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00:40This is a bottlenose dolphin.
00:43♪♪
00:47Its brain is one of the largest in the animal kingdom,
00:52even larger than our own.
00:55♪♪
01:04It's thought to be one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet.
01:08♪♪
01:16Dolphins, along with their larger cousins, the great whales,
01:23live in a world entirely alien to our own.
01:27♪♪
01:33It's hard to imagine what's going on in their minds.
01:37♪♪
01:51Trying to reveal their secrets,
01:53scientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding them.
01:57I think we could talk with the dolphins within five years.
02:03And taking us closer than ever before,
02:07two of the world's top underwater cameramen.
02:11♪♪
02:15Fantastic. Today is the best day of my life.
02:20It's a peach.
02:22That's one of the most awesome things you can see anywhere.
02:26Like us, whales and dolphins are big-brained
02:30and live complex social lives.
02:34♪♪
02:39But just how intelligent are they?
02:42♪♪
03:00Off the coast of the Bahamas lies a tropical paradise.
03:05♪♪
03:11These calm, clear waters are the perfect setting
03:15for one of the world's most in-depth research projects
03:18on wild dolphin communication.
03:21♪♪
03:25The degree to which an animal can communicate
03:28is an excellent measure of its intelligence.
03:32So how do these Atlantic spotted dolphins perform?
03:36♪♪
03:45Behavioral biologist Denise Hertzing
03:48is a world expert on dolphins and dolphin speak.
03:54Well, they make echolocation clicks, so they...
03:57Which are?
03:59Hey, she's good, that.
04:05Denise has spent the last 26 years
04:08studying the local dolphins and knows each one personally.
04:13Hey, it's Stubby! Stubby!
04:15Come here, let's see Stubby all year.
04:17Her goal is to understand how they communicate
04:20with sound, touch, and body postures.
04:24She does this by recording their behavior
04:26using a specially designed hydrophone and underwater cameras.
04:33Later, she analyzes the footage and sound recordings
04:37in an attempt to understand just what they're saying.
04:41♪♪
04:49Thanks to Denise's enduring relationship
04:51with these dolphins,
04:53cameraman Doug Allen and Didier Noirot
04:56have a unique opportunity
04:58to capture the huge range of dolphin communication.
05:03Things that are good to do are to make eye contact
05:06if they're interacting with you.
05:08Don't turn upside down.
05:10That's a signal of a mating or aggression.
05:14Okay, here's the big tip.
05:16Whoever behaves themselves best,
05:18and shows the best etiquette with the dolphins
05:20is probably going to get the best footage.
05:22So that's your challenge.
05:25Yeah, we're ready!
05:28♪♪
05:38As they get in the water,
05:40the team are confronted by a family group.
05:45Including a mum and her young calf.
05:56In the dolphin world,
05:58a mother will look after her calf for up to five years,
06:02giving her plenty of time to teach everything she knows.
06:07When mum and calf separate,
06:09they keep in contact
06:11by making their own unique signature whistle.
06:23Dolphins also learn the signature whistles
06:25of the others in their group,
06:27so they can learn how to communicate with each other.
06:32Besides humans, dolphins do seem to be
06:34the only group of animals
06:36that have individual names for each other.
06:49In two years' time,
06:51the team will be able to learn
06:53how to communicate with each other.
06:57In dolphin society,
06:59communication also has a darker side.
07:19These are younger males, they're not so old,
07:21so they're probably learning.
07:24And it's usually when they're hyped up
07:26and they're getting ready to chase and fight.
07:43This time, as they enter the water,
07:45there's a cacophony of clicks and whistles.
07:49Trouble is brewing.
07:54Male dolphins form small gangs,
07:57synchronising their movements and vocalisations.
08:05When they're together,
08:06they seem to create their very own gang whistle.
08:12This gang of male teenagers
08:14are chasing and fighting each other.
08:19They're chasing Amanda, a female Denise knows well.
08:24They're trying to impress Amanda
08:26with their synchronised moves.
08:28She doesn't seem too happy with all the attention,
08:31fending them off with high-pitched squeaks
08:34and slapping her tail.
08:37They keep buzzing her with ultrasound
08:40to check she's in season.
