All language subtitles for Wilderness with Simon Reeve - 1x03 - Coral Triangle

We live on a crowded planet

but there are still vast areas

where nature has the upper-hand.

It looks like another planet.

I'm heading to the
last great wildernesses.

I'll try to cross four of
these rugged landscapes

Oh, my God!

on my toughest journeys yet.

I have to be honest.

Things are not
going brilliantly.

A bit of a medical situation.

Help is a long way away.

- Well done.

- I want to meet the people for
whom the wilderness is home

Testicles for breakfast,
lunch and dinner.

to see how they
live alongside nature.

Whoa!

I can stay down there
for a minute or so,

he's still down there
now, walking around!

And in this critical
time for our world

Huge carcasses of great trees.

seek out the rare and majestic
creatures that still survive

My heart is racing.

in some of the most
hostile environments.

Are you OK, Jonathan?
- Yeah, yeah.

- and the remotest regions

Bloody hell!

of our wild planet.

Coo!
- Coo!

- Big cats roaming free.

This surely is the absolute
definition of a real wilderness.

I'm on the coast of Indonesia,

onboard the Bernetta -

a converted fishing boat

that's going to be my home
for the next three weeks.

We're taking on board fuel

and supplies for
the long journey.

All right. We're off!

We're heading out to sea.

We're travelling just a
small area on this map really

and that's going to
take us days and days,

and nights out on the ocean.

This is the remote south-west
corner of the Pacific Ocean.

A vast expanse of tropical sea

dotted with thousands
of jungle-clad islands.

It's known as the
Coral Triangle.

My guide here is Nesha Ichida.

- Oh, oh, dolphins, dolphins!

That's a dolphin.

- Just there?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw it.

- She's a marine
conservationist,

who's spent her career

studying and protecting the
wonders of the Coral Triangle.

- So, the Coral Triangle is the
centre of all marine biodiversity.

It's just generally
home to hundreds

and hundreds of inhabitants,

from coral reef, fishes,

large megafauna -

it's insane how many
species are in one little area.

- Just here, look.

What a reminder they are of
how much glorious life there is.

I think this is a very good omen

because we're going to travel

about 1,000 miles to the East

by boat, and if
something goes wrong,

help is a long way away.

The "Coral Triangle" is a
name for the sea around mainly

the Philippines,
Malaysia and Indonesia.

It might just be the most
important patch of sea on the planet.

I'm going to be travelling
almost 1,000 miles

through the very heart
of this marine wilderness,

starting in the remote
Togean Islands of Indonesia.

I'll sail east to a stunning
tropical archipelago

called Raja Ampat.

On from there,

I hope to reach a remote bay
on the coast of New Guinea

to search for one of
the Coral Triangle's

most spectacular
creatures - whale sharks.

These are the Togean Islands.

We're heading in sort of that way
and we're going to meet a community

of people who spend most of
their lives living in and on the water.

I'm visiting a people
called the Bajau.

They're known as sea nomads.

For centuries, they've roamed
the tropical waters of the region.

I'm hoping the Bajau
can introduce me

to the underwater wilderness
of the Coral Triangle.

Here in the Togean Islands,

1,000 miles from
Indonesia's capital city,

perched on a coral reef
in the middle of the sea,

they've built a
village on stilts.

- So, we're arriving at the
Bajau village called Cabanatuan.

- What an extraordinary place.

We've got coral reef just on
the edge of the community.

We've got to find
our way through.

Because it's so shallow,

we might we might hit something.

- That is a stunning reef.

- It's quite impressive
that it's here,

so close to the community, isn't it?
- Yeah.

- The kids being dragged
out on the boat there!

Hello!

- Little tots.

Hello!

Oh, little tots in
the water here!

What a way of life, eh?

Perched right out over the sea.

Right, let's go and say hello.

Bari!

Bari Lahama is one of
the elders of the village.

Thank you very much indeed
for having us come to visit.

What work do most
people do here?

Bari and his family rely
on what he can catch,

trap or spear
sustainably in the sea.

