01x15 - The Dragons of Galapagos

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The Galapagos Islands,

a uniquely populated
constellation of volcanic rubble

hidden in the equatorial Pacific.

Its infernal shores provide the world's
only home for a dragon of the sea,

a living fossil,
the primeval marine iguana.

Until now, his underwater life
has been shrouded in mystery.

An exotic remnant
of the reptilian order,

which ended more than a
hundred million years ago,

the sea dragon will now become
the subject of search and study

by Captain Cousteau,
his divers and filmmakers,

in the first full-scale attempt by man

to probe the marine
iguana's amphibious life.

Calypso approaches the islands of
Galapagos, 600 miles off Ecuador.

Volcanic palisades rising 10,000
feet from the floor of the sea

make for a challenging passage.

In 1835, Charles Darwin
had come to the Galapagos.

The island's unusual forms of life

gave him the clues that led
to his theory of evolution.

Now we would explore
the sunken Galapagos.

And as divers, we will
study the marine iguana,

the reptile that returned to the sea

long before man's attempts
to do so today.

Motorized underwater vehicles will be
helpful in covering the vast areas below.

Jean Claire Rion checks the
regulator in his scooter.

Air tanks are contained
within the machines.

Bernard Delemotte tests the
motors and controls of his wet sub.

With a speed of five miles per hour,

the pilots will be able to
fight the powerful forces

of the Humboldt and El Nino currents,
now in their seasonal conflict below.

The fragile plexiglass nose of the wet
sub is to be attached underwater,

for the shock of being immersed
with the heavy vehicle

could cause it to burst.

The scooters will follow the wet sub

in this maiden voyage under Galapagos.

Safety checked and
synchronized, they're off.

We use the wet sub and front propeller
scooters together for the first time.

We will fly between the forbidding
peaks of the underwater volcanoes

that rise before us for


Only the wet sub has controls for
turns and for going up and down.

The scooters are guided by the divers

who merely aim them in the
direction they wish to go.

Calypso's divers circle a sea mount,

and a sea turtle wins
a race, going away.

Another lap in the race
is won by a leopard ray.

The contest is joined by
a 2000 pound manta ray.

The vertical walls of
an underwater cliff

are pockmarked for
as far as one can see.

Sea urchins, with their
rodent-like teeth,

have laboriously dug these
holes in the solid lava.

The vulnerable urchin undertakes
this overwhelming task

in order to gain shelter from predators
in this barren underwater landscape.

To collect this specimen,

Bernard leaves his air supply and
lets the sub float unattended.

He has only a lung full of air,

and he must get back to his craft
before the current carries it away.

Motorized divers must be careful
about descending too fast.

Rapid pressure changes
are harmful to the ears.

Our divers follow a narrow
passage downward.

Ahead lies an incredible sight.

Basaltic structures evoking
columned cathedrals under the sea.

Ancient ruins.

Marine coliseums.

Sunken Galapagos is a world
that is still being formed.

The islands comprise the largest
active volcanic area on earth today.

When the island above was
recently given fiery birth,

the molten lava flowing
into the cold water

immediately solidified and
piled up almost vertically

to create this illusion
of a sunken city.

A city not built by man,
and until this moment, unvisited.

Our motorized divers rise through
a colony of curious young sea lions.

Their effortless maneuverability
and grace

provide goals for the human diver.

A marine iguana.

Clinging motionless to the rocks,

the iguana's protective coloration
conceals him from the divers above.

The invaders are gone.

Now with its great prehensile claws,

this prehistoric remnant of the
reptilian age climbs out of the sea,

very much as did his ancestors,

millions of years before
the emergence of man.

On these wildest of islands,
you meet the tamest beings.

In the perilous jungle
of the ocean depth,

apprehension is the rule.

But on land in the Galapagos,
there is no need to fear.

Many forms of life have evolved here,

free from the pressures of predators,

and they have grown amazingly
confident and unafraid,

having never learned fear.

Although unaccustomed to man,

the sea lions display an
innocent trust in Bernard.

Bernard's swim suddenly leads
to an unexpected meeting,

a marine iguana.

