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00:00They cover two-thirds of our planet.
00:05They hold clues to the mysteries of our past.
00:10And they're vital for our future survival.
00:15But the secrets of our oceans have remained largely undiscovered.
00:22I win! I think so.
00:25Yes! Yes!
00:29Explorer Paul Rose is leading a team of ocean experts
00:33on a series of underwater science expeditions.
00:38For a year, the team has voyaged across the world
00:41to build up a global picture of our seas.
00:44We are doing some pretty uncharted research here.
00:47That is psychedelically incredible!
00:50We're here to try and understand the Earth's oceans
00:53and put them in a human scale.
00:58Our oceans are changing faster than ever.
01:01I've never seen ice like this before.
01:04There's never been a better time
01:06to explore the last true wilderness on Earth.
01:16It's that way.
01:18Something quite big.
01:20Yes, look!
01:22It's a whale.
01:25The team is exploring a unique corner of the Pacific Ocean,
01:29the Sea of Cortez.
01:31Oh, my goodness!
01:33This is so beautiful, isn't it?
01:35I think that those are fin whales.
01:37And this is the first day.
01:39The first day at the Sea of Cortez.
01:41It feels good, doesn't it?
01:42Yes, it certainly does.
01:47The Sea of Cortez is a rich, fertile gulf
01:51separating the peninsula of Baja California from mainland Mexico.
01:59This sea is an exceptional marine environment,
02:03home to the greatest variety of whales and dolphins
02:06found anywhere in the world.
02:15But today, this ocean paradise is under threat.
02:19Over the last 50 to 100 years,
02:21humans have had a growing impact on the systems
02:24that make this sea so interesting.
02:26The health of sea lions, sharks and sperm whales,
02:30you know, all these big animals
02:32that are found here in this little, young sea.
02:35Fishing, tourism and industry have triggered complex changes here,
02:39and it's these that the team has come to investigate.
02:50This is definitely on the edge.
02:53Environmentalist Philippe Cousteau
02:55will examine the shifting balance of this delicate ecosystem.
03:00Whoa, look at that!
03:03If you're seeing an explosion of squid,
03:05that is at the cost to some other species.
03:10Maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue
03:13discovers how local people have found a way to protect our seas.
03:17They are very aware that the seas only have a limited resource.
03:22They have to be farmed in a way that is sustainable.
03:28There's five sperm whales down there!
03:30Marine biologist and oceanographer Tooni Mato
03:33explores how life is responding
03:36in a rare encounter with one of the largest carnivores on Earth.
03:40I got a sonar boom.
03:42I felt that boom going right through my body.
03:48The Sea of Cortez is a sea under change,
03:51and we're going to witness those changes,
03:53and I think that's a fantastic mission for a diving expedition.
03:57This will be a voyage of discovery into a sea of change.
04:05We're headed off to Los Islotes to go diving with sea lions,
04:08which I have to say is one of my favourite things to do in the world.
04:13Large breeding colonies of California sea lions are found here.
04:18But commercial fishing is increasing,
04:21and that is starting to affect them.
04:24There's been a lot of overfishing of their traditional food,
04:27like sardines, in the Sea of Cortez.
04:29So a lot of the sea lions are suffering because of that.
04:33The animals of Los Islotes are a mysterious exception.
04:37Somehow, these animals are thriving.
04:42Marine biologist Tuni Mato will be helping to unearth their secret.
05:00The first aim is to check out how healthy this colony is.
05:05He came close!
05:08Light-spinning bullet!
05:10The manoeuvrability underwater kind of puts us to shame, I feel.
05:19That one over there is a bit of a big boy. I think he's one of the males.
05:24Oh, and he's certainly come around to check me out.
05:27Yeah, that looks like a big boy.
05:30Oh, and he's certainly come around to check me out.
05:33Yeah, that is a big male, that's for sure.
05:36He is awesome.
05:38You can see that huge bony crest on their head.
05:41They use that to reverberate sound so that everybody can hear them
05:44and let them know that they're in the territory and they're in charge.
05:49Blowing bubbles is a way of saying, keep your distance.
05:57Hello.
06:00This looks like the nursery area to me, with all the juveniles.
