Original subtitles

if i lived in the abyss

in the depths of the sea it would be

dark

dark dark just

some strange luminescent creatures

and elephant seals

i can dive 4 000 feet underwater

and i can slow down my heartbeat and

hold my breath for two

hours oh oh

i have to go back i have to go back

to the harem on the beach

in september wherever they are in the

ocean

living their solitary lives elephant

seals

navigate back to the shores where they

were born

i traveled to one of these shores

peninsula valdez

in argentinian patagonia to see for

myself

and meet biologist claudio campagna

who studied elephant seals for the past

30 years this

is what i saw

big fat bodies lying around the beach

as if asleep the gravity of the earth

pulling down on their bibles but cloud

you explain

that they do not lie around randomly

there is a geometry

a specific design to their placement

they are harems

the dominant male places himself

in the middle of a cluster of females

and their pups

other males are peripheral to the harem

broadcasting their strength

and beauty waiting

waiting waiting

waiting waiting

waiting and hoping

waiting waiting

waiting for their chance to mate

the females come ashore after eight

months gestation

to the beach where they were born

after some contractions

some twists and sway of the tail

she gives birth to a single pup

for the next three weeks she will

exclusively take care of the baby

never going out at sea for food while

the baby will grow from

90 pounds to 350 pounds

once the babies are weaned they hang out

on the beach

with each other to establish dominance

and access to the female males engage in

terrible battles

the defeated male wounded stays at the

periphery of the harem

alone you have a peripheral male

that is going to search for that female

so we have to move

this way don't worry

don't worry she was he was for her for

her

she's not worried about us but even

wounded

he will chase any female trampling

anything in his way

sometimes these females deserve to be

punished

where are you going i'll pin you down

stay put in the arm why are you trying

to get out at sea

stay put no males want females to go out

at sea

they want them on the beach under their

watch

babies get separated from their mothers

and could get lost

and if so they starve to death

males try to mate at any opportunity

females don't want to mate unless it's

under two days they are in estrus

how can the male mate with a female

without squashing her

sorry her vagina is down here the male

is here the vagina would be

right there the the the the opening of

the

of the genitals of the male are quite

the and the head is where if this is the

body is the head this is the tail

and then i saw it a slow

surprisingly gentle affair so tranquil

and quiet

it might even be boring but still

a 6 000 pound husband

where is she going what

i don't care now i've impregnated her

finally

alone at sea water

water water water and

food after four weeks of

fasting the fertilized egg in my womb

i want to stop it from developing any

further i want to eat

eat eat eat and gain weight

and get rid of this old skin i'll mold

and have a new skin back at sea

i am ready to let my baby grow inside me

in eight months i will go back to the

harem on the beach where i was born

and where i will give birth to my baby

ghost nets discarded by fisheries

floating in the ocean

you