All language subtitles for C505515A2CEE3E54985E1B8A80EED2EE_eng

The Belize coast, mangrove
forests, lagoons, and

gentle brushstrokes of land
fringe the Caribbean Sea.

And beneath the surface,
an equally captivating marine

ecosystem with a mesmerizing
abundance of undersea life,

ancient,

graceful, it feels incredible
to be in the water with the

spotted eagle rays, and
fearsome, lots of sharks and as I

came over the reef, it came
swimming straight for me,

swimming with a barracuda,
it feels pretty intimidating,

yeah diving with barracudas
is sometimes scarier diving with

sharks. A magical place
where the surreal is real and the

otherworldly right in front
of you. It's just thrilling to

be out there and be a part of
it. The place Charles Darwin

called the most remarkable
reef in the West Indies.

The Belize coast, mangrove
forests, lagoons, and gentle

brushstrokes of land fringe
the The Belize barrier reef,

ranging as far as 25 miles
off the Belizean mainland on

Central America's Atlantic
coast, the largest barrier reef

in the Northern Hemisphere,
second only to Australia's Great

Barrier Reef, it is home to
more than 500 species of fish

and over 100 types of hard and soft coral.

These coral are some of the most
fascinating living creatures on the planet.

You see the corals and the
sea fans and the sponges blowing

in the current and it's just
an incredible place to be. You

feel very free underwater
and just seeing the movement

of everything, feeling weightless
underwater while you're

diving and looking at the
incredible life that is seen in

the waters here in Belize,
it's just thrilling to be out

there and be a part of it.

Over the centuries, tube
coral, elkhorn coral, and brain

coral have helped build the
foundation of life here. Some

deep sea colonies are
estimated to be 4,000 years old.

About one quarter of all known
ocean species depend on reefs

like this for food and for
shelter, yet incredibly reefs

make up less than one
percent of the ocean, ancient

and integral. They are
the rainforests of the sea,

a place where astonishing
creatures thrive and survive.

One of the most captivating
is the spotted eagle ray.

It feels incredible to be in
the water with the spotted

eagle rays. They're large,
they're beautiful, they're

graceful, they move so fluidly
underwater and just being

next to them while they're
moving in their slow rhythmic

area kind of puts you in that special place
and you can be right there next to them.

At a weight of up to 500
pounds, this flying leopard of

the sea is far from the largest
of the stingray family, but

their 11-foot wingspan
is equal to the

world's largest bird,
the wandering albatross.

The spotted eagle ray has a long, poisonous
whiptail used to defend against predators.

Failing that, they use size
and speed and are able to jump

clean out of the water to
evade attack. Eagle rays are well

-armed for hunting
small prey, using flat,

plate-like teeth to crush
hard-shelled crustaceans.

But these are gentle creatures and
run-ins with humans are purely accidental.

The same can't be said
for the great barracuda.

Swimming with a barracuda,
you know, it feels pretty

intimidating, especially
looking at them and seeing their

teeth. I guess that's for most
other divers and snorkelers.

You know, it's nice seeing a
barracuda and feeling like the

rush from them and their
aggressive-looking look. Seven

feet long, weighing as much
as 100 pounds, these ferocious

predators are like missiles,
cutting through the water at

speeds of up to 25 miles an
hour. Targets are struck with

two rows of razor-sharp
teeth, a technique that has

served this species well
for the last 50 million years.

The barracuda did not
achieve this astounding level of

success by being Mr. Nice
Guy, a reputation that invokes

great fascination and fear among divers.

Barracudas do have the
tendency to go for things that shine,

like a metal or something
like that, and there's been many

reports of people diving
with either earrings or wedding

rings and things like that
where barracudas did, in fact,

attack them by the finger
off, by the ear off. So, yeah,

diving with barracudas is
sometimes scarier than diving with

sharks. Fortunately for divers,
human flesh is not the first

choice of the barracuda.
There's plenty of food on the reef,

if they can find it.

The trumpetfish is a
truly bizarre creature,

floating, drifting, and rotating.

It changes color and
blends in with the coral. The

trumpetfish almost becomes
invisible among pillar coral.

Predators can't see it,
and neither can its prey.

Small, unsuspecting fish are
unceremoniously vacuumed

up into its elongated snout.
A proficient predator, but

certainly not the only one in these waters.

The peacock flounder. Like
a common flatfish, but from

another planet, it has the
incredible ability to match the

color and texture of its
surroundings within seconds.

The peacock flounder has
an elongated pectoral fin that is

used in mating rituals. During
courtship, both males and

females display the fin upright to initiate
reproduction in true peacock fashion.