06:06Apparently the pups here in this particular population
06:09spend an awful lot longer with their mothers
06:11than pups of the same species in different areas.
06:14So they go out and fish with their mothers, so they learn that behaviour.
06:20The number of pups in the water is a sign this colony is doing well,
06:24as it means the females are healthy enough to breed regularly.
06:30There were about 30 pups a year in the early 90s
06:33and now there are more than 100 a year.
06:35And it's a real success story, which is good news.
06:39But with many fish stocks declining,
06:42the mystery is why this colony is doing so well.
06:46Something else must be going on.
07:01They look so incongruous on land, don't they?
07:05And as soon as he's in the water, he's absolutely perfectly streamlined.
07:09Amazing.
07:11Master of his environment.
07:20Gathering sea lions' droppings, or scats,
07:23might give Toonie clues about their diet.
07:27Essentially, I'm doing the scientific equivalent of panning for gold.
07:33I'm looking at the sea lion poo.
07:36And what we're looking for are the fish otoliths,
07:40which are the ear bones of fish.
07:42And from the otoliths, we can identify what's the problem.
07:46And what's the problem?
07:48And what's the problem?
07:50And what's the problem?
07:52These are the ear bones of fish.
07:54And from the otoliths, we can identify what the sea lions have actually been eating.
07:59Oh, there's one.
08:03Gold! I found gold!
08:07These ear bones could reveal the answer.
08:11And it seems Toonie really has struck gold.
08:15What we found here is a fish otolith from a deep-water sea bass
08:19that's pretty much between 75 and 265 metres.
08:22That instantly shows that this population has, at some stage,
08:27adapted to fishing at much deeper depths.
08:32California sea lions normally hunt at depths of around 70 metres,
08:36catching fish such as sardines.
08:41But the ear bones Toonie's found
08:43prove the animals at Losis lotus have been able to change their hunting patterns.
08:48And that's the reason why that population seems to be doing so well.
08:54Because of this crucial adaptation,
08:56the Losis lotus sea lions no longer have to compete with fishermen.
09:01And they're flourishing.
09:05The fact that this particular colony
09:07is being able to adapt to the threats and challenges that are facing it
09:10and thrive is a great story.
09:13Hopefully, if this colony can exhibit this kind of behaviour,
09:17then others can follow suit
09:19and there may be a bright future for the California sea lion.
09:35Although life is changing fast here,
09:37change itself is nothing new to our seas and oceans.
09:43In fact, their size and shape are constantly shifting.
09:48Oceanographer Toonie has brought the team west to the Bay of Conception
09:53because here you can actually see that process in action.
10:01Beneath these calm waters is a giant fracture in the Earth's crust.
10:06It's part of the infamous San Andreas fault line
10:09and it created this sea.
10:12The Sea of Cortez is quite young in geological terms.
10:16The peninsula split away from the main coastline of Mexico
10:20about five million years ago, so it basically started tearing apart.
10:24And the great thing I like so much is the fact that it's still moving.
10:28The whole of the Bahia Peninsula is moving pretty much west
10:32at a rate of five centimetres a year.
10:35This bay offers Toonie the chance to look for evidence
10:39that this sea is getting bigger.
10:43And Paul's hoping she'll cook a snack in the process.
10:46Lewis, could we have six eggs huevos? Would that be OK?
10:53He's a good man, isn't he?
10:55Thanks very much. Thank you.
10:59Don't forget these.
11:01Good luck. Happy cooking.
11:10MUSIC
11:18Toonie and Lucy are swimming over part of the San Andreas fault line.
11:25As the Earth's crust is being ripped apart beneath them,
11:28heat and gas from the centre of the planet
11:31are escaping through cracks called hydrothermal vents.
11:35Oh, look, look at all these bubbles coming through.
11:38Oh, God, yeah.
11:41It's rare to see a hydrothermal vent in five metres of water.
11:47They're normally found deep beneath the surface.
11:50Oh, look, you can see the heat shimmer.
11:54This is the shimmering water,
11:56where the hot water's coming out of the ground
11:59and mixing with the colder seawater around it.
12:02And that's the evidence of all the hydrothermal activity,
12:06accompanied by all the bubbles.