He's renowned as one of the
best fishermen in the village.

Oh, we're going that way. That's good.
- Yeah.

- Bari has agreed to take us out

and show us the wonders
of the undersea world.

That looks very stable.

Right, and we're off!

Are you leaning back to try
and make it a bit more stable?

- Yes.

- I think we might be in a
spot of bother in terms of that.

- We're good!

- This is the real wilderness
of the Coral Triangle,

beneath the waves.

With one huge final
breath filling his lungs,

Bari begins his descent.

His only equipment is
a home-made speargun,

made with a piece
of elastic on a pole.

Within a minute,
he's 15 metres down

and beginning the hunt.

Every second he's
down is a calculation.

If he pushes himself too far,

he could easily
blackout and drown.

After just under two minutes,

he's down at 20 metres

below the level even most
scuba divers should be going.

Oh, my goodness.

I mean, he is an
astonishing human being.

I can stay down there for a
minute or so, not much longer.

But he's still down there now,

just walking around
on the seabed,

looking for more food.

I'll go back down
and try and join him.

Finally, Bari's
having some success.

But all he's getting
are smaller reef fish,

which means he keeps
diving for hour after hour.

The bodies of the Bajau have
evolved over thousands of years.

Scientists have established
their blood can actually absorb

and hold more oxygen
than the rest of us,

keeping them alive
under water for longer.

They're like human seals,

able to free dive down as
deep as 60 metres underwater.

It is an astonishing
sight to see.

I mean, the Bajau can
stay down for not just

two, three, four minutes,

but 11, 12 even 13 minutes,

without coming up for a breath.

They've just adapted
to their watery world.

For generations, the
Bajau have lived like this

from the riches of
the Coral Triangle.

Such a simple landscape here.

There's land, there's
sky, there's sea,

but under that surface there is a
whole other dimension of the planet.

Back in the Bajau
village, Bari and his wife,

Mamma Henni, offer to put us up
for the night in their house on stilts.

In here

So this is the wash area,

the shower and
the toilet as well.

A hole down here,
and beneath it,

well, that's the sea.

The Bajau have kept an
intimate connection with the ocean

for generations,

but now, of course, they're
also linked to the wider world,

and many teenagers here are
scrolling screens like everywhere else.

A critical job has
been delegated.

- Shiraliah.
- Shiraliah?

- Yes.
- That is a beautiful name.

I think it's a mission fail.

And then this is
where I am tonight.

I'm going to sleep on
the Premier League.

Night, all!

That was just about the
worst night's sleep ever.

Total truth.

Wish it had rained
last night, to be honest.

It's noisy, but it would drown
out the bloody cockerels!

The chickens provide
some meat and eggs,

but most of life here
revolves around fishing.

The family eat what Bari catches

but, to buy clothes
and other essentials,

he also sells fish at a nearby
market to people from other islands.

I'm trying to help
with breakfast.

OK.

Are you proud of
Bari for what he does?

Do you worry about him
when he goes fishing?

It's not surprising
Mamma Henni worries.

Bari usually goes out
alone in his small boat,

sometimes miles out to sea,

diving to crazy depths.

That's risky enough, without
even thinking about the powerful

tiger sharks that
hunt in these waters.

Bari, is what you do dangerous?

Bari, I'm really sorry to ask,

but what happened
to your brother-in-law?

Bari can't afford
to stop fishing.

A paltry catch during the day

means he's heading out again.

He's going to face the
demons, the sharks,

and the depths, in the dark.

I do like the sea when I can
actually have some vision,

where there is a sun above.

Going into the sea at night Um

A little bit
apprehensive about it.

At night, the beautiful
reef I saw in daytime

is transformed
into an eerie world,

almost ghostly.

Many fish are asleep
or hiding from the sharks

that come out to hunt at night.

In the dark ocean, alone
and miles from any help,

it does feel dangerous,

as if anything could emerge
from the inky black gloom.

That's a danger Bari is
facing more and more often.