The peacock flounder has
evolved with both eyes on one

side of its body. Each moves
independently from the other,

providing the flounder with an incredible
panoramic view of the ocean above.

At the slightest glimpse of
predator or prey, it simply vanishes.

It is a handy trick to be sure,
especially when faced with

one of the reef's top predators,
the nurse shark. They're

very shy, so when you approach
them, they will swim away. We

actually had one yesterday
on the dive, and as I came over

the reef, it came swimming
straight for me, right up in my

face, and the next moment it
just turned away. So it's not a

dangerous shark to swim with, but
it's a beautiful shark to see underwater.

A shy hunter, deftly weaving
along the ocean floor, it sucks

just about anything it can
into its strong jaws. The nurse

shark has a boundless menu
on the reef, crushing hard coral

or shellfish, devouring squid,
small fish, maybe even a

peacock flounder, if it gets lucky.

Unlike the peacock flounder,
red lionfish are easy to spot

on the reef. They're not
supposed to be here, and yet they

are everywhere.

Lionfish are native to the
Indo-Pacific region and were

accidentally introduced into
the Atlantic more than 20 years

ago.

Today, this invasive species
has upset the natural order

of the marine ecosystem,
from Texas to the Bahamas.

For them, this strange and beautiful reef
is like a 24-hour all-you-can-eat buffet.

Here in the Atlantic, lionfish
obliterate small species,

steal food from larger
species, and have no natural

predators.

But in their native environment,
the Pacific Ocean, it is

a far different story. Pacific
groupers have learned to

swallow the lionfish whole,
head first, so its poisonous

spines become folded back
and disengaged. Cornetfish are

also known to prey on the
lionfish. Here in the Atlantic,

these same evolutionary
adaptations are yet to appear, and

potential predators steer clear of
these bright colors and venomous spines.

For predators, learning
how to hunt lionfish could take

decades, if it's even
possible. And there's no strong

evidence to suggest that it
is. Divers try to keep lionfish

numbers down by spearing
them whenever they can. Once we

spear them, we injure them,
and then the sharks comes along

and they eat them, because
they can't defend themselves

anymore.

So what happens is the
lionfish will usually swim upwards

with its spines out, and the
moment it's hurt or when it's

dead, the spines go back and they can
come from the front and they can eat them.

In the meantime, there are
other species that have developed

a taste for lionfish, including
the queen triggerfish.

You'll find the queen triggers
anywhere from shallow reef

to three feet of water down to
a hundred feet, and the queen

triggers actually like to follow us
because we feed them with lionfish.

Defensively, queen triggers outsmart
predators by slipping into small crevices.

Then they actually lock
themselves in by lodging a large

spine on their backs into the
rock. They won't budge until

the coast is clear, staying
close to the reef and often

in close proximity to one of
the open ocean's most amazing

creatures.

Mates for life. Banded coral
shrimp are usually found in pairs.

Their crimson and white
stripes are one of a kind. Their fur

is actually made up of small
spines, used for self-defense.

But incredibly, they go largely
unused. Banded coral shrimp

are far from the top of the
food chain, almost as far as you

can get. Yet they have no
known predators. How? They earn

their keep. These are cleaner
shrimp, removing parasites,

injured tissue, and leftover food particles
from fish such as the green moray eel.

Even more amazing, the
banded coral shrimp advertises its

services. When hungry, it's
been observed dancing to make

itself visible to potential
customers. For the large

predators of the Belize
barrier reef, the banded coral

shrimp is more valuable alive than dead.

Its satisfied customer, the
green moray eel, is one of the

reef's most stealthy and
infamous predators, slithering from

cave to cave, relying on its
green coloring to blend into

the coral and rock. Even at
lengths of up to eight feet, the

green moray eel is a
hard-to-catch target. For predators

such as the barracuda, it
rarely leaves the tight quarters

of the caves and holes in
which it lies, in wait for passing

prey. The green moray has
an astonishing ability to swallow

entire prey whole without
expanding its body.

Most fish rely on suction to
swallow prey whole, but this

process makes the body of
the predator expand significantly.

It just can't be done in a
small cave unless you're a

green moray eel. They catch
their prey in their jaws, and

incredibly, the prey is pulled
down into the throat by a

second jaw that launches
out, clamps down, and pulls. No

suction, no expansion. It's a
sci-fi horror movie come to life, and

a nightmare scenario that the
French grunt would much rather avoid.

Individually, just seven
inches long, French

grunts travel in large,
beautiful schools.

