Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

TODAY WE'RE ON A JOURNEY ACROSS THE MIGHTY PACIFIC

OCEAN.

WE'RE DIVING DEEP INTO THE LARGEST OCEAN ON OUR

PLANET TO COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE

AMAZING ANIMALS THAT CALL IT HOME.

WE'LL MEET A FAMILY OF GRAY WHALES IN THE WARM

WATERS OFF THE COAST OF MEXICO.

GET AS CLOSE AS WE DARE TO A GROUP OF HUNGRY GREAT

WHITE SHARKS.

HANG OUT WITH A COLONY OF PLAYFUL SEA LIONS.

AND LEARN HOW THE GREAT PACIFIC OCEAN AFFECTS ALL

LIFE ON EARTH.

THE JOURNEY STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: THE PACIFIC OCEAN COVERS ONE-THIRD OF OUR

PLANET; MORE THAN ALL OF THE CONTINENTS COMBINED.

FOR 200 MILLION YEARS IT'S BEEN THE BIRTHPLACE TO

COUNTLESS SPECIES, IT POWERS GLOBAL WEATHER

SYSTEMS, CLEANS OUR ATMOSPHERE,

FEEDS BILLIONS OF PEOPLE EACH YEAR,

AND IT'S THE HOME TO THE LARGEST ANIMALS ON EARTH.

THIS IS A FAMILY OF GRAY WHALES.

THEY'RE HEADED SOUTH, HUGGING THE COAST OF

CALIFORNIA.

THEY LEFT THEIR FEEDING GROUNDS IN THE ARCTIC JUST

TWO MONTHS AGO AND THEY WILL CONTINUE SWIMMING

NEARLY NONSTOP UNTIL THEY REACH THEIR DESTINATION.

THEY MAKE A 10,000 TO 12,000

MILE ROUND-TRIP EVERY YEAR AND THEY DO IT ALL

FOR THIS; THREE MASSIVE LAGOONS ON THE WEST COAST

OF MEXICO'S, BAJA PENINSULA.

THE FIRST WHALES BEGIN ARRIVING IN JANUARY.

PREGNANT FEMALES WHO CONCEIVED HERE LAST YEAR

HAVE RETURNED TO GIVE BIRTH ONCE AGAIN.

NO ONE KNOWS HOW OR WHEN THE FIRST WHALES FOUND

THIS DESERT SANCTUARY, BUT IT HAS EVERYTHING A MOTHER

COULD WANT.

A MUDDY BOTTOM RICH WITH FOOD,

EXTRA SALTY WATER THAT HELPS NEWBORNS FLOAT,

AND WHILE PREDATORS LIKE KILLER WHALES WILL AMBUSH

CALVES IN OPEN OCEAN, THEY WOULDN'T DARE ENTER THE

SHALLOW LAGOON TEEMING WITH A THOUSAND ADULT

GRAYS.

[ADVENTUROUS MUSIC

DYLAN: WE ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS ONE OF NATURE'S

GREAT AND GRAND MYSTERIES; A PHENOMENON THAT BEGAN IN

THE 1970'S AND IT ONLY HAPPENS IN BAJA'S NURSERY

LAGOONS.

MOTHER WHALES APPROACH THE BOATS WITH THEIR CALVES.

SOME MOTHERS EVEN LIFT THEIR NEWBORNS UP

EYE-TO-EYE WITH HUMANS.

SOME INTERACTIONS LAST A MOMENT,

OTHERS AN HOUR.

BY THE 1940'S THERE WERE JUST A FEW HUNDRED PACIFIC

GRAY WHALES LEFT.

TODAY THANKS TO IMPORTANT CONSERVATION THERE ARE

ABOUT 20,000.

16 MILES LONG AND 4 MILES WIDE THE SAN IGNACIA

LAGOON IS THE LAST UNTOUCHED WHALE NURSERY ON

EARTH.

IT'S CONNECTED TO THE PACIFIC BY A NARROW SANDY

CHANNEL AND IT IS AN ECOSYSTEM UNTO ITSELF.

OCEAN CURRENTS INFUSE THESE WATERS WITH FOOD AND

VISITORS FROM THE DEEP; SWARMS OF MIGRATING SQUID

AND HUNGRY GREAT WHITE SHARKS.

4 OF THE WORLD'S 7 MARINE TURTLES FEED HERE.

ON LAND, PRISTINE MANGROVE FORESTS HOST NESTING BIRDS

IN LATE FALL.

THE INCOMING TIDE BRINGS NUTRIENTS AND OXYGEN-RICH

WATER.

THE EVERGREEN MANGROVES ARE HARD AT WORK 24 HOURS

A DAY.

