weeks old,

the calf bonds with

its mother through touch.

Only able to hold its

breath for a few minutes,

the calf stays with the

mom near the surface.

[calf trilling]

It's entirely dependent on her,

guzzling 50 gallons of

her rich milk every day.

There's no food for mom here.

She hasn't eaten

for five months.

[bliwng]

But she must continue to

nurse her calf until it's

strong enough to

survive the journey to

their feeding grounds.

[Asha de Vos] The calf

clearly got curious,

came to see what this other

little object in the water was.

All kids are curious,

all kids are like

what is that new thing?

But then you know a mother's

instinct is to make sure that,

that she's protecting

their calf so mamma was

like you know what,

not right now,

and she just, you know

she did a u-turn

underwater and I guess the calf

knew immediately it

was time to leave.

[David] Yeah it's a

good protective mother,

for the survival of their

calves they need to be,

very protective.

Life for these young

whales just to survive,

to make it through

that first year,

to get to be an adult

humpback is not easy.

[James Cameron] In the

nursery grounds mothers and

calves are relatively safe.

[blowing]

But when they enter

deeper waters,

what dangers does a

young humpback face?

To find out, the team now plans

to tag a mother and a calf,

as they start their

migration north.

[helicopter whirring]

It's down to Eric to find a

mother and calf on the move and

guide in Aldo and

the tagging team.

[Eric Stackpole]

OK here we go again.

[Pilot] What’s that

straight ahead,

definitely a blow

and some action.

[Eric Stackpole]

Oh yeah I see that.

[James Cameron] This pair

have left the nursery grounds.

[blowing]

For the hungry mother,

timing their departure is

a life-or-death decision.

[Eric Stackpole]

OceanXplorer, OceanXplorer

this is Mike Delta.

[Aldo Kane] Mike Delta send.

[Eric Stackpole] Hey guys we

are seeing what appears to be a

mother and calf,

you may want to

take a look at them.

[Aldo Kane] Roger that,

thank you, out.

So we're going out to put

these tags on, they have

cameras, temperature, depth,

acceleration sensors,

so with these,

we're definitely going to

get some good scientific data.

[Eric Stackpole] There's

something else in the water,

just forward of that.

[James Cameron] Orca.

[Eric Stackpole] Oh wow.

[James Cameron] Also

known as k*ller Whales.

These are the ocean's

apex predators.

It's a family of

adults and juveniles.

[blowing]

They need to eat

and they're heading straight

for the mother and calf.

[blowing]

[splashing, blowing]

[Eric Stackpole] Oh my gosh.

[Gavin] Steamed in there.

[blowing]

[Eric Stackpole]

They’re like wolves.

They’re surrounding the thing.

Look at that she's

keeping the calf on her

back to keep it from being

attacked from underneath.

Its belly is the

most vulnerable spot.

[splashing]

The baby just went off the

side it's trying to get back.

Nobody's ever filmed this here.

[splashing]

[blowing]

This is so tough to watch.

[blowing]

I mean these

Orcas are relentless.

But we've got a chance to

understand how mom defends

her calf and these orcas are

some of the most intelligent

creatures on the planet.

This is giving us a

chance to see how they

organize their attack.

[blowing]

What a horrible

situation to be in.

I mean it's,

I can just picture the

emotions this mom has.

[splashing]

Look at that,

magnificent and terrifying.

[splashing]

[James Cameron] Mithriel

changes the plan on the fly.

[Mithriel Mackay] Can you

see flippers on the surface?

[Aldo Kane] Dead ahead,

400 meters.

[James Cameron] She now

wants to tag an Orca.

It could give the team the

first-ever scientific insight

of a hunt in these waters.

[James Cameron] Kerri is in

charge of tag deployment.

[Kerri Seger] I see flippers,

it’s resting underwater,

100 meters blow.

[James Cameron]

For everyone's safety,

including the animals,

timing is critical.

[blowing]

[Aldo Kane] Everyone set.

[Kerri Seger] Alright, you

guys I'm ready to tag whenever

you're comfortable.

[James Cameron] The tag's

four suction cups will attach

to the orca without hurting it.

They'll released after 12 hours.

[Aldo Kane] Yeah,

OK we're ready to tag,

[James Cameron] If

they can get the tag on.

[blowing]

[Aldo Kane] k*ller

whale coming this way.

[Kerri Seger] Just let it go

under, just let it go under.

[Aldo Kane] Woah,

look at the size of it.

[Kerri Seger] k*ller whale

underneath us.

[Aldo Kane] Yeah k*ller

whale underneath.

[blowing]

[Kerri Seger] I got

one right in front.

k*ller whale’s coming up,

it’s k*ller whale's

under my tag.

[Aldo Kane] Tag on!

[whislting, clicking]

[James Cameron] They've

tagged the lead female.

And she's with some

pregnant females,

who need to eat for two.

And juveniles who

need to learn to hunt.

[splashing]

This is a battle

between two families.

[splashing]

[Eric Stackpole] Oh wow.

[James Cameron] These strikes

aren’t risk-free for the orca.

To protect their

vulnerable lower jaw,

they hit with the

top of their heads.

[crashing]

[splashing]

[Aldo Kane] To see it

this close is brutal.