He has to surface to get his snorkel.

Here is an opportunity to observe
the iguana at close hand.

The iguana is being watched
by the sea lions, too.

Their first objective is
to tease him off his rock.

The iguana tries to escape
the playful sea lions,

and it becomes a chase.

The sea lions play with the iguana
as cats play with the mouse.

But the difference is,
although they tease and torment him,

it is only a game,

and the iguana is never injured,

unless it be his dignity.

The sea lions try to prevent their
reluctant playmate from reaching shore.

The iguana presses on toward shore,

but a relentless pursuer repeatedly
pulls him back into the pool.

The iguana begins to make
slow but steady headway,

gaining the shore inch by inch.

Free at last.

Home on the intertidal
rocks of Galapagos.

The reluctant dragon is free
at last of his tormentors.

Or is he?

The Calypso expedition team now
plans to follow the marine iguana

to its feeding grounds.

In the Galapagos,
food is the main problem.

Young half-starved goats,

their ancestors brought
here by buccaneers,

have come down from the barren
rocky cliffs to share this morning meal.

Charming as they are,
they do not belong here,

and they endanger the islands.

To local animals,
they are unfair competition

for the available supply of food.

The divers are now ready to proceed
with an offshore expedition

to find and film the marine iguana,

the only land animal to derive its
sustenance exclusively from the sea.

In the meantime, Joe the cook
learned something about birds.

In this hostile land,
where it's hard to make a living,

this mocking bird uses an amazing
intelligence to break an egg.

The bird has figured out
Newton's law of gravity,

but not, unfortunately, how
to keep his discovery a secret.

The men have seen marine
iguanas swim from shore

to this point in the
sea and then dive.

A surprise from the sea,
the fabled batfish.

In the Galapagos, food is scarce
for the waddling batfish too.

It uses its piston-like fishing
pole to attract its feed.

It will eat anything it can
attract toward that face.

In search of an iguana eating,

Deloire and Dorado
approach an algae bed.

The men are rewarded.

Dorado moves in for
closer observation,

as Deloire photographs
for the first time

the underwater foraging
of the land animal.

It is the struggle for existence,

the winnowing process
which determines survival,

but has forced the
iguana from the harsh,

barren volcanic islands
into the cold ocean,

which he does not like.

He dives only to sustain his life.

We observe he is never idle at sea,
always actively feeding.

He attacks his task with purpose,

being highly selective
of the algae he eats,

gnawing it from the rocks
with sharp, tricuspid teeth

as a dog gnaws on a bone.

It is known that in captivity

the marine iguana lives only as long
as it takes him to starve to death.

Now we try to discover if the iguana
will accept from man his own food

in his own natural habitat.

This remarkably independent creature

that has outlived most mammalian
and reptilian orders

through millions of
years of difficult survival

would appear to want nothing
from the hand of transient man.

Upon their return from the sea,

the chilled iguanas assume
a basking position.

Bodies turn toward the equatorial sun

to intercept maximum solar radiation.

Alie and Delcouter come to observe
the marine iguanas on their sea rocks,

a few yards beyond high tide.

Although all Galapagos
animals live without fear,

each has its well-defined territory
the others must respect.

A nesting boobie's territory is as
far as she can stretch her neck.

The men, too, must respect territory.

Vigorous nodding of his head is
the iguana's territorial display.

All right, come on, come on.

To show they come in peace,

the men approach slowly
at the iguana's level.

But the iguana is wary,

and in giving way, the boobie's
territory must be crossed once more.

It was here that Darwin became
convinced that species could change,

and his experiences
here as a young man

led him in later years
to formulate his ideas

about evolution and natural selection.

So these islands,
in a very real sense,

changed the way man
looks at the world.

Captain Cousteau confers with
Dr. George Bartholomew,

leading authority on
the marine iguana.

We, on board Calypso,

we have concentrated on the
observation of the marine iguana.

And do we have any idea of where
they come from, what their history is?

Well, they are iguanas, and their
closest relatives are in South America,

but they do not occur in South America.

