Ocean Oasis (2001)

[bunniefuu]

I cannot stay away.

Coming home to Baja California
for me-

-is like walking across a thousand
miles of sand-

-and finding a pool of water.

It's an oasis for my heart.

A few very special places
in the world-

-are havens for life.

Resources and shelter draw
living creatures from far and near.

These places are rare.
We call them oases.

Of them all, this is one
of the most extraordinary.

This is my home.

It is a hot, dry peninsula,
miles long-

-and surrounded by ocean.

It is called Baja California.

I'm Exequiel Ezcurra.

I work here as an ecologist.

Today, some fellow naturalists and I
will take you to places we love-

-to discover the answer
to a single question:

Why does this land and this sea
create an oasis?

One simple answer to that question
is that there's plenty to eat.

Mercedes Guerrero studies whales
that are drawn here to feed.

The whales eat floating
sea life called plankton.

They find it here
in huge concentrations.

Dolphins too are drawn
here in tens of thousands-

-to feed their high energy lives.

Dolphins trap the schools of fish
near the surface.

Birds can see the commotion
from miles away and join in.

Whales follow by listening
for the action underwater.

I have learned to recognise these
humpback whales as individuals-

-by their special markings.

We study them to see how they live
and even how they die.

The sharks did not k*ll
this humpback-

-but we don't know what did.

I am saddened by the death
of this whale.

But in this circle of hunger
and life-

-even the greatest lives end.

And I know that
this whale's body-

-will give new life
to others.

The ocean oasis
is a magnet to life.

Enriqueta Velarde studies
the birds-

-that return each year
to Rasa Island.

It's amazing.

Almost all the Herman's gulls
and elegant terns in the world-

-come here to Rasa to breed.

The gulls arrive first,
to establish their nest sites-

-travelling from as far away
as Canada.

The terns migrate from coastal
Chile and Peru.

As many as
half a million birds-

-pack into this tiny island
at once.

It may seem curious
that the terns nest-

-in the middle of the gulls' colony.
But by living among the gulls-

-the terns gain protection
from predators.

The gulls tax the terns-

-by stealing some of the food
they bring in from the ocean.

Just imagine-

-the birds of Rasa catch
tonnes of fish each day-

-one sardine at a time.

That points to one conclusion.

This ocean must be
incredibly productive.

Iliana Ortega works here
as a naturalist.

This is my community.

Much of my work is to show people
the diversity of the wildlife-

-and to explain its biology.

For instance, it's important
to get to know sharks...

...like these hammerheads.

They don't threaten us,
they usually eat squid.

But with grey sharks,
there is tension.

They'll eat almost anything.

You know, humans are much
more dangerous to sharks-

-than they are to us.

When you spend time with sharks
you begin to understand them.

And learn to respect them.

But you have to command
their respect too.

See? They're always
testing you.

I admire sharks.

They're a vital link
in the chain of life.

Like wolves, they weed out
the sick and the injured-

-leaving behind only the healthiest
of their prey to reproduce.

At night, the sharks' sophisticated
senses of vibration-

-and electro-conductivity
serve them best.

They move faster,
become more excited-

-and leave, in search of prey.

I will not follow.

Throughout the night,
other predators stalk the oasis.

The moray eel is almost blind-

-but it can smell
like a bloodhound.

The scorpion fish
is camouflaged by day-

-but not from something
that can smell it.

Daylight returns.

The frog fish begins its day.

Cornet fish stir
from their slumber...

...and life rises
to the morning.

Some animals come to the oasis
for reasons other than hunger.

They come to breed.

These elephant seals migrate here
twice each year-

-from the northern pacific.

A round trip of miles
each time.

The mothers transform
their thick blubber into milk.

And the milk is incredibly rich.

Just imagine, the babies
put on eight pounds a day!

A male as big as a truck
sees a smaller trespasser.

In this fight over the territory
where the females gather...

...bulk is power.

Elephant seals may look
ugly and awkward to us-

-but they are
powerful predators.

Soon they will return
to the sea-

-where they spend
% of their time-

-diving to depths
of up to feet.

Ospreys are usually solitary,
except here.

The abundant mullet
in the ocean oasis-

-attracts so many of these fish hawks
that they crowd the cliffs-

-sometimes building their nests
less than a hundred metres apart.

Whenever I see them using
those claw like beaks so gently-

-I can't help wondering
whether instinct and emotions-

-are really so different after all.

Is this what we call
sibling rivalry?

The chicks are always hungry-

-so the adult osprey
are always fishing.

Underwater, other life
is also busy breeding.

These Creole fish
are broadcast spawners.

Milt and eggs burst
into the water-

-and mix right there.

Schools of mackerel
dash in to feast-

-but many eggs survive.

Other fish produce fewer eggs,
but tend them carefully.

A female sergeant major
lays her eggs on the rocks-

-and the male spends weeks
guarding his nest-

-until the eggs hatch-

-chasing off everything else
that wants a snack.

Because life in the oasis
is so crowded-

-the reef here reminds me
of a city.

A moray can smell
something tasty.

But the baby leather bass
has a refuge-

-she's specially adapted to shelter
among the venomous urchins.

But other fish may threaten
her sanctuary.

A hogfish attacks
one of the urchins.

Its neighbours mill around,
waiting for scraps-

-and careless mistakes.

In this city, you better watch out
when crossing the street.

Barnacles,
attached by their heads-

-comb the water
with their feet.

Life climbs on life here-

-and they're eating things
I can barely see.

On the rocks of the reef
we're closing in on the secret-

-that makes this
fragile oasis possible.

This looks like a garden
but these are not plants.

