Giants of the Deep (Full Episode) | OceanXplorers | Nat Geo Animals

[James Cameron] The Ocean.... the last frontier on earth. So much is unexplored and unexplained. To change that... a kickass team of insanely talented specialists is setting out to push the frontiers of what we know about our oceans. [Zoleka Filander] Oh my gosh. [James Cameron] Zoleka Filander, deep sea scientist. [Zoleka Filander] Being a deep sea researcher means having front row tickets to the best movie that everybody wants to watch. [James Cameron] Melissa Márquez... [Melissa Márquez] Straight ahead, 12:00. Shark biologist. [Melissa Márquez] We just saw what no one has seen before. Eric Stackpole... [Eric Stackpole] Scan now! Ocean tech innovator. [Eric Stackpole] I love building tools that allow us to see things in ways we've never seen before. [gasps] [James Cameron] And Aldo Kane... [Aldo Kane] This is insane. [James Cameron] Former Royal Marine; special ops. [Aldo Kane] It doesn't get any more cutting-edge exploration than this. Their secret weapon... ...the OceanXplorer. The most technologically advanced research vessel ever built. There's never been a more urgent need to understand our ocean and the animals that call it home... Because their lives and ours depend on it. [Eric Stackpole] Okay here we go. 2:00, 2:00. [James Cameron] This time the team track sperm whales, down into an alien world. [Edith Widder] What is that? [James Cameron] Full of fantastical creatures. [Melissa Márquez] No, ho, oh! [♪ theme music plays]. [James Cameron] The OceanXplorer is heading for deep water. Just off the Azores. A chain of tiny volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic. And a rich oasis for an abundance of marine life. [squawking] Every summer nearly 1,000 sperm whales gather here. They're easily identified by their distinctive sideways spout. These whales spend most of their lives deep below the surface. But using the full scope of the OceanXplorer's tech, the team hopes to shine a light on their lives down in these black depths. [Eric Stackpole] Standby 9:00. [James Cameron] Sperm whales were hunted here as recently as 1987 and they live up to 70 years, so some of them may still remember that. They're understandably nervous around boats. So Aldo and Melissa approach cautiously. [Melissa Márquez] You got your eyes on them? They're sneaky I tell 'ya. Oh my God, they're right underneath us. They're right underneath us. [Aldo Kane] Wow, look at that. It's a whole family pod. That's gorgeous. [Aldo Kane] That is a first for me. [Melissa Márquez] Yeah! are the largest toothed predator on the planet. To study these giants up close and personal Aldo and Melissa join them beneath the waves. Getting under the water and just seeing this giant animal, you can feel it looking at you, trying to figure out what the heck you are. [James Cameron] But they won't have long. Sperm whales spend just 20% of their lives at the surface. [Aldo Kane] When they dive, it's phenomenal. One swoosh of their tail and they are gone. [James Cameron] These whales are diving a mile deep for up to an hour at a time. The buoyancy of their huge lungs and the thick blubber should make that almost impossible, but not only do they manage it they make it look effortless. [clicking] But exactly how they dive so deep has never been filmed. If the team can get a camera on a whale it could further their understanding. They recruit the help of Rui Prieto. A world leading whale biologist, he's been studying them in the Azores for over 20 years. [Rui Prieto] We want to see what they are actually doing, uh, while they are underwater. [James Cameron] Eric sets to work helping Rui build a camera tag that can withstand the immense pressure of a sperm whale dive. [Eric Stackpole] Okay, so this is the power system and then, we've just got the little camera. You know, the whole thing looks pretty simple but I mean the thing that keeps going through my mind is, you know, we're gonna have, you know, maybe one window and one chance of putting this together the right way. [Rui Prieto] So do you think that's something we can do? [Eric Stackpole] Fingers crossed, right? I guess we'll find out. [James Cameron] If they can pull this off, they'll get the first ever footage of a deep sperm whale dive in the Azores. -Can you swing it? -Yeah. [Rui Prieto] Let's turn a whale into a cameraman. [Crew] You have a green light. [Pilot] Copy green light. Green deck we're off. [Rui Prieto] We need to start looking for blows, okay? [Eric Stackpole] Oh looks like there could be something over there. