All language subtitles for Whale With Steve Backshall 03

STEVE BACKSHALL: Whales...
(WHALESONG)

..ocean giants, ancient mariners.

Their songs, majesty and sheer size

fill us with joy and awe.

In their vast shadow,

a human can feel very small.

They were here long before us...

..caring for their young...

..hunting...

..voyaging.

But now we are changing their world.

So now I want to see
through their eyes,

meeting them on their terms

to find how their future
and ours are inseparable.

Whales are the largest mammals
on the planet.

Their streamlined bodies...

..powerful tail flukes...

..and huge reserves of energy...

..make them perfectly evolved...

..for a life
of ocean crossing voyages.

Migrations.

(WHALESONG)

Whales undertake the
most epic journeys of any animals,

with some species travelling
thousands of miles every year,

following routes their ancestors
have used for generations.

For centuries,
their seasonal journeys,

and the reasons
they chose certain destinations...

..were a mystery.

Now, for the first time,

science has mapped their migrations,

revealing whale superhighways

that crisscross our planet.

I want to know
if this offers new insights

into why whales travel so far...

..and what's happening as they
try to navigate our changing oceans.

I'm starting my journey in Tahiti,
in French Polynesia,

an important hotspot
on the whale migration map.

(RHYTHMIC CHIRPING)

Tahiti is an island nation,

surrounded by miles and miles
of open pacific.

Perhaps best known
for its dramatic and iconic surf.

The swell that creates these waves

has travelled for thousands
of kilometres to reach here.

But humpback whales, one
of our planet's greatest migrants,

travel even further, all the way
from the chilly waters of Antarctica,

to come here for the
most important moment of their lives.

This may seem like paradise to us,

but Antarctica is where
the humpback's food is.

So why do females
leave that behind...

..and travel thousands of kilometres
to give birth here?

This is the most commonly seen sight
of the humpback.

Indeed, it's what gives it its name,

that distinctive humpback shape.

Right now, this female
is just hanging at the surface,

taking it easy while
the small calf moves around her.

This mother has earned her rest.

It took 3 months to swim here,

and then she gave birth
to her one-tonne baby.

I want to see how she's getting on.

(WHALESONG)

Down here, I can feel the reason
Tahiti is so appealing.

The water's calm and warm.

Coming here means she can spend
less energy keeping herself warm...

..and more energy nursing her calf.

They look so calm and tranquil.

For the female, though,
these are really tough times.

While she's here feeding her calf,

she's spending
enormous amounts of energy

and not feeding at all.

Her fasting can last 9 months...

..so she must conserve
every bit of energy.

While she rests,

her calf is free
to discover the world around it.

The female is almost saying,

"Go on now, go and play
with your new friends."

Under Mum's watchful eye,

the calf uses its newfound freedom...

..to play.

Just a few months old,

this calf is getting to know
its own body.

Soon, it must swim to Antarctica

on its first migration.

The calf just
wouldn't leave us alone.

It's one of those
once-in-a-lifetime moments

when an animal sees you,
seeks out your company

and wants to interact with you.

It's totally on their terms.

I think that's probably,

in 25 years working with animals,

the best thing
that's ever happened to me.

Whales travel here
because these waters...

..offer optimum conditions.

But we are changing that.

The planet is heating up.

Recently, the world's
ocean surface temperature

was at its highest
since records began.

If the waters warm
beyond their tolerance,

humpbacks could lose
these perfect nurseries forever.

Over to the northeast of the Pacific,

grey whales face
one of the longest journeys of all.

Up to 10,000km

from Alaska all the way to Mexico.

It's winter,

and this female has been
heading south for two months.

Her goal was to reach warm,
safe waters before she gave birth.

But her calf
has been born on the way.

It's the last thing she wanted.

Changing sea ice
in her Alaskan feeding grounds

impacted the food she relies on.

Forced to feed further north,

her migration
is longer than normal...

..and taking more time.

Just days old...

..her baby is unprepared
for the journey.

But they must keep moving.

She tries to support him.

But he is still weak.

Their plight was filmed
off the Californian coast,

1,000km short of their safer
Mexican birthing lagoons.

It's not known if they ever made it.

Whales need better protection
for their habitats...

