1 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:05,800 PURRING As a wildlife cameraman, 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,520 I've travelled the world, trying to capture life's most intimate and 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:11,240 dramatic moments. 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,240 But wouldn't it be incredible if we could see the world 5 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:20,200 from an animal's point of view? 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,920 Well, in this series, that is exactly what we're going to do - 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,360 with the help of the animals themselves. 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,040 They're going to be the ones that are doing the filming. 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,600 They're going to take us to places that a cameraman like me simply 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,480 cannot go, and reveal a side of 11 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,800 their lives like we have never seen before. 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,000 UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:51,920 Working with scientists, 14 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,360 we're designing cameras small enough to take us into their hidden world 15 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,880 for the first time. 16 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,880 We're heading in. Wow! Foraging for some pups. 17 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,840 Our camera crew is one of the most diverse teams 18 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,360 to ever film a wildlife series. 19 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,440 From 30cm tall meerkats... 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,720 ..to 60mph cheetahs. 21 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,080 From free-diving fur seals... 22 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:26,800 ..to nest-building chimps... 23 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,760 our unconventional film crew are revealing surprising behaviour and 24 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,120 giving us new insights into how they live their lives. 25 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,480 Wow! That's really cool. 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,960 Instantly, you get a real chimp point of view. 27 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,640 This is their world, 28 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,680 their footage.... 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:52,520 Whoa! Oh, wow! Groovy. 30 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:54,800 ..their story, 31 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,480 and we're going to see it.. GROWLING 32 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,400 ..through their eyes. 33 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,840 She's definitely got her game face on. 34 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:17,440 In this programme, we'll reveal 35 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,280 the secrets of three spectacular animals. 36 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,320 In the mountains of Turkey, 37 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,440 we'll find out what happens when bears come face-to-face. 38 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,760 Oh! Oh, wow! Here's another bear! 39 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,280 Look at that, look at that! GROWLING 40 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,720 In France, we get to the heart of 41 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,680 the ancient conflict between sheep... 42 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,520 BARKING 43 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:50,960 ..and wolf. 44 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,520 BARKING 45 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,040 But my first expedition is far out at sea. 46 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,320 We're setting sail from the Azores, 47 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,040 a group of islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. 48 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,320 I've teamed up with Doctor Jorge Fontes, 49 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,080 an expert on the sea life here. 50 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,400 I'm travelling far out into the Atlantic Ocean. 51 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,000 Mainland Europe is 850 miles in that direction. 52 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,320 It's one of the wildest places on Earth, 53 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,080 and I've come here to hopefully try and answer some very important 54 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,800 questions about one of the world's most mysterious, majestic creatures. 55 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,920 Devil rays are fish with wing-like 56 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,800 fins that stretch to nearly four metres across. 57 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,280 Jorge and his team have recently discovered that, every summer, 58 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,160 the rays migrate thousands of miles to gather here. 59 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,680 GENTLE MUSIC PLAYS 60 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,240 It's one of the most dramatic animal spectacles on Earth. 61 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,280 But Jorge has no idea why it takes place. 62 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:25,240 The rays swim too fast and too deep for divers to follow, so his best 63 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,000 chance of solving the mystery is one of our onboard cameras. 64 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,560 This is one of our incredible camera systems, 65 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:39,520 ready for deployment, and it's just attached to the harness. 66 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:44,560 This is the bit that goes over the ray, kind of like a lasso, 67 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,520 and you think, "How do you get it off?" 68 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,840 Well, within eight hours in saltwater, 69 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,640 this little magnesium bolt will 70 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:55,840 erode and then that will snap 71 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:59,360 and the whole system will float back up to the surface, 72 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,760 and we get it back and we all rejoice. 73 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,280 Now all we need is a ray. 74 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,800 EVOCATIVE MUSIC PLAYS 75 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,120 Now it's a race against time to get cameras on 76 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,120 before the rays return to the depths. 77 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,680 It's my first glimpse of these awesome creatures. 78 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,400 There must be 40 devil rays in front of me. 79 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,680 The rays can swim at 13mph. 80 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,160 We couldn't get close enough carrying cumbersome scuba gear, 81 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,080 so we're freediving. 82 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,040 It means attaching the camera will 83 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,160 have to be done on just one breath of air. 84 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,400 Jorge makes it look easy. 85 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:37,040 It was straight down there. 