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. I count 11 whales here. All in a tight cluster. Okay, here we go. 2:00, 2:00, you should have a pretty good eye. 300-400 meters. [Rui Prieto] Breaching. We think breaching might be a form of communication between a sperm whale family, however sometimes it might just be the teenagers fooling around and you know, blowing off some steam. [Rui Prieto] Let's go there very slowly. Slow and steady wins the race. [Aldo Kane] Is that speed okay? [Rui Prieto] Need to gain a little bit on them because they are almost diving. [Aldo Kane] When you're piloting a boat this close to whales, there's absolutely no room for error! You're dealing with a live animal. So the whole thing has to be 110% perfect or it's an aborted mission. That's it. -Well done. -Well done dude. Tag on. [Aldo Kane] OceanXplorer this is Eagle Ray over. [Crew] Eagle Ray, OceanXplorer. Go ahead. [Aldo Kane] Tag deployed and we will mark location on the GPS. [Crew] Copy that. Nice work! [James Cameron] The tag is designed to release after eight hours, and send a signal to help the team locate it, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. [Eric Stackpole] It is an intense feeling to spend all this time on something and then watch it just go into the abyss on the back of a whale. [beeping] Oh what's this directly in front of us? [Aldo Kane] Confirm you have visual on the tag? [Eric Stackpole] Affirmative we're looking at something orange in the water, it could be the tag. [Aldo Kane] Roger that... We are making our way to your location now, over. [Melissa Márquez] Oh I see it! [Aldo Kane] We have visual on the tag. Little bit more Aldo. Yeah, there you go. Right there. -You got it? Heavy. -Yep got it. [Eric Stackpole] I'm dying to know. How does the tag look? [Aldo Kane] The tag does look in good condition and the camera looks like it is still dry. [Eric Stackpole] Yes! All right, great job guys. Should I cut this? [Rui Prieto] Yes, please. Now, it could be some water inside so we need to be careful. Very slowly. Very carefully. [Eric Stackpole] I'm like, excited and nervous at the same time, you know, like did everything work properly? Did the batteries last? [Rui Prieto] Yes. Yes. -Got it? -Take it off. [Rui Prieto] It's dry. Okay. [Eric Stackpole] And then there's our SD card. -You got it? -I, I got it. [Rui Prieto] This is it. This is what we've been working all this time for. Let's plug this to the computer and see. -Okay, yeah. -Okay. [Rui Prieto] Anything that comes off this thing is new. [Eric Stackpole] Oh my God! [laughs] [Rui Prieto] That's the, the blowhole and it's going down because it's, it's getting darker. [James Cameron] As they dive, sperm whales undergo an incredible transformation. The pressure of the water compresses their lungs and with less volume inside, they become less buoyant, allowing them to dive faster with minimum effort. As she dives faster, the force of the water pushes the camera sideways. At 450 feet it flips. -It's pointing backward? -Yes, it's pointing backwards. [Rui Prieto] We can actually see the flukes beating. [James Cameron] Eric and Rui are the first people ever to see a sperm whale use its body and tail flukes to dive into the deep. [Rui Prieto] I'm learning a lot about how they actually flex their, their flukes. It's very slow. It's very calm. [James Cameron] Then at 900 feet the whale's behavior changes. [Eric Stackpole] Look, the tail's stopped moving. [Rui Prieto] Yeah it's, it, it's called gliding. They use the, the, the momentum that they have to glide and keep energy. -I see. -And I've, I've never seen it. [Rui Prieto] So it, it, it's just amazing. [James Cameron] Its tail may have stopped moving but this whale is still diving. With gravity doing the work, it can