Full Episode | The Best of Big Blue Live

and broadcast it live.

Our cameras were there to cover the action as sea lions, whales, sharks, and more came together for an unprecedented gathering.

SANJAYAN: We're live.

LIZ BONNIN: As it happens.

SANJAYAN: For three nights we took you out on the waves, took you up in the air, and down to the depths.

We explored the heart of one of the most amazing wildlife events on the planet.

These are the moments that thrilled us.

STEVE BACKSHALL: Look at this!

SANJAYAN: That stunned us.

LIZ BONNIN: I just can't take my eyes off.

SANJAYAN: That inspired us.

SANJAYAN: It's a true conservation success.

SANJAYAN: This is the Best of Big Blue Live.

[Music Continues] [Music Continues] SANJAYAN: Welcome to Big Blue Live.

Good evening from Monterey Bay, California.

We're live so it's now five o'clock in the afternoon.

LIZ BONNIN: It is indeed and we're here because right now an extraordinary wildlife event is happening just out there.

It only lasts for a few weeks but it's the greatest gathering of marine mammals in the world.

Animals are coming here from all across the Pacific for a humongous feast.

SANJAYAN: And we're going to find out exactly which animals are coming to this very spot.

And what do they do when they get here?

LIZ BONNIN: What do they do?

That's what we're here to find out.

Anything could happen, but already this year's gathering is looking like it could be the biggest in living memory.

That's exciting, isn't it?

SANJAYAN: It is.

LIZ BONNIN: Right here in front of us.

About a hundred, two hundred meters, on the water we have sea otters.

Officially the world's furriest animals and you're going to get to know some of them very well over the next three nights.

SANJAYAN: And just along the bay, back on that break water, back there you can see we have hundreds of California sea lions.

Some of the most social and acrobatic animals around; although, they're not very acrobatic right now.

[Sea lions barking] LIZ BONNIN: Right now they're extremely lazy.

They're on the haul out rocks basking in the sunshine.

[Sea lions continue barking] SANJAYAN: It's a very smelly place to be.

LIZ BONNIN: It's smelly, but it's just such a fantastic place to hang out in.

I'll be checking them out later on in the show.

And out there beyond our shoreline are more species of marine mammals than anywhere else on earth.

As well as a whole host of other animals.

They're all here and we're ready to bring them to you.

This is what we've seen in just one short week.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] SANJAYAN: Those images are really amazing.

Now for most of those animals, their arrivals here is really crucial.

They need to refuel by eating just as much as they possibly can before they get along with their migration in the winter.

And Captain Aaron is our chopper pilot.

And he's searching for humpbacks, so let's go to see what he's got.

Hi Aaron.

What have you spotted for us?

MONTEREY AARON: Well we've seen a lot of humpbacks in the area.

Right now we're looking at a big ball of bait that they're feeding on.

Unfortunately, they're all underwater right now, but they've been coming up to the surface doing a little bit of lunge feeding as well.

So we're staying over the top of it here and see if we can catch that behavior.

LIZ BONNIN: Well done Aaron.

Now out on the water, Steve Backshall has joined one of the finest research vessels, the Fulmar, to get you as close as possible to some of our marine mammal visitors.

So with our helicopter in the air, Steve on the water, we've got this place covered.

Steve.

STEVE BACKSHALL: This is the Big Blue.

The largest body of water on our planet.

Out there are dozens of ocean giants.

Our mission is to capture them on camera.

Anything could happen, and we'll bring it to you as it happens.

LIZ BONNIN: This bay is one of the best studied patches of ocean on earth.

And we've based ourselves here at the world renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, home to over five hundred marine species, found right here and all around the world.

We've also surrounded ourselves with scientists and local experts who are going to help us to get to grips with this year's gathering.

SANJAYAN: Now let me show you where we are on the West Coast of the United States, basically the Pacific Coast.

And really what you should remember, is this is the edge of the largest ocean on the planet, the Pacific Ocean.

And we are right here, right here in this little divot which is Monterey Bay.

And it's about a hundred miles south of San Francisco, and a couple hundred miles, or three hundred miles I'd say, north of Los Angeles.

Now the animals we're tracking are coming from much, much further away.

We got humpback whales which I think we're spotting right now, are coming all the way down from Costa Rica and from southern tip of Baja.

And they're kind of cruising up here, all the way up here, heading all the way to Monterey Bay.

Now from the north, you've got elephants seals.

These gigantic seals from the Gulf of Alaska, and from the Aleutian Islands coming down here.

It's the males, and these guys will have to do that trip twice in this year.

And then from down there, from halfway between Baja and Hawaii, deep ocean sharks, great white sharks are on their way.

[Seagulls] SANJAYAN: They come down all the way to Monterey Bay as well.

So this is where we are, this is why we put ourselves right here.

Because it's where all the action's gonna happen.

LIZ BONNIN: So where exactly are we?

Well, this is where the aquarium is, at the southern tip of the bay.

Now from north to south, the bay measures twenty-one miles across.

And it's so deep that if the water wasn't here, it would look like I was standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

I have just got word that we have got quite possibly live shots of humpback whales thanks to Aaron.

There, there they are, in all their glory.

All congregating towards the deeper area of the bay.

These humpbacks are travelling.

It's thought that they hear feeding activity or activity of fish, and then signal to each other using communication.

Their sounds can travel as much as twenty miles.

So even though you might see a single whale, they're actually all keeping uh, tabs on each other and talking to each other as they hone in on the food sources.