They're colonies of thousands
of tiny creatures-

-that build one upon another.

All reaching out into
the moving water for food.

Corals, gorgonia, sponges.

They are gathering bits
of the same feast.

The richness that makes these
waters so nourishing for all life.

A huge abundance of plankton.

Comb jellies and jelly fish
drift with the plankton soup.

They are carnivores.

This relative of the lion's mane
is armed with deadly tentacles.

Yet these tiny jacks swim
unharmed among them.

This colonial jellyfish is like
a floating rope-

-made up of thousands of polyps
strung together-

-each fishing with its own
stinging tentacle.

King angel fish savour them,
perhaps they like spicy food.

A larvacean spins a web of mucus
to catch the tiniest plankton.

Look at this one.
I call it the little sea elephant.

It's actually a member
of the snail family.

We know plankton is
the foundation for all this life-

-but why is the plankton more
abundant here than anywhere else?

The answer is deep on the reef
in a blizzard of life.

These are mysids.

Tiny, cold water
shrimp-like creatures.

Their abundance tells us that these
waters are very rich in nutrients.

The mysids also tell us that
these waters are unexpectedly cool.

That coldness is a vital reason
why the forces of land and sea-

-combine to create
the ocean oasis.

Deep inside, our planet's mantel
churns with heat.

On the surface, the coolest
pieces of the earth's crust-

-sink into the mantel and drag
the plates behind them-

-as if they were
rafts of stone.

Five million years ago
these forces-

-began to pull Baja California
from the side of Mexico.

Now, look at the ocean.

Winds and the earth's rotation-

-push surface water away
from the land-

-and cooler, green waters
rise from the depths.

The cool water,
rich in nutrients-

-nourishes the plankton that forms
the base of the pyramid of life-

-creating an oasis
that is unique on earth.

But, that's only half the story.
The other half is on land.

It is hard to believe, but the same
forces that formed the oasis-

-also cause the dryness
of the desert.

Moisture here comes from
evaporation off the sea-

-so even plants
depend on the ocean.

But when the water is cool,
not much evaporates to make rain.

So the same cold water that
brings the oasis its riches-

-also robs the land of moisture.

Life on the land is driven
not just by hunger but by thirst.

Bizarre-looking boojum trees
and other plants and animals-

-have developed wonderful ways
to use every drop of water.

In its thick body-

-a cactus stores the last rain
like a memory.

It survives by averaging long,
dry times with occasional wet ones.

A cardon lives so slowly-

-it may only reproduce itself
once in years.

But there are other ways
of dealing with thirst.

Hummingbirds live
in the fast lane-

-with turbo-charged metabolisms-

-ten thousand times faster
than the cactus.

With its mobility, a hummingbird
hunts pockets of moisture-

-and follows the flowers north
with the seasons.

Its life is a dance with Spring.

As the desert day
cools into night-

-a kangaroo rat
emerges from its burrow.

The dangerous heat
of the day is gone-

-but there's a different kind
of enemy out tonight.

The kangaroo rat never drinks.

Neither does the rattlesnake.

The rat's metabolism manufactures
water from its food.

The snake gets moisture
from its prey.

The snake searches with a second
pair of eyes that sense heat-

-instead of light.

Tonight,
the kangaroo rat escapes.

These creatures are
finely adapted to the desert-

-a desert caused
by the ocean.

Cold water and dry land.

As I cross this peninsula,
every mile shows me another way-

-that land and sea
shape the oasis.

As we gain altitude,
more moisture condenses-

-and the vegetation thickens.

There are even pine forests
up here near an observatory.

Two miles high,
lichens cling to granite-

-seared by icy winds
and winter snows.

I love this place.

As I travel here
by helicopter or "burro"-

-I often wonder, can humans live
in harmony with the ocean oasis?

High in the mountains,
canyons shelter native palms-

-which drink by streams
and keep the pools-

-of last year's rain
in the shadow.

People have been coming here
for thousands of years.

With cave paintings-

-they told of their dependence
on other life of the oasis.

But we have not always been
respectful of that life.

For years, people came to Mexico
to hunt grey whales.

They have reason to fear us.

That is why Pachico Mayoral's
experience is so extraordinary.

It was almost years ago.

One day I went fishing.

Suddenly, a whale came and rested
its head on the side of my boat.

I was terrified-

-but the whale wanted to make contact,
like a friend.

People call the whale
the devil fish-

-because it smashes whaling boats
to protect its young.

I'm always amazed about
how completely they changed.

Today, Pachico takes tourists
into the lagoons-

-where the whales sometimes come
to the boats to greet people.

The whales are giving us
a great lesson.

I believe that in this world,
we are all equal.

This is my feeling
toward whales.

I believe they teach us
what life is.

As we grow to respect the life
of the ocean oasis-

-it seems to welcome us home.

Mantas eat plankton-

-but they come here
for other reasons too.

They are drawn to this part
of the oasis-

-because of these little angel fish
that swim out to meet them.

The angel fish go right up
to the manta and gently clean it-

-eating algae and parasites
off its flanks.

They also pester the remora
which clings to the manta-

-so they can clean the sore
the suckerfish has made.

Mantas are huge, powerful animals-

-they can swim miles an hour
and can easily avoid us divers.

But they choose to swim with us.

Like grey whales, the mantas
seem to welcome my touch.

As I watch these creatures,
one depending on the other-

-I realise how everything
is connected-

-and how the land and the seas
of the ocean oasis-

-are linked in a web of life
that binds us all.

Around these great creatures
I feel I'm graced and protected.

I wish I could protect them too.

The seas and the deserts will endure without us
But we cannot survive without them.