12:09Oh, that's hot, that's really hot.
12:13It's actually burning my fingers.
12:16This hot water is over 90 degrees centigrade.
12:21It once trickled down through cracks in the Earth's crust
12:24towards the furnace of the inner Earth.
12:27There it was superheated and forced out into the Sea of Cortez.
12:36Right, so we brought our eggs with us
12:39and we're going to bury them here
12:42because it's really, really warm here.
12:45And then we're going to take them back on board for lunch.
12:49We're cooking in the seafloor.
12:52It's not right.
12:55Hot, mineral-rich water like this
12:57is only found in places where fault lines are tearing the Earth apart.
13:02It proves that directly below the team,
13:05the Earth's crust is slowly moving
13:07and this sea is steadily growing.
13:12Seas and oceans are thought of as immovable features of our planet.
13:16This dive has shown they're anything but.
13:20It's quite amazing to think that this action
13:23of the tearing apart of these two landmasses
13:27is a continuum and it's been going on now for over 5 million years.
13:34But although this process created the Sea of Cortez,
13:37it will also destroy it.
13:40As Baja California continues to move north-west,
13:44it will eventually break away from the mainland
13:46to become a giant island.
13:50Then the Sea of Cortez will disappear forever,
13:53engulfed by the rest of the Pacific Ocean.
14:01Hey, hey, I know what you're holding behind you can't fool me.
14:04Foiled eggs. Hard-boiled eggs, soft-boiled eggs.
14:07Do you know what I'm struggling with? It's soldiers.
14:09I don't know what Spanish is for soldiers.
14:12That looks perfect to me.
14:14That is a hard-boiled egg.
14:16That's a perfect, perfect hydrothermal vent-boiled egg.
14:22Is it OK to eat it? Of course it's all right to eat it.
14:24That's looking great.
14:26You could do it like an oyster, couldn't you?
14:28What, in one?
14:32That's absolutely brilliant.
14:34Did you just down an egg in one?
14:36That's absolutely brilliant.
14:38I thought it was worth a go.
14:40I thought it was worth a go.
14:42You're disgusting.
14:44Sea of Cortez, eating eggs cooked by Lucy and Tony on a hydrothermal vent.
14:49Awesome.
14:50Cheers, mate.
14:59Top predators, such as sharks,
15:01are being decimated in the Sea of Cortez.
15:05The team plans to investigate a surprising knock-on effect.
15:10They are ugly creatures.
15:13A few decades ago, there were no Humboldt squid in the Sea of Cortez.
15:18Now there could be over 20 million.
15:21They've taken over in a really short space of time,
15:24and it's to do with the amount of fishing that's gone on in this particular sea.
15:29So they've taken out the top predators,
15:31and now the Humboldt squid have basically filled in the giant empty space.
15:36Growing to over two metres long, these are ferocious cannibalistic hunters.
15:42Look at the beak. It's so strong.
15:44You see it overlaps?
15:46If you imagine that, that is kind of hooked over.
15:49So, you know, if your finger's in there, it's gone.
15:52And look at their eyes.
15:54That's too eerie.
15:58Humboldt squid are thought to have excellent vision
16:01and are armed with over 30,000 barbed hooks inside their suckers.
16:06You can feel them. They've properly sharped these hooks.
16:10The team wants to find out what impact the squid invasion is having.
16:14Honestly, that is nasty.
16:16And that means seeing them hunt.
16:23Humboldts live in the depths of the ocean.
16:27Local fishermen say catching one tempts others up from the deep.
16:37I caught a squid!
16:38We've got a squid here.
16:44Oh, my goodness.
16:45Well done.
16:46We've got a squid in the area.
16:49We've been fishing about two hours, and we've run into a huge pile of squid.
16:54And what's really interesting is that every single time we put a hook down,
16:59it brings up a squid that's got marks and rips and bites all over it.
17:04A number of the ones that we pulled up have actually been eaten.
17:08So this is demonstrating the sort of cannibalistic habits of the squid,
17:12which is really quite unnerving, you know,
17:15watching a mate get caught on a line and then eat him on the way up.
17:19To see how they hunt, there's only one option, to dive in.