He doesn't take
much from the sea

but commercial fishing
around the Coral Triangle

by trawlers and
foreign fishing fleets

has decimated the population
of larger, more valuable fish.

So, Bari has to target smaller
reef fish, like this goat fish.

It means he has to take chances

and dive more often
to feed his family.

Bari's aware of the risks,
but feels he has no choice.

Increasingly, it
can be a tough life,

surviving on the
edge of a wilderness.

I just want to say thank you
so much for your hospitality.

Man hug.

Sweaty man, that's me.

Thank you very much
indeed. Thank you so much.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Thank you. All right.

We will gather our stuff,
and we will head off.

Bye, guys!

Reluctantly, I'm leaving
Bari and Mamma Henni.

I've got hundreds of miles to
travel across the Coral Triangle.

The Bernetta is the cosy home
for all our kit and filming crew.

At the helm is Captain Lindra and
a small crew of Indonesian sailors.

We're travelling
across the Malacca Sea,

towards a small
cluster of islands

off the Indonesian
coast of New Guinea,

an area called Raja Ampat.

It's just about the richest and most
spectacular undersea environment

on Earth.

The bull's-eye at the
heart of the Coral Triangle.

It's not the fastest
boat on the sea,

but that does give me time
to soak up the surroundings.

There's a few birds
out there fishing.

There's some
flying fish as well.

Time passes slowly on the ocean.

He's playing a game.

What's it called?

Look. He's played it a lot!

Level 3,657, I just saw.

It's not long before we spot
evidence of one of the threats

to life in the Coral Triangle.

It's so strange to suddenly
see a fishing boat emerging.

It just appeared
almost from nowhere.

The Coral Triangle
has a fair claim

to be perhaps the richest
eco-system anywhere in our oceans.

But it's still fished by
international industrial trawlers

that take out millions of tons of
bigger fish, like tuna, every year,

and bottom trawlers
that rip up the seabed

for prawns and other shellfish.

But Nesha's taking me

to a place where marine life
is protected like nowhere else.

It's still a long way
across open ocean.

And, even with modern
communications on board the Bernetta,

there are real risks
in being this remote.

It's our third night at sea, and
one of the team is in trouble.

So, we've got a
bit of a problem.

Eric, our director,

has come down ill.

He's not in a great way,

and we're just trying to
work out how far we are

from proper medical help,

and it would seem we are

We're quite a long way.

Eric has a serious fever.

He's had his vaccinations,

but nothing is 100% effective.

Travelling in remote
tropical parts of the planet,

you can pick up anything
from Malaria to Typhoid,

as I know myself.

Are you feeling comfortable, or do
you want another pillow or anything?

- My head feels like an iron.

- Oh, Eric.

I'm just going to put this
on your forehead, all right?

- I'm so sorry, pal. Do you want
a bit more ice and another towel?

- This is fine.

All right, let's We'll just
go outside and confer, OK?

Yeah.

- So, his temperature is 39.5,

which is is not great.

So, now I've got to keep
an eye on him, of course,

and we've also got to
see where the hell are we,

and can we get
him to a hospital?

A temperature of 40 degrees
can be life-threatening.

So, we need to come up with a
plan in case it continues to rise.

- So, we'll be right under
here at 5am tomorrow.

- Right.

- But the nearest airport
is Seranti right here.

- Oh, - So, it's far.

- When I say it's far, it's far.

We need to work out
what we're going to do.

We think that five o'clock
tomorrow morning, we'll be

On our current course, we'll be

two hours from a community

on an island,

but whether they've got
a clinic there is unclear.

We need to dig
out a satellite phone

and start calling
to try and get some

some more information
and some help.

What did he What
did the captain say?

- Medivac is the next thing.

- Helicopter?
- Yeah.

- It'll take hours of
sailing to reach a place

where a chopper can land,

but we head in that direction.

We treat Eric, get
him comfortable,

and hope his raging
fever subsides.

So, a quick update on Eric.

He's doing a lot better.