Now just to explain a little bit about how the food gets so good here in Monterey Bay, what happens is that weather patterns and ocean currents here have caused an upwelling of cold water, and that water is full of nutrients.

And that fills this bay at this time of year.

And that means the entire food chain is super charged.

Now these nutrients then feed the microscopic plankton which feed shellfish, squid and small fish like sardines, and anchovies.

And they in turn feed the bigger animals like dolphins, sea lions, and whales.

Right now at this time of year, the bay is at its most bountiful.

SANJAYAN: You know, I'm just pinching myself because I'm right here, but just out there are humpback whales going nuts out there.

That's really pretty amazing.

Now almost any place I've ever been, in all of the world's oceans, they're pretty much in worse shape today than they were in the past.

And fifty years or so, this bay would've been virtually dead.

But that's what makes Monterey Bay so special.

Many of the animals that come here had been hunted to near extinction.

And their recovery is a real minor miracle.

It's a true conservation success.

And I find that story just absolutely amazing.

People now come here from all over the world just to get a glimpse of what you're seeing live, right there.

These giants that ply these very waters.

[Music plays] LIZ BONNIN: The humpback whale.

Beautiful, majestic, and extraordinary.

Reaching as much as sixty feet in length, these mammals are longer than a city bus, and can weigh almost eighty thousand pounds.

LIZ BONNIN: Living for over fifty years, they are known for their breathtaking songs and dramatic acrobatic displays.

[Music plays] LIZ BONNIN: They eat over a ton of fish and small crustaceans a day.

Using remarkable techniques, such as bubble netting, and lunge feeding.

These playful showoffs cruise every ocean in the world.

And some will travel over ten thousand miles a year.

LIZ BONNIN: They're thrilling, they're spectacular, and they're here.

They really are the most exuberant-- SANJAYAN: Incredible.

LIZ BONNIN: --animated animals.

Do you remember the first time you saw your humpback whale?

SANJAYAN: The first time I heard one, because I was -a child, right?

LIZ BONNIN: Yeah.

SANJAYAN: My parents got me a little vinyl record of The Song of the Humpback.

And I listened to this in Africa, and had no idea what the animal actually looked like, until I came to graduate school here.

SANJAYAN: And then I saw my first humpback whale, and now to see them like this.

It's unbelievable.

LIZ BONNIN: It's coming full circle.

Do we have live shots to show you again?

Can we be sneaky?

They've gone down under the water again -- SANJAYAN: You gotta catch those guys right at the surface.

LIZ BONNIN: But you know, everybody's keeping their eye out for them, including Steve who is gonna tell you a little bit about what this gathering is all about.

STEVE BACKSHALL: Yes.

We're kind of in the middle of a bay here.

And this is really the epicenter of all the action.

Uh we have been seeing whales out here pretty much constantly.

But it is an art to finding them.

We do also though have high tech on our side.

This is the research vessel, The Fulmar.

And she makes a living here in The National Marine Sanctuary, uh tracking marine mammals.

STEVE BACKSHALL: This is our skipper, Captain Chris.

He's been an absolute-- CHRIS: Hi.

STEVE BACKSHALL: --legend, and great at spotting whales.

STEVE BACKSHALL: He's also got a sonar which is looking out for the food fish and krill that the whales will be focusing on, so we're also heading for that.

And to get our shots of humpbacks, we're using this stabilized camera.

STEVE BACKSHALL: So even though when we're going up and down like this, it will still get a steady shot.

And it means we can stay a respectful distance away from the whales so that their behavior isn't altered by us being around.

STEVE BACKSHALL: So I've filmed every species of great whale on every ocean.

But there is no substitute for experience.

And our experience comes in the form of marine biologist Dorris here.

He's been working for thirty-five years in the area.

I'm guessing after that time, some of these whales must seem like personal friends to you.

DORRIS WELCH: They do.

There's nothing I love better than the spring time when our humpback whales come into the bay.

I recognize their friendly flukes and fins over and over-- STEVE BACKSHALL: Great.

Are we getting any early signs that this is gonna be a good year for humpbacks?

DORRIS WELCH: I certainly think it's gonna be a phenomenal year.

The energy, the rush and influx of humpback whales that have come in close to shore in large feeding aggregations is phenomenal right now.

STEVE BACKSHALL: So uh.

Some of the old fashioned field craft we're gonna use to spot whales here is gonna be based on their actions as they come to the surface.

As air-breathing mammals like us, every time they come to the surface, there is a massive expulsion of air, the blow or the spout.

Which can we see all the way out to the horizon, so we'll be focusing on that.

Also, we can use the other animals that are drawn in by the same food sources, so things like birds.

And you can see those from a really big distance away.

Things like pelicans and gulls are a good sign.

Because they don't dive down very deep, perhaps only two meters below the surface.

And that indicates there's food close to the surface, and we a really good chance of seeing humpbacks actually feeding.

And the last thing is the footprint, or fluke print that they leave behind as they dive.

Now we have got tail slap from our eye in the sky, which has been a fantastic resource for us over the last few days.

[Helicopter noise] STEVE BACKSHALL: And also off the front of the boat, we've had whales, we've had, we've had humpbacks actually breaching in front of us.

It's been incredible, and it is gonna get better.

Liz, back to you at the aquarium.

LIZ BONNIN: Thank you so much Steve, I can't quite believe our luck.

What wonderful displays from our humpbacks.

Let's put it in the live box, because I just can't take my eyes off them and I'm sure you This tail slapping, saying "I'm here" or saying "I found the food, come and get it with me" And --let's go full frame.