86 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,960 Got it, got it first time. 87 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:42,920 Woohoo! 88 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,280 The rest of the team soon get more cameras on board. 89 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:50,680 UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 90 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,440 After a few hours, the cameras are back. 91 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:18,280 Oh, wow! 92 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,280 And just swimming into the barracuda. Yeah. 93 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:25,040 That's fantastic. 94 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,400 It is a real devil ray point of view. 95 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,360 It looks as if you're just another ray going with the group. 96 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,800 GENTLE MUSIC PLAYS 97 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,560 I think they're probably speeding very fast at this point. 98 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,880 Yeah. The great thing is that the camera's not having any impact. 99 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,520 This animal's keeping up with all the others, irrespective of 100 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:50,320 the camera, so it's really unobtrusive. 101 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,560 The cameras also give a clear view of the remora fish, which stick to 102 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,720 the rays, hitching a ride and feeding on scraps. 103 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,800 The rays are gathering at a sea mound - 104 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:14,400 an underwater mountain that rises over 1,000 metres from the sea bed. 105 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,520 The summit is just 30 metres from the surface. 106 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,720 They've been just hovering and flying around 107 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,360 the summit of the sea mount. It really attracts them. 108 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,480 But, suddenly, the rays start to head down. 109 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,360 These rays can dive to 2,000 metres, 110 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:43,000 one of the deepest diving of all animals. 111 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,960 The descent is so fast, it puts the camera in a spin. 112 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:52,080 Whoa! This is...it's flipping. Yeah. It must be a huge speed. 113 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,640 Oh, the bottom... There's ocean floor there. 114 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,120 Jorge knew that the rays dived deep. 115 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,600 Now, for the first time, he can see why. 116 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:14,720 Amazing. This is amazing. This is... What I wanted to see. 117 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,440 ..very different from what we've seen so far. 118 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,840 By the amount of light here, it looks like it's quite deep. 119 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:23,240 Very close to the sea floor. 120 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:30,040 These are unbelievably privileged views. 121 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,080 Did you see how close that was? 122 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,680 Yeah. That was, like, inches from the top of that rock. 123 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,200 I never expected...just going through this canyon, 124 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,320 why would they do this? Yeah. 125 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:47,560 We think of devil rays as oceanic animals that just bask the surface, 126 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:51,360 and here we see that that is not always the case. 127 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,280 Apparently, they like to explore very close to the bottom, 128 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,400 at the deep sea. That's very, very interesting, and it's a very new 129 00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,480 look into their lives. Yeah. 130 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,920 And, soon, we see one reason why the rays are gathering here. 131 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:21,560 The camera shows hundreds of tiny floating animals - plankton - 132 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:23,680 clouding the water. 133 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,840 As the ray hits a patch of plankton, 134 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:44,640 the long fins on its head unfurl and funnel food into its huge mouth. 135 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,480 When it's finished feeding, the fins roll back up. 136 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,960 Seamounts are rich in food, 137 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,400 because deep ocean current full of nutrients 138 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,520 swell upwards when they hit the sides of the mountain, 139 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:06,840 driving huge blooms of plankton. 140 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,040 Rays are one of the few animals able to take advantage of 141 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:14,400 deep water prey. 142 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,520 They'll even eat fish up to a few inches long. 143 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,320 But it's cold in the depths. 144 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:34,280 At 1,000 metres, it's just six degrees Celsius, 145 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,280 so rays can't stay down for long. 146 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,120 After a deep dive, they head quickly back up. 147 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,240 You can see the surface. 148 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,840 That's amazing. They're really shallow right now. 149 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,400 Jorge thinks they're sunbathing. 150 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,360 And here we spot something new to science. 151 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,720 The rays seem to shiver, to help them warm up. 152 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,520 The abundance of food draws in these rays 153 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,760 but there are hundreds of seamounts around the Azores. 154 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,400 Why do they all gather at just one or two? 155 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,240 We need more footage to find the answer. 156 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,600 But the conditions have deteriorated, 157 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,400 and getting close to the rays is much tougher. 158 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,320 A bit of a waiting game at the moment. 159 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,840 We're waiting for the rays to come along, and there's absolutely 160 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:11,520 nothing around at the moment. 161 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:25,160 There is nothing easy about this whatsoever. 