..and the superhighways
that connect them.

I want to see what's being done.

The peoples of Polynesia are
some of the world's finest seafarers,

able to cross entire oceans

in small boats not much bigger
than this va'a or outrigger.

Just as they sometimes had
to leave the sanctuary of the lagoons

and head out
into the terrors of the big blue,

the humpbacks too,
can't stay here forever.

They're going to have to set off

on one of the most dangerous
journeys in nature.

While it's an ideal nursery,

Tahiti offers nothing
in the way of food.

This female has barely eaten since
she left Antarctica six months ago.

She must now return
to the freezing waters of the South.

(GROANING)

Her young calf will join her.

It's a huge undertaking,

swimming over 6,000km
through open ocean.

To survive, the calf will need
to be in peak physical condition.

Two here! Two here!

Mother and calf, I think,
breaching in front of us.

Breaching is a really interesting
form of behaviour.

Here in these waters you often see
the youngsters, the calves breaching,

and they'll go
over and over and over again,

and the energy they need to expend
to get out of the water is immense.

Research suggests
this could be a form of training.

Building the strength needed

for the vast migration
that lies ahead.

Eventually, the youngsters
are strong enough

to make their epic journey
to Antarctica,

but it's a trip
that's fraught with danger.

The discovery of whale superhighways
comes at a critical time...

..as their long journeys

put them right in the path
of our increasing boat traffic.

Here in Nanuu Bay
on Tahiti's North coast,

the problem is clear.

For humpback whale calves,
it's incredibly challenging.

They can't dive
as deep as their mothers.

They spend much more time
nearer the surface.

And ferries like this

are heading back and forth
between these islands all the time,

putting these animals
in constant peril.

The risk of collision

turns this sanctuary
into a danger zone.

A boat this size has hundreds
of tonnes of force behind it.

Being struck by that

is gonna be fatal for any whale,
no matter how big it is.

Around the world,

ship strikes kill
dozens of whales each year.

The number of vessels is rising.

By 2050, shipping traffic
is projected to increase

up to 1,000%.

For migratory whales,
their ocean world...

..has become a minefield.

The search for solutions is underway,

and one success story
can be found in New Zealand.

(SHIP HORN BLARES)

The Port of Auckland
was a whale-collision hotspot.

The shipping routes
plough right through the habitat

of resident Bryde's whales.

These sleek hunters

consume schooling fish
in shallow waters.

When they can catch them.

But this means they spend
a lot of time near the surface...

..in the path of passing ships.

Professor Rochelle Constantine

is an expert
in marine mammal conservation.

CONSTANTINE:
That's an example of the ships
that transit through the Gulf.

If this ship was going full speed,

the whales would stand no chance if
they were in the path of this ship.

About 15 years ago,

we had around
two to three whales a year

washing ashore with injuries
consistent with a ship strike.

Her solution was simple...

..to persuade shipping companies
to reduce speeds

to just 10 knots in specific zones.

Since they've slowed down,

no whales have been found dead
from ship strike.

Whales have time
to get out of the way.

Such a great conservation win.

Helping whales doesn't
always have to be complicated

or costly.

And the more we discover
about their superhighways,

the better we're able
to make positive change.

Whales migrate for many reasons.

And one of the strongest motivators,

is the need to mate.

This is a southern right whale.

The white callosities on their head

are as unique as fingerprints.

(VOCALISES)

This one is a female.

She's travelled thousands of
kilometres from the Southern Ocean,

to Argentina's Valdes Peninsula.

She's not alone.

Over 1,500 southern rights
arrive each year in late summer.

Calm shallow bays

offer ideal conditions to breed in

and to nurture newborn babies.

But not every female
is here to give birth.

This one is looking to meet
a wide range of male suitors.

She has no intention of mating
with the first male to approach.

Instead, she attracts several males

who have to compete
for her attention.

Rolling on her back,

she keeps her genital region
out of reach

until she's ready.

She's looking to test
their agility and stamina.

When a strong suitor has jostled
into the closest position...

..she rolls onto her front.

This is his chance to mate with her.

But when another male
takes his place...

..she mates with him too,

sometimes repeatedly.

And the competition for paternity
continues inside her body.