[Mithriel Mackay]

Everybody's got to eat,

and that's something a

lot of people forget,

it's important to remember that

there's a balance here they're,

they're doing want they do best.

[James Cameron] The orca

appear to be co-ordinating

their attack.

[whistling, clicking]

[splashing]

Their strategy, to separate

the calf from its mother.

Hold it down and drown it.

[Eric Stackpole] Looks

like this is a long fight.

Mom's a formidable opponent,

I mean she's got pectoral fins

that are 15-foot-long,

and those are

covered in sharp barnacles.

She's not giving up.

[James Cameron] Orca's

hunting calls can travel up to

nine miles through water

they've been heard.

Another group arrives.

[blowing]

[Eric Stackpole] I’ve heard

about this happening that

sometimes two orca groups

can come together for a k*ll.

- That is

- Oh that's

[Eric Stackpole] Oh my gosh.

[Kerri Seger] Oh my god.

[Mithriel Mackay] Those

are reinforcements.

[Aldo Kane] They are everywhere.

[Eric Stackpole] Alright

we've now got two humpbacks

against 18 Orca.

[blowing]

Oh, poor mom has got

to be exhausted and

this is all happening,

I mean how long can she go.

[Aldo Kane] They're just

really, they're just

wearing the calf and the

mother down, aren't they?

[splashing]

It's just like a battle

of attrition, isn't it?

[splashing]

[Eric Stackpole] It seems to

be reaching a breaking point.

[whistling, clicking]

[James Cameron] The

orca finally succeed in

isolating the calf.

And they drown it.

This calf will feed

the orca family.

[whistling, clciking]

Studies suggest that other

whale species grieve at the

death of a calf,

maybe humpbacks do too.

[helicopter whirring]

[Eric Stackpole] What we saw

today has never been seen,

not with the kind of view

that we just had, but I'm,

I'm still taking

it in honestly,

like I feel

emotionally exhausted.

[James Cameron] All the footage

from the hunt has been studied

in fine detail and

the team is gathering

in the ship's hololab,

where Mithriel

can share their findings.

[Mithriel Mackay] When I

started to look at the still

photos I took from the boat,

and the video footage

from the helicopter

it looked from the surface,

that the orca had

a simple strategy,

and that's to pursue

the mother and the calf

until the point of exhaustion,

but once I looked beneath

the waves with the tag video,

it became clear just how

complex and how coordinated

their strategies actually are.

[Eric Stackpole] Mithriel

you've been able to sort of

decipher what was

really going on here.

[Mithriel Mackay] What

I realize is that we have

something really organized.

The alpha male was part

of the group on the outside,

their main job was to keep

mom moving and tire her out.

[Eric Stackpole] So the alpha

male moves into position.

[Mithriel Mackay] So he did what

we're calling a fluke clap,

it's it's actually

cupping that tail,

slapping it against the water,

that appears to

initiate some kind of

signal communication

within the group.

[James Cameron] Mithriel

believes the fluke clap is a

signal to two of the

Orca to swim in front of

the mother humpback,

forcing her to slow down.

[blowing]

The next play comes

from the lead female.

[Mithriel Mackay]

She does a hit,

she comes up over mom’s back,

hits the calf,

knocks the calf off mom’s back.

Mom comes down,

she takes a swift dive down and

puts her flippers way out,

and picks up that calf

back in the water again,

recovers the calf.

[James Cameron] Mithriel’s

analysis is that by working

together the orca can

maintain a relentless attack,

constantly forcing the

mother to recover her calf.

[Mithriel Mackay]

The way she did this

over and over

and over again,

really made me think

this has to be a mother

humpback whale

that's had experience.

We got a picture

underneath her tail,

we submitted that

to the catalog.

This mom was sighted

1992 and 1993,

she's at least 30 years old.

This was not the first time

she's had to deal with this and

she did a great job

of recovering that calf

over and over.

[blowing]

[James Cameron] At this

age the mother may have had

9 or 10 calves.

Some will have become

mothers themselves,

returning here to

raise their own calves.

Here in the Dominican Republic,

with the tools of

the OceanXplorer,

the team have made

breakthroughs

[Zoleka Filander]

That's very exciting.

[James Cameron] in

understanding the secret lives

of these humpbacks.

[splashing]

[Eric Stackpole] Oh my gosh,

I cannot believe that we are

watching this fight club

like right below us.

[James Cameron] They

may even have figured out

why the whales come here.

[Kerri Seger] Boom boom.

[Zoleka Filander] There is

absolutely nothing more

rewarding, than doing new

science and finding answers.

[James Cameron] They've

captured new details in the

mating rituals of these giants.

[Aldo Kane] I was free diving

with those six big whales,

and you're in their world,

they're doing

courtship maneuvers,

from my point of view it's,

it's been amazing.

Tag on!

[James Cameron] But their

greatest revelation comes from

their surprise encounter,

shining new light on

the battle tactics between

humpbacks and orca.

[Eric Stackpole] For me,

every single day has been

a revelation, it’s

overwhelming to be frank.

[James Cameron] The team’s

discoveries will be shared with

scientists around the world.

[Asha de Vos] This is

just a gold mine.

[James Cameron]

Increasing our understanding

of humpback whales.

The better we know these

incredible creatures

the more we can ensure

they continue to thrive.