Ocean Predators Page #2

They instead rely on their livers

to produce an oil

which gives them buoyancy.

These hunters can be found,

not only in the East Pacific,

but also at the coast

regions of the Atlantic.

If the nurse shark decided to attack,

he would only need one bite.

The reason for that is the mouth

construction of the nurse shark.

It works like a vacuum cleaner,

and sucks the prey in.

Hunting, he shows the typical

behaviour of the nurse sharks,

searching in columns

or under rubble for hidden prey,

which he will simply suck into his mouth

and do his best to filter the water.

Although remnants of coral and algae

have been found

in the stomachs of nurse sharks.

The vacuum effect not only

makes hunting easier for the nurse shark,

it also allows him to breathe

while he's not moving.

The nurse shark is one of

a few types of shark with this capability.

This gentle shark

can be quite lazy during the day.

Caves, little sandy places,

or under coral columns

are perfect places for a nap.

This is when he

likes to be around his own kind

who enjoy the quietness of the day with him.

Even though the nurse shark

doesn't have great eyesight,

he is still not one to mess with.

Sharks have fantastic senses.

For example,

they are able to locate other fish

even in the deepest,

darkest recesses of the ocean.

The reason for this enormous advantage

is the lateral line,

a system of sensory organs which reach

from the shark's head to its tail fin.

The nurse shark seems to have

two small tusks.

Actually these "tusks" are barbels.

The barbels are found on the shark's snout

and contain powerful sensors

which help the shark detect nearby prey.

The good-natured nurse sharks

are easy prey for spear hunters.

But the greatest menace for the nurse sharks

are the changes to their native habitat,

the reef.

And, especially, fishing and finning.

The numbers in the southern Atlantic at the

coast of Brazil are a primary concern.

Nurse sharks, though, are not on

the same level of danger as larger sharks.

Their features still make them individuals

which need to be taken seriously.

This hunter is just like the nurse shark,

fond of looking for food on the coral reef.

The moray eel.

She has no paired fins or gill cover.

She, therefore,

bears most resemblance to a snake,

but, in fact, belongs to

the eel-like bonefish family.

The moray eel

can be found all around the world

where the water temperature is right.

The longest moray eel ever found

was an incredible 13 feet long.

Even though moray eels

don't have the best vision,

they will always find their prey.

Their sense of smell is

four times as powerful as that of a dog.

The moray eel's size varies,

depending on what kind

of eel family she belongs to.

Some come to just a hand's length,

others are up to 10 feet long.

This fish has come

dangerously close to the eel's mouth.

Luckily this moray

seems to have no appetite.

Even though it doesn't have

any protective armour,

sharp rock edges

are of little concern for the moray eel.

She is covered with a thick layer of slime

which functions as an

overall body layer that

protects her well from

external injuries.

These smaller creatures can also be scary.

The reason, the constant

opening and closing of the mouth.

This, however, isn't designed to scare,

but allows the moray eel to breathe.

She holds her mouth open to let

oxygen-rich water flow through her gills.

But if the mouth remains open,

caution is advisable.

A moray eel can attack easily,

quickly snapping her mouth shut.

Here, we see the eel's head

with its strong hook teeth.

Their bite can be fatal.

Their teeth are not only very sharp,

but also dirty.

For that reason,

an eel bite can be infectious for victims.

But that's not all.

Their teeth are also equipped with barbs.

Just one bite

and he doesn't let his victim off.

With her flexible muscular body,

the moray eel can press herself

into very small crevices.

Eels like to live hidden in caves,

crevices and coral reefs,

and will usually only

leave to hunt at night.

During the day,

you only get to see the head of the moray,

which sticks out of the shelter.

Morays live most of their lives

in the same cave.

Larger eels have several shelters

that can be up to 650 feet apart.

Morays often live permanently

with cleaner shrimps.

The shrimps remove

leftovers from between the

eel's teeth when the

eel opens its mouth.

The cleaners are not eaten,

as they are mutual benefactors.

The moray prefers to eat at night

and usually stalks in the cover of darkness

to catch her sleeping prey.

But sometimes their hunger is just too great

to ignore all those treats around them.

Although moray eels are rather near-sighted,

when it comes to their sense of smell,

they cannot be messed with.

The large surface area of the nose

gives a marvellous sense of smell.

When he goes hunting at night,

his highly trained nose

makes up for his bad eyesight.

If a fish wants to be safe from him,

he shouldn't go near the reefs.

Other predators use this area

as their hunting territory, too.

A lightning-quick attack

and a swimming style

that is comparable to a flying arrow

are its trademarks.

This is the barracuda.

At just 1 to, in some rare cases,

6.5 feet in length,

the hunters of the barracuda family

may be smaller

than some of the oceans' top predators,

but they make up for this with their speed.

This is due to their extremely streamlined,

arrow-shaped bodies

which means they can swim

more than twice the speed

of a motor boat over a short distance.

He bares enormous canine teeth

primarily in the lowerjaw.

The scissor-like teeth

dig deep into the flesh of the victim,

and cause very serious wounds.

These silver arrows

are masters of observation.

Their vision is excellent.

Even in murky waters

they have great orientation skills

and can find their way

without any difficulty.

This helps them considerably

when finding their prey.

Sometimes a barracuda will pitch up camp

in, either turbulent harbour waters

or well-visited bay areas.

This inevitably results

in some surprise rendezvous with humans.

Adult barracudas are very confident.

They defend their territory aggressively.

They do not differentiate

between other marine life or humans.

Some barracuda even look out for

a nesting place on rocks or ledges.

A perfect stronghold to prepare

strategies for attack and defence.

They bide their time

in between rocks and corals.

The barracuda is unparalleled

in terms of speed.

Barracudas don't leave their prey

much time to think.

Their victims always need to be on guard.

If the barracuda has any appetite,

its bite would only

take 41 milliseconds to close.

If it came to a swimming race,

they'd certainly be victorious.

Once they get going,

they're like torpedoes through the water.

With a top speed

of more than 30 miles per hour,

they are one of the fastest creatures

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