save energy and preserve precious oxygen. [Rui Prieto] Listen. [Eric Stackpole] It's hunting. This is the hunting sound. [Rui Prieto] Yeah. use sound to hunt in the dark. When their sonar clicks hit an object and bounce back, the whale can locate a target over a mile away. [Eric Stackpole] It's getting lighter in the background you notice that? [Rui Prieto] Yeah. Yeah. The, the water is becoming clearer. No luck this time, so the whale begins its journey back to the surface. [rapid clicking] I hear a different, a slightly higher pitched clicking. [Rui Prieto] Yes. It was a coda. [Eric Stackpole] It's communicating with its family just like morse code for whales! [Rui Prieto] Another one. Someone is answering. [James Cameron] Each family unit has a unique, "Coda," that can be heard from up to two miles away. -Wow, two, two! Two. -Two! Another one! [James Cameron] This is how a surfacing whale reconnects with its family. [Rui Prieto] So you hear the coda's, and then the other one comes in. [Eric Stackpole] Yeah. Yeah. Do we know that they do this? [Rui Prieto] We know that they talk to each other using codas, but I've never seen them come together. [Eric Stackpole] Oh! I can't believe we got this all. [Rui Prieto] They are completely interacting. Nothing like that has ever been filmed. It's just amazing. [Eric Stackpole] We're seeing something that has never been seen before. These huge whales, going to a part of the world that we know almost nothing about and we get a first person view. I'm right next to Rui and he's spent his entire life trying to understand these animals and this is something he's never seen before. [♪ whimsical music plays] [James Cameron] Once back at the surface some sperm whales spend their time socializing. Re-establishing family bonds. Others grab a quick power nap. But their time together is brief. After just 15 minutes, they'll dive again, in their never-ending pursuit of prey. Sperm whales eat up to a ton of squid a day. And with nearly 1,000 sperm whales here, that's a lot of squid. So what kind of squid are hiding down there in the depths that could satisfy such voracious appetites? To find out, the team need to get down there themselves. [James Cameron] The mission will be led by Zoleka, the OceanXplorers' deep sea researcher. [Zoleka Filander] For this mission, I'm partnering with Edie Widder, one of the world's most experienced deep sea biologists. -You ready to dive? -Yes! [Pilot] SO Neptune, we are ready to shut hatches. [Crew] SO Bridge. You are clear to roll sub out. [James Cameron] Edie's been pushing the envelope in ocean exploration for over 40 years. [Pilot] That's Neptune in the water. Venting now. Depth 2.0 meters. Vents secure, descending over. [Zoleka Filander] Every time we dive into the deep, we are heading into the unknown. [Edith Widder] We are explorers and this is our spaceship. [James Cameron] 600 feet down the team enters the twilight zone. A world dominated by darkness, and alien creatures. [Edith Widder] Oh look at that. Look at that. What are you seeing? It's a glass squid. A rare sighting. [Edith Widder] Being transparent that's a defense mechanism. It's such an amazing adaptation. You see it a lot in the ocean, but you don't see it much on land. [James Cameron] At 1500 feet, they find even more signs of life. -What is that? -Where? Where? [Edith Widder] Look, turn to the right, turn to the right. It's ink. But it's so much. [Edith Widder] Oh my God! [Pilot] Oh yeah. That's a massive plume of ink. Where is the squid though? -Oh squid. -Squid! [James Cameron] A bird squid. -Hello. [James Cameron] And this one has attitude! -Oh my gosh. -Beautiful. Oh look at it. [laughter] [Pilot] I think he's trying to eat Zoleka. Yeah. I'm squid food. [James Cameron] As the sub dives to 2500 feet, Zoleka spots something extraordinary. [Zoleka Filander] Oh my word. Is that a whiplash squid? Look how exquisite it is. [James Cameron] All squid can change color by expanding or contracting cells in their skin called chromatophores. [Zoleka Filander] Do you think, do you think it's signaling to other squid? Yoo! Is this an alarm signal? How does one even decode what we're really seeing