He's just had some toast,
which is a very good sign,

and we are just going to
leave him to rest and recover.

- Yeah, let's see how you go.

Feel better, Eric.

- Thanks.

- It's a bloody
relief, to be honest.

I mean, if you can imagine,

we're out here -

just have a look around.

There's nothing out here.

Not another boat,
nor another ship.

It looks completely empty.

How far to go now?

- 111.

- 111 miles or kilometres?

- No, 110. Miles.

- With Eric well and
truly on the mend,

we'll press on for a couple more
days towards our next destination.

Land ahoy!

I've always wanted to say that!

We're arriving into Raja Ampat.

This would be a welcome
sight any time, wouldn't it?

Particularly after you've been
on a long journey across the sea.

Our planet can still be
so sublimely beautiful.

Raja Ampat has been described as

one of the last real paradises

left on Earth. Quite a claim,

but possibly justified.

Raja Ampat is home to more
than 2,000 species of fish

and hundreds of corals.

It looks like a welcoming
committee is heading our way.

So, apparently,
there's a patrol coming.

Oh, bloody hell. He's
got an assault rifle.

Do you know what they're doing?

- So, they're checking
on the onboard paperwork.

OK.

That's part of the patrol
around here in Raja Ampat,

to make sure there's, you
know, you're following the rules,

there's no fishing, for
example, in a no-take zone.

- Is it a Government patrol?
Is it a police patrol, or what?

- There is one police,
water police, in there.

They're law enforcers.

- It's more like a conservation patrol.
- Yes.

Conservation patrol,
but it is an MPA.

So - A Marine Protected Area?

- Yes.

- So, they're
definitely good guys.

- Yeah, for sure. We need this.

It's very, very important.

- Marine Ranger Mohid Eniba
combs boats in this part of Raja Ampat,

checking for illegal catches.

I mean, a fishing
boat, like any boat,

has got 1,000 different little
places you can hide something,

hasn't it?

And how did you feel
when you discovered that?

This patrol is part of a revolution
that's happened here in Raja Ampat.

A couple of decades ago, this
area was chockfull of fishing boats.

Fish life was steadily
being wiped out.

But Indonesia decided to
protect Raja Ampat as a treasure,

seizing and sinking hundreds
of illegal fishing boats.

Across thousands
of square miles,

fishing is now heavily
restricted, or banned altogether.

The results have
been spectacular.

A wilderness can be restored.

Just look at that colour.

Raja Ampat is Nesha's world.

This is where she's
spent most of her career

as a scientist,
monitoring and protecting.

Immediately, it's clear.

This is an undersea paradise.

Three-quarters of the
world's coral species

are found in the Coral Triangle.

Within moments, I'm surrounded
by shoals of damsel fish

and great clouds of fusiliers.

That's a trigger fish.

Raja Ampat is at the
heart of the Coral Triangle,

which is like nowhere
else on Earth.

You can see why it's been
described as the Amazon of the seas

and it's a crucial part of
the global ocean system

on which all life depends.

After all, it's
ocean eco-systems

that produce half
the oxygen we breath.

Of all the fish here,
there's one in particular

that's vital for a healthy sea.

The shark.

The smallest sharks
are just six inches long.

The biggest, the
size of a truck.

They still evoke fear

but now we know
nearly all sharks,

including this beautiful
white-tipped reef shark,

are, of course, totally
harmless to humans.

However, as apex predators,

they maintain order and balance

in the entire
underwater eco-system.

Oh, my.

That was

That was completely
breathtaking.

Honestly, I mean, maybe this
is just normal for you being here,

but that was
utterly spectacular.

But it's It's so deceptive.

Just look at the the water.

You have no comprehension

of what is beneath
the surface here.

- I'm still very happy to
see so many different fish.

Every food chain level is there, and
you got to see some sharks as well.

- But globally,
sharks are in trouble.

Overfishing, legal and illegal,

is killing tens of
millions each year.

They're eaten around the planet,

and shark fins are used

in a tasteless soup in
China and elsewhere.