17:25I don't particularly want to get in there with a whole load of arms and suckers and teeth.
17:32Dive safety supervisor Richard Bull is also worried.
17:36There are some very serious reports of people getting grabbed by them,
17:41divers getting grabbed by them.
17:43One grabs them, another one grabs them, and another one grabs them.
17:46And if you don't react quickly, then you are on your way down to the deep.
17:52This is to keep us safe.
17:55In case something goes wrong, the rest of the crew can grab.
17:58There'll be a line tied to this, and they can grab us and bring us up.
18:02It's now past midnight, and the weather has started to deteriorate.
18:07Waves are coming in strong.
18:09It's really rough. The wind is picking up.
18:12This is definitely on the edge.
18:15We've not eaten in five minutes, and it's off.
18:21Everybody watch, watch mine!
18:29Oh, look at that current.
18:32It's off.
18:33It's OK.
18:40Look at that.
18:42That was a very rough entry in the water.
18:47Whoa, look at that.
18:49Oh, I can see squid.
18:51They're right here.
18:53Oh, there are loads of them.
18:55Oh, there's one.
18:57Oh!
19:00Oh my goodness.
19:03We can see the squid, which are kind of racing and pulsing out of the darkness.
19:09As they come closer, the squid seem to be doing something peculiar.
19:15There are several of them flashing their colours,
19:18and we can see these ghostly white shadows that are flashing red.
19:26You see the colour of him? That red flash.
19:29These flashes may be a form of language
19:32that could possibly help groups of squid to communicate as they hunt.
19:37They are definitely attracted to the lures.
19:41Oh!
19:42Yeah, there it is.
19:44God, they're really quick.
19:46The squid have started to attack the team's bait in a pack.
19:50There's like 10 or 20 out here.
19:54Invertebrates don't normally attack.
19:57Invertebrates don't normally hunt together like this.
20:02But a humbucked squid are intelligent.
20:05By flashing, they might be organising themselves into a hunting pack.
20:12And that's helping them to devastate local fish stocks,
20:16eating an estimated 10,000 tonnes a night.
20:18Underwater, Toony and Philippe are unaware of how windy it's become on the surface.
20:25It's kicking up.
20:27It's getting very rough.
20:32I'm thinking we're on the edge.
20:34My job is to say no.
20:36Agreed.
20:38We've put them in at the edge of our capability,
20:42and the seas have picked up,
20:44and the weather's obviously getting worse, so time to bring them back.
20:48The rough seas will now make for a dangerous exit from the water.
20:52The rough seas will now make for a dangerous exit from the water.
21:23Well done, mate.
21:25It's pretty rough, isn't it?
21:29It was one heck of a dive, that's for sure.
21:33You alright, mate?
21:35I'm pooped.
21:39What time is it?
21:41Ten past three.
21:43So we've been squid-jigging since 8 o'clock this evening.
21:47The success of the Humboldt squid is having a radical effect on this ecosystem.
21:54If you're seeing an explosion of squid, that is at the cost to some other species.
22:01They'll eat their way down the food chain until there's nothing left down there.
22:06And this problem isn't just affecting the Sea of Cortez.
22:10Many invertebrates, like squid, are booming in the water.
22:13The expedition has witnessed one of the great changes affecting life in our oceans today.
22:29After the late night, Paul gives the team some time off.
22:34It's time to go home.
22:36It's time to go home.
22:38After the late night, Paul gives the team some time off.
22:45It's a very good part of the expedition, right in the middle of it.
22:49And in the thick of it.
22:54I'm loving this sea.
22:57It just looks like it holds those hidden jewels that essentially we're all here to try and find.
23:03Now I have this real sense of ownership.
23:06And it saddens me to think that anything at all is being done to harm this special, beautiful place.
23:14The team has already seen some of the surprising effects of man's impact here.
23:18But there's more to explore in this remarkable sea.
23:22There's still a lot of challenges ahead.
23:24Oh, we've got sperm whales coming up here.
23:26You know, all these great things we've still got to do in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez.
23:32Oh, my God.
23:42For maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue, oceans aren't just about the creatures living within them.
23:49For me, it's the connection between the people in the past, their relationship with the sea,
23:54and what that can tell us about people living today.