Though breathtaking, these
schools have a practical purpose.

Traveling in large groups
increases the odds of survival

during an attack. And if one
fish finds a good feeding area,

they all do.

Come nightfall, the school
splits up, and individuals forage

the ocean floor for small
crustaceans. Swimming solo, they

must be extra vigilant, for
they are one of the tastiest

fish on the reef. All the
barcudas out there, even the

dolphins, they love the
grunts. You see them all around,

and they make, like, grunt
noise, actually, just like their

name, so they go like... It's
one of the fish we found that

the dolphins like because
of their noise they make. The

grunting noise is actually the
sound of small jaws grinding

together, though the reason
for this remains unknown.

While foraging the ocean
floor at night, the French grunt

may cross paths with another
little noisemaker, the squirrel

fish. Known to make a staccato,
chattering sound, not unlike

that of their terrestrial
namesake, they're actually called

squirrel fish for a different reason.

A third spine that juts
straight up, like a squirrel's tail.

Unlike French grunts, the
purpose of squirrel fish sounds is

known. One grunt is used
when guarding territory, and when

their eerily large eyes pick
up on an approaching predator,

a staccato noise sounds the
alarm. But until that happens,

the squirrel fish are free to feed.

And one species they may
try to take a bite from is the sea

cucumber. One of the most
common creatures in the sea, yet

it is like something from another planet.

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms,
related to sea stars and sea

urchins. They come in all
shapes, sizes, and colors, from

just one inch to more than six feet long.

The sea cucumber is a popular
menu item for predators, but

surprisingly, it's no pushover.
If threatened, it contracts,

lightning fast, and shoots
toxic internal organs at an

attacker, only to quickly
regenerate them later. Some sea

cucumber species may
discharge sticky threads to ensnare

their enemies. These truly
remarkable defense mechanisms may

work on smaller fish looking for a
quick bite, but not on the larger ones.

The southern stingray. These
diamond-shaped rays are expert

bottom feeders, reaching up
to six feet in diameter and more

than 200 pounds in weight.

Like most rays, they're
often found buried on the sea

floor, with just their eyes
coking above the sand.

The southern stingray avoids
reef walls in rocky areas. Its

hunting and hiding techniques
are strongest on the sandy sea

floor.

To locate their target, they
use acute senses of smell

and touch, but they also
have a sixth sense, called

electroreception,

which means it can
detect the natural electric

currents given off by
all living organisms.

When prey is sensed hiding
nearby, the ray sprays water out

of its mouth, disturbs the
sand with its wings, and flushes

out its meal.

The southern stingray's much
smaller cousin is the yellow stingray.

Round in shape, about the
size of a tea saucer, these rays

have a broader hunting
ground than their larger relatives,

exploring rocky areas
and coral reefs for food.

But they use their most clever
trick in the sand. When the

yellow stingray senses
nearby prey, it raises its snout to

create a cozy-looking nook
for a small creature, luring them

into what appears to be a
safe harbor. Southern stingrays

fall prey to larger fish, such
as tiger sharks. They are

able to avoid predators by
hiding in the sand or exploding

with quick bursts of speed.

Meanwhile, up above, one
of the ocean's most majestic

creatures, the hawksbill
sea turtle, visits the reef for

food.

Sometimes it could be a
little spooky if you kind of pull

up on them suddenly, you
know, they get frightened and just

take off, but generally
they're very, very friendly with

divers. When they're feeding,
they generally would just kind

of like look up and
go, oh, it's just a diver.

Named for their bird-like
beak, they are one of the

smaller species of sea turtle,
growing to about 150 pounds.

Hawksbills have a pair
of claws on each flipper,

something that sets them
apart from other sea turtles.

They are omnivores drawn to
reefs, such as this one in Belize.

Here, they feed mostly on
invertebrates, like sponges,

algae, or sometimes even
fish. Hawksbills can be found in

the Atlantic, Pacific, and
Indian Oceans. And although

populations are most dense
here in the Caribbean, the

hawksbill is listed as a
critically endangered species.

Its beautiful shell makes it
a target for poachers, who

profit from the illegal sale
of the tortoise shell, used to

make jewelry and other ornaments.

Hawksbills are also
susceptible to entanglement in gill

nets, and are caught accidentally
on long fishing lines. The

decline of the hawksbill is
bad news for the Belize Barrier

Reef. These ancient creatures
remove sponges from the

surface of the reef, allowing
better feeding access for fish.

