30x07 - Raccoon Nation

[bunniefuu]

This is a bottlenose dolphin.

Its brain is one of the largest
in the animal kingdom.

Even larger than our own.

It's thought to be one of the most
intelligent creatures on the planet.

Dolphins, along with their
larger cousins the great whales...

..live in a world entirely alien
to our own.

It's hard to imagine

what's going on
in their minds.

Trying to reveal their secrets,
scientists

who have dedicated their lives
to understanding them.

I think we could talk
with the dolphins within five years.

And taking us closer
than ever before,

two of the world's
top underwater cameramen.

Fantastic!
Today is the best day of my life.

It's a peach! That's one of the most
awesome things you can see anywhere.

Like us, whales and dolphins
are big-brained

and live complex social lives.

But just how intelligent are they?

Off the coast of the Bahamas
lies a tropical paradise.

These calm, clear waters

are the perfect setting
for one of the world's

most in-depth research projects
on wild dolphin communication.

The degree to which an animal
can communicate

is an excellent measure
of its intelligence,

so how do these
Atlantic spotted dolphins perform?

Behavioural biologist Denise Herzing
is a world expert on dolphins...

and dolphin-speak.

Well, they make echolocation clicks,
so they...

Which are?

SHE IMITATES ECHOLOCATION CLICKS

Hey, she's good, huh?

CONTINUES IMITATION

Denise has spent the last 26 years

studying the local dolphins,
and knows each one personally.

Hey, it's Stubby! Stubby!
We haven't seen Stubby all year.

Her goal is to understand
how they communicate

with sound, touch and body postures.

She does this by recording
their behaviour

using a specially designed
hydrophone and underwater cameras.

Later, she analyses the footage
and sound recordings

in an attempt to understand
just what they're saying.

Thanks to Denise's enduring
relationship with these dolphins,

cameramen Doug Allan
and Didier Noirot

have a unique opportunity to capture

the huge range of
dolphin communication.

Things that are good to do
are to make eye contact

if they're interacting with you.

Don't turn upside down -
that's a signal of

a mating or aggression.
Ah, yes.

OK, here's the big tip.
whoever behaves themselves best

and shows the best etiquette
with the dolphins

is probably going to get
the best footage,

so that's your challenge.

Yeah, we're ready.

As they get in the water, the team
are confronted by a family group...

..including a mum
and her young calf.

In the dolphin world,
a mother will look after her calf

for up to five years,

giving her plenty of time
to teach everything she knows.

When mum and calf separate,

they keep in contact by making
their own unique signature whistle.

DOLPHINS WHISTLE

Dolphins also learn
the signature whistles

of the others in their group,
so they can call each other by name.

DOLPHINS WHISTLE

Besides humans, dolphins do seem to
be the only group of animals

that have individual names
for each other.

These dolphins know Denise
and accept her as one of the family.

But this youngster
has discovered someone new.

Like any inquisitive toddler, he
can't help but investigate Didier.

Mum immediately calls him back.

It seems talking to strangers
might have got him into trouble.

Mum is pinning her calf
to the ground

and buzzing him
with clicks of sonar.

In dolphin-speak, this is the
equivalent of a good ticking off.

Like all youngsters, this one
needs to be taught his boundaries.

Soon, all is forgiven and Mum
reassures him with gentle body rubs.

That little one was obviously
so attached to his mum.

You know, he was right under...
Was it a he or a she? It was a he.

A he. Just obviously
making lots of contact.

Of course, what is great

is that it's them
choosing to spend time with us.

In dolphin society,

communication can help cement
the bonds within families,

but it also has a darker side.

These are younger males. They're not
so old, so they're probably learning.

Chuff, they're like...

SHE EXHALES SHARPLY

..and it's usually when they're
hyped up and getting ready
to chase and fight.

This time, as they enter the water,

there's a cacophony of
clicks and whistles.

Trouble is brewing.

Male dolphins form small gangs,

synchronising their movements
and vocalisations.

DOLPHINS CLICK

When they're together, they seem to
create their very own g*ng whistle.