23:57Lucy's been researching a shipwreck that tells a tragic story of man's relationship with the ocean.
24:04It's a boat that was smuggling migrant workers with the aim of trying to get into the United States of America.
24:11It is a bit like an investigation into the lives of these people as they took this treacherous journey across the seas.
24:19Is this a transport ship or what?
24:21Yes, exactly, a transportation of people.
24:22And there'll be clues left within the shell of that boat to give us an indication of what life on board was like.
24:28You can just see it emerging out of the bottom of the sea.
24:58This is the wreck of the Fang Ming.
25:06It's sort of eerie as you swim around.
25:09There's abandoned pieces of her decking and rotting ropes.
25:22The Fang Ming was formerly a working vessel in China, possibly a fishing vessel.
25:29And then she subsequently crossed the Pacific carrying this cargo of Chinese migrant workers.
25:39Lucy wants to find out where the Chinese workers were kept during the crossing.
25:50Wow.
25:52You first.
25:59It's like walking into a deserted building.
26:05It feels a little bit like a slavery ship or a prison.
26:11This was meant to carry boxes of fish.
26:17Instead, in this tiny, dark space, 88 men and seven women were kept for weeks at sea.
26:24Imagine what it would have been like all crammed in here.
26:29It must have been quite horrific.
26:32Apparently, there were actually people employed on the boats to control them, to keep them crammed in these confined quarters.
26:43The Chinese workers were just hours from their destination when the Fang Ming was seized by the authorities.
26:49Everyone on board was sent back to China.
26:56In 1999, the Fang Ming was sunk to become the first artificial reef in Latin America.
27:03All these old pipes and walls have just been colonised by marine life.
27:09It's just completely taken it over.
27:12But for Lucy, the Fang Ming will always be a reminder of a deeper human story.
27:20You start to think about, you know, they had reasons to put their lives at risk in that way, to endure that experience.
27:27And it's sort of representative of migrant workers, illegal immigrants.
27:32You know, they had a reason to do it.
27:34For anyone navigating these waters, the weather can be dangerously unpredictable.
27:39The expedition arrived just after a hurricane hit.
27:43The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
27:47The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
27:50The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
27:53The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
27:56The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
27:59The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
28:02The waves were so strong that they could barely lift a person.
28:05The expedition arrived just after a hurricane.
28:09And now the weather's threatening again.
28:16That's lovely!
28:19Look at that! That's a bit of bolt!
28:22It's the first time we've seen this weather, isn't it?
28:25Absolutely!
28:27Does that mean the hurricane's coming back?
28:29Well, I checked with the captain a couple of hours ago and he said the weather's going to be all right.
28:31The wind's going to pick up, but no hurricane, he said.
28:36What about the thunder and lightning? Where does that fit into the whole equation?
28:39He didn't mention it, he just talked about wind.
28:43So no wind, but we're going to be struck down by lightning?
28:47Yeah, I don't know. I'd better check again.
28:54It's funny, I was just thinking about a passage-making brief.
28:58Get ourselves organised for the big crossing.
29:02I'd better incorporate some severe weather briefing on it.
29:09Paul was hoping to move north, but because of the weather, the team is stuck here.
29:16We really are squeaking every possible thing into this expedition.
29:22We don't really need too much bad weather, that's for sure.
29:25So we're going to anchor for probably at least five hours,
29:29and then at three or four in the morning make way again.
29:42Once the storm has blown through, they set sail again.
29:50The team is heading north.
29:52The team is heading north to meet one of the most isolated tribes in Mexico.
29:57They're known as guardians of this sea, and Lucy's keen to find out why.
30:03This is the area where the Seri Indians live.
30:06So they're basically indigenous people who live here and fish the seas,
30:10and so it's that sort of symbiotic relationship between what's happening around the edges of the ocean
30:16and the people that live there, and how they sort of work with the oceans and fish the seas.
30:21That sort of thing.
30:27Just over 450 Seri's exist today.
30:32Lucy's been invited to see their approach to managing this sea.
30:39That must be Chapo, don't you?
30:41Chapo, hello Chapo.
30:43My name is Paul.
30:45Lucy.