Just a decade ago, many
sharks here were facing extinction.

One species was only
spotted three times in 20 years.

Today, this is a
protected marine reserve,

policed by patrols like the
one that stopped us earlier.

Overall, shark numbers are
now an incredible 25 times higher

than in unprotected areas

and right now, Nesha
and her colleagues

are taking shark conservation

one big step further.

- Are you ready to see the pups?

- I'm ready, yes. I think.

"Pups"?

- So, we've got two here.

This is our first-born, Mali.

- That is a sight of epic
cuteness, quite frankly.

I know that's not a very
scientific thing to think or say, but

Oh! She's

He/she is moving. - She.
- She.

Oh, my goodness.

Hello.
- Oh, she's saying hi to you!

- Hello to you, too!

- Hey, Mali.

- She doesn't look
really like a shark to me.

She looks At the
front like a cuddly toy,

and then

strange wings.

The tail and the rest
of her is a bit sharky

but she just looks so cute.

- Mali is a zebra shark,

or better known as
Indo-Pacific zebra shark.

- Right.

- In the last 15
years of monitoring,

we've only seen about
less than 20 sights

and that's very little comparing
to how much the other sharks

like blacktip, grey reef,

whitetip, they've all rebounded
and have, like, insane numbers.

But these guys unfortunately
haven't done so well.

- So, where did she come from?

- So, Mali comes
from Sea Life Sydney.

Over there, the second one,
she actually come from Las Vegas.

- No!
- Yes.

The zebra shark will actually lay
eggs, which are known to be hardy

and can survive
trans-pacific shipment,

and obviously it's much
easier to ship eggs than pups.

These two will be released in
about two and a half months.

She is part of this whole
initiative of re-sharking the world.

- "Re-sharking"?

That is not a phrase
I've heard before.

- ReShark is an initiative
to repopulate the oceans

with sharks,

and we're working with public
aquariums all over the world

who have built the
experience of animal care

and also breeding them,

especially those species
that need a little bit of help

and haven't done
very well in the wild.

- Wow.

I haven't heard
that anywhere, ever.

I'm here at the start
of something huge.

This is a global first.

ReShark has massive ambitions.

It's a worldwide collaboration
between governments,

universities, aquariums
and conservation groups.

So, we're going to go and
collect some snails and clams

for the sharks.

- Right here, a snail.

One of their
favourite, actually.

- Oh, they're tiny.

- They are tiny,
but they're still pups.

- The aim is to breed and
reintroduce hundreds of harmless,

helpful sharks,
like little Mali here,

and possibly re-shark
other world sites,

perhaps even off
the coast of Wales.

There it goes.

Tail's wagging, almost!

- Yeah, she's amazing.

She's the I would say, like,
the best species to work with.

It's hard not to fall in love.

- But to make a
project like this work,

the local community
needs to be involved as well.

The answer here is eco-tourism.

This marine reserve is
partly set up and funded

by a diving resort,

which also provides jobs
and careers for local people,

so they don't need to hunt for
sharks to put food on their table.

It's not the full answer, is it?

We can't just keep decimating
shark numbers around the planet,

and think that Nesha
is going to be able to put

all of that life
back into the seas.

- We need to turn off
the tap, first and foremost.

But, of course, we can't
just be blanketing the oceans

with no-take zones,
without alternative livelihoods

for the people who actually
depend on the ocean.

So, the fact that zebra
shark is a highly sought after

species for
snorkelers and divers,

really is a main driver

why this project is so loved and
embraced by the local community

and government,
because it is part of the

alternative livelihood,
instead of fishing them out.

- It's time to leave Raja Ampat

and set off on the last stage of my
journey across the Coral Triangle.

It's also time to say
goodbye to Nesha.

Nesha!

Farewell.

- Have a great trip.
- Travel safe. - Thank you.

- Thank you so much
for all you've done,

and all you've shown us!

- It's been a pleasure.

- Good luck, OK?

- Good luck to you!

- So, we're heading
out again, back to sea,

into a slightly wilder,
choppier bit of the ocean.