08:46But now, they've got competition.
08:53It's a gang of older males.
08:58They've got a lot to learn.
09:01It's a gang of older males.
09:09The battle over Amanda has begun.
09:31Down on the seabed, the two gangs go head-to-head.
09:43Completely ignored by the dolphins,
09:46Didier gets a rare chance to record this intense showdown close up.
09:52Each side is posturing and jaw-clapping in synchrony
09:56to make them appear bigger and stronger.
10:03Didier is the only male in the group
10:06who has a chance to show off his skills.
10:11He's got a good sense of rhythm.
10:14He's got a good sense of rhythm.
10:17He's got a good sense of rhythm.
10:21It's intimidation based not on violence,
10:25but on a high level of communication.
10:50Then suddenly, the fighting stops.
11:01The old boys have seen off the young guns.
11:05Their argument was clearly more persuasive.
11:10There's lots of action going on there.
11:15They came all together in mid-water,
11:19Sometimes you could see them,
11:21this big curved posture with the beak open.
11:24That's really extreme aggression.
11:26They don't have facial muscles and expressions right,
11:29so that's how they express themselves.
11:31The beak going like this, it was great.
11:33That's a great example of coalition behavior.
11:38Denise has yet to decipher all the subtleties
11:41of these amazing interactions.
11:44Her dream is one day to crack their code
11:47so that she can understand exactly what they're saying.
11:50But how close is she to really talking to dolphins?
11:55I think the technology exists,
11:57and I think our knowledge of the dolphins out here exists
12:01to do that within five years,
12:04to start that process of having a meaningful exchange
12:08with the dolphins.
12:11But communication is only part of being smart.
12:16Intelligent animals are also inquisitive animals,
12:20and there are few animals as inquisitive as dolphins.
12:30West of the Bahamas, off the Caribbean island of Roatan,
12:34the local dolphins are in for a surprise.
12:39DOLPHINS
12:49Professor Stan Kuchai is joined by cameraman Doug,
12:53and he's about to perform a very strange experiment
12:57with one of the most curious species of dolphin,
13:00the bottlenose dolphin.
13:02OK, this is what we're going to do.
13:05This little dolphin is already intrigued,
13:08and the experiment hasn't even begun.
13:25Stan's machine blows bubble rings,
13:28something these dolphins won't ever have seen before.
13:33BUBBLE RINGS
13:48What will the dolphins make of these bubble rings?
13:53Initially, like most dolphins,
13:55the dolphins are not very interested in the bubbles.
13:59They're just curious.
14:01But the more they get to know the dolphins,
14:04the more they become curious.
14:06They're curious to see what's going on.
14:09They're curious to see what's going on.
14:12They're curious to see what's going on.
14:15They're curious to see what's going on.
14:19Initially, like most animals, they're a bit wary,
14:23but then curiosity gets the better of them.
14:29One individual seems particularly spellbound.
14:39She's checking out the bubbles not just with her eyes,
14:43but also with clicks of sonar.
14:47And then she braves the bubble ring.
15:06This courageous explorer has paved the way for the others.
15:12Just like human toddlers,
15:15it doesn't take long for these imaginative creatures
15:18to make a game out of their new toy.
15:27This is a game.
15:29This is a game.
15:31This is a game.
15:33This is a game.
15:35This is a game.
15:37This is a game.
15:39This is a game.
16:01Even after hours with the bubble rings,
16:04the dolphins are still experimenting.
16:09Another, a fin flick, and the real show-off goes for the swim-through.
16:23While some animals will show initial interest in novel objects, very few will maintain this
16:29level of curiosity and playfulness for so long.
16:34Wow.
16:35That was amazing.
16:37I was going to say, what did you make out?
16:44That was amazing.
16:45That was amazing.
16:46There's a lot going on.
16:48Lots of inventive play.
16:49Lots of inventive play, lots of curiosity, lots of flexibility in their behavior.
16:55The dolphins aren't just doing the same thing over and over again.
16:57They're trying different things with the bubbles.
16:59So I think what we're seeing is that combination of curiosity and the ability to change your
17:03behavior, which I think is one of the hallmarks of dolphin intelligence.