Their one-tonne testicles

produce huge quantities of sperm

to displace that of their rivals.

It's all part of her strategy.

Males that mate the most times

and produce the strongest sperm...

..have the best chance
of fathering her next calf.

These waters are also vital
to southern right whales

for calving.

But infant mortality
is on the rise here,

and I want to find out why.

Human activity
is transforming the oceans.

And whales
are facing the consequences.

In Argentina, calm, shallow waters

used to offer newborn calves
safety from predators...

..but that is changing.

Just metres from shore, are a
southern right whale mum and calf.

The mother travelled up to 3,000km

to find a safe, quiet place
to give birth and nurture her baby.

She provides
up to 300 litres of milk a day.

But the peace
of this tranquil hideaway...

..is being shattered.

Kelp gulls have learned to feed

on the skin and blubber of whales.

And, as calves need to surface
more frequently to breathe,

they suffer the most.

Although it's the gulls
that do the damage...

..we've played our part.

Birds first attracted here by waste,

from landfill and fish processing...

..have developed
a taste for whale flesh.

Now the back of almost
every calf carries open wounds.

(GROANING)

Time for resting and feeding
is lost to avoiding gulls,

and calf mortality is on the rise.

Soon these infants must embark

on the long migration
to the feeding grounds...

..their mothers came from.

The most injured
are the least likely to survive.

We've come a long way in
our knowledge of whale superhighways.

But we need to know more.

Rapidly advancing technology
could help further our understanding.

A good place to see for myself
is this vital pit stop

for whales in the Atlantic -
the Azores.

This is a social group
of female sperm whales

with a couple
of youngsters and juveniles.

Their large heads hold a brain
six times the size of a human's.

But our knowledge
of how they use it is limited.

But one of the ways that
science is starting to unravel

the mysteries of the sperm whales'
secret life is using sound.

I have here
a highly directional hydrophone.

It's essentially a normal hydrophone

welded onto a dog's bowl.

I'm gonna listen out
and see if I can hear anything.

Ah, there! There, there!

(SLOW-TEMPO CLICKING)

(RAPID CLICKING)

So what I'm hearing
is a ticking sound.

This is "coda",
which is a kind of dialect,

a language that females use
when they're at the surface.

These series of clicks
are exchanged in social encounters,

much like people
talking when they meet.

(SLOW—TEMPO CLICKING)

(CLICKING QUICKENS)

Some codas are highly variable.

But others are more uniform,

a dialect shared
by all whales in the same region.

While we understand the basics,

their full meaning
has always been beyond our grasp.

But now scientists
are using artificial intelligence

to try to decode coda.

The results could transform
our understanding of sperm whales.

And one day,
may even enable us to talk to them.

Elsewhere, other high-tech tools
are shedding light

on whales' long-distance journeys.

Until recently,

tracking devices that give us data
while they're on the move

were fairly limited.

Pioneering scientist Dr Iain Kerr,

has made it his mission
to change that.

DR KERR: I've dedicated 32 years
of my life to whales.

We developed a system
whereby we actually attach

a data and a camera tag
to a whale using a drone.

In Mexico's Sea of Cortez,

he and his team are looking
for the largest whale of all -

the blue whale.

So let's come out here, head up
along the inside of the coast

where we can see the blows
against the shoreline.

MAN: Here we can fly the drone,
no problem.Exactly.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

Many blue whales
migrate here in winter,

from the northern Pacific Ocean.

Oh, hold on.

Over here. Yeah.
There's a whale over here.

Where?
To the right of the island.

Alright, the game is on.

Iain's technology could help show how

they're reacting to human influences,
like noise and shipping.

Tags like this
are gonna definitively tell us

what affects the whale.

The tags record a whale's movement
and orientation in the water,

but that's not all.

So we've got a heart-rate monitoring
tag on here now,

which is pretty exciting.

They also give information
about the whale's health

while it's swimming.

It's been done before
but never done with a drone,

so fingers crossed.

Using drones reduces the need
to get close to whales with boats.

Good job, team.

Heart-rate monitoring tag
is on a whale, deployed by a drone.

First time ever. Alright!

The tag causes no harm

and will automatically detach
in several hours.

We collect data in the hope
that we could effect change.