AN ENDLESS LABYRINTH OF ROOTS ANCHORED IN THE SAND

BUFFERS THE SALT MARSH AGAINST HURRICANES AND

STORM SEARCH.

DOWN HERE HUNDREDS OF SPECIES FIND SHELTER.

AT LEAST 70 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S TROPICAL FISH NEED

MANGROVES LIKE THESE FOR PART OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE.

THE LAGOON'S BOUNTY ALSO DRAWS AIRBORNE VISITORS

LIKE OSPREY.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: THESE POWERFUL RAPTORS WILL BUILD A NEST

ON NEARLY ANYTHING.

THE ROOF OF AN OLD OUTHOUSE WORKS JUST FINE.

AT JUST A MONTH OLD THESE BABIES CAN'T FLY YET,

BUT WITH A LIFESPAN OF 20 YEARS OSPREY CAN COVER

MORE THAN 150,000 MILES IN SEARCH OF GOOD HUNTING

GROUNDS.

BY MAY THE WHALES HAVE LEFT THE LAGOON,

SWIMMING NORTH BACK TO THE ARCTIC.

IF THIS CALF SURVIVES THE WILD PACIFIC SHE'LL BE

READY FOR MOTHERHOOD IN ABOUT 8 YEARS.

GRAY WHALES IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WERE HUNTED

TO EXTINCTION HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.

IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN GRAY WHALES ARE A PROTECTED

SPECIES, BUT THEIR FATE IS FAR FROM CERTAIN.

CLIMATE CHANGE, BOAT STRIKES,

INCREASED HUMAN ACTIVITY IN THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS

AND SEVERAL OTHER THREATS ALL IMPACT THE REMAINING

GRAY WHALE POPULATION.

COMING UP NEXT, OUR ADVENTURE THROUGH THE

PACIFIC OCEAN CONTINUES WITH CLOSE ENCOUNTERS FROM

THE GREATEST HUNTERS IN THE OCEAN.

AND LATER, WE'LL VISIT A COLONY OF NOISY SEA LIONS

AND SPEND A LAZY AFTERNOON PLAYING IN THE SUN.

DON'T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY,

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

NOTHING GETS OUR SPINES TINGLING QUITE LIKE

SHARKS, AND FOR GOOD REASON.

THESE SLEEK, SILENT PHANTOMS OF THE DEEP ARE

PERFECTLY EVOLVED TO HUNT AND KILL.

GREAT WHITES, FOR INSTANCE,

BOAST A POWERFUL JAW FILLED WITH 300

RAZOR-SHARP TEETH AND THEY CAN SWIM MORE THAN 35

MILES PER HOUR TO FIND THEIR NEXT MEAL.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN SEEMS CUSTOM-MADE FOR SECRETIVE

CARNIVORES.

EVERY OCTOBER GREAT WHITE SHARKS BEGIN GATHERING AT

GUADALUPE ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF MEXICO.

THE MALES ARRIVE FIRST.

AT 12 TO 16 FEET AND 2,000 POUNDS THEY CAN BE VERY

INTIMIDATING.

BUT THESE MALES ARE DWARFED BY FEMALES.

FEMALES ARRIVE A MONTH LATER AND THEY CAN BE

GIANTS; UP TO 20 FEET LONG AND

7,000 POUNDS.

JUST WHAT THEY'RE DOING HERE NO ONE KNOWS FOR

SURE.

WITH SO MANY MALES AND FEMALES IN THE SAME SPOT

BIOLOGISTS BELIEVE THEY GATHER HERE TO MATE.

WE HUMANS HAVE 5 SENSES.

MORE THAN 450 MILLION YEARS OF EVOLUTION HAVE

EQUIPPED THESE APEX PREDATORS WITH 7.

BUT THEY ARE USELESS AGAINST NETS,

HOOKS AND LONG LINES.

WE ONCE THOUGHT FEMALE GREAT WHITES COULDN'T

REPRODUCE UNTIL THEY WERE 15 YEARS OLD;

WE WERE WRONG - MAKE THAT 30 YEARS.

THE SILLY NOTION OF NEUROTIC SHARKS LIKE JAWS

SEARCHING FOR PEOPLE TO EAT HAS THANKFULLY BEGUN

TO FADE.

SHARKS HAVE MUCH MORE TO FEAR FROM US THAN WE FROM

THEM.

HUMANS KILL 100 MILLION EVERY YEAR FOR SPORT,

MEDICINES AND EVEN COSMETICS.

WHEN THE FESTIVITIES AT GUADALUPE ISLAND WIND DOWN

THIS SHARK HEADS EAST IN SEARCH OF SEA LIONS.

HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE TO FIND THEM.