These are not uncharted
waters, of course not,

but they are for this team.

This boat has never been there,

and we're going to look for
the great giant of our oceans,

the largest fish in the sea.

We're on a hunt,
searching for whale sharks.

My voyage in search
of these giant fish

will take me around the Indonesian
coast of the island of New Guinea.

Three days of sailing
should hopefully get me

to my final destination -

a remote area of New Guinea
called Cenderawasih Bay.

I am ludicrously
excited at the thought

we might we might
see whale sharks.

Despite their size, whale
sharks have always been elusive.

The legendary Jacques
Cousteau only saw two

in decades of exploring the sea,

and, now, they're even rarer.

The global population of whale
sharks has halved in recent

decades mainly because,
obscenely, they're fished for their fins.

To up our chances
of spotting them,

one of the world's top whale shark
experts has agreed to come aboard.

Abam Sianipar is one
of the few scientists

who have conducted
research in Cenderawasih Bay.

We're heading towards the bay.

We're heading towards
this hot spot, really, isn't it?

- Yep.
- It's a bio-diversity hot spot

- Yup.
- of planetary significance.

- So, some fish scientists
might also consider this place

as a cauldron of evolution
for marine biodiversity

because, you know,
these areas are so remote

there's very little research
happening around here.

And this area seems to produce
more and more new species of fish

in the year that
we studied them.

So, again, yes, it is a
special place for whale sharks,

but for marine biodiversity,
it's also a very exciting place.

- But first we have to get there

and that means back into the
daily rhythm of life on the boat.

It wouldn't really be an expedition
if anything went entirely to plan.

It's going to be pretty tricky

spotting whale
sharks in this weather.

We're making pretty slow progress
now as well, there's a bit of wind.

I'm just not sure we'll make it
to the area we wanted to get to.

But eventually, the
weather picks up.

A few days more pottering along

and we finally make it to the
edge of Cenderawasih Bay.

Within the vastness
of the Coral Triangle,

this is another huge protected
Indonesian national park.

The bay is 200 miles across

and here is our best chance
of seeing whale sharks.

- No fins, no fins.

- Oh.

- When they travel, they don't
always stay on the surface.

From our last study,

one of the whale sharks
dived up to 1,000 metres

inside of the bay,

and from the - A kilometre down?

- Yeah. - In the bay?
- In the bay. - Wow!

- And then that's kind of like
also one of the biggest why,

in kind of, like, the
whale shark communities,

why this, you know,
animal does this dive,

what's down there.

To certain depths people might
argue there might be food there.

But when you go close
to 1,000, and even beyond

there's basically nothing there.

- Is there any
creature on this planet

of such comparable size

about which we know so
little as the whale shark?

- It's still one of the
biggest mysteries.

- Whale sharks can
be 18 metres long,

and weigh up to 30 tonnes.

They migrate thousands
of miles across the seas,

but we don't really know why.

Nobody really knows where they
breed or where their babies are born.

We do know they can
live to 100 or 150 years old.

That means there could
be whale sharks swimming

Earth's oceans right now

that were born before
the invention of light bulbs!

To try and solve some of the
many mysteries about them,

Abam and his colleagues have
set up a monitoring programme

to photograph and track the
whale sharks of Cenderawasih Bay.

Thank goodness
Abam knows one place

where we have a really
good chance of finding them.

What on earth is that structure?

- That is what
we call a "bagan".

- A bagan?

- A bagan.

So, a bagan is a
lift-net fishing platform

that the people in the
village have developed to

specifically fish for
bait fish, and also small

Other small fish during the
night with the help of lights.

- So, how come they're here,
inside such a protected area?

- These fishermen
have got a special permit,

both from the national
park but also from the

the local people, which is the
custodian of the of the areas.

- They're allowed to fish here
because this is a more traditional

form of fishing -

it's not dragging
an industrial size net

- No. - through the entire bay.
- Exactly.

There's some fins just
popping up to the surface there.

- You saw something?
- Just here.