The exciting thing for us now

is to assemble this data
into a picture that makes sense,

not just for understanding
how they live their lives,

but how we can help conserve
these animals.

As more whales are tagged...

Tag on. Yay!
WOMAN: Yay!

..Iain's getting new insights
into behaviour...

..how whales
are affected by humans...

..and where and when we should focus
our efforts to protect them.

To find out more about change,

I've headed north.

The Arctic Ocean
is critically important

for the survival
of many whale species.

With seasonal abundance of everything
from plankton to algae to fish,

drawing in long-distance migrants
from thousands of miles away.

But the Arctic is changing faster due
to climate change than anywhere else.

How will this
impact migrating whales?

My journey following
whale superhighways...

..began in the tropics.

Now I'm in Norway,

a seasonal destination

for migrating humpbacks
of the North Atlantic.

These arctic seas
are completely mirror flat,

but out in the fjord, there is
a frenzy of activity taking place.

(WHALESONG)

Humpbacks feed
on krill and small fish,

such as herring and capelin.

Darkening the water,

shoals can contain
hundreds of millions of fish.

A rich reward at the end
of their long journey...

..10,000 humpbacks come to feast.

While here,
they must store enough energy

to last the next six months.

Having swum thousands of kilometres
to get here,

it won't be long
before they'll have to return

to breeding and birthing grounds

in Cape Verde and the Caribbean.

To see what state they're in
after the journey,

I need to get nearer.

I'm gonna take a paddleboard
and coast in,

and hopefully that
should give us an intimate glimpse

of these animals
resting at the surface.

I have to be really careful

not to disturb them
at this critical time.

So I intend to wait
and see if they come near me.

The spouts are going off
like cannon fire,

one after the other.

Their billowy spray just covers you.

Woah!

They're right underneath me!

Well, that was much, much closer

than I expected, or wanted.

Totally overwhelming!

To us, the Arctic Ocean may seem

so challenging, so brutal,

but to the humpbacks,
this is an oasis.

It's truly one of the most
impressive spectacles on our planet.

So we're getting towards
the last light of the day,

even though it's no more
than half past one in the afternoon.

There could be 50,
or even 60 humpbacks here now.

And they've assembled
around our boat.

It's a very rare opportunity.

Don't often get...

this amount of animals
packed in close together like this.

MAN: Jump, guys. All good.

All three in the water.

This is one
of the few places on Earth

where I've seen humpbacks
in these numbers.

They look healthy and well-fed...

..but Arctic waters
are getting warmer...

..and I want to know
if these whales are being affected.

Professor of Marine Biology
Audun Rikardsen

is investigating this population.

Now we are up to taking biopsies -

skin samples from humpbacks.

His research gathers a range
of information on individuals.

Then we need to load this.
This is the biopsy,

where we take the skin sample
and also lift some blubber.

OK. Go. Go. Go. Go.

That direction. Follow my hand.

Lovely. Follow. Follow.

Yeah, keep that.

Yes. It's there.

The biopsies are harmless...

We got it.
Yeah, we have it. We have it.

..and provide important data.

See here, that's the blubber,

and inside here
is also a piece of skin.

This is a good sample.

And his samples also reveal the sex
of the humpbacks that migrate here.

It seems to be
mostly females that are here,

and some of them are pregnant.

The females need that extra energy
to feed the calves.

For pregnant females,

it's vital to fuel up before
heading to their birthing grounds.

But according to Audun,
things are changing.

What we see,
when the ocean heats up,

we see that several
of these fish species migrate north

and they move their spawning areas.

So that means
that the whales have to follow.

And for those
that migrate a long distance,

they will have
a longer migratory distance.

Is this something that we are
thinking will happen in the future,

or is that something
that's already happening now?

It's already happening now.
It will have a dramatic effect
on the whales.

The movement of fish stocks is
creating challenging, longer journeys

for these migratory humpbacks.

But they're not the only ones
that rely on the herring.

Orca come here, as do we.

And I witness something
I've never seen before.

There's a juvenile humpback,

which has about 10 orca around it.

It's right below us. Just below us.

It's here. You can see
the underside of the fins.

(VOCALISING)

It's slapping with that giant tail.