This g*ng of male teenagers
are chasing Amanda,

a female Denise knows well.

They're trying to impress Amanda
with their synchronised moves.

She doesn't seem too happy
with all the attention,

fending them off
with high-pitched squeaks

and slapping her tail.

They keep buzzing her with
ultrasound to check she's in season.

But now, they've got competition.

CLICKING AND WHISTLING

It's a g*ng of older males.

The battle over Amanda has begun.

Down on the sea bed, the two gangs

go head to head.

Completely ignored by the dolphins,

Didier gets a rare chance to record
this intense showdown close up.

Each side is posturing
and jaw-clapping in synchrony

to make them appear
bigger and stronger.

It's intimidation
based not on violence,

but on a high level
of communication.

Then, suddenly, the fighting stops.

The old boys have seen off
the young g*ns.

Their argument
was clearly more persuasive.

DOUG: Wow, wow!

Did you see that? There's
lots of action going on there!

They came all together mid-water

and they click-click-click-click
click-click.

Sometimes, you could see them,

a big curved posture
with the beak open.

That's really extreme aggression,
and, you know, they don't have

facial muscles and expressions,
right,

so that's how they
express themselves.

Their beak going like this.
It was great.

It's a great example of
coalition behaviour.

Denise has yet to decipher

all the subtleties of these
amazing interactions.

Her dream is one day
to crack their code

so that she can understand
exactly what they are saying.

But how close is she
to really talking to dolphins?

I think the technology exists

and I think our knowledge of
the dolphins out here exists

to do that within five years,
to start that process

of having a meaningful exchange
with the dolphins.

But communication
is only part of being smart.

Intelligent animals
are also inquisitive animals,

and there are few animals
as inquisitive as dolphins.

West of the Bahamas,
off the Caribbean island of Roatan,

the local dolphins
are in for a surprise.

Professor Stan Kuczaj
is joined by cameraman Doug,

and he's about to perform
a very strange experiment

with one of the most curious species
of dolphin - the bottlenose dolphin.

OK. This is what we're going to
put in the water...

This little dolphin
is already intrigued,

and the experiment
hasn't even begun!

Stan's machine blows bubble rings,

something these dolphins

won't ever have seen before.

What will the dolphins make of
these bubble rings?

Initially, like most animals,
they're a bit wary...

but then,
curiosity gets the better of them.

One individual
seems particularly spellbound.

She's checking out the bubbles
not just with her eyes,

but also with clicks of sonar.

And then,
she braves the bubble ring.

This courageous explorer
has paved the way for the others.

Just like human toddlers,

it doesn't take long for
these imaginative creatures

to make a game out of their new toy.

Even after hours
with the bubble rings,

the dolphins
are still experimenting.

And each has got their own version
of the game.

One dolphin prefers a tail flick.

Another a fin flick.

And the real show-off
goes for the swim through.

While some animals will show
initial interest in novel objects,

very few will maintain
this level of curiosity

and playfulness for so long.

Wow! That was amazing.

I was going to say,
what did you make of that?

That was amazing.
There's a lot going on.

Lots of inventive play.

Lots of inventive play,

lots of curiosity,
lots of flexibility -

the dolphins aren't just doing
the same thing over and over again,

they're trying different things.

I think what we're seeing is
that combination of curiosity

and the ability to change
your behaviour, which I think is

one of the hallmarks
of dolphin intelligence.

This inquisitive nature
and willingness to try new things

enables dolphins to adapt
to different situations.

This has huge advantages
for their survival in the wild.

Perhaps the best place to see this
is the western coast of Australia.

With sun, sand and rolling waves,

it might seem like
an idyllic dolphin paradise.

But the sea bed here is one of the
toughest environments on the planet.

Finding enough food to survive
is a huge challenge...

..but the bottlenose dolphins
that live here

have come up with
a whole variety of strategies.

In Shark Bay,
the few fish to be found

have taken refuge in the shallows.

The dolphins can't swim
in water this shallow,

but they've come up with another way
of getting to the fish.