162 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,160 HE GASPS 163 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,840 Fortunately, by the next morning, 164 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,800 the sun is back out and the seas have calmed. 165 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,600 I think I'm ready to try and deploy one of the cameras myself. 166 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,680 I feel as able as I'm going to be, so I'll give it a go. 167 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,760 A group of rays is passing right under the boat. 168 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,720 It's the best chance I'm going to get. 169 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,760 I did it. Eventually HE LAUGHS 170 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,600 Quite tricky. 171 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,960 I managed to get the loop over one side and then the other, 172 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:46,120 come back to the surface and breathe. 173 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,400 That was great. 174 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,560 Well done. THEY CHEER AND LAUGH 175 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:57,200 As my camera ray swims off, Jorge and the team are successful, too. 176 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,240 Will we finally get a clue as to 177 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,720 why the rays are here in such numbers? 178 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,440 Whoa! Look at this lot coming in! 179 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,320 That's fantastic. 180 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,800 Soon we notice the gathering might not be as random as it first looked. 181 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,040 The formation can be really close, 182 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,360 almost like a jet fighter kind of formation. 183 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,560 The rays appear to be taking advantage of each other's 184 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:43,960 slipstream, to make swimming easier. 185 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:53,360 But each ray also seems to have its own place in the group. 186 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,320 So, this one has been lagging behind the first three, and it still is. 187 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,800 I wonder if there's some kind of hierarchy within these groups. Yeah. 188 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,440 Jorge is wondering if the males might be competing over the females. 189 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,800 We soon get a clue as to why. 190 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,960 A very pregnant female here. This thing is huge! 191 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,520 This looks like... A jumbo jet. A jumbo jet. 192 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,120 We then realise that lots of the rays are pregnant. 193 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,200 They each carry just one baby, known as a pup. 194 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,240 Pregnancy lasts for around a year, with the pup nourished 195 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,400 inside the mother with a form of milk. 196 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,960 What we see next has never been filmed before. 197 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:08,760 This unborn baby ray is doing its version of kicking. 198 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,240 Oh, wow! Oh, that's so cool! Wow! 199 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,640 This suggests that the pups will soon be born. 200 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,520 In most ray species, 201 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:24,560 mating happens soon after birth, so could this seamount be where these 202 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,480 rays gather to give birth and mate? 203 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:45,680 They spend most of their lives spread out in the open ocean, 204 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,400 so gathering to mate makes sense, 205 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,840 and the food-rich seamount is ideal for heavily pregnant mothers 206 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:55,680 and newborns. 207 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,280 More evidence is needed to confirm whether this is the reason 208 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,680 for the gathering. EVOCATIVE MUSIC PLAYS 209 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:23,200 But our cameras have given Jorge a remarkable new insight 210 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,160 into these animals' lives. 211 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,920 It's really a privilege to be able to have the perspective 212 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:47,480 of what a devil ray sees. 213 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:51,000 This is something that I would think impossible just a few years ago, 214 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,360 and, so, I'm really happy and really excited to be able to have this 215 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:57,320 perspective and be able to use this tool to learn more about this 216 00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:58,720 mysterious species. 217 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,000 Time to prepare for our next mission. 218 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:13,720 UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 219 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:20,640 I've come to north-east Turkey... 220 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,920 ..in search of an animal I've never seen before... 221 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,600 ..the Eurasian brown bear. 222 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:37,360 They're extinct through much of Europe. 223 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,840 Here, the forest is teeming with them, 224 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,240 but they're incredibly shy, making them hard to study. 225 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,480 Cagan Sekercioglu has been working on these 226 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:54,760 bears for ten years, 227 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,440 but his longest-ever sighting lasted just three minutes. 228 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,480 And that's where our cameras can help. 229 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,920 How close do you think the nearest bear is to us? Right now? Yeah. 230 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,280 Within a mile? Oh, God, easily. Half a mile. Really? Yeah. Yeah. LAUGHTER 231 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,720 I mean, the numbers we have are among the highest densities 232 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,520 on the planet. Wow! Yeah. They're everywhere. 233 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,000 And, what, is there a single aim? 234 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,160 What do you want to find out from these bears? 235 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:27,240 Well, a big goal was to find out how they manage to survive in this 236 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,120 relatively small forest. 237 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:31,520 I would love to see how they interact. 238 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,680 Are they tolerant of each other? 239 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,040 Is there a lot of fighting going on? Yeah. 240 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:41,440 This forest is small and hemmed in by people on all sides. 