17:08This inquisitive nature and willingness to try new things enables dolphins to adapt to
17:14different situations.
17:16This has huge advantages for their survival in the wild.
17:30One place to see this is the western coast of Australia.
17:40Fifty kilometers south of Perth, the local dolphins face a tricky challenge.
17:51Here the seabed is coated with seagrass.
17:59While there's plenty of food for dolphins, the long fronds interfere with their sense
18:04of echolocation, making it difficult for them to detect any hidden prey.
18:15But the local dolphins have come up with a clever plan.
18:31Dolphin expert Sarah Robinson has spent many years following these dolphins and discovered
18:36the secret of their success, stingrays.
18:42It doesn't take long for her to spot two of the dolphins she's after, the charmingly named
18:48Zit and Pimple.
18:53And they look like they're diving.
18:54I think I've put off the cold water long enough, so I'm going to have to get in and check out
19:00if they are following a stingray.
19:03Fingers crossed.
19:04Yeah, they are.
19:05And I'm not getting in for nothing.
19:06Yes, there you go.
19:07Yeah, I'm in neutral.
19:08Go for it.
19:09Go, go, go.
19:10They're on a stingray.
19:11Yeah.
19:29Sarah free dives to the grassy seabed and catches a rare glimpse of this strange association.
19:59Armed with a lethal barb on the end of their tails, these stingrays pose a threat to both
20:05humans and dolphins.
20:19Zit and Pimple are taking quite a risk, but they don't seem to be put off as they shadow
20:24the rays every move.
20:50That ray seems to have found something.
20:53Undulating its wing-like fins, it's trying to flush out hidden prey.
21:09An octopus, a real delicacy for both stingray and dolphin.
21:20Stingrays have an ability that dolphins lack.
21:23They can locate prey hidden beneath the seagrass using the electroreceptors on the underside
21:29of their bodies.
21:35And the dolphins have worked this out.
21:47The dolphins have solved the problem of how to find their favourite food in the long seagrass.
21:53They're harnessing an ability of another species for their own ends.
22:00The stingrays have done all the hard work, only to be outsmarted by the dolphins.
22:21On the other side of the world, off the southern coast of Florida, another group of bottlenose
22:26dolphins face a very different challenge.
22:33In the shallows of Florida Bay, the fish can be very difficult to catch.
22:43With the tide receding, this female moves into position downstream of the fish.
22:55And then she does something remarkable.
23:05Beating her tail, she stirs up the silt.
23:19She has created a V-shaped wall of mud, a fish trap.
23:25Caught in the jaws of the trap, the fish have nowhere to go except up.
23:47This ingenious hunting strategy has been passed down successive generations.
23:53And this female is teaching it to her own youngster.
24:15Just how these dolphins first came up with this extraordinary strategy is a mystery.
24:21But their use of mud to catch fish clearly demonstrates their unique powers of creativity.
24:40Perhaps it's this creative intelligence that draws us to these magical creatures.
24:53Certainly dolphins' curiosity and playfulness captivate us.
24:59But what of their larger cousins, the great whales?
25:18They have the largest brains of all.
25:21So what about their intelligence?
25:24Are they super smart too?
25:33These humpback whales are on a marathon journey.
25:37They've been swimming for the last three months.
25:46Their destination is the west coast of Alaska.
25:58The summer sun has fueled an explosion of life in these deep fjords.
26:07Plankton blooms have given rise to huge shoals of herring.
26:17And this fish bonanza is why the humpback whales have traveled over 5,000 kilometers.
26:29But feasting on these fish isn't straightforward.
26:33The herring choose to gather in the depths of the fjords, where it's easier to escape
26:38from predators.
26:46For the whales to catch them, they'll need an ingenious hunting strategy.
27:16Scientist Fred Sharp knows of a particularly smart group of humpback whales that have a
27:21clever solution to catching herring.
27:25And he's invited Doug along to help him record key players in the group.
27:33So how does Fred rate their chances of finding them?
27:37100%.
27:38100%?
27:39Hey, that's great.
27:41This is their home.
27:42We've just got to find where the party is.
27:44It's like a nightclub.
27:45We're just finding out where the hotspot is and two weeks ago it was right here.