Their daring solution
is hydroplaning.

Pumping their tails,

they work up enough speed
to skim across the surface.

It's a very risky strategy.

If they get it wrong,
they could beach themselves.

But it's a gamble
they're prepared to take.

The fish have nowhere left to go.

Only a handful of these brave
and brainy dolphins

have mastered
this remarkable technique.



the local dolphins face
a very different challenge.

Here, the sea bed
is coated with seagrass.

While there's plenty of food
for dolphins, the long fronds

interfere with
their sense of echolocation,

making it difficult for them
to detect any hidden prey.

Again, the dolphins have come up
with their own clever plan.

Dolphin expert Sarah Robinson
has spent many years

following these dolphins,
and discovered the secret

of their success. Stingrays.

It doesn't take long for her to spot
two of the dolphins she's after,

the charmingly named Zit and Pimple.

They're just here.
Just under the water here.

And they look like they're diving.

I've put off the cold water
long enough, so I'm going to have to

get in and check out
if they are following a stingray.

Fingers crossed they are,
and I'm not going in for nothing.

Yeah, I'm in neutral,
go for it, go, go, go...

They're on a stingray! Yeah?

Sarah free-dives
to the grassy sea bed

and catches a rare glimpse
of this strange association.

CLICKING AND WHISTLING

Armed with a lethal barb
on the end of their tails,

these stingrays pose a threat
to both humans and dolphins.

Zit and Pimple
are taking quite a risk,

but they don't seem to be put off
as they shadow the ray's every move.

The ray seems to have
found something.

Undulating its wing-like fins, it's
trying to flush out hidden prey.

An octopus - a real delicacy
for both stingray and dolphin.

Stingrays have an ability
that dolphins lack -

they can locate prey
hidden beneath the seagrass

using the electro-receptors
on the underside of their bodies.

And the dolphins
have worked this out.

She got it! She got an octopus!

The dolphins
have solved the problem

of how to find their favourite food
in the long seagrass.

They're harnessing an ability of
another species for their own ends.

The stingrays
have done all the hard work,

only to be outsmarted
by the dolphins.

Further up the coast,
at Monkey Mia beach,

a group of bottlenose dolphins

appears to have joined forces
with another species.

They arrive here at exactly
the same time every morning.

So what is the reason
for this daily routine?


a particularly curious dolphin,

that the locals christened
Charlene, overcame

her fear of humans and started
herding herring under the quay,

making it easy for fishermen
to catch them.

She was well rewarded for her help,
and the relationship blossomed.

Soon, she was returning
every morning at exactly 7:15.

Today, Charlene's granddaughters
and great-granddaughters

carry on the tradition

and continue to return
at the same time every day.

Now, instead of fishermen,
it's rangers and tourists

that help keep
the partnership going.

These dolphins will go on to teach
this behaviour to their offspring,

continuing to pass it on
through successive generations.

This group of dolphins' ability
to learn, adapt and teach

has guaranteed them and their
offspring a much easier life.

But it's not just Australian
bottlenose dolphins

that are super-smart.

On the other side of the world,
off the southern coast of Florida,

a group has gone one step further.

In the shallows of Florida Bay, the
fish can be very difficult to catch.

With the tide receding,

this female moves into position
downstream of the fish.

And then,
she does something remarkable.

Beating her tail,
she stirs up the silt.

She has created
a V-shaped wall of mud.

A fish trap.

Caught in the jaws of the trap,
the fish have nowhere to go,

except up.

This ingenious hunting strategy

has been passed down
successive generations

and this female is teaching it
to her own youngster.

Just how these dolphins
first came up

with this extraordinary
strategy is a mystery.

But their use of mud to catch fish

clearly demonstrates their
unique powers of creativity.

Perhaps it's this
creative intelligence

that draws us to
these magical creatures.

Certainly, dolphins' curiosity
and playfulness captivate us.

But what of their larger cousins -
the great whales?

They have the largest brains of all,

so what about their intelligence?

Are they super smart too?

These humpback whales
are on a marathon journey,

they've been swimming
for the last three months.