That's its biggest defensive weapon.

It's hard to know why
the orca are pursuing the humpbacks.

These are supposed to be
fish-feeding orca...

..not focused on mammal prey.

But clearly they've decided

there's something about this humpback
that interests them.

These species compete for food,

so is this just bullying,

or could the orca be
actively targeting a weak individual?

This has really stepped up a notch,

and they're battering it,

biting its fins and tail.
(HUMPBACK GROANS DEEPLY)

And you can hear its distress.

We don't know if
competition for food will increase,

or if we'll see more
of this extraordinary behaviour.

We do know, though,
that our Arctic seas are changing

faster than anywhere else
on our planet,

and the future
certainly holds fresh challenges

for the great nomads of our seas.

Throughout my journey,

I've seen the difficulties migrating
whales face on their travels.

Only those completing these voyages

can fulfil all of life's needs.

From finding food...

..to mating...

..and raising their young.

Just as we start to understand
the use of superhighways,

they're being rewritten
by our changing planet.

But if we can protect both their
highways and their destinations...

..and if we can keep ocean
temperatures within safe limits...

..we'll afford whales
a fighting chance...

..and secure their future
for generations to come.

Of all the ocean voyagers
we set out to film,

we knew one
would be the hardest to get.

Pregnant humpbacks travel
thousands of kilometres to give birth

in the tropical waters of Tahiti.

But filming the intimate relationship
between a mother and her newborn calf

required the utmost sensitivity.

There's lots of whales out there,

but the majority of them
are not gonna be interested in you,

so finding the right one
is what it's all about.

Even then, you can't
just jump in and swim up to them.

Any splash or strange noise
could be startling.

To capture them on camera,
you need to win their confidence

and wait for them to come to you.

Mother and cub just came up right
in between us and our support boat.

Whale expert and camera operator
Denis LaGrange

was our guide
to choosing the right whales.

What do you think, Denis,
shall we get in?

DENIS: I think maybe
we should try a drop.

You think?
Yeah. Let's go.

But when we got in the water,

they weren't interested in us.

We headed over, the calf
was playing on the surface...

..but, um, the mum came up...

(WHALESONG) ..just as we got there
and took it away.

A tantalising taste of what could be

for camera operator Rob Taylor.

ROB: It's the first time
we've been in with a calf,

and they've just came up slowly
in between us,

had a breath
and just slowly moved away.

It was amazing.

For the next six days,
we scoured 100km of coastline

looking for a mum and calf

that were comfortable in our company.

We were just too late.
Just too late.

But though
we had fleeting encounters...

They were not stable.

They move as soon
as we get into the water. Yeah.

..the whales never stayed long enough
to give us what we needed...

This is getting tricky.

..and time was running out.

We're on Day 6,
and we still haven't had...

a decent encounter.

So we just keep hoping that
we're gonna get that one individual

as interested in us
as we are in them.

No one wanted to admit
it might not happen.

As we head out on our last morning,

suddenly a mother and calf

appear just 100m from the harbour.

A pair of whales just popped up
right alongside the boat,

and I do mean
right alongside the boat.

Everything now rides on the decision
about when to enter the water.

In this situation,
as much as your heart's racing,

and you're dying to jump in and start
swimming, it pays to be patient.

It's your call, Denis.
You know them better than we do.

I don't know them personally.

(LAUGHTER)
I am sorry, Steve.

I think we should give one more try.

Cautiously, we slip into the water.

(WHALESONG)

The calf is fascinated with us.

It comes right up to the team

and begins to twirl playfully.

It's the encounter of a lifetime,

and Denis and Rob
finally get the shots

wildlife camera teams dream about.

That was unbelievable!

That was so close.

Enabling us to tell the story
of these incredible voyagers,

and why they travel so far
to come here.

As a human, you're going,
"This is amazing."

And as a cameraperson,
you're going, "Is it recording?

Is it in focus? Is it exposed right?
Is Steve in the shot?"

The mother decides the encounter,
you know. We didn't decide.

I am so proud of the team.

You know we've really stuck at this.

Ten days we've been doing this,
and we've just waited

for the right moment
and the right whale. Didn't push it.

And it's all paid off.

(VOCALISES)

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