Let's go full frame.

They're so fantastic.

LIZ BONNIN: This behavior is captivating.

Really mesmerizing to watch.

It is a form of communication.

Once one humpback finds a big shoal of fish, it will breach, or tail slap -- communicating to other humpbacks.

And slowly but surely over hours, or even days, more and more humpbacks congregate onto this shoal of fish, and then they begin the lunge feeding that hopefully if we're lucky, we'll be able to bring to you live on tonight's show.

Now let's just place where the Fulmar is.

Because this is Moss Landing, about half way up the bay.

And this is the deep area of water that the Fulmar is near.

And our helicopter is here.

And this is where all the activity is, so we've already spotted about fifteen humpbacks here.

Also long beaked common dolphins are in the vicinity.

And let's look at our floor map again.

Because as Sanjayan was mentioning, this is where our humpbacks begin their journey off the southern tip of the Baja peninsula in Mexico.

This is where they breed in, in warmer safer waters.

And bring up [humpbacks sounding] their calves.

And we've been keeping tracking of them for the last six months.

Scientists are telling us that it's been another really good year for humpbacks.

Um.

Which is good news, and a lot of them are heading up the coast and actually quite a few of them are in the bay already.

Now, when they leave with those newborns, they do have to travel over a thousand miles with those newborns to make it to Monterey Bay to feed on the bounty that's here.

LIZ BONNIN: Now four months ago, we joined whale expert Mark Carwardine to find our whales at the beginning of that epic journey.

[Music plays] LIZ BONNIN: Every year, humpback mothers and calves head off on migration to Monterey Bay.

[Music plays] MARK CARWARDINE: That's definitely a mother and calf humpback whale.

Calf right next to mum.

LIZ BONNIN: These two are some of the very last to leave.

Their journey won't be easy.

They'll have to swim against strong currents, and may encounter deadly killer whales, the biggest threat to humpback calves.

The bond between mother and calf is incredibly strong, and they'll make this journey together.

MARK CARWARDINE: Whoa, look at that!

Oh and again!

[Music plays] MARK CARWARDINE: This is fantastic, it's upside down, the calf is next to mum and just rolling around.

[Music plays] MARK CARWARDINE: We don't really know why they do it.

You know, this is quite a common behavior for humpback whales.

The theory that I love the best and--and I believe when you look at something like this, is they just do it because they can.

And you can't help but look at a calf like this with mum just saying, "Oh well, okay, let it play for a bit."

Just having a bit of a laugh.

[Music plays] MARK CARWARDINE: Oh.

She's just arching her back.

They've dived a little bit deeper, so we know they'll be under the surface for a while now.

LIZ BONNIN: But this moment of play is cut short.

MARK CARWARDINE: We've just come across a pod of killer whales.

They're spread out over quite a wide area of sea.

It does make you wonder, because this is literally about a mile from where we saw that humpback mother and calf.

And a humpback calf would definitely be on that killer whale's menu.

MARK CARWARDINE: And here's one racing up towards us.

This is incredible.

They often get really active when they've fed.

Often do a lot of breaching and so when they've had a successful hunt.

MARK CARWARDINE: When he surfaced behind the boat, I did see, I thought I saw something inside the killer whale's mouth, and it let go.

And let me see if I can grab it.

Oh my goodness.

That is an eyeball.

Look at that!

[Music stops] MARK CARWARDINE: It's the last thing I was expecting.

It's an eye.

It's about the size of an orange as you can see, and that--that's so big I would say that's from a squid that must be nine or ten feet long at least.

I've never seen anything like it in my life.

That's amazing.

[Music plays] LIZ BONNIN: Although it looks like they were feeding on squid this time, Mark hasn't seen the humpback mum and calf for hours, and is desperate to spot them again.

MARK CARWARDINE: Oh there we are, there's mum again.

And there's calf just to her left.

LIZ BONNIN: Finally, they reappear.

[Music plays] MARK CARWARDINE: In the next few days, they're gonna be setting off on what--what's going to be the most dangerous journey of this calf's life.

And you know, just the calf trying to keep up with mum.

We've seen it's so much smaller, and obviously he's only been swimming for a few months.

Yet it's now gotta make this journey of over a thousand miles.

You just can't believe they're going to do it.

[Music plays] SANJAYAN: The gathering is really building up in the bay, and the bay is now filling up with whales, dolphins, sea lions, and all of that.

But it--it hasn't always been this way for whales.

SANJAYAN: We've been on the hunt for whales for the past few days.

But when you see these, you realize that it wasn't that long ago that whales were really hunted here in California.

SANJAYAN: Whaling was a global industry.

And nearly every species of whale was targeted.

[Music starts] SANJAYAN: Why?

Because before crude oil and petroleum, whale blubber was a vital source of oil used in street lamps and engines.

Whale products were an integral part of everyday life.

In margarine, shoe polish, candles, and even soap.

SANJAYAN: Here in California, the last whaling station only closed in 1971.

Back in the mid-1800s, a California whaling station would've looked a lot like this.

Here at Point Lobos, which is in the southern end of Monterey Bay.

TIM: There was a very active whaling industry here, the Carmel Whaling Company.

It had whale boats in the water here, it had a wharf set up over here with a davit system to bring the whales up.

Whale boats to go out from the cove here into the Carmel Bay where they had a signal guy up on the hill up here who would sort of signal him with flags to where the whales were.