SEA LIONS ARE AMONG THE GREAT WHITE'S FAVORITE

FOODS AND THEY KNOW IT.

STILL, ONE BRAVE SOUL KEEPS AN EYE ON THE

INTERLOPER WHILE THE OTHERS DASH BACK TO

SAFETY.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: THIS IS THEIR REALM;

SHALLOW, ROCKY WATERS.

FEW CREATURES CAN NAVIGATE CRASHING WAVES AND RIPPING

CURRENTS LIKE THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION.

THEY ARE INDEED THE KING OF THE COASTLINE.

[ADVENTUROUS MUSIC]

[ADVENTUROUS MUSIC]

DYLAN: THEY CAN SPRINT UP TO 25 MILES PER HOUR,

AVOIDING PREDATORS OR CATCHING PREY.

UNLIKE THEIR COUSIN THE SEAL,

THIS MAMMAL HAS EAR FLAPS, LONG FRONT FINS TO WALK ON

LAND, AND THEY ARE HIGHLY SOCIAL.

A COLONY CAN BE 1,500 STRONG.

FEMALES CAN REACH 6 FEET AND 220 POUNDS AND LIKE

MOST PARENTS, THERE'S NO REST FOR THE WEARY.

EXPERIENCED MOMS FLIP UPSIDE DOWN TO TAKE A

BREATH, THEIR EYES NEVER LEAVING THE LITTLE ONES.

JUVENILES ARE LIKE PUPPIES,

FULL OF ENERGY AND MISCHIEF.

ANYTHING INTERESTING NEEDS INVESTIGATION,

BECOMES A CHEW TOY, OR A GAME OF KEEP-AWAY.

ANTAGONIZING A DAMSEL FISH IS JUST GOOD,

CLEAN FUN.

FOR ALL ITS ACROBATIC GRACE,

THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION IS A CHAMPION AMONG DEEP

DIVERS AND BUILT FOR IT.

THEY CAN COLLAPSE THEIR LUNGS AND SLOW THEIR HEART

FROM 90 BEATS PER MINUTE TO JUST 20.

BLOOD IS SHUNTED AWAY FROM TISSUE THAT DOESN'T NEED

MUCH OXYGEN SO THAT SPECIALIZED MUSCLES CAN

GRAB THE EXTRA O2.

ALL OF THIS ALLOWS A SEA LION TO HOLD ITS BREATH

FOR 15 MINUTES AND SAFELY DIVE TO 900 FEET IN SEARCH

OF SQUID.

SOME SEA LIONS CAN SWIM MORE THAN 20 MILES PER

HOUR AND LIVE PAST THE RIPE OLD AGE OF 30.

WITH THESE PLAYFUL CREATURES IT SEEMS LIKE

WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING THEY'RE HAVING A GOOD

TIME.

DON'T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY,

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

OCEAN ANIMALS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES,

BUT PERHAPS NONE OF THEM ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN

SARDINES.

ALONG WITH THEIR COUSINS THE ANCHOVIES AND

HERRINGS, THESE INCREDIBLE FISH FEED COUNTLESS LARGER

OCEAN PREDATORS AND THEY'RE ALSO A CRITICAL

SOURCE OF FOOD FOR PEOPLE TOO.

POUND-FOR-POUND THEY'RE PROBABLY THE MOST

NUTRITIOUS FISH IN THE WORLD.

SARDINE, ANCHOVY AND HERRING.

GREAT SCHOOLS COURSE THROUGH THE EASTERN

PACIFIC AND SEA OF CORTEZ, MIGRATING,

FEEDING, SPAWNING.

THE SARDINE HAS ONE BRIEF MISSION IN LIFE;

REPRODUCE BEFORE SOMETHING OR SOMEONE EATS IT.

WHEN THE UNITED STATES WENT TO WAR IN 1917 SO DID

THE SARDINE.

IT WAS THE PERFECT FOOD TO CAN,

SHIP AND FEED MILLIONS OF SOLDIERS.

BUT DECADES WITHOUT FISHING REGULATIONS OR

SELF-RESTRAINT TOOK ITS TOLL.

BY THE END OF WORLD WAR II THE SARDINES WERE GONE.

A TOTAL COLLAPSE OF THE SARDINE FISHERY IN THE

EASTERN PACIFIC; IT HAS NEVER FULLY RECOVERED.

A SINGLE SARDINE IS HELPLESS BUT THEY CREATE

SAFETY IN NUMBERS.

DISAPPEARING INTO A FLASHING RIBBON OF SILVER

IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO AVOID BEING SINGLED OUT

AND EATEN.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS DAZZLED BY THE SHOW,

THERE'S ALWAYS A PREDATOR OR TWO THAT CAN CRACK YOUR

DEFENSES.