241 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:47,600 So, how do so many bears survive here? 242 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,840 What do they eat? Where do they sleep? 243 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,920 And what happens when they meet each other? 244 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,920 We're hoping our cameras will unlock the secret of these elusive animals. 245 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,640 Onboard camera expert Chris Watts has been hard at work. 246 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:11,120 He's added cameras to the radio collars that Cagan uses to track 247 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,200 bears for his ongoing study. 248 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:23,640 For several days, 249 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,720 Cagan's team have been trying to catch and collar bears, 250 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,840 and I've been hoping to see them in action. 251 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:35,400 We've just got some very exciting news. 252 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,120 The team are not far from our base, and they say that they have captured 253 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:44,600 a big bear - a bear big enough to take our camera. 254 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:46,600 Here we go. 255 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,080 WHISPERS: It is one huge bear! 256 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,640 This bear has already been tranquillised. 257 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,160 BEARS GROANS SOFTLY 258 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,440 While the vet checks it's healthy, 259 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,640 the scientists take measurements and fit the radio collar 260 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:10,520 with our camera attached. 261 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:15,760 We're ecstatic! 262 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,480 It's in prime condition, 263 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,560 so it's a perfect candidate for an animal cam. 264 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,680 I can't wait to see what we get on film. 265 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,080 The bear quickly comes round and disappears into the forest. 266 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,240 The camera will automatically drop off after a couple of days. 267 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,280 We've got footage in... 268 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,000 ..from a four-year-old female, which Cagan has called Siha. 269 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,160 There it is. 270 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,160 The angle is great. It is. 271 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,280 It's just enough of the bear to know that it's still there. Yeah. 272 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,640 Ah, it's a complete bear's eye view of the world. Yeah. 273 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:11,200 Is that...? Oh, yeah. Having a proper drink. 274 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:12,880 It's drinking water, yeah. Wow! 275 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,360 The camera itself has to go through everything the bear goes through, 276 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,200 so, walking down into gullies, 277 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,400 climbing up trees, going into the water... 278 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,560 The camera reveals that this forest is rich in bear food. 279 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,040 She eats a wide range of nutritious plants, 280 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,920 and turns over rocks to reach insects underneath. 281 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,640 After her meal, she's walking into a cave. 282 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:47,920 Cagan didn't know that these bears use caves in the summertime. 283 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:52,040 Most brown bears only use caves in winter to hibernate. 284 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,440 They don't need a big space. They don't need this huge cave. 285 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,320 You know, you'd be surprised how little space they need. 286 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,400 The presence of lots of caves is another reason why 287 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,480 this is a good bear habitat. BEAR SNIFFS AND SNUFFLES 288 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:21,680 After a quick rest, 289 00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:26,240 she steps back out into the night and straight into danger. 290 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,320 Just right there. Yeah. As if it just appears from nowhere. 291 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,120 Yeah. So, the road, basically, 292 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:40,640 it's called an Interstate highway, and this traffic is very fast. 293 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,520 Siha is walking down a dangerous road. 294 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,560 But, before long, we discover why. 295 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,520 She's on the lookout for rubbish thrown from passing cars. 296 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:01,680 This is worrying for Cagan. 297 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,920 If bears develop a taste for rubbish, 298 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:08,960 they can become dependent on it. 299 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,760 He says that's already happening at a place on the edge of the forest. 300 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:28,480 So, I've come to investigate at a local dump. 301 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,200 Oh, we've got a bear right here with a cub! 302 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,480 Wow! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop, stop. DOGS BARK 303 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,960 Mother bear with a cub. That is a big bear! 304 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,520 To get a better look, 305 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,200 I'm using a thermal camera which detects the bear's body heat. 306 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,000 Oh, wow, look at that! 307 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:52,360 My goodness! 308 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:59,760 Brown bears are normally solitary, yet here they tolerate each other, 309 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,400 because there's so much food. 310 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:06,040 It's quite something to see so many of them in one place. 311 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,280 But it's not healthy for them to be feeding on our rubbish. 312 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,560 bears digging in rubbish that is still alight. 313 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:19,280 It's raking through the coals! 314 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,960 There are bears eating plastic... 315 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:28,880 ..chewing on metal wires. 316 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,400 This is not a pretty sight. 317 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,720 I'm told that there are plans to close this dump down, 318 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:43,720 but the scientists are worried that that could cause another problem. 