here? I'd like to think I'm a level-headed scientist but wow. When you come across an encounter like this, it's absolutely stunning, absolutely stunning. This is why we do it Edie. do prey on whiplash squid but they're so small, they'd need to eat thousands every day. At 3300 feet, they approach the boundary of the midnight zone. [Zoleka Filander] The midnight zone is pitch black and it's freezing. But as hostile as this place is, this is where the sperm whale finds its food. So it's important that we go take a look down there. [James Cameron] But the sub reaches its maximum dive depth. It can't go any further. [Pilot] Control, control, Neptune passing five zero meters, clear to surface. [James Cameron] If they want to search the midnight zone for larger sperm whale prey the team will have to mobilize the ship's ROV. A remotely operated vehicle. [Eric Stackpole] The ROV is capable of going to depths of 20,000 feet. So getting to 5,000 feet where the sperm whales are going, should be no problem at all. Melissa baits the ROV with deep-water squid's favorite meal, other squid. [Melissa Márquez] And that is a squid ready to be lifelike in the water column. [James Cameron] Through its tether to the ship, the ROV sends back a live picture. [Eric Stackpole] Exploring the deep you often see something that you have never seen before, but you hope that you're gonna see something no-one has seen before. [Pilot] Lights off. [Eric Stackpole] Oh, incoming, incoming, here we go. -Keep, whoa. -Whoa! Bingo. Kitefin shark. [James Cameron] The squid lure has drawn in more than the team bargained for. [Zoleka Filander] He looks like a good size. These guys can get up to like 30 pounds on average. Sperm whales, yeah they do eat them but actually have a preference for squid. [James Cameron] After hours in the deep and just one encounter with the kitefin, the team wonders if the noise from the ROV could be scaring off the squid. Time to try a different approach. [James Cameron] Marine biologist Nathan Robinson has the perfect camera rig for this mission. [Nathan Robinson] The angler is a stealth camera, makes no noise. It's also very light sensitive so this actually really is perfect for seeing animals in the deep sea. Going down. Okay, keep letting it go. [Aldo Kane] Lowering the angler on a fishing line may look low tech, but this is our secret weapon. It can dive to 6,500 feet and then just sit there completely silent and still, so as not to scare away any wildlife. [James Cameron] The angler is armed with an E-Jelly. An LED array that mimics the defense mechanism of the Atolla jellyfish, which lights up when threatened to try and attract an even larger predator in the hope that it will scare off the attacker. After hours in the deep, the rig is ready to be retrieved. Only once back aboard, will the team discover if their covert mission has been a success. [Nathan Robinson] Right, you ready to bring it to the lab? [Eric Stackpole] Yeah. Okay. So now we're going down to the bottom. Oh my God, what a catch. [James Cameron] These flying squid are known sperm whale prey. [Nathan Robinson] We've been seeing a ton of squid, conducting these hit and run attacks on the bait and the E-Jelly. They are large, very nutritious food items for something like a sperm whale. Hours into the footage, Nathan and Eric spot something even larger, and they gather the rest of the team. [Nathan Robinson] Just watch this. [Eric Stackpole] What the heck! [Edith Widder] That is a really big squid. [Nathan Robinson] So this species is the third largest in the oceans. [Edith Widder] Dana octopus squid is the, the common name. It's got light organs on the ends of its arms, that are like the size of lemons. Look at them! They're glowing so bright. [Eric Stackpole] Why would you have such bright lights there? -To blind you. -Oh! [Nathan Robinson] It's like a deer in the headlights... [Edith Widder] Yeah. [Nathan Robinson] So you've got your little critter, your crustacean that you want to eat, you shine these big kinda lemon size lights right at it, it can't see what's coming from what direction and then bam you take it down. [James Cameron] Weighing as much as a full-grown