And their destination
is the west coast of Alaska.

The summer sun has fuelled
an expl*si*n of life

in these deep fiords.

Plankton blooms have given rise to
huge shoals of herring.

And this fish bonanza
is why the humpback whales

have travelled over 3,000 miles.

But feasting on these fish
isn't straightforward.

The herring choose to gather
in the depths of the fiords,

where it's easier
to escape from predators.

For the whales to catch them,

they'll need
an ingenious hunting strategy.

Scientist Fred Sharpe
knows of a particularly smart

group of humpback whales that have

a clever solution
to catching herring,

and he's invited Doug along to help
him record key players in the group.

So how does Fred rate
their chances of finding them?



This is their home, we've just
got to find where the party is.

It's like a nightclub, you know,
find out where the hotspot is.

Two weeks ago, it was right here.
Right now, it's hard to say.

But we'll find them, we'll find them.

Fred has names for over
a thousand whales that come here,

but only 50 are part of
what he calls the A-team -

a super-smart group of whales
that work together in an
extraordinary way.

The unique shapes and marks of
each whale's tail fluke
allow Fred to tell who's who.

There's one...over there.

There he goes, show us who you are,
baby. Let's see it.

Got it. Hey, it's...it's Samurai.

Doesn't it look like a mandarin
with a sword marching along?

It does slightly.

Unfortunately, he's not one of
our core community of whales

that we're looking for. He's just
a lone Samurai doing his thing,

and a good sign, it shows
there's feed in the area.

Fred has known Samurai
for the last eight years.

He's one of the older humpbacks,
but not one of the smartest.

Fred and Doug
come across more whales.

Some single,
some travelling in pairs,

but still no sign of the A-team.

Day after day, the search continues.

Just put it on the ground.

At last, they come across a group
that's fast asleep.

It's just like a log floating
on the surface.

Without any tail flukes visible,

it's very hard to
identify individuals.

Yeah, it seems like these animals
can teach us a lot - cooperation,

majesty - but the one thing they
really teach you is patience.

You can say that again!

He's up to something now.

Who is this? He's going to fluke now.

So who's that? It's Vulture.

That's one of the leaders, Vulture.

That's Vulture. Sweet!

Sweet, indeed.

They've found Vulture, one of
the ring-leaders of the A-team.

It's a peach!

That's one of the most awesome
things you can see anywhere,

isn't it, a full breach?
Phenomenal.

You know, it's funny, everyone's
had a nice long nap and seems
like they're starting to wake up.

It's like sometimes, certain whales -
let's get it going on, people,

let's get it going on, let's get your
pec flippers in the air! See!

They've found the A-team
and they're certainly waking up.

No-one really knows why
humpbacks make these fin slaps

and spectacular breaches.

Perhaps the herring
have been spotted

and this is the team's
call to action.

Fred and Doug track the whales
as they move to the shoreline.

According to Fred,
this is a favourite hunting spot.

Once again, they seem to be having...

difficulty finding the prey.

This is awesome to see these whales
here, these are the core community,

these are the leaders, these are
the main bubblers and vocalisers,

this is a very good sign.

They're like apparitions, you know?

That is all magic.

Now they're listening out
for the distinctive herding call

and looking for a
tell-tale circle of bubbles.

We've been listening to
these beautiful mournful calls for


Oh, oh, I hear it.

Right here, right here,
to the left, quick!

HERDING CALLS

That's just... Yeah...
That's really peachy.

The biology is cool, but the beauty
just bowls you over. It's lovely.

At last,
the A-team are starting to feed.

We're just so close and obviously
laid back. It's taken us a while

to find the crew. There were times
I was a disbeliever, Fred,

but you've come up with it.
That's really lovely, beautiful.

Lunge bubble-net near shore.

OK, right.

Very near shore.

OK, I'm on it, I'm on it,
I'm on it... Oh, nice bubbles. Nice.

You do get perfect warning,
when it's flat like this,

they throw that lovely,
perfect bubble, perfect ring.