27:49Right now, it's hard to say, but we'll find them, we'll find them.
28:05Fred has names for over 1,000 whales that come here, but only 50 are part of what he
28:11calls the A-team, a super smart group of whales that work together in an extraordinary
28:18way.
28:21The unique shapes and marks of each whale's tail fluke allow Fred to tell who's who.
28:27There's one.
28:28Hey.
28:29Look at that.
28:30Oh, he's got a fluke.
28:31There he goes.
28:32Show us who you are, baby.
28:33Let's see him.
28:34Got it.
28:35Hey, it's a samurai.
28:36Does it look like a mandarin with the sword marching along?
28:40It does slightly.
28:42Unfortunately, though, he's not one of our core community of whales that we're looking
28:45for.
28:46He's just kind of a lone samurai doing his thing and it's a good sign, it shows there's
28:51feed in the area.
28:52Fred has known samurai for the last eight years.
28:56He's one of the older humpbacks, but not one of the smartest.
29:02Fred and Doug come across more whales.
29:07Some single, some traveling in pairs, but still no sign of the A-team.
29:16Day after day, the search continues.
29:18Just put it on the ground in front of the red.
29:37At last, they come across a group that's fast asleep.
29:47It's just like a log floating on the surface.
29:51Without any tail flukes visible, it's very hard to identify individuals.
29:55Yeah, it seems like these animals can teach us a lot.
30:00Cooperation, majesty, but the one thing they really teach you is patience.
30:06He's up for something now.
30:10He's going to fluke me, there he goes.
30:12Who is it?
30:13It's Vulture.
30:14That's one of the leaders, Vulture.
30:16That's Vulture.
30:17Sweet.
30:18Sweet indeed.
30:19They've found Vulture, one of the ringleaders of the A-team.
30:29It's a peach.
30:31That's one of the most awesome things you can see anywhere, isn't it?
30:34Yeah, full breach.
30:35Phenomenal.
30:36You know, it's funny, everybody's had a nice long nap and it seems like they're starting to wake up.
30:42And it's like sometimes certain whales are like, let's get it going on, people, let's get it going on.
30:46Let's get the peck flippers in the air.
30:49Yeah.
30:50They've found the A-team, and they're certainly waking up.
31:05No-one really knows why humpbacks make these finslaps and spectacular breaches.
31:11Perhaps the herring have been spotted, and this is the team's call to action.
31:18They've found the A-team, and they're certainly waking up.
31:22Perhaps the herring have been spotted, and this is the team's call to action.
31:47Fred and Doug track the whales as they move to the shoreline.
32:08According to Fred, this is a favourite hunting spot.
32:12Once again, they seem to be having difficulty finding the prey.
32:18This is awesome to see these whales here.
32:21This is the core community.
32:23These are the leaders.
32:24These are the main bubblers and vocalisers.
32:26This is a very good sign.
32:33They're like apparitions, you know?
32:35It's all magic.
32:38Now they're listening out for the distinctive herding call
32:42and looking for a telltale circle of bubbles.
32:48We've been listening to these beautiful, mournful calls for 15 years now,
32:53and we've been able to...
32:54Oh, I hear it! I hear it!
32:57I hear it right here! To the left! Quick!
33:26That's just...
33:27Yeah, it's like...
33:28That's really peachy.
33:29The biology's cool, but the beauty just blows you away.
33:31It's lovely.
33:36At last, the A-team are starting to feed.
33:46We're just so close, and they're obviously laid back.
33:48It's taken us a while to find the crew, you know?
33:50There were times I was a disbeliever, Fred, but you've come up with it.
33:54That's really lovely.
33:56The A-team's strategy for herding herring from the depths
34:00relies on a highly coordinated attack
34:03in which each whale has a crucial role to play.
34:10Using sightings like these,
34:12as well as recordings from hydrophones and sonar equipment,
34:16Fred and his team have built up a detailed picture
34:19of what's going on beneath the surface.
34:29Following the ringleader, the whales dive down together
34:33and each one moves into position.
34:39There are the herders.
34:41They circle the fish with flashing fins,
34:44keeping the shoal contained and preventing its escape.
34:52Then there is the caller, the one who dives below the shoal
34:56and emits a deafening cry.