Turtles are also an
important element of the Belize

ecotourism industry, attracting
divers eager to swim side-by

-side with creatures that have
roamed these oceans for the

last 100 million years. Here
on the reef, hawksbills often

cross paths with their much larger cousins,

the green sea turtle, weighing
as much as 500 pounds.

They've been known to snack
on sponges and jellyfish, but

for the most part, these
gentle giants are herbivores.

Feeding mainly on grass and
algae. The pigment from this

predominantly green diet colors their
fat. This is how they earn their name.

Like all species of sea turtle,
they face incredible odds of

survival. For every 1 to 200
eggs laid by a female, just 1%

reach sexual maturity, which
can take as long as 35 years.

But the lucky few who make
it can live to 80 years or more.

These sea turtles have likely
migrated thousands of miles

to forage here from their
breeding ground elsewhere in the

Caribbean.

They'll shuttle back and
forth for their entire lifetime.

Incredibly, every 2 or 3 years,
female hawksbill and green

sea turtles will return to the
exact beach on which they

hatched to lay their eggs.
Long-distance swimming is a part

of their DNA.

The ancestors of this ancient
species once swam side-by-side

with prehistoric creatures.
The oldest known sea turtles

date back about 150 million
years, 85 million years before

the dinosaurs became
extinct. Just like the prehistoric

giants with whom they once
shared the earth, sea turtles

are reptiles. They breathe
air, but are able to hold their

breath for unbelievable
amounts of time. When resting

or sleeping underwater, a
sea turtle can go 4 to 7 hours

without surfacing, but the
time is much shorter when the

turtle is actively foraging.
Quite possibly for seagrass,

which can be a hard meal to
catch, if it's in fact not seagrass at all.

These are garden eels,
the width of a straw. They are

usually about 16 inches in
length, but you're not likely to

see that much of them.

The garden eel uses its hard,
pointy tail to burrow into the

sandy sea floor. Slime on
their skin cements the walls of

the burrows, preventing cave-ins.

Here they will stay for most
of their lives, surviving on

plankton that float by,
continuing their expert imitation of

billowing seagrass.

Or simply vanishing.

Also finding a home on the
sandy bottom is one of the reef's

most peculiar creatures, the
cushion sea star. There are

about 1,500 species of sea
stars in the world's oceans,

occupying the seabed, giving
rise to questions such as, are

they alive? Do they eat? The
answers? They are alive, and

they do eat. Using a remarkable
adaptation, the sea star

pushes its stomach outside
of its body, lays it over a bed

of coral, and waits, while its
stomach acids and digestive

juices break down the coral.
The sea star then eats the

defenseless, nutrient-rich
organisms inside the coral at its

leisure.

These insidious, slow-motion
killers also threaten the coral reef.

If left unchecked, they can
consume vast amounts of

coral, leaving a trail of
devastation in their path.

The yellow-lined arrow crab,
on the other hand, usually

leaves behind nothing more
than a trail of excited reef

divers. With its truly unique
triangular head, framed by

eight spider-like legs, it is
always a popular photo-op.

These small crabs are
nocturnal feeders, and

tend to scavenge the
reefs for invertebrates.

Moving nimbly around the
reef is the smooth trunkfish.

Dorsal and anal fins propel it
forward, while its tail acts as a rudder.

They're not fast, but they
don't need to be, to snare

the small plant and animal
particles on which they feed.

Occasionally they blow at the sea
floor, to uncover hidden morsels.

If bothered by a predator,
such as the nurse shark, the

smooth trunkfish does not
need to flee. When touched, it

secretes colorless toxins,
fatal to predators, who are

usually warned off by the
bright colors of the potential

prey.

But not all colorful characters
on the Belize Barrier Reef

are afforded the same
protection. The spotlight parrotfish

has no such defense against
predators, such as moray eels.

Instead, it is quick, poking in and
out of coral crevices and caves.

These parrotfish use their beak-like
jaw to bite off chunks of coral.

Specialized teeth in the
throat, designed for crushing,

release the nutrients from
algae in the coral itself.

This ability to consume
one of the most plentiful food

sources in the reef is a
powerful survival adaptation.

But the spotlight parrotfish
has an even stronger one.

When population densities are
low, and breeding slows down,

females can actually
become males, in order to help

repopulate the species. This
incredible transformation is

brightly advertised, as
secondary males, as they're called,

will change color, from
red and brown to bright blue.

Here in the Belize Barrier
Reef, and on reefs around the

globe, shimmering creatures
glide weightlessly through rocky

coral, angelfish.

