Ocean Predators

NARRATOR:
The deep blue.

The origin of all life.

Lagoon bays, oceans and seas.

Billions and billions of litres of water,

all containing an abundance of species,

which are unique to our planet.

From the smallest living being

up to the biggest animals on earth.

From harmless vegetarians

and animals who live on plankton,

to the most dangerous

predators on earth with razor sharp teeth

which can wreak

havoc beyond our imaginations.

Beings that we love for

their blaze of colour,

and beings, that for centuries,

we have feared

for the stories told about them.

All of this is accommodated

by the wonderful,

almost infinite element of life, the sea.

Here, in the oceans of our planet,

live some highly trained predators.

Sharks are one example of these predators.

They have been on this earth

for over 400 million years

and, in that time,

have hardly needed to change or adapt.

They are the kings of our oceans,

truly the pinnacle of sub-water evolution.

The number of species of shark

is still not entirely clear

because, to this day, new,

previously unknown species are discovered.

At this time,

we know of about 500 different species.

All of these sharks have strategies

and tactics to catch prey.

All of them are perfectly

adapted to life in the sea.

Some of them hunt in the daytime,

some only at night.

We will now search

for the most dangerous hunters

and find out what

makes these animals so frightening.

We will also find out

which of these underwater hunters

is the most dangerous

and which can be crowned

king of the predators.

More than half of these animals live

in the deep ocean, around 650 feet down,

so they are rarely seen by man.

All various sizes, shapes,

and textures are represented.

From the 21 inch dogfish,

to the giant whale shark,

which can grow up to 60 feet long.

From very rare species, which have only

been seen in specific areas,

to common ones which can be found

in almost every part of the world.

Let's go on a journey to discover

these impressive and beautiful animals.

Let's dive off together

into the fascinating

and exciting underwater world of sharks.

We start with a very common fellow.

The family of reef sharks.

They can be very different

and the largest reef shark

can reach a maximum of 7 feet in length.

There are three species of reef sharks

we take a look at.

The whitetip, the blacktip

and the silvertip reef shark.

Have a look at this beautiful breed,

and you will quickly realize

how you can distinguish between them.

For, as their names imply,

there is a band of colour

on the tip of their mayor fins.

Reef sharks can

weigh from 30 up to 70 pounds.

With its slim body shape,

it is perfectly adapted

for hunting in the coral reef.

Here, the agile hunters find their prey

between coral branches and in caves.

Small fish, crabs, lobsters

and squid are its main prey.

With deft, snake-like movements

they can manoeuvre

in even the tightest of crevices.

The different members

of the reef shark family

can grow from 5 to 6.5 feet,

making them larger than most human beings.

In rare cases, some reef sharks

can reach a length of 9.5 feet.

Their mouths contain 96 teeth,

three times as many as a human,

which makes them

extremely effective hunters.

In addition, the reef sharks

also have exceptional sensory perception.

His excellent sense of

smell acts as a radar,

which is useful,

as he prefers to hunt at night.

But even during the day

the stomach can growl.

And, so, if the sharks are not resting

they are always on

the lookout for small snacks.

The whitetip reef sharks

have a number of favourite places.

Even over several years,

these animals visit the same resting places

day after day.

The reef shark, like all sharks,

benefits from its exceptional skeleton.

This is because the shark's skeleton

is made of cartilage, and not bones.

That is why it's more

pliable than most animals.

This is an immense advantage

for these hunters.

A relatively low body weight

and high flexibility

make these animals

quick and agile swimmers.

Unprovoked attacks from this

modest species are extremely rare.

If they feel threatened,

they would much rather flee than fight.

Once the white hunter

learns of the advantage of a reef,

he always comes back.

Diving tourists are delighted.

Attracting the gentle souls with fish bait

is easy,

and peaceful sightings of the sharks

are guaranteed.

Unfortunately, their prey is also

very popular within the human diet.

Therefore, by overfishing,

we increasingly

eliminate the natural

habitat of these sharks.

In some parts of the oceans,

we have already

annihilated 80% of the population of sharks.

The main reason for their decline is that

they are very often caught by

longline fishermen and gill nets.

With limited breeding,

sharks take a long time to reach puberty,

and then only get a few offspring a year.

The survival of these sharks

is difficult enough as it is,

but a strong presence of near-shore

fisheries makes it even more troublesome.

Better management of shark fisheries

and shark habitats is urgently needed.

In their natural habitat,

the whitetip reef sharks have

only one group of natural enemies,

bigger sharks.

Like the tiger, white or bull sharks.

They are higher in the food chain,

as we will see later when we

come to our top three predators.

During the daytime, the reef sharks

sleep on sandy ground and in caves.

They sleep off the nocturnal hunt.

Unlike many other sharks,

the different reef sharks

do not necessarily have

to be in motion to breathe.

By opening and closing their mouths,

they can create enough water

passing through the gills

to extract oxygen out of the water.

In our ranking,

all the different reef shark species

only occupy the lower end,

but they are still

dangerous predators ranked

high on the food chain

of their reefs.

On the other hand,

they are completely harmless for divers,

so it is possible to observe everything

about them that fascinates us.

If you are underwater,

it is very likely that you will

come across a reef shark sooner or later,

because this species is so

geographically widespread

in warm temperate seas.

These two clown fish

always rest in their favourite place,

near a protective sea anemone.

With it, they live in a symbiosis.

The anemone is toxic to most fish.

However, the skin of the clown fish

is immune to their poison

and, so, the clown fish

hides in its tentacles

whenever the next

dangerous predator shows up.

Within this colourful coral world,

there is yet another highly specialized

hunter at home, the nurse shark.

The family of nurse sharks can grow from

1 .5 feet to 14 feet in length,

making them double the length

of the whitetip reef shark.

The most unusual thing

about the shark is its liver.

It can weigh up to 88 pounds,

20 times heavier than a human liver.

The liver is so large

because, unlike bony fish,

sharks don't have swim bladders.

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