30:47Chapo, thank you so much for your help.
30:48Eighty-three-year-old Chapo Burnett is the village shaman, or holy man.
30:54He still fishes with his son, Raimundo.
30:57OK, thank you.
31:02They work in a notorious area called Hell's Channel, so Chapo asks the sea gods for a safe passage.
31:19Chapo and Raimundo are going to collect scallops.
31:23Lucy wants to see how they go about it.
31:38He's basically walking along the seabed with the bag between his legs,
31:42and it's like he's gathering them in a way that you might carve his cross.
31:46It's quite a nice comparison, harvesting of the land and harvesting of the sea.
31:55In just a few minutes, Raimundo has almost filled his bag,
31:59but the Seri's are careful to manage the stocks.
32:02When I spoke to Raimundo, he implied that they basically do crop rotation.
32:07If they feel that they're over-harvesting one area,
32:11they'll move to another area and maybe fish octopus.
32:13So the principles are sustainable.
32:17This approach clearly works.
32:23In Hell's Channel, the scallop beds are productive and healthy year after year,
32:28a stark contrast to the rest of the Sea of Cortez,
32:32where shellfish production is collapsing.
32:43Thank you, sir.
32:50That is delicious.
32:52I'm never going to cook a scallop again.
32:55It's absolutely gorgeous.
33:06The Seri Indians demonstrate a technique that balances the needs of people
33:10with the health of the sea.
33:16They are living in a modern world.
33:18They have to compete with large commercial fishing operations,
33:22and yet they're also very aware that the seas only have a limited resource.
33:27They have to be farmed in a way that is sustainable.
33:41For the last target of the expedition,
33:44the team aims to carry out pioneering research
33:47on one of the planet's largest carnivores.
33:51I've asked a couple of sperm whale scientists
33:54who work specifically within the Sea of Cortez
33:56to come and join us for a few days on board.
34:01Dr. Carina Acevedo-Whitehouse and Dr. Diane Gendron are experts on whales.
34:07Welcome. Thanks for joining our expedition.
34:10With the scientists on board, the team prepares for the challenge ahead.
34:15Sperm whales, that's all we care about.
34:17We can't even speak or think or do anything clearly
34:21because we're full of sperm whales.
34:25There are certain experiences that could stay with you for the rest of your life,
34:30and I think if we do manage to snorkel with the sperm whales,
34:32I don't think I'd ever, ever forget that. Ever.
34:41Next morning, the search begins.
34:45Relatively little is known about sperm whales.
34:48They live far offshore and are hard to find.
34:51Locating them is the first task.
34:55So our plan is to go about another hour northeast
34:58and begin our search pattern.
34:59And see what we can find.
35:04Sperm whales dive for up to 40 minutes at a time.
35:07Diane and Philippe are using a directional microphone
35:11to try to track them underwater.
35:13Anything within this spectrum of the cone, it's going to pick up.
35:17Anything outside, like here, like my voice,
35:19which is quite loud right next to it, it doesn't pick up.
35:22It's pretty cool.
35:24Let's see what we can find.
35:26Let's see what we can hear.
35:37Sperm whales are amongst the loudest animals in the world.
35:41Their clicks reach 220 decibels, louder than a shotgun blast,
35:46so they can be heard for many miles underwater.
35:49So you can hear the sperm whales clicking.
35:52As soon as I turn it off with where the sperm whales are,
35:54the sounds, the clicks, go away.
35:57So that way we know where to go, right?
35:59Yeah, they're this way.
36:01Roger, that's all copied.
36:03So do you have an estimate on numbers in the group over?
36:06We've got a pretty broad sweep all along the port side.
36:08To me it seems like there would be more than one group.
36:11That's great news.
36:13We've actually come right onto a really large group.
36:18So we're timing this pretty perfectly.
36:21Very exciting time.
36:25Lucy catches the first glimpse.
36:28Oh, is it going to turn?
36:30It's going, it's going, it's going.
36:42Here we go, fluke, fluke.
36:46Did you see that?
36:48I hope these guys saw that.
36:50Big fluke.
36:54Big fluke.
36:56You couldn't book him, could you?
37:00This is the team's chance to take a closer look.