319 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,560 If they get rid of this, this dump overnight, that food 320 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,800 source has gone, and what that's going to leave 321 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:51,520 is a lot of hungry bears. 322 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:56,200 These dump feeders will be pushed out into the forest, but is there 323 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,040 room for any more bears out there? 324 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,080 Too many bears could lead to conflict and stress. 325 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,560 We're hoping that more footage will help us find out 326 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:11,920 how much the forest bears are interacting. 327 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,520 Right, off we go. 328 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,680 Cagan's continuing to collar bears, and I've been giving him a hand. 329 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,880 My goodness, that's a big old head. 330 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,600 Should be good. I'm really excited to see what we get. 331 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,760 Yeah, me too. 332 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,520 He just needs to keep the camera clean. Yeah. LAUGHTER 333 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:11,240 Our next footage is from a young adult male that Cagan 334 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,080 has named Farouk. 335 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,760 Oh, look at that beautiful morning light! 336 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:17,960 Look at that. 337 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,320 You can see the rain has caused a problem with the condensation. 338 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,800 Well, May is the wettest month. 339 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:30,240 I mean, you can still follow the behaviour pretty well. 340 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,240 Hey, is he feeding? You can actually see the water beater backlit, 341 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:35,680 so maybe that. Yeah, he is, yeah. He's licking the dew. 342 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,240 Wow! Just drinking water, licking the dew off the grass, yeah. 343 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,360 Sticking out that big tongue as he walks along, 344 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,280 just getting some nice, fresh water. Wow! 345 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,480 But Farouk's peaceful morning doesn't last long. 346 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,360 Oh! Oh, wow! Oh, wow! There's another bear! 347 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:56,120 Farouk is being confronted, probably by another male. GROWLING AND SNARLING 348 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:57,720 Oh, look at that! 349 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:02,880 Oh, man! HEAVY THUDDING 350 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:06,920 After standing up to swipe at each other, Farouk continues to growl. 351 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,440 The other bear slowly retreats. 352 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:22,760 Bites aren't unusual amongst male bears, but, in a crowded forest, 353 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:27,640 they may be more common and the risk of injury much higher. 354 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,720 As he lies down to recover, we see that Farouk is bleeding. 355 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,400 He's broken his claw. That'll be painful, 356 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,000 but the claw will drop off and grow back eventually. 357 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:50,680 This time, he got off lightly. 358 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,960 But, just when it looked like Farouk was in the clear, 359 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:59,360 he spots another bear approaching. 360 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,040 OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS 361 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:09,200 He makes a run for it. 362 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,240 He's being chased. 363 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,480 Running on an injured claw, the chase goes on for an exhausting 364 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:37,800 45 minutes before the pursuer finally gives up. 365 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,880 Farouk climbs to high ground and checks all around 366 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,000 before he can eventually relax. 367 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,800 The camera has shown how high bear numbers are, 368 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,960 and how that can make life hard. 369 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:06,480 And that's not the end of Farouk's excitement for the day. 370 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,640 Oh! Oh, wow! 371 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:11,280 There's another bear! Holy cow, look at that! 372 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,680 The other bear's not acting aggressively towards him. 373 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,720 No, no. That's really interesting. 374 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,400 He's relaxed. He's sitting down. 375 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,600 No, they...they know each other. 376 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,280 It appears that this is Farouk's partner. 377 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:33,320 JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS 378 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,840 He may have been staying close to this female for weeks, 379 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,000 waiting for her to be ready to mate. 380 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,760 But she makes it clear... GROWLING 381 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,720 ..she's not ready just yet. 382 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,480 Farouk has had a very busy day, 383 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,800 and we've seen how stressful that can be. 384 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:14,560 From what the cameras have shown him, Cagan thinks this 385 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,760 small patch of forest can't sustain many more bears. 386 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,120 If you were to close the dump overnight, 387 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:28,160 there's going to be trouble pretty quick on its heels. 388 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,520 And it has to be done, not just by closing the garbage dump, but also 389 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,000 by creating better quality habitat 390 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,280 with more natural food and more connectivity. 391 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:44,160 Cagan's hoping he can use this footage to gain support for a plan 392 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,880 to increase the size of the forest by planting 10 million trees. 393 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,560 Then, if the dump closes, 394 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:57,720 there will still be plenty of space and food for these threatened bears. 395 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:14,760 In another wild corner of Europe, 396 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,440 another Animals With Cameras team is starting a new adventure. 