Whether or not they evolved there,

got to the Galapagos by chance,

and then the parent
stock became extinct,

or whether or not some land
iguana got to the Galapagos

and then evolved into the marine
iguana is forever unknown

because there is no fossil record.

However, these islands represent
a microcosm of the continents,

and each one is a little
universe all to itself.

And as a result,
it's just a beautiful laboratory

for studying behavior and
ecology and adaptation.

In some respects, it may
be the best in the world

for studying the adaptations
of terrestrial vertebrates.

Much is to be learned
about this dragon

that has turned back
the evolutionary clock.

Bernard Delemotte leaves
his wet sub on a lungful of air

to pick up a mature male iguana
for a physiological study.

The iguana will get a free
ride up to the Calypso,

where Dr. Bartholomew
and Captain Cousteau wait.

Dr. Bartholomew will record and analyze
variations in the iguana's heartbeat.

You have to make sure these
electrodes stay in tight,

so I'll put this plastic strap around.

The physiology of the marine iguana

is of special interest
to Captain Cousteau,

since this animal represents a
combination of characteristics

common to all diving
animals, including man.

Before putting the
iguana in the water,

they will first establish
his normal heartbeat.

Dr. Bartholomew is concerned that these
rare creatures are waning in numbers.

Data on heating,
cooling and heart rate

will aid studies on the
iguana's adjustment

to its ever-changing environment.

Dr. Bartholomew, what strikes
me here on the oscilloscope

is that at each heartbeat,
there are three peaks.

Unlike mammals, the lizards have
three chambers to their heart,

and we're seeing one
beat from each chamber.

One is stronger.

The big one is the ventricle, and
that's the one we'll use for counting.

Now, the heartbeads are 45 or 50.

That's slower than the human heart.

Quite a bit slower, but it's about
right for this temperature.

Do you think it's time to put
the iguana in the water?

It's a nice stable signal.

With great care, the iguana is
passed to Jacques d'Alcouter,

who is to escort the animal
to the floor of the sea.

Dr. Bartholomew has already
made laboratory cardiograms

on iguanas immersed in a tank.

Captain Cousteau and his
divers provide the opportunity

to further this study in the
iguana's natural environment.

As the iguana clings to a rock
with his powerful clawed feet,

Delcouter is to closely
observe his behavior

for the duration of the experiment.

The iguana is now underwater
since 15 minutes.

Let's see what's happening
to the heartbeats.

One ventricular beat.

Another one.

- That's eight seconds.
- Eight seconds.

And then...

- Seven.
- Seven seconds.

Another one now.

Eight or nine per minute now,
instead of 45.

Slow down from 45...



Why, it'll probably slow
down to four or five.

Four or five?

Heart beats per minute.

When he does that, he shuts off
the circulation to his muscles

and the blood just goes back and forth
between the brain and the heart.

So there's some sort of a
heart, brain preparation.

And the rest of the body is...

The rest of the body is just
cut off from the circulation.

Wait a minute.

His heart is stopped.

The iguana can voluntarily stop
his heart for up to three minutes

with no apparent
damage to his brain.

Now as his heart rate
slowly accelerates,

our pioneer swims up
toward the warming sun.

We are happy to return him
to his home on the lava rocks.

He has done his job well,
this master diver,

and now freely he may swim to shore.

He's a creature unique and
much of his life still a riddle.

In Equatorial Galapagos,
the sun rises hot and fast.

By 11 a.m. it's 120 degrees.

Intertidal rocks washed by
the cold Humboldt current

make it bearable for Bernard
Delemotte and Jacques Delcouter,

assigned to capture a male
iguana for a special dive.

The iguanas are lazily
taking full morning sun

to raise their body temperatures,

which drop at night.

The slumbering dragons
are suddenly suspicious.

Perhaps favorable trade winds
have whispered the words,

"beware of Frenchmen bearing sacks."

We of the Calypso, are also
interested in these animals

because we are studying ways
to make man a better diver.

A depth meter will help determine
how deep an iguana can safely dive.

Man's diving devices
can still be perfected,

but their improvement will
be limited by physiology.