Like most of its saltwater
cousins, this French angelfish is

one of the most popular
species in the world. An angelfish

can reach lengths of two
feet, and weigh up to four

pounds, feeding on sponges,
algae, and invertebrates.

Juveniles act as
cleaner fish, removing

parasites from grunts,
snappers, and moray eels.

But one of the most
remarkable aspects of this

species is their
monogamous social structure.

Angelfish, such as these
gray angels, remain loyal to one

mate. Caring helps them
care for their young, and defend

their territory against competitors.

But defending against the black-tipped
reef shark is a different story.

As a species, sharks
date back 450 million years.

Black-tipped reef sharks are
not giants, and are certainly

not the prehistoric monster
sharks that are believed to have

come before them.

They are, however, evolutionary
works of art, unparalleled

hunters, ultimate survivors.
They are at once beautiful and

imposing.

For divers, being
eye-to-eye with these ancient

hunters is an adrenaline
rush like no other.

My favorite dive spot will
definitely have to be the Blue

Hole. There's a dive there
called the Playground. Lots of

sharks, silver reef sharks,
black-tipped reef sharks, black

-tipped reef sharks. So it's
amazing to go down there and to

hang on a depth of about 60
feet, and then you're having

the sharks swim around you
all the time until the end of the

dive.

Here, sharks prowl every
part of the reef. For fish,

stingrays, crustaceans,
anything on which they can feed.

Razor-sharp senses help them find food.

Sounds and vibrations
give them their first hint of a

possible meal. Superb sight
and smell draw them closer to

their target. Then, their
secret weapon, a sense organ

called ampullae of Lorenzini,
is what sets them apart. All

living things give off a
faint electric charge, and all

sharks have the incredible
ability to detect this. So even

if they can't see it, smell
it, hear it, taste it or touch

it, they know where their prey
is and can expose its precise

location.

Multiple rows of teeth
help them devour their prey.

Sometimes the hunt is less
about sense and more about speed.

Black-tipped reef sharks are
known to position themselves

deep below large schools of
fish near the surface. Before

shooting through the
school and into the air, like a

rocket, in the hopes of ending
up with a mouthful of fish.

Fish, like these horse-eye
jacks, name for their large,

dark, horse-like eyes. Reaching
weights of as much as 55

pounds, these rugged, bony
fish can be a substantial meal

for top predators. In a school,
they are a sight to behold.

Like other schooling fish,
horse-eye jacks find strength

in numbers. If one sees
food, they all do. If one sees a

predator, they all do.
Their colorings are also an

advantage. Dark on the top,
they blend with the ocean floor.

Lighter on the bottom, they
blend with the sunlit surface.

Horse-eye jacks hide in plain
sight from predators above and

below. But jacks aren't the only
schooling fish on the Belize Barrier Reef.

The blue tang. Their fins and scales
reflect light in boundless shades of blue.

Their flat, broad teeth are
perfect for nipping algae from

the reef. And if a predator
happens upon them while they

eat, it's in for a nasty surprise.

Two sharp spines, one
on each side of its tail, stick

straight out when the blue
tang feels threatened. These

spines are sharp enough
to slash an adversary. It's

no wonder this species is
nicknamed the blue barber.

Some fish on the reef don't
actually look like fish. The

sand diver, or lizard fish,
takes no chances around an

inquisitive diver.

The lizard fish would also
be wise to steer clear of the

puffer fish. It may look like
an easy meal, but puffer fish

carry deadly toxins, and
have the ability to inflate several

times their normal size,
larger than the mouths of most

predators.

The tetrodotoxin in puffer
fish is 1,200 times more

poisonous than cyanide. Some
puffers have enough toxins in

their bodies to kill 30 adult
humans. But divers are more

likely to be killed by one
of these fish in a restaurant

than on a dive. Puffer
fish are a delicacy in Japan,

especially in the South.
They're usually prepared by

licensed chefs to have the toxins removed.

From graceful gliders, and
the sensationally surreal, to

masters of masquerade and
awe-inspiring ancients, the Belize

Barrier Reef is a
universe unto itself, and

one of the many wonders
of the great blue wild.

Sharks and turtles can be
found there. You see the corals

and the sea fans and the
sponges blowing in the current, and

it's just an incredible place
to be. You feel very free

underwater, and just seeing
the movement of everything,

feeling weightless underwater
while you're diving, and

looking at the incredible
life that is seen in the waters

here in Belize, and it's just
thrilling to be out there and

be a part of it. Being able
to get within inches of nature,

it's a wonderful feeling.

For more information, visit www.belize.gov