397 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,360 We've come to the hills of southern France... 398 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:26,920 ..to see if we can help scientists protect one of Europe's most 399 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:28,960 controversial carnivores... 400 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:32,840 ..the wolf. 401 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:40,200 Wolves were hunted to extinction in France less than a century ago, but 402 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,640 in the '90s they started to cross over the border from Italy. BARKING 403 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,320 Their numbers have been slowly growing ever since, 404 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:52,800 and there are now thought to be over 400 wolves 405 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,480 living in the French countryside. 406 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:59,880 This good news for wolf conservation is bad news for some farmers. 407 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,440 Thousands of sheep roam these hills, and, every night, 408 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:09,680 an age-old conflict plays out. 409 00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:18,880 ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC PLAYS 410 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:24,360 In the dark, wolves venture out to hunt... 411 00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:30,600 ..and sheep are often in their sights. 412 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,880 This flock can't sense the danger they're in 413 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,120 until it's too late. 414 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:44,680 SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS 415 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:54,160 A sheep stands no chance against a hungry adult wolf. 416 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,160 BELLS RING 417 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:10,960 Farmers blame wolves for the deaths of thousands of sheep every year. 418 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,200 Some shoot wolves, even though they're legally protected. 419 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,240 Wolf biologist Jean-Marc Landry 420 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:22,920 wants to find a solution to this problem. 421 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,600 The presence of the wolf in France brings a lot of conflicts. 422 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:33,040 You have extremes. Some people are pro and some are against. 423 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:37,720 What we try is to be in the middle, to show a new way of coexistence. 424 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:43,880 Jean-Marc thinks one answer is to give the flocks their very own 425 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,640 security guards - a team of dogs. 426 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,480 DOG BARKS 427 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:57,880 These guardian dogs live with the sheep all their lives 428 00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,920 and have a strong bond with them. 429 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,480 Using dogs in this way is an old idea. 430 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,440 But not everyone thinks it's effective. 431 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,680 Jean-Marc wants to convince people that it is and reveal 432 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:24,800 how the dogs operate. 433 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,000 But most wolf attacks are after dark. 434 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:34,880 Can our night-vision collar cams 435 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,600 take us to the heart of the conflict? 436 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,400 For us, for my team, it's very, very exciting. 437 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:49,120 Our goal now is to observe the interaction from the dogs, 438 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,920 to be able to observe how the dog will chase off the wolf. 439 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:00,040 Jean-Marc also hopes that the cameras could reveal if some dogs 440 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,240 make better guardians than others. 441 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,680 It's very important with these dogs that they are able to fight wolves, 442 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,680 but they are very nice with people, and we need such a dog. 443 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,640 This is stealing my sausages! 444 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,840 HE SPEAKS IN FRENCH 445 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:28,280 The cameras give an immediate insight into life amongst the flock. 446 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:36,240 The dogs are a mixture of traditional mountain dog breeds. 447 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:46,320 They don't herd the sheep, 448 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:48,760 they just travel as part of the flock. 449 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,000 They're not trained to protect the sheep. 450 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:02,160 They should do it instinctively. 451 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,680 But, if a wolf attacks, are the dogs 452 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,880 really attached enough to the sheep to put THEIR lives on the line? 453 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,920 HOWLING 454 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,560 The collar cams have switched into night-vision mode. 455 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:31,840 We can see exactly what each dog is doing. 456 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:39,600 And our human camera team are in night-vision mode, too. 457 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:43,240 They're looking out for any wolves approaching over the hillsides. 458 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:02,960 It's midsummer, and the sheep are 459 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:05,600 more active at night when it's cooler. 460 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,720 The flock is moving in search of fresh grazing, 461 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:13,600 and the dogs go with them. 462 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:23,680 The onboard cameras reveal something unexpected. 463 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:32,200 Different dogs are taking up 464 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,200 different positions around the flock. 465 00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:45,040 SHEEP BLEAT 466 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:47,240 Some of the dogs stay right in the middle... 467 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,560 ..while others prefer to hang out around the edge. 468 00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:10,640 What role will these different dogs play when wolves attack? 469 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:13,720 OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS 470 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,720 There's plenty of other prey out here for wolves - 471 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:40,600 rabbits and deer - 472 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,320 but these vast flocks of sheep are a tempting target. 473 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,480 A wolf begins to creep close... 