37:05Learning more about sperm whales is important
37:08because they're a vital part of the ocean's food chain.
37:11Particularly here in the Sea of Cortez,
37:14where their main diet is Humboldt squid.
37:18We decided to just hop in the panga
37:21and kind of get a bit closer
37:22and see how they respond to us being around them
37:25and maybe get you in water with them.
37:27And we've got some dolphin escorts here
37:29that are swimming right around the panga, right next to us.
37:31You can almost reach out and touch them.
37:37Then, the moment Toonie's been waiting for.
37:40Oh my goodness, look at these.
37:42The whales rise up to breathe.
37:47Part of the challenge with studying these animals
37:49is that you really only get the briefest glimpse
37:52of their life cycle by witnessing them only on the surface.
37:55So the opportunity to try and get underwater and film them
37:58is very important.
38:01But that's not going to be easy.
38:03Oh, he's diving.
38:05Oh, he's diving.
38:09Seeing as that was the deepest diving mammal on our planet,
38:12we could be here for some time.
38:14Sperm whales can dive to over 2,000 metres.
38:18So until they resurface,
38:20studying them underwater will be out of the question.
38:25We do our absolute utmost to get to swim with sperm whales.
38:28And as soon as they see us, they're just like,
38:31you know what, I'm not interested today, and that's it.
38:34With one flick of the tail.
38:36Lucy and Carina want to find out how healthy these whales are.
38:43Their sheer size makes taking blood virtually impossible.
38:46So Carina's the first scientist
38:48to try to capture a sample of the whales' breath in the wild.
38:53Lucy and Carina are going to try and find out
38:56how healthy these whales are.
38:58Lucy and Carina are going to try and find out
39:01how healthy these whales are.
39:02Lucy and Carina are going to try and capture a sample
39:04of the whales' breath in the wild.
39:20Germs in the whales' breath
39:22will tell Carina if they have any infections in their lungs.
39:32Getting a sample is easier said than done,
39:34as the sample dishes have to be held
39:36right over the whales' blowhole.
39:38Oh, no.
39:46No.
39:52Please don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
39:57Oh, I'm very disappointing.
40:02Reel her back in.
40:04Yes, next time.
40:05Every optimist.
40:07Oh, that was great.
40:09They fail to capture a single sample.
40:12But Carina has an ingenious plan B.
40:15OK.
40:18Oh, wow.
40:20What a superb-looking thing.
40:22It's a fabulous idea to link science collecting
40:25with a small miniature helicopter.
40:27Wow.
40:30With sample dishes attached,
40:32the helicopter can fly straight to the whales.
40:35Straight through the whales' breath
40:37without disturbing them.
40:41But pilot Agustin Payen has strong winds to contend with.
40:53Oh, the wind, the wind, the wind, the wind, the wind.
40:55No problem.
40:59It's very quick to get the glider in.
41:01Right.
41:03We're moving up on some whales right now
41:05and we're trying very slowly to parallel their course.
41:08And then he can swing this in
41:10and collect a sample of the blow.
41:12So it's all a matter of timing.
41:14Go, Agustin. It's perfect, man.
41:20Go, buddy.
41:24Just a bit further out, Agustin.
41:29Get a dive. Yeah, can you believe it?
41:35And Philippe aren't having much luck either.
41:39I think there's a whole load of sonar conversations
41:41going on down there at the moment,
41:43which is basically the sperm whales telling each other
41:45there's a bunch of wannabes knocking around on the boat.
41:49And to get the heck out of here,
41:51you can just see them,
41:53they're all just diving all around us.
41:56OK, Agustin, get in there, buddy.
41:58No.
42:00Despite the strong winds,
42:02they're finally getting closer with the helicopter.
42:04Get in there.
42:06Forward, mate.
42:14That's the sample. He's got it.
42:17The germs caught in the dish
42:19will help reveal more information
42:21about the health of the sperm whale population here.
42:25Well done. Perfect.
42:27Can you... Yeah, yeah. OK.
42:29And with each sample so hard to collect,
42:30this one will be important for Carina's research.
42:34Thank you. Perfect.
42:36Thanks very much. Very good.
42:38OK, that was a good sample.
42:40And what is it that you're specifically
42:42looking for with these?