[Music starts] SANJAYAN: Now back in the day, men would of hunted whales using these hand thrown harpoons, which are an extraordinary bit of weapon.

And then the whales would've been dragged on shore.

The blubber would've been cut off, and they would've been rendered in these enormous try pots.

TIM: So the whaling industry was very profitable here in Monterey.

California grey whale will produce about forty barrels of whale oil.

And whale oil in 1870 was selling for about two thousand dollars a whale, which was roughly about thirty thousand dollars today.

SANJAYAN: Whales were obviously a valuable catch.

As demand increased, whaling technology progressed.

Soon, steamships began scouring the globe, hunting about fifty thousand whales a year.

Records show that in just one year 1931, more than twenty nine thousand blue whales were killed.

That's three times more blue whales than are living in our seas today.

SANJAYAN: During the twentieth century, an estimated three million whales were killed worldwide, but by the 1960's and 70's, our attitudes towards conservation were changing.

Environmental groups campaigned to save the whales.

SANJAYAN: What amazes me is that it wasn't until 1986, which is like thirty years ago, that commercial whaling was finally banned worldwide.

Not all countries accepted the ban.

Norway and Iceland still openly hunt minke and fin whales commercially.

Japan states its whaling is for scientific research, but whale meat is still sold for human consumption.

SANJAYAN: What's great is that in California, humpback whale populations have done so well, they may actually be taken off the endangered species list.

Today, whales still provide an important resource to Monterey Bay.

But whale watching is providing more of a profit than whale hunting ever did.

LIZ BONNIN: Well we've come out to the breakwater, take a look at this.

This is perfect haul out habitat for sea lions.

They're resting, they're barking, they're warming up and digesting, because many of these will have been out with those humpbacks feeding earlier on, and over the past few days.

LIZ BONNIN: And really the scene is just so lovely, I could hang out here all day.

There are also cormorants hanging out with the sea lions.

They seem to get on quite well together, and are often found diving together for fish.

LIZ BONNIN: Now the story of the sea lion recovery is a remarkable one because they were down to about fifteen hundred individuals in the early 1900s.

They've been hunted for their hides, for their blubber for oil, and also because they were considered to be pests by fishermen, because they would compete for the fish.

LIZ BONNIN: But since their protection, there are about 240,000 California sea lions.

Now the largest breeding colony is in the Channel Islands in Southern California.

And what you're seeing here are mostly males who have made the two hundred mile journey up the coast, and they are very hungry indeed.

They were so busy protecting their harems during the breeding season, they didn't eat at all.

So they're really making the most of the bounty of the bay.

And amongst the males, you can also see some younger individuals, some juveniles.

Some of which would only have been born last year.

So this is the first time they would've made their migration up the coast.

But we had cameras down at the Channel Islands, at the breeding colony, to capture their first few months of life.

[Music starts] LIZ BONNIN: Two hundred miles south of Monterey Bay is the world's largest colony of California sea lions.

It's where our sea lions go to give birth.

In amongst the noise and confusion, helpless newborn pups form a crucial bond with their mothers.

They'll stay here for up to eleven months, growing strong enough to make the journey up the coast to Monterey.

Mum's milk is very rich in fat.

The pup must double its weight and add enough blubber to brave the open ocean.

But after a few days of non-stop nursing, mum must find food.

She has no choice but to leave her pup to fend for itself.

Normally, a female sea lion may spend four days away from her pup.

But this last year has been the hardest on record for California sea lions.

Warmer seas mean the fish they depend on are more difficult to find.

And the mums must travel further, often spending twice as long away.

And as those days go by, the pups get more and more hungry.

Sadly, this year, many mothers don't return at all.

This pup tries his luck with someone else's mum, but she hasn't enough milk to share.

Other pups are luckier.

Above the noise, a mother's call rings out.

[Music plays] LIZ BONNIN: This pup's wait is finally over.

Soon the pups are old enough to start learning how to swim.

It's not an easy start.

But for those that survive, they will soon head out to sea, and some will make it all the way to Monterey Bay.

SANJAYAN: Now if you were watching yesterday, you saw that we have this bay completely covered.

We've got boats, we've got helicopters, and of course our live cameras.

So let's check in with Aaron who's our amazing helicopter pilot.

LIZ BONNIN: [Laughter] Look at that.

Eight humpbacks.

SANJAYAN: Eight humpbacks just on the surface right now, coming up for feeding.

That's incredible.

LIZ BONNIN: Beautiful shot.

As if those humpbacks weren't enough, earlier on today if you look very closely towards the middle to right of the image, there is a shadow right off the beach, a couple of hundred feet right off the beach.

And moving in closer, look at that.

SANJAYAN: Check that out.

A great white shark.

LIZ BONNIN: That is undeniably a great white shark.

SANJAYAN: Cruising the beaches off Santa Cruz.

LIZ BONNIN: [Laughs] SANJAYAN: Look at this poor guy.

He has no idea there's a shark right there.

LIZ BONNIN: Well you say poor -- he is enjoying his day, so is the shark, and the shark doesn't even bother him.

SANJAYAN: They're both leaving each other alone, and that's exactly what we want.

LIZ BONNIN: Exactly, lovely shot.

Aaron you are really delivering.

What do you think is gonna happen today?

Are you likely to spot sharks today as well as those glorious humpbacks?

AARON: We have seen a few great whites today.

We saw about five of them right at the shoreline.

Presently, we're over a group of humpback whales right off of Moss Landing.

And previously, we did see some orcas and dolphins interacting in the same-- LIZ BONNIN: [Laughs] AARON: --spot.