35:03As loud as a rocket launch,
35:05180 decibels of sound pressure blasts through the water.
35:12In an attempt to escape from the noise,
35:14the panic-stricken fish are driven upwards.
35:19This is where the ringleader comes in.
35:25Taking up position above the herring,
35:27it begins blowing out a stream of air
35:30to create a fizzing net of bubbles.
35:38The shoal is prevented from dispersing by the herders
35:41and driven up by the caller right into the bubble net.
35:56Then all the whales gather underneath the fish trapped in the net.
36:07With mouths wide open,
36:09the 18 burst through the surface, engulfing their prey.
36:21By hunting together like this,
36:23each whale can catch up to 500 kilograms of herring a day.
36:43Surprisingly, Fred has discovered that none of the 18 is related.
36:49Like us, humpback whales can form friendships
36:52that last for many years.
37:15This spectacular display of teamwork
37:18is perhaps the ultimate demonstration of coordination
37:22and cooperation in the whale and dolphin world.
37:44But are whales and dolphins capable of even higher thought processes
37:49that only a tiny elite of life on Earth can lay claim to?
37:57Are they capable of self-awareness,
38:00what one might call existential thought?
38:10At Baltimore Aquarium,
38:12very special bottlenose dolphins are participating
38:15in one of the world's leading studies
38:18into what dolphins might think about themselves.
38:24Professor Diana Rees has spent over 25 years
38:27studying dolphins' cognitive abilities,
38:30that is, how they make sense of the world.
38:35And she's witnessed some astonishing behavior.
38:39Initially, we did studies where we actually gave dolphins,
38:42see, they're actually interested in looking in.
38:44And her precision instrument to unlock the dolphins' inner secrets, a mirror.
38:50So we have, okay, a mirror like this.
38:54So what we do is we give them the mirror.
38:57These dolphins have never seen a mirror in their lives.
39:01How will they react?
39:04Here it comes.
39:10Some other dolphins coming up as well right now.
39:14True to form, they're instantly intrigued.
39:18So what they first do is they explore the mirror.
39:20They try to look behind it.
39:21They try to figure out what this new thing is.
39:26They also look and show behavior like they're looking at another dolphin.
39:36This behavior is shared with monkeys and even birds,
39:40but the dolphins do something that sets them apart.
39:48It looks like they're testing the effects of their own behavior in front of the mirror,
39:53but understanding that there's a relationship between what they're doing
39:56and what they see in the mirror.
39:58They understand that that's themselves.
40:01This next step requires a giant mental leap of which very few animals are capable.
40:09It's great. I can watch this all day.
40:11I know. You have to be my search assistant.
40:13It's just great.
40:14This is why I do it. It's fascinating.
40:18There's something even more fascinating that happens when the dolphins are left with a mirror for longer.
40:24It's subtle, but the implications are profound.
40:28And to see it, we need to go into the ominously named pit.
40:35That's very cozy down here.
40:39Here, Diana puts up a two-way mirror.
40:42While the dolphins just see a reflection of themselves,
40:45Doug can remain hidden from view, recording their reactions.
40:54These dolphins have been staring into the looking glass for over a year
40:59and just can't get enough of their own reflections.
41:02This is Foster.
41:04Foster, yeah.
41:05He's three.
41:06He's really curious.
41:08Not only have they worked out that the reflection is theirs,
41:12but they seem endlessly absorbed by the image they see.
41:27They're using the mirror as a tool to view themselves.
41:31And it also suggests that they're interested in what they look like.
41:36That requires a sense of self.
41:38This is a very high level of awareness.
41:44Only humans, great apes and elephants share this sophisticated level of self-awareness.
41:53But can these apparently narcissistic tendencies reveal more about the inner workings of their minds?
42:01Human babies only start to recognize themselves in a mirror at the age of about two years old.
42:07And it's at this age that they also start to show another ability.
42:12Empathy.
42:14The capacity to identify and understand the feelings of others.
42:31Is it possible that whales and dolphins could mirror the emotional development we see in human babies?
42:42Might they too be able to empathize with others?
43:01Off the eastern coast of Mexico, in Baja, California,
43:06there is one group of whales that behave in a way that suggests they are capable of feeling for others.