They're making it.
Whoever the tool-users are here,

they're throwing a big,
glorious net too, right?

The A-team's strategy for
herding herring from the depths

relies on a
highly-coordinated attack

in which each whale
has a crucial role to play.

Using sightings like these,
as well as recordings from
hydrophones and sonar equipment,

Fred and his team have built up
a detailed picture

of what's
going on beneath the surface.

Following the ringleader,

the whales dive down together
and each one moves into position.

There are the herders - they circle
the fish with flashing fins,

keeping the shoal contained
and preventing its escape.

Then there is the caller -

the one who dives below the shoal
and emits a deafening cry.

HIGH-PITCHED CRY

As loud as a rocket launch,


blasts through the water.

In an attempt to escape
from the noise,

the panic-stricken fish
are driven upwards.

This is where the ringleader
comes in.

Taking up position above
the herring, it begins

blowing out a stream of air
to create a fizzing net of bubbles.

The shoal is prevented from
dispersing by the herders,

and driven up by the caller
right into the bubble-net.

Then all the whales

gather underneath the fish
trapped in the net.

With mouths wide open, the A-team
burst through the surface,
engulfing their prey.

By hunting together like this,
each whale can catch

up to half a ton of herring a day.

Surprisingly, Fred has discovered
that none of the A-team is related.

Like us, humpback whales

can form friendships
that last for many years.

This spectacular display of teamwork

is perhaps the ultimate
demonstration of coordination

and cooperation
in the whale and dolphin world.

But are whales and dolphins capable
of even higher thought processes

that only a tiny elite of
life on earth can lay claim to?

Are they capable of self awareness,

what one might call
existential thought?

At Baltimore Aquarium, some very
special bottlenose dolphins

are participating in one of
the world's leading studies

into what dolphins might
think about themselves.

Professor Diana Reiss has spent
over 25 years studying dolphins'

cognitive abilities, that is,
how they make sense of the world.

And she's witnessed
some astonishing behaviour.

Recently, we did studies
where we actually gave dolphins...

See, they're actually interested
in looking at...

And her precision instrument to
unlock the dolphins' inner secrets?

A mirror.

So we have, OK, a mirror like this.

So what we do is
we give them the mirror.

These dolphins have never seen
a mirror in their lives,

how will they react?

And here it comes.

There's some other dolphins
coming up as well right now.

True to form,
they're instantly intrigued.

So what they first do is explore the
mirror, they try to look behind it,

they try to figure out
what this new thing is.

They also look and show behaviour

like they're looking at
another dolphin.

This behaviour is shared with
monkeys and even birds,

but the dolphins do something that
sets them apart.

It looks like they're testing
the effects of their own behaviour
in front of the mirror,

understanding that
there's a relationship between
what they're doing

and what they see in the mirror. They
understand that that's themselves.

This next step requires
a giant mental leap

of which
very few animals are capable.

It's great,
I can watch this all day!

You'll have to be my
research assistant. It's just great!

This is why I do it,
it's fascinating.

There's something even more
fascinating that happens

when the dolphins are left
with a mirror for longer.

It's subtle,
but the implications are profound,

and to see it, we need to go into
the ominously named Pit.

It's very cosy down here.

Here, Diana puts up
a two-way mirror.

While the dolphins just see
a reflection of themselves,

Doug can remain hidden from view
recording their reactions.

These dolphins have been staring
into the looking glass for over

a year and just can't get
enough of their own reflections.

This is Foster. Foster, yes.
He's three. He's really curious.

Not only have they worked out
that the reflection is theirs,

but they seem endlessly absorbed
by the image they see.

They're using the mirror
as a tool to view themselves,

and it also suggests that they're
interested in what they look like.

That requires a sense of self, this
is a very high level of awareness.

Only humans, great apes and
elephants share this sophisticated
level of self-awareness.

But can these apparently
narcissistic tendencies

reveal more about the inner workings
of their minds?

Human babies only start to
recognise themselves in a mirror

at the age of about two years old.

And it's at this age that they
also start to show another ability -

empathy, the capacity to identify

and understand
the feelings of others.