The dolphins of course fleeing at top speed from those orcas.

LIZ BONNIN: Oh no.

Seriously, I was only asking for great white sharks, and we've got humpbacks, great whites, orcas are in the neighborhood.

Dolphins are here too.

Well hopefully Aaron is going to deliver for you, but for now look at that.

I cannot get enough of those wonderful, wonderful marine mammals.

Well I've been having a wee chat with our experts here at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

And first up, the water temperature in Monterey Bay is 60.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

That's five degrees warmer than it should be at this time of the year.

In fact August has seen some of the warmest temperatures since records began.

Now most importantly this year is an El Nino year.

This is a recurring phenomenon which is a result of wind and water movements across the Pacific.

An El Nino event affects weather patterns all across the U.S. And what essentially happens here is that more warm water than usual stays off the coast of California, represented by these red arrows here.

Now add to this that for the past two years a mysterious mass of warm water, measuring a thousand miles across and as much as three hundred feet in depth, has been hanging around off the coast here as well.

Scientists are calling it: The Blob.

And they're still not sure exactly why it's here, but together, El Nino and The Blob seem to contribute to this increase in water temperatures.

I've just heard that we have live orcas for you on this evening's Big Blue Live.

Now they just dived.

It looks like they're still looking for food right now.

Okay, so the live box is there, we'll keep an eye on that.

Now.

About uh, these warmer, warmer conditions.

We are going to look into how these unusual conditions are affecting all of our animals uh, that are gathering here this year.

And one of the most anticipated visitors is, of course, the great white shark.

[Music plays] SANJAYAN: Growing to over twenty feet long, and weighing in at over two tons, the great white shark is the largest, most notorious predatory fish in the ocean.

Cruising the cool coastal waters of the world, these warm blooded animals are thought to live for up to seventy years.

Shaped like a torpedo of muscle, they accelerate to speeds of thirty-five miles an hour, ambushing their prey from below.

[Music plays] SANJAYAN: These fish are near perfect predators.

They can detect a drop of blood in twenty-five gallons of water, and smell a seal colony from two miles away.

They're even sensitive to vibrations in the electrical impulses of their prey.

They're tough, they're top of the food chain, and they're here.

STEVE BACKSHALL: I guess a lot of people would be horrified by the idea that here in a popular state like California, forty million people living here, there could be great whites off the coast.

And I suppose they would ask the question: Why aren't there more attacks on human beings?

Well to find out more, I went diving at their breeding sites to the south of here.

And you could see that in clear waters, these sharks will do anything to avoid human beings.

They'll completely ignore you, and swim right around you.

They can see that you are not their intended prey.

You don't have that blubber rich layer that they're searching for.

And the statistics really bear that out.

In the state of California, there's around about one human fatality a decade.

To put that into perspective, you're at least ten times more likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning.

So, please be fascinated by these animals, but don't fear them because these sharks, they really don't bear us any malice whatsoever.

We are, we have had the opportunity here to--to dive with sea lions.

And particularly at a point to the south of here where the waters are crystal, crystal clear, and the experience was really quite something.

Well, this is an extremely unbelievable spectacle.

We are at the base of Lobos Rocks and surrounded by California sea lions.

These creatures are completely transformed here in their underwater world.

They can appear to be clumsy when they're on land, but here they are agile, graceful, and zip through the water using those extraordinary wing-like front flippers.

They travel at great speed, but it's not the burst of speed that sets them apart.

It's their acceleration, their maneuverability.

And that does make them a real challenge for predators like great white sharks.

The sharks will be coming from below, trying to take the sea lions by surprise.

If the sea lions spot them, then they have the upper hand.

And with those dark eyes and long tactile whiskers, they have the senses at their disposal to see when the sharks are around.

What I'm seeing above me now is sea lions hanging down in the water.

And their eyes looking around for the possible predator or predator.

And none of them are going far away from the rock.

They're staying in close to it.

This is what you often see when there are sharks around.

They're being vigilant, they're always looking out into the blue in case there's a shark around.

LIZ BONNIN: Now Kate Spencer, our whale expert has joined us.

Because as Aaron mentioned a little bit earlier on, he has spotted some orcas and lots of activity going on in the bay.

Kate, talk me through this.

KATE: That's beautiful.

That's a mother and her three offspring travelling together.

Some humpbacks kind of came into the area, and were maybe just kind of trying to nudge the killer whales out of the way.

Or out of the area.

They sort of harass their primary predator.

Those were adult humpbacks.

KATE: Here are dolphins fleeing-- LIZ BONNIN: Look at that.

KATE: --for their lives, running as fast as they can.

LIZ BONNIN: They're like fireworks at the right of the screen there.

The way-- KATE: Yes.

LIZ BONNIN: --they just bolted.

KATE: Right, exactly.

Well they're trying to get out of the way of their predator, and then there's a humpback right in the area.

And now we've been seeing humpbacks and dolphins feeding in the same area.

But when the killer whales come into the area, everything reacts.

LIZ BONNIN: Lots of sea birds there as well.

KATE: Probably feeding on something that was left by the killer whales.

We've seen humpbacks going and interacting with killer whales in many parts of the world recently.

LIZ BONNIN: Fascinating stuff.

And there, humpbacks very clearly chasing orcas away.

SANJAYAN: I'm so excited, because there's just so much life out here.

But I've come out here to catch up with our sea otters.

These little cute cuddly animals that have basically stolen the nation's heart.