42:44Mycobacteria, for example,
42:46the agent that can cause tuberculosis.
42:48Haemophilus, that's a very common germ
42:50that causes infection in the lungs.
42:52It can cause severe problems, even meningitis.
42:54So it's just a list of germs to start with.
42:57Carina's early findings suggest
42:58whales could have caught
43:00some of these bacteria from humans,
43:02perhaps through activities like whale watching.
43:07Her groundbreaking work
43:09has highlighted this problem for the first time.
43:12It might be an important development
43:14in protecting sperm whales.
43:17Look, look, look.
43:19One, two, three, four.
43:22After almost five hours,
43:24the whales finally seem to be staying at the surface.
43:25Philippe and Thuny are desperate
43:27to observe them underwater.
43:55There's five sperm whales down there.
44:14The large females in this group
44:16are over nine metres long
44:18and can weigh more than 12 tonnes each.
44:26You can see how they just turn around
44:28and touch each other,
44:30and it's so, so social.
44:34The whales are socialising.
44:36This is a rare sight.
44:40It suggests their food stocks are plentiful,
44:42as they can afford to take time out
44:44to observe the whales.
44:46This is a rare sight.
44:48It suggests their food stocks are plentiful,
44:50as they can afford to take time out
44:52to observe the whales.
44:53This is a rare sight.
44:55It suggests their food stocks are plentiful,
44:57as they can afford to take time out
44:59from hunting.
45:05It shows the explosion of Humboldt squid
45:07might actually be benefiting these animals.
45:14Suddenly, Diane spots something astonishing
45:16at the surface.
45:18Woo-hoo!
45:20That's a big male.
45:22A large, mature male
45:24has joined the group.
45:27This giant in the centre of the pack
45:29could weigh over 40 tonnes.
45:32Male sperm whales
45:34have the largest brain of any animal
45:36that's ever lived.
45:38We don't see that every day.
45:40No, seriously.
45:42This is... you're lucky.
45:44It's a treat.
45:52Adult males
45:54usually live in small groups
45:56in the cold waters around the poles,
45:58so this one has probably come here to breed.
46:05After a short time,
46:07he grows sexually aroused
46:09and starts courting the females.
46:14This behaviour is seldom seen.
46:17This is a rare sight.
46:18And it shows how important
46:20the Sea of Cortez is
46:22as a breeding ground for sperm whales.
46:34More than any other,
46:36this dive has illustrated
46:38why the health of this sea
46:40is so vital to the life within it.
46:49I'm blown away.
46:51I must be one of the luckiest people
46:53on the planet right now.
46:55There just aren't words to explain
46:57how incredible that feeling is.
46:59I got so naboomed.
47:01I heard and felt that pulse,
47:03just that boom
47:05going right through my body
47:07as it was doing the kind of x-ray scan
47:09of what the heck I was.
47:11I want a hug.
47:13I want a hug.
47:15I want a hug.
47:16What the heck I was.
47:18I want a hug.
47:24Oh, man.
47:26I felt like crying.
47:28This is a really strange reaction,
47:30but you feel like crying
47:32when you watch it.
47:35It's a spectacular end
47:37to the expedition.
47:39How was it?
47:41My God, it was fantastic, Paul, Lucy.
47:43A voyage that's offered
47:44a new meaning to the world
47:46of our changing oceans.
47:48Well done.
47:52The Sea of Cortez
47:54is a place in flux,
47:56and there are so many things
47:58we don't know
48:00and so many things
48:02that we're doing carelessly.
48:04And what is that doing
48:06to the natural balance?
48:08This sea has revealed
48:10how destructive man's impact can be.
48:12But it's also shown us
48:14that we can adapt.
48:19And that in the face of great change,
48:21life can adapt
48:23and even thrive.
48:27The Sea of Cortez at the moment
48:29still seems to be
48:31an incredibly rich place.
48:33So, yes, it's changing,
48:35but I personally feel
48:37like the sea
48:39finds its own equilibrium.
48:41This shifting balance
48:43will create winners and losers.
48:45But as yet,
48:47it's impossible to predict
48:49who they'll be.
49:10NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
49:12California Institute of Technology