In order to dive deeper,
longer, and better,

it could be necessary to
modify man's physiology.

In any case, it is
exciting to consider

what happens in an animal
that was not made for diving.

Accompanied by man,
the iguana is gently induced to dive,

a dive he makes to
his own physical limits.



Maybe he could go deeper.

Unlike human divers who must rely
upon an air supply to their lungs,

the iguana, when he dives,
expels air from his lungs.

Thus, he creates the negative
buoyancy that will allow him to sink.

The iguana tries to elude Cousteau's
diver by hiding under a rock.

Unlike fish, the iguana has no gills
and cannot take oxygen from the water.

He borrows oxygen from
tissues of his body,

which he must pay back when he
returns to the surface and breathes air.

No other land animal could
survive this experiment.

One of Darwin's sailors had forcibly
held an iguana underwater

to see how long he could
live without oxygen.

One hour.

Now, its oxygen nearly depleted,
this iguana is like the rock he rests on.

He has dived to 28 meters,
an incredible 90 feet.

His chest concave from pressure,

the iguana rises by activating
only his flat swimming tail.

Having mutated over millions of years
from being exclusively a land animal,

he is not a good swimmer.

He is barely adequate in the water,

which he is now impatient to leave for
the security of the sun-heated rocks,

where he will recover.

After feeding in the sea,
it takes hours for resting iguanas

to repay the oxygen debt
to their depleted bodies.

Alie uses reflected sun to
help raise more quickly

the temperature of a chilled male,
basking with friends.

A few yards away, temperatures
as well as tempers

have already risen for
it is egg-laying season.

A female digs her nest and must
defend it as another female intrudes.

Competition is keen for nesting
places in the unyielding volcanic rock.

The defender gives way,
but she can't afford to give up.

It soon becomes a pushing match.

Horny heads locked in ritualized
combat over possession of the nest.

It's a tournament of dragons.

The armored animals joust
in an intimidation fight,

but they do not put to
use their claws and teeth.

Like other endangered species,

the animals do not bite
or harm each other.

Wounds inflicted could lead to
the reduction of their numbers.

Still, in a determined bout,
not all holds are barred.

As the battle continues undecided,
enter the male, head of the harem,

identified by his greater
size and authority.

The male appears to tell them to
stop fighting and lay their eggs.

The intruder on the nest
remains the eternal female

and tries for the last word.

And she gets it.

The other female, the defender,
returns to the cradle of her continuance.

In this case, as in many others,
it is the male who reigns supreme.

In his survey of the Galapagos,

Captain Cousteau visits a man who has
established a very special relationship

with the marine iguana.

In 1935, Karl Angermeyer came
to these islands from Germany.

Most previous settlers had
found them uninhabitable.

Many died of thirst and hunger,
or returned home.

Angermeyer, like the iguanas
he lives with, has endured.

When Angermeyer, with
his wife and mother-in-law,

first settled on this shore,

it was occupied only by marine iguanas.

Rather than chase them off,
he built a house amongst them,

determined to become
a friendly neighbor.

In time, the iguanas grew to accept him,
then moved in with him.

Until today, there are 45 marine
iguanas sharing his home.

Do they go into your home?

They go in the house, inside
and on the chimney, everywhere.

Do they have names?

Well, they have one call called Annie.

- Annie?
- Annie, yes.

You know, our little nephew,
he didn't know how to call Annie.

Iguana, he said, Annie.

Annie, Annie.

Maybe he doesn't like me.

Well, I think I can start feeding them.

I do feed them rice and the fish.

Fish?

Yes, fish, bread, everything.

The food we eat sometimes.

Yeah, here's the food now.

Come here, boy.

Annie.

Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie,
Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie.

Come here, take a bite.

Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie,
Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie.

Captain Cousteau had heard
that Angermeyer had succeeded

in getting the independent animals
to accept food from man.

What is even more astonishing
is that the marine iguana

would accept any food other than that
which nature provides under water.

It is a breakthrough
that baffles researchers.

The big one doesn't want
the little one to have food.

The little one is jealous.

I think we go inside.
It's too hot here.