Now there is one particular otter that all of you, and I can clearly understand why, have all fallen in love with, and that's Bixby and her five week old pup.

And we know that little pup is a girl.

Now let's catch up with a typical day in the life of a mother sea otter out here floating on the kelp, including Bixby and her pup.

[Music starts] SANJAYAN: For the sea otters of Monterey Bay, the day starts slowly.

[Sea lions barking] SANJAYAN: But once the sea lion alarm clock sounds, the work must begin.

First, a wash and brush up -- essential fur maintenance.

For Big Foot, the territorial male in Bixby's group, it's time to rearrange the whiskers.

But after brushing their teeth, all thoughts turn to breakfast.

The growing otter pups wake up hungry.

Bixby will have to suckle her pup about twelve times a day, using up to fifty percent more energy than other otters.

So, she's constantly hungry.

[Music plays] SANJAYAN: But otters are fussy eaters.

Some prefer crabs.

Bashing them open with a favorite stone.

With a metabolism twice that of a similar sized land mammal, otters need to eat for nearly half of their day.

Others prefer sea urchins or abalone.

When mom Blanca dives for her favorite food, she wraps her baby in the kelp to prevent her from drifting away.

It's an otter equivalent of a play pen and an anchor all in one.

This leaves mom free to collect the sea urchins that she prefers.

But Bixby is particularly picky.

She loves clams.

They're not found on the rocky floor beneath the kelp.

Clams live in mud.

So Bixby has to commute half a mile to the harbor to get her seafood.

She might be tucking into her favorite snack.

But for the time being, her pup is still too young for solid food, and too small to be able to dive.

These important life lessons will just have to wait.

LIZ BONNIN: Now what's becoming clear is that this is where all of the action is concentrated.

It's halfway up the bay, just off a place called Moss Landing here.

And since we've arrived, more and more animals have been gathering here.

Humpbacks, common dolphins, orcas, it's just all been kicking off here.

And Steve is heading into the heart of the action.

STEVE BACKSHALL: Yes Liz, we are very much in the heart of the action.

There is so much happening right here, I am not even sure where to start.

For a couple of hundred yards in every single direction there are humpback whales.

And there are also their smaller cousins which have been our constant companions throughout this trip, the dolphins.

[Music starts] Whether they're performing acrobatics or riding the ocean waves, dolphins are a firm favorite.

These highly intelligent social animals glide through the water, travelling fast and far in their quest for food.

In groups often thousands strong, they hunt down shoals of fish, picking off their prey one by one.

They might be voracious hunters, but they display a wide range of emotions, and communicate through clicks and whistles.

[clicks and whistles] From the excitement to bow riding, to the spectacle of a super pod, these playful characters captivate us and they're here to join the feast.

To my mind, every single day that you see a dolphin is automatically a good day.

So the entire time that we've been here in the National Marine Sanctuary has been pretty special.

And I'm about to show you why.

Because up in the front of our bow right now is a vast pod of common dolphins.

And they've been with us through the entirety of our experience here in Monterey Bay.

They're in great numbers here, this is what's known as a super pod.

So not just hundreds, but possibly thousands of animals here.

And they are dancing in front of the bow of our boat.

Sometimes when you're moving at speed, they'll come in alongside you and do what's known as bow wave riding.

But right now, they've got purpose.

They've got a definitive direction they're heading in -- over that way-- because they found food.

And that's really good for us because this gives us our best chance of seeing the cacophony of feeding behavior that we really, really want to show you on Big Blue Live.

Um.

The only time that we've been here and we haven't seen dolphins was yesterday, and that was with very good reason.

Because all of a sudden, we had the unexpected appearance of the largest species of dolphin on the planet, the orca.

Four orca cruised into this area of Moss Landing, and all the other animals here were totally unaware of their presence.

So we had humpback whales and common dolphins in large groups feeding here.

They had no idea that this slightly sinister predator was, was on the edge of their feeding.

And uh, then what happened was the orca came together and from having filmed them many times in the past, they would've been acoustically communicating frantically underwater making a plan.

And then suddenly, they would've gone totally silent, they would of gone into stealth mode.

And what happened next is a--a truly extraordinary moment.

Have a look at this.... [Background dialogue] WOMAN'S VOICE OFF-CAMERA: He threw it, he threw it.

Did you see that?

SECOND WOMAN'S VOICE OFF-CAMERA: Yes I-- STEVE BACKSHALL: So, that single orca was tossing a common dolphin fully out of the water using its snout.

A male common dolphin can be twice as much in weight as I am.

To throw one out of the water like that is quite a feat.

I would've thought that probably those orca would already have incapacitated at least, if not drowned and killed, that dolphin before that last final display.

Sometimes I've seen them leaping and breaching on top of their prey, even slapping them out of the water using their tail flukes.

Whatever, this bay was transformed into a battlefield.

So the common dolphins scattered.

They once went off at tremendous pace in every single direction trying to get away from the orca.

And then the orca came together.

They fed on the remains of the dolphin.

But what was extraordinary then was the fact that the humpback whales came together to drive the orca away.

It was almost like seeing a herd of bison driving wolves away.

Uh, trying to protect their own by getting rid of that superior predator.

In this area, uh--uh--humpback wha--the orca have been known to feed on grey whale calves.

Adult humpback whales very rarely at risk.

But still you know, there was, there was definitely a concerted effort from the humpbacks to drive away the orca.

No doubt though that they managed to get their meal.

Uh.

This was an extremely dramatic spectacle, but only one of the many great dramas we've seen played out right here in this section of Monterey Bay.