- Oh, my goodness.

It can't possibly be!

Are you serious?

I think - There's one
waiting for you here?

Yeah.

- No way!

There's a whale
shark here already!

Oh!

- Hello, hello!

- It's the size of a bus!

- Yup.

- This is like a time traveller,

or something from
another planet.

I've never been so close to anything
remotely of this size in the ocean.

It's utterly It's
just breathtaking.

- They are quite amazing.

One thing that always
captivates me is also how

how gently they move,

how graceful they
manoeuvre their bodies,

like doing a ballet under water.

- I can't quite believe this.

I didn't think we would
actually see them

let alone right underneath us.

What a staggering creature.

- Even the biggest
one that we've seen,

I think 7-7.5 metres in length

Mm-hm.

and we still consider them
as a non-adult individual.

So, probably juveniles,

and they use some areas
like Cenderawasih Bay

as a nursery for them to eat
as much as they can - Right.

- to grow as fast as they can,

and then potentially leaving
the bay when they get bigger.

- Whale sharks
come to this platform

because local fishermen
here share their catch.

Because of that, this is one
of the only places on the planet

where scientists can monitor
large numbers of whale sharks.

Abam and his colleagues
have put satellite tags

on dozens of these giants.

They're running the largest whale
shark tagging project in the world.

They also take photos to
identify and record sharks.

They each have a
unique pattern of spots.

This is astonishing.

I know you need
to do some science,

rather than me just getting a
lump in my throat looking at them.

What do you want to do?

- I want to get in
the water with them.

- Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

And by any chance, do you
need somebody to, you know,

hold your camera?
- Sure, of course!

- Well, I'm game.

Let's get in the water.
- Let's do it.

I think we try to avoid
them as much as we can.

I try to maintain a distance,
like, three metres - OK.

- But of course, they
are swimming around.

Sometimes they creep up on your
back, we can't do anything about it.

But we'll just try our best.

Three, two, one

- Whale sharks aren't hunters
like some of their shark cousins.

They're not interested in me.

They're more like
vacuum cleaners,

filter feeding and sieving
plankton and small fish

through their huge mouths.

Their teeth are tiny,

and their throats can be
just the width of a 10p piece.

The visibility around the
platform isn't amazing,

so you don't see them
coming from far off -

they just emerge
almost out of the gloom,

and then suddenly this enormous,

ancient, prehistoric,

present-day, other
worldly alien creature

is coming right at you

and I absolutely bloody love it.

Abam's work is shedding new
light on the life of the whale shark.

Here in Cenderawasih Bay,

there's thought to be a
population of around 130 of them,

mostly juveniles.

Some live in the bay,
while others come and go.

For some unknown reason,
all the sharks here are males.

Where the females
go is another mystery.

It's early days, but the project
here is one of our best chances

of finding out more about
these magnificent creatures

and protecting them.

And it's all made possible

because of the local
Indonesian fishermen

who have, for
years, fed the sharks.

Nerdin has fished on this
bagan since he was a boy.

What do the whale
sharks mean to you?

You do feed them quite
a lot of fish, don't you?

Why do you give them so much?

I've reached the end of my
voyage across the Coral Triangle.

This miraculous
corner of our world.

I've learnt how this
little-known wilderness

is vital to life in
the wider ocean

and I've seen on this journey

how its crucial local people
are involved in preserving it.

Nerdin and the fishermen
here are an inspiring example

of how people can
live alongside nature,

cherishing it without
over-exploiting it.

How do you feel?

I saw you smiling as
you were feeding them.

As you're putting food
almost into the mouths

of these enormous creatures.

What an amazing place to
end this part of the journey,

with Nurdin on
his fishing platform

giving away great big boxes
of his fish to the whale sharks!

I absolutely love it.

Bloody brilliant.

You really are.

Next time

There are lions
going past my tent!

I'm crossing one of
the world's great deserts

on an epic hunt with the
legendary trackers of the Kalahari.

Man, this is intense.

Coo!
- Coo!