They like shade.
I take my little baby with me.

Your friend?

My friend, yes.
It's one of the oldest ones.

Do you think their friendship
comes only from food?

No, I think not only food.

I still laugh at them, I would say.

And this is Annie.
And he's about 15 years with us now.

Oh, honey boy.

Yeah, let's go in. It's hot in here.

Greeting the guest,
in marvelous coexistence,

marine iguanas and
mother-in-law, at home.

Let's take care of this over.

- Here?
- Yeah, right over there.

There's a few of them really tame.

This one seems nervous.

Yes, he's a bit nervous.
I don't know because he...

I notice him because he has only
one foot, he has only three fingers.

The astonishing peaceful dragon

will only occasionally bite
the hand that feeds him.

No, don't show me.

Hey!

Look at it, look at this.

Hey, hey, Annie.

No, no, no. No.

Let go.

You look at that.

He's really holding tight, is he.

And it hurts?

Well, it hurts, sure.

I should not do anything now because
if I pull my hand, he gets mad.

Anyhow, I had to make friendship,
and I made friendship with the iguanas.

And they permitted us because I think
I was nice to them because I liked them.

Maybe I could also be very rude and
chase them out, but I couldn't do it.

And they liked me,
and so we became friends.

Don't you think that if man

had always done this with
wildlife where they settled,

that today we would be in a better
shape than the environment?

That would be a much better way of,

if the man had done themselves
to become friendly to animals,

the whole thing on this island
everywhere would be different.

Now that you have been
living on this island,

would you say that they
are in a paradise island?

Look, the paradise,
you have to build yourself.

Wherever you live, you have
to make the paradise yourself.

It can be anywhere.

There are a lot of forms around here.

We build, I say, we made our paradise
because we brought us, we are happy here.

We love the place from the beginning,

but the paradise,
you have to make yourself.

Otherwise, the island
is rather rough, no?

It's a rough country, you've seen this.

It's a lot of rocks, lava, it has its beauty.

I would say it's a paradise
for the animals,

like the iguanas, the sea lions.

For them, because it's their place.

For them, it's their paradise.

Thirty miles at sea,
between the far-flung islands,

we unexpectedly encounter
a herd of sea lions.

But they are behaving like dolphins.

I have never seen anything like it.

What is the reason
for such a gathering?

I send the divers down.

Now we understand.

We are the first men ever to witness
the sea lions' engagement ceremony.

Every year, they go en masse to sea and
choose mates for the coming season.

As the young bulls and
sleek females court,

the sensuous grace of their preliminary
sexual play makes a tender ballet.

Our prima ballerina
in a dance of desire.

A soulful gaze,
an invitation to join the feast.

Man and animal,
in harmony in the sea.

In our departure from the Galapagos,

we leave behind a unique world
that lives in ignorance of fear.

Here, there are no predators on land.

The predator is an animal with weapons.

No weapons, no violence,
no fear, disarmament and peace.

What an irony if the
peaceful marine iguana,

which in our millions of years
has outlived other species,

would also outlive man the warrior.

An unacceptable thought.

The gentle dragon would
never take over the world.

But if man would refuse to
curb his self-destructive ways,

his primeval being
just might inherit it.

The relationship of the animals of
Galapagos to their severe environment

is in most delicate balance.

In a marginal habitat,
theirs is a tentative security.

These barren islands offer their
wildlife, unique and irreplaceable,

a harsh paradise at best.

These islands have not yet fallen
to man's onslaughts on earth.

But this is a shrinking world.

And human beings, in their
avid search for wild places,

have already begun to threaten
these remote volcanic shores.

As the poet Edna St.
Vincent Millay wrote,

"This little life from here to there,"

"Who lives it safely anywhere?"

"The tidal wave devours the shore."

"There are no islands anymore."

Visitors come with innocent
enthusiasm to thrill at nature.

But we have divorced ourselves
so much from nature.

We no longer know how to handle it.

For our marine iguana, the sea
may be only temporary sanctuary.

If man's intrusion
reaches out from shore,

for the durable dragon that
has defied the centuries,

there will be no islands anymore.