[Seagulls] LIZ BONNIN: And so much feeding activity going on in the bay, lots of fish.

Not so much krill in that part of the bay yet where Steve is.

So we may have to send Aaron off to another location because there is still one animal that's missing from this incredible feast, the biggest animal to ever have lived on the planet.

[Music starts] LIZ BONNIN: The blue whale.

At a hundred feet long, they can be the same length as a 737.

And can weigh in at an incredible two hundred tons.

Their impressive twenty-five- foot wide fluke powers them across the oceans of the world.

They can swim at a top speed of thirty miles per hour.

This animal needs a lot of fuel.

A blue whale can open its mouth so wide, the volume of water it gulps is bigger than the volume of the whale itself, allowing it to devour four tons of krill a day.

Despite their size, they can be hard to find.

They're constantly on the move in search of food.

The blue whale is truly the greatest wonder of the big blue.

Our favorite whale expert Kate Spencer is back with us, good to see you again.

KATE: Good to be here.

LIZ BONNIN: Uh, the blue whale.

One of the most enigmatic if not the most enigmatic visitor to Monterey Bay.

How are they doing globally though, numbers wise?

KATE: There are, they are a small fraction of their pre-whaling numbers.

There are probably eight to ten thousand in the world, possibly more.

That's nowhere close to what they used to be, about five percent of original numbers.

LIZ BONNIN: Okay.

We got this footage of a mother and calf further south of here two weeks ago.

They are making their way up the coast following the krill.

Why is their diet limited to krill?

KATE: They're not strictly limited to krill, they will also eat those pelagic red crabs-- LIZ BONNIN: Uh huh.

KATE: --which are a very nutritious food source if they can get them.

Krill are tiny.

But if you can get them in sufficient bulk, which the blue whales know how to do, it's like eating a bowl of lentils.

Lots of tiny little things that add up to a lot of food.

And they're, krill is very plentiful in the Antarctic and here on the California coast, it's a great food source.

LIZ BONNIN: Oh, that makes sense.

It might be small in comparison to the whale, but a lot of it does the job.

KATE: Right.

Exactly.

LIZ BONNIN: So hopefully more and more blue whales are making their way slowly up the coast.

And we just found out that there was a blue whale spotted not too far from here.

Just south of the opening of Monterey Bay.

And our helicopter, Captain Aaron and Mark on the cameras, is on his way to that location.

I can't quite believe what's going on-- KATE: [Chuckles] That's great.

LIZ BONNIN: --right now live on television.

We didn't really think we would get a blue whale live.

We've deployed as much help as we possibly could.

KATE: Yeah.

LIZ BONNIN: But to get a blue whale live on television will be quite something.

So-- KATE: Thrilling.

LIZ BONNIN: --we're giving everything crossed that we will be able to do that for you before the end of the show.

SANJAYAN: I can't stop smiling right now because I got to admit, I'm in pretty much the funnest exhibit out here at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I am with four of your uh, sea otters.

And uh Karl Mayer, thank you so much for being here with me.

KARL MAYER: Oh yeah.

SANJAYAN: So what are we doing right now?

We're, we're giving them some food basically to keep them away from us.

KARL MAYER: Uh, yes.

And to reinforce certain behaviors that they may be uh-- KARL MAYER: --working on.

So for example we do a lot of things that are fun for the sea otters, but we're also wanting to do things that actually are appropriate from a husbandry standpoint [background dialogue] WOMAN OFF-CAMERA: Good!

to allow us to work with them more easily.

SANJAYAN: Right.

Now these are all female sea otters.

And you've got them to actually do a very important job for you.

KARL MAYER: Yeah.

The amazing thing about these females is they will actually spontaneously display maternal behaviors, basically adopt orphaned sea otter pups.

SANJAYAN: But they've never been moms themselves?

KARL MAYER: They've never been moms themselves.

And what the advantage of them being able to fulfill that role for us is that now the pups go through a much more normal development.

They're with a normal sea otter.

And it allows us to successfully rehabilitate and release them back to the wild.

[Background dialogue] SANJAYAN: Now we want to talk about one particular pup, and that's a pup by the name of 696.

Tell me about 696.

Area code for Kentucky by the way.

KARL MAYER: [Chuckles] Yeah.

Uh, 696 came in as a, as a newborn.

Um.

SANJAYAN: Dude, check that out.

KARL MAYER: Basically the day he, the day he was born, he stranded.

Um.

These pups are completely naive from a survival standpoint at that age.

They-- SANJAYAN: Yeah.

KARL MAYER: --can't dive, they can't groom themselves.

Uh.

They don't really have the ability to swim.

SANJAYAN: Oh look, you got him wrapped in kelp, in fake kelp.

KARL MAYER: So we essentially have to step in, stabilize these animals for several weeks, and then we let the surrogate mothers take over uh, once the pup is about eight weeks old.

STEVE BACKSHALL: Behind me now we have vast amounts of humpbacks.

I mean I--it's very difficult to, to estimate quite how many there are.

There could easily be twenty humpbacks close to me right now.

So much so that we're about to get a big soaking from the blasts from their breath as they come to the surface.

Look at this!

I mean our boat is in neutral.

We are just sitting here, and the whales are cruising right past us, totally oblivious to our presence.

I can see a dark shape right beneath us now.

Look at that!

Absolutely incredible.

Oh my goodness!

I, I've just heard that we have a helicopter to the south of us now has just spotted a blue whale live!

This is incredible!

Absolutely sensational.