Is it possible that whales
and dolphins could mirror

the emotional development
we see in human babies?

Might they too be able to
empathise with others?

Off the eastern coast of Mexico -
in Baja, California -

there is one group of whales that
behave in a way that suggests

they ARE capable
of feeling for others.

Female grey whales gather each year
in these warm, sheltered waters

to give birth
and to nurse their calves.

But this whale nursery
wasn't always a safe haven.

Only 75 years ago,
it was the site of many a m*ssacre.

Whalers could pick off
the slow-moving greys with ease.

The whales fought back.

Their attacks were so ferocious

that they became known as
hard-headed devil fish.

Even after hunting was banned,

whales and humans
remained wary of each other.

Then something extraordinary
happened.

In 1972, a local fisherman,
Pachico Mayoral,

had an encounter
he would never forget.

TRANSLATION: On that fortunate day,
I wasn't looking for whales.

I was fishing,
but then, unexpectedly,

a whale came up alongside my boat

and it started poking its head
out of the water. I was afraid.

Expecting the boat to be
wrecked by the devil fish,

Pachico was amazed
when the whale gently

nudged alongside his tiny boat
and looked into his eyes.

Overcoming his fear, Pachico
reached out and stroked the whale.

After the initial excitement,
I calmed down.

Then I realised that the whales,
despite how powerful they are,

can live alongside us humans.

I think that the whales
are not resentful

and that they want to
share their space with us.

They're very intelligent,
perhaps even comparable to us,

because they have shown us
feelings, forgiveness.

In that one instant,

Pachico's attitude towards whales
was changed forever.

I feel that despite their size,
they have a heart to receive us,

a heart that's even bigger
than they are.

Today, people from around the world
come here to meet the 'friendlies'.

That is a rainblow!
SHE LAUGHS

CHEERING

Marine biologist Toni Frohoff
has been studying the interactions

between humans and whales here
for 15 years.

Nowhere else in the world really
do you see this type of thing,

it's completely unique in where
the whales come right up to you,

and they're doing it on their terms.

They're living their lives here,
nursing their young, giving birth,

mating, but they still come up and
they interact with boats like this,

and there must be something
that they're gaining

emotionally, psychologically, from
this type of interaction with people,

and in the process, they are bringing
out some of the best in people.

The whale just came right up
and there was nothing else to do
but give him a kiss!

I managed to kiss the baby
about three times,

and I thought
life couldn't get better than that,

until the mum came up right between
my arms...and I got to hug her.

Some of the older grey whales who
would remember the days of whaling
are still here today...

..so what has brought about
this astonishing change in
their behaviour towards us?

Not only have these ocean giants
lost their fear of us,

but they appear to be seeking us out
and actively enjoying

our company too.
Emotional awareness

is generally regarded as one of
the highest forms of intelligence.

But awareness of emotions in another
species is even more impressive.

That's amazing, amazing!

The latest research on
whales' and dolphins' brains

has revealed something
quite unexpected.

Like us, they have spindle cells.
These special brain cells were once

thought to be unique to humans
because of their link with language,

self-awareness and compassion.

Yet some whales and dolphins

may have three times as many
spindle cells as we do.

What I'm observing defies a lot of
what we have been taught, and...

we are now having to teach that
there is more, literally,
beneath the surface

of these whales than meets the eye.

Through the world's leading
scientists, we are learning so much

about the remarkable
intelligence of whales and dolphins.

But there is something that
science cannot yet explain...

..our extraordinary connection with
these magical creatures.

They really invite you in their
family. You can get right in there,

you can share their moments,
their intimate moments.

You realise just how complicated
the societies

that these animals live in.

But you also have to ask yourself,
are these animals
trying to talk to us?

When you really look into the eye
of a dolphin or a whale,
you see something behind them,

you see that they're sentient,

they're assessing you, they're
aware, they're self-conscious.

Perhaps one day soon,
we may learn to communicate

with these mysterious creatures.

And then maybe they will tell us
themselves what is really going on

in the minds of the ocean giants.