474 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,600 ..and it's one of the dogs on the edge of the flock 475 00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:09,080 that's the first to sense danger. 476 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:11,120 BARKING 477 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:16,520 This wolf thinks better of attacking. 478 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:25,880 Jean-Marc thinks that these outlying dogs play a vital role as sentries. 479 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,120 BARKING 480 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:33,400 Barking alone can be enough to see off a single wolf 481 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:35,760 attempting a sneaky attack. 482 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:37,520 OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS 483 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:39,720 BARKING 484 00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:46,480 But what will happen if a whole pack of wolves attacks? 485 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:57,240 It's three o'clock in the morning. 486 00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:05,040 Out on the hillside, the dogs in the centre of the flock look relaxed... 487 00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:14,520 BARKING 488 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:18,880 ..while the others are pacing around the edge. 489 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:20,920 OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS 490 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,400 They seem nervous. 491 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,240 There's something out there. 492 00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:42,160 La! La, la! The wolf is there. 493 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:50,200 A group of wolves is heading straight for the flock. 494 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,640 SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS 495 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,640 BARKING The alarm goes off... 496 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:11,120 ..and other dogs rise to the challenge. 497 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,520 One from the middle charges out to help see off the attack. 498 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:19,080 The leading wolf flees. 499 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:34,080 BARKING 500 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:40,800 Now all four wolves are in retreat. 501 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:48,080 It's a great result for Jean-Marc. 502 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:54,280 We have seen the dogs chasing the wolves off, so it's very successful, 503 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:59,400 and no sheep were killed, so I'm very happy again. HE LAUGHS 504 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:01,880 GENTLE MUSIC PLAYS 505 00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:07,320 Our collar cams have shown Jean-Marc the importance of selecting a good 506 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:08,880 mix of dogs. 507 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:14,560 We have different personalities in dogs, and this is just amazing, 508 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:19,320 yeah. We have some dogs who are, you know, they are very strong, they are 509 00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:23,000 bold, and they will go and they will run after the wolf. 510 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,080 And you have also those who are very shy and they are afraid by 511 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,720 everything, you know, so we are observing now a team of dogs, 512 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:33,040 how they are working. And, of course, if a dog is a little afraid, 513 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:36,960 he will bark and maybe give the alarm. 514 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:39,440 So, in a pack of dogs now, 515 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:42,600 you need different personalities, not only one. 516 00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:50,080 Jean-Marc shows the shepherds his evidence of what a good job the 517 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:51,600 guardian dogs can do. 518 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:17,400 These shepherds seem to be on board. 519 00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:36,680 With the use of guardian dogs, perhaps it will be possible for 520 00:45:36,680 --> 00:45:41,040 wolves and sheep to coexist in the hills of southern France. 521 00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:08,200 In this series, we travelled the world, from deserts to jungles 522 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:10,920 to oceans... UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 523 00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:17,360 ..helping scientists make ground-breaking discoveries. 524 00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:22,760 With the use of new camera technologies, 525 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:26,280 we have been able to increase our understanding and knowledge of the 526 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:29,160 most fantastic, most amazing wild animals, 527 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:33,040 and we've revealed a side of their lives that has previously been a 528 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:35,560 complete mystery. 529 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:38,960 We captured the very first images of day-old meerkats, 530 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:43,360 deep underground. Wow! Foraging for some pups. 531 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:48,400 We discovered how seals track down their prey, far out at sea. 532 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:51,440 Look, dolphins! Oh, wow! They're playful. Oh, wow, wow! 533 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:57,560 And revealed how young cheetahs develop their hunting skills. 534 00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:03,240 Oh, so close! Big fall! Oh, my goodness me! 535 00:47:03,240 --> 00:47:07,440 It's been the animals that have taken us into their world... 536 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:14,000 and hopefully what they've shown us will help to better protect them in 537 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:15,360 the future. 538 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:27,760 MID TEMPO BLUES MUSIC PLAYS 539 00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:35,480 In this episode, our biggest tech challenge was designing a camera for 540 00:47:35,480 --> 00:47:38,160 one of the deepest diving animals on Earth. 541 00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:47,840 Our first inspiration came from the remora fish, 542 00:47:47,840 --> 00:47:49,720 which stick to the devil rays. 543 00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:55,440 The work began in a shed in Devon. 544 00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:59,920 Camera engineers Jonathan Watts and Marcus Shirley tested their idea on 545 00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:01,720 a skate from the fishmonger. 546 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:06,880 We're going to try putting suction cups on a piece of fish to see what 547 00:48:06,880 --> 00:48:11,240 the adhesion is like. Rays are, by their nature, quite slippery. 548 00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:14,200 They're not the sort of thing that you necessarily would be able to 549 00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:16,840 stick something to, so this is, this is something else. 550 00:48:18,280 --> 00:48:21,120 Oh, yeah, that's sticking reasonably well. 551 00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:24,360 But the rays would be in seawater... 