43:16Female grey whales gather each year in these warm, sheltered waters to give birth and to nurse their calves.
43:26But this whale nursery wasn't always a safe haven.
43:37Only 75 years ago, it was the site of many a massacre.
43:42Whalers could pick off the slow-moving greys with ease.
43:47The whales fought back.
43:50Their attacks were so ferocious that they became known as hard-headed devil fish.
44:01Even after hunting was banned, whales and humans remained wary of each other.
44:11Then, something extraordinary happened.
44:15In 1972, a local fisherman, Pachico Majoro, had an encounter he would never forget.
44:28On that fortunate day, I wasn't looking for whales. I was fishing.
44:33But then, unexpectedly, a whale came up alongside my boat.
44:37And it started poking its head out of the water.
44:40I was afraid.
44:44Expecting the boat to be wrecked by the devil fish,
44:48Pachico was amazed when the whale gently nudged alongside his tiny boat and looked into his eyes.
44:58Overcoming his fear, Pachico was able to escape.
45:03After the initial excitement, I calmed down.
45:06Then I realized that the whales, despite how powerful they are, can live alongside us humans.
45:15I think that the whales are not resentful and that they want to be with us.
45:20I think that the whales are not resentful and that they want to be with us.
45:26I think that the whales are not resentful and that they want to share their space with us.
45:33They are very intelligent, perhaps even comparable to us, because they have shown us feelings, forgiveness.
45:43In that one instant, Pachico's attitude towards whales was changed forever.
45:56I feel that despite their size, they have a heart to receive us.
46:00A heart that's even bigger than they are.
46:08Today, people from around the world come here to meet the friendlies.
46:26That is a rain blow.
46:33Marine biologist Tony Frohoff has been studying the interactions between humans and whales here for 15 years.
46:42Nowhere else in the world really do you see this type of thing.
46:45It's completely unique in where the whales come right up to you.
46:50It's completely unique in where the whales come right up to you.
46:55And they're doing it on their terms.
46:57They're living their lives here, nursing their young, giving birth, mating,
47:01but yet they still come up and they interact with boats like this.
47:05And there must be something that they're gaining emotionally, psychologically, from this type of interaction with people.
47:12And in the process, they're bringing out some of the best in people.
47:17Well, the whale just came right up and there was nothing else to do but give him a kiss.
47:24I managed to kiss the baby about three times.
47:28And I thought life couldn't get better than that.
47:31Until the mum came up right between my arms and I got to hug her.
47:46Some of the older grey whales who would remember the days of whaling are still here today.
47:55So what has brought about this astonishing change in their behaviour towards us?
48:03Not only have these ocean giants lost their fear of us, but they appear to be seeking us out and actively enjoying our company too.
48:17Emotional awareness is generally regarded as one of the highest forms of intelligence.
48:22But awareness of emotions in another species is even more impressive.
48:28That's amazing. Amazing.
48:35The latest research on whale and dolphins' brains has revealed something quite unexpected.
48:42Like us, they have spindle cells.
48:46These special brain cells were once thought to be unique to humans because of their link with language, self-awareness and compassion.
49:00Yet some whales and dolphins may have three times as many spindle cells as we do.
49:08What I'm observing defies a lot of what we have been taught.
49:14And we are now having to teach that there is more literally beneath the surface of these whales than meets the eye.
49:38The World's Leading Scientist
49:51Through the world's leading scientists, we are learning so much about the remarkable intelligence of whales and dolphins.
50:00But there is something that science cannot yet explain.
50:07Our extraordinary connection with these magical creatures.
50:15They really invite you in their family.
50:18You can get right in there, you can share their moments, their intimate moments.
50:30You realize just how complicated the societies that these animals live in.
50:36But you also have to ask yourself, are these animals trying to talk to us?
50:45When you really look into the eye of a dolphin or a whale, you see something behind them.
50:51You see that they're sentient, they're assessing you, they're aware, they're self-conscious.
50:56Perhaps one day soon, we may learn to communicate with these mysterious creatures.
51:05And then maybe they will tell us themselves what is really going on in the minds of the ocean giants.
51:26The World's Leading Scientist