gorilla, a sperm whale only needs to hunt five of these giants a day. [Nathan Robinson] This is actually the most common, uh, species that sperm whales eat in terms of weight. [Eric Stackpole] This is actually, this is staple food. -This is, exactly. -This is number one. what they're eating, yeah. [Edith Widder] But they've hardly ever been seen. [Nathan Robinson] I'm actually pretty sure this is the first footage we have of dana octopus squid, in the Atlantic. [Edith Widder] This is amazing. [James Cameron] Thanks to the deep-water team, we've seen squid down there large enough to feed this huge population of sperm whales. But what's fueling this rich ecosystem? It's all down to the tiniest organisms in the ocean. When deep ocean currents hit the island's underwater slopes, nutrient rich water is forced up toward the surface. These nutrients feed microorganisms that form the base of the food web, and the more there are, the more life this ecosystem can support. To find out just how rich these waters are Edie and Zoleka once again take a dive into the deep. The density of this microscopic life is difficult to judge in these dark waters but Edie has a magic trick to reveal it. [Zoleka Filander] 600 meters. [Edith Widder] Oh I hope this works. [Pilot] Okay, you ready? [Crew] We're ready. [Pilot] Three, two, one. Lights coming on. [Edith Widder] Nothing. Let's drop down. [Pilot] Control, Neptune. We are descending. [Edith Widder] Okay let's try it again. [Pilot] Okay three, two, one, lights coming on. [cheering] [Zoleka Filander] It worked! Wow! Bioluminescence in action. It's like I'm wrapped in a blanket of stars. This is the base of the food chain. The fish eat the plankton and the squid eat the fish and then the sperm whales are feeding on the squid. This is where it all begins. Smallest to the biggest. [Edith Widder] That's fantastic. [James Cameron] Edie's witnessed this bioluminescent phenomenon her entire career, but has never had the technology to share it with the world... Until now. [Zoleka Filander] Wow. Thanks Edie, we got it. [Edith Widder] It's like having seen UFOs and now suddenly there's evidence. Okay. Can we do that again? [Pilot] Absolutely. [James Cameron] Without this abundance of tiny life, the squid and the sperm whales couldn't survive here. [Zoleka Filander] It's very, very humbling to think that no matter how tiny you are you can do gigantic things. [Pilot] Control, control. Neptune's ascending over. [Crew] Clear to surface. Clear to surface. [Crew 2] Welcome back Neptune. Blow your tanks. [Pilot] Well did you enjoy that dive? [Edith Widder] Oh. Are you kidding! That was actually on my bucket list. You know, as I get older, every expedition I go on, I figure this might be the last and if this is the last it's the best. It's just been absolutely amazing. [James Cameron] In their time here in the Azores, the team has captured the first ever images of a sperm whale diving into these deep waters. [Eric Stackpole] This is the culmination of a huge amount of effort and many sleepless nights, but at the end of the day we got those few minutes of incredibly priceless footage that made the whole thing worth it. It was awesome! [James Cameron] They've added to the image catalogue of the squid that feed the sperm whales. Thanks to the OceanXplorer, we've been able to dive deep into the world of sperm whales here and discovered this interaction between them and massive squid that's never really been observed here before, which is pretty mind blowing. they've documented the normally invisible riches that fuel this entire ecosystem. [Edith Widder] It's fabulous! [Zoleka Filander] I am one of the few people to witness a bioluminescence light show and I'm so excited to share this with the world. That is mind blowing. [Aldo Kane] We've still got so much to learn about these whales but seeing them live in harmony they could definitely teach us a thing or two. From the largest, to the tiniest creatures. The team has made significant discoveries here in the Azores. [Rui Prieto] Nothing like that has ever been filmed. [James Cameron] A rich hotspot for life in the Atlantic, and a blueprint for healthy oceans everywhere.