552 00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:34,040 and with water and salt added, the suckers didn't stick. 553 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:38,880 So Marcus came up with a new plan. 554 00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:44,760 So we have been told that some scientists have used peanut butter 555 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:47,400 successfully on rays before. 556 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:53,600 OK, there you go. Lovely. Right, here we go. In it goes. 557 00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:58,040 You know what? That's not bad. I wouldn't say it was perfect. 558 00:48:58,040 --> 00:49:02,560 I think the legend may be true, may have something in it. 559 00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:05,280 Next stop, real Mobula ray. Yeah, I think so. 560 00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:10,240 The team join the scientists in the Azores, 561 00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:14,600 armed with their newly built sucker cam and the tub of peanut butter. 562 00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:19,560 It's always nice to have some energy food on board! LAUGHTER 563 00:49:21,920 --> 00:49:26,000 No-one told Gonzalo that that was used on dead fish before! 564 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:27,880 Good stuff. 565 00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:30,280 FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS 566 00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:48,920 But despite the encouraging lab test, the suction power of the 567 00:49:48,920 --> 00:49:53,400 humble peanut was no match for the thick slime on the ray's back. 568 00:50:05,080 --> 00:50:06,640 Enter plan B... 569 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:11,680 The Towcam - a revolutionary new design. 570 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:24,120 Jorge tested the camera in the harbour. 571 00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:34,720 By the way that it's moving underwater, it looks quite stable. 572 00:50:34,720 --> 00:50:37,240 I'm very confident that we'll be happy with the quality of the 573 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:38,760 footage from these tests. 574 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:43,440 But the rays can dive to more than 1,000m. 575 00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:47,080 Jorge had to be sure that the camera would work at these crushing depths. 576 00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:58,400 So now we're going to test how it behaves at depth. 577 00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:02,200 OK, moment of truth. 578 00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:08,680 A diving weight pulled the Towcam down. 579 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:18,800 By 150 metres, the light was starting to fade. 580 00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:23,000 That's it, OK. HE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE 581 00:51:28,840 --> 00:51:31,720 The camera reached the end of Jorge's line and it was still 582 00:51:31,720 --> 00:51:36,600 working. But had the foam housing survived the pressure? 583 00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:43,160 I can see some white. 584 00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:48,560 Well, structurally, it seems OK. 585 00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:53,240 So we just have to check if it still floats as we expect. 586 00:51:57,720 --> 00:51:59,600 It's negative. 587 00:51:59,600 --> 00:52:02,080 Unfortunately, it looks like the 588 00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:04,280 foam took, indeed, a lot of water in. 589 00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:08,200 If we deploy this, it will just go down to the bottom after it's 590 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:10,120 released from the animal and this 591 00:52:10,120 --> 00:52:12,640 would cause us to lose all the system. 592 00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,160 We needed much tougher foam. 593 00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:25,920 FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS One month later, and Towcam Mark II was ready to make its debut. 594 00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:29,920 We just got the new system, 595 00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:33,240 rebuilt these in the right foam, the right material. 596 00:52:33,240 --> 00:52:37,440 Hopefully this one will behave as we expect in terms of flotation and 597 00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:39,120 resistance to pressure. 598 00:52:40,240 --> 00:52:43,160 After another depth test... 599 00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:46,400 Yes. It's floating. It is still OK. 600 00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:49,760 ..Towcam II was ready for action. 601 00:52:53,280 --> 00:52:57,520 But it's a 24-hour boat ride out to the devil rays, 602 00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:01,360 so first we wanted to test the camera on an animal closer to port. 603 00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:09,560 So we come here to the sheltered north shore, and 604 00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:12,640 hopefully we'll be able to attract a couple of blue sharks, 605 00:53:12,640 --> 00:53:16,240 and deploy our cameras, just to see how they look when they're being 606 00:53:16,240 --> 00:53:17,720 towed by an actual animal. 607 00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:23,600 Jorge's team used fish scraps to entice the sharks. 608 00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:36,760 Yeah! Yeah! 609 00:53:44,520 --> 00:53:47,280 Blue sharks can grow to nearly four metres. 610 00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:55,160 Jorge has been studying them in the Azores for years, 611 00:53:55,160 --> 00:53:57,840 and he knew that they could comfortably tow a camera. 612 00:54:02,560 --> 00:54:07,200 He slipped a noose over the shark's nose with the Towcam attached. 613 00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:12,360 Ooh! 614 00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:18,720 Yes! Oh! Yeah! Well done. 615 00:54:18,720 --> 00:54:21,840 This, I believe, the first camera on a blue shark, ever. 616 00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:27,400 The camera would detach after eight hours. 617 00:54:30,960 --> 00:54:36,920 But it's good. Perfect position. Yes! Woo! Yeah. 618 00:54:38,560 --> 00:54:41,120 UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 619 00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:44,520 It was time to hand filming duties over to our shark. 620 00:55:08,280 --> 00:55:12,560 Look at that! Oh! Oh! He's going fast. 621 00:55:12,560 --> 00:55:14,800 Oh, very good. 622 00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:17,800 There's a lot more movement on the shark than on the camera. 623 00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:19,600 It's actually...it's perfect. 624 00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:26,760 Success. The camera captured a steady, clear shot. 625 00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:33,920 A very nice perspective of the pilot fish, just taking advantage of the 626 00:55:33,920 --> 00:55:36,760 wake of the shark, so saving energy. 627 00:55:38,080 --> 00:55:40,120 It's very amazing. Look at that. 628 00:55:42,240 --> 00:55:45,280 I'm very, very happy with these first results. 629 00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:49,320 We can only hope that this new tool opens a new frontier. 630 00:55:52,760 --> 00:55:56,320 Now, confident in our camera, 631 00:55:56,320 --> 00:56:00,760 we could finally enter the devil ray's underwater world. 632 00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:03,240 EVOCATIVE MUSIC PLAYS