STRIPED MARLON FIND A SCHOOL OF SARDINE HIDING

IN THE DEEP AND DRIVE IT UPWARD.

SEA LIONS SPOT THE ACTION AND JOIN THE HUNT.

THE SARDINE ARE SURROUNDED BY THE FASTEST PINNIPED

AND SECOND FASTEST BILL-FISH ON EARTH.

THERE'S NOWHERE TO RUN OR HIDE.

[INTENSE MUSIC]

DYLAN: TOWERING VOLCANIC CLIFFS MARK THE GATEWAY TO

THE SEA OF CORTEZ, A 700-MILE LONG SLICE OF

BLUE WATER BETWEEN MAINLAND MEXICO AND THE

BAJA PENINSULA.

THE SEA OF CORTEZ IS THE MOST DIVERSE SEA ON THE

PLANET; HOME TO MORE THAN 5,000

SPECIES OF FISH AND INVERTEBRATES.

HUNGRY MOBULAS GATHER BY THE HUNDREDS GLIDING

THROUGH THE WATER COLUMN.

THIS ANCIENT COUSIN TO THE SHARK IS LESS THAN 3 FEET

FROM TIP TO TIP.

VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT MOBULA MIGRATION PATTERNS,

WHERE THEY MATE OR GIVE BIRTH,

BUT WE DO KNOW THEY HAVE ONLY ONE PUP AT A TIME.

DON'T GO AWAY THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: THE NATIONS, STATES AND TERRITORIES

THAT BORDER THE PACIFIC OCEAN ALSO LIE ALONG

WHAT'S CALLED THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE;

A STRING OF MORE THAN 450 VOLCANOES THAT EXTEND FROM

THE TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA UP TO ALASKA,

ACROSS TO RUSSIA, JAPAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIA,

AND DOWN TO NEW ZEALAND.

TO OUR EYE THE OCEAN MAY LOOK LIKE AN ALIEN WORLD;

ITS CITIZENS ROAMING ABOUT SEARCHING FOR A MEAL,

A PLACE TO HIDE.

BUT THERE ARE HIGHWAYS, REST STOPS,

LANDMARKS AND SMALL TOWNS.

THE BIG CITIES ARE SEA MOUNTS;

ANCIENT VOLCANOES THAT DON'T QUITE REACH THE

SURFACE.

THE PACIFIC HAS FAR MORE THAN ANY OTHER OCEAN.

SOME ARE TOWERS OF ROCK A FEW HUNDRED FEET TALL,

OTHERS ARE VAST MOUNTAIN RANGES,

SO MASSIVE THAT THEIR GRAVITATIONAL PULL GATHERS

THE OCEAN UP AROUND THEM CAUSING A BULGE IN THE

SURFACE THAT CAN BE MEASURED BY SATELLITES.

SEA MOUNTS ARE SO NUMEROUS AND SO LARGE THEY COMPRISE

THE SINGLE LARGEST HABITAT ON EARTH.

HOT SPOTS OF LIFE GREATER THAN DESERTS,

TUNDRAS OR TROPICAL FORESTS.

CURRENTS FLOWING ACROSS THE SEA FLOOR STRIKE THE

ROCK AND ARE PUSHED TO THE SURFACE.

NUTRIENT-RICH WATER FEEDS THE PLANKTON AND PLANKTON

FEED GIANTS.

FULLY GROWN, GIANT MANTAS CAN BE 23 FEET ACROSS AND

WEIGH 3,000 POUNDS.

THEY HAVE BEEN SOARING THROUGH THE OCEANS FOR

SOME 20 MILLION YEARS.

THESE MANTAS HAVE THE LARGEST BRAIN OF ANY FISH;

BIGGER THAN A WHALE SHARK 10 TIMES THEIR SIZE.

A MANTA, LIKE A DOLPHIN, CAN RECOGNIZE ITSELF IN A

MIRROR.

SCIENCE HAS JUST BEGUN TO UNRAVEL THEIR ANCIENT

SECRETS.

AND THE RESULTS ARE BREATHTAKING.

STRETCHING FROM ASIA TO THE AMERICAS,

FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH POLE,

THE WATERS OF THE MIGHTY PACIFIC OCEAN HAVE REIGNED

SUPREME EVEN BEFORE HUMANS WALKED THE EARTH.

IT TOUCHES EVERY CREATURE IN EVERY OCEAN AND

SUSTAINS ALL LIFE ON LAND.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY ACROSS THE LARGEST

OCEAN ON EARTH.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ CREDITS ♪

♪ CREDITS ♪