Uh.

Big Blue Live is the first series ever to capture one of these animals live on camera.

This is happening right now in real time to the south of us.

Not only are we surrounded by humpback whales, but the largest animal that is ever known to have lived is in the bay, it is right here.

This is an incredibly special moment for everyone here in Monterey, everyone that's been a part of this National Marine Sanctuary.

To see this working, to see this environment triumphing, to the, to the, to the fact that we can have this animal here in the bay now in real time is, is just extraordinary.

These animals, the largest one that's ever been seen was a female at thirty-four meters long and over two hundred tons in weight, which makes her larger than any of the known dinosaurs.

What an incredible sight.

You could tell them instantly from the surface because, I know it sounds obvious, but they are truly blue.

The underside is, is, is kind of yellow in color.

But...there, a massive, massive spout there, a great breath.

That breath is like a geyser, it will go as much as nine meters, thirty feet up into the air.

And that spray can be seen from miles away.

Guys, honestly it's one of the most special things I have ever seen.

How about that?

LIZ BONNIN: Steve, we are absolutely thrilled to have gotten that on the show live for you.

Now the blue whale has dived again.

And it's not coming up that um, often.

And which basically means it's diving to quite some depths to feed on the krill.

And so it might be about ooh, anything between eleven and twenty minutes before we see it again.

But we will obviously keep Aaron on top of that particular patch of ocean.

How utterly exciting was that.

Now we know that blue whales are capable of diving to great depths.

But how are their bodies adapted for this?

Joy Reidenberg explains.

[Music starts] JOY REIDENBERG: Blue whales could dive down to sixteen hundred feet.

That is a huge depth.

And when they get down there, they're experiencing fifty times the amount of pressure that we feel right here at the surface.

Right behind me here is where the heart would be.

Occupying a huge amount of this space.

And on either side of it, running all along either side of the backbone is where the lungs would be.

But as the animal dives, the volume in the lungs is going to collapse under pressure.

So these ribs have to be flexible enough to bend backwards, and they do so by rotating at these joints.

The heart on the other hand is also adapting to these changes.

Because as the animal dives down, it needs to slow its metabolism so it doesn't burn so much energy.

So the heart rate is actually going to drop dramatically.

[Music plays] And these two changes are ways that the whales adapt to diving really deep.

JOY REIDENBERG: They use this incredibly massive tail to power them.

It's got muscles both above it and below it.

And it pumps the tail in an up and down fashion.

Actually it's a remnant of when these animals used to be land animals.

Because the spine moves up and down, just like a galloping animal's spine moves up and down.

And you can see some evidence of their land ancestry when you look over here and see their hip bones.

Those hip bones used to support legs once upon a time.

The tail only has bone right down the midline of it.

The two phalanges on either side are called flukes.

And they're just made of really stiff connective tissue.

And that's the paddle that actually pushes the water.

They fuel that huge body with tons of food.

How do they do it?

They use these incredible jaws.

Notice the front of the jaws here.

They're not connected to each other.

That means the whale can actually separate the jaws pretty wide.

And right back here, it forms a joint with this part of the skull.

But when they're feeding, they separate that joint.

So much so, that the back of the jaw can drop down and to the side.

And that allows them to engulf a huge volume of food and water.

[Music starts] JOY REIDENBERG: Underneath this massive rib cage is where the whale has shoveled in all of the food and water.

But now it needs to get rid of all that water, and so it contracts the throat plates.

And as it does so, the water is squeezed out through the baleen, and then it licks the food off of the baleen and swallows it.

And that's gonna give it enough energy to get to the next refueling station.

STEVE BACKSHALL: The time we spent here in the National Marine Sanctuary on the Fulmar has been incredibly special.

It's exceeded all of our expectations.

I mean any time that you see a whale or a dolphin, you can't help but be humbled by the experience.

It is something that--that deeply affects you.

STEVE BACKSHALL: And yet almost every single minute that we've been here, we've had at least one whale around us.

I just hope that people will see this and will want to come to Monterey Bay themselves, they'll want to experience this themselves.

Because the same people that--that have this incredible experience are the people who are going to want to do more to save it.

This place has been such a success, this National Marine Sanctuary is down to the will and determination of people who love nature like this.

And I truly believe that you know, seeing sights like this, seeing incredible spectacles on such a scale and with such intensity.

There are very, very few places on the planet where you can see this.

And I think that really, every single person in Monterey Bay, every single person in California, everyone in America should be intensely proud of what's been achieved here.

Because this really is a place that's one of a kind.

And I for one am never, ever gonna forget being here.

Honestly, this really is the big blue at its very, very best.

LIZ BONNIN: Thank you so much, Steve.

Truly glorious images from the very heart of the gathering.

One final check with our helicam?

-- SANJAYAN: See.

Fingers crossed.

LIZ BONNIN: --Has that whale resurfaced?

How deep is it feeding at the moment for it not to have come back up to the surface?

Ooh, it's tantalizingly close.

-- SANJAYAN: Oh, come on whale, come on whale.

LIZ BONNIN: -- But we will keep, we will keep uh tabs on the--the helicam until the very end of the show to try and get you one last shot of that extraordinary blue whale.

SANJAYAN: Now it's been amazing week.

And many of the animals we have met here in Monterey Bay will soon be moving on.

The whales that we've fallen in love with will be heading south.

The great white sharks will be heading out into the deep Pacific Ocean.

And the elephant seals will be heading up north.

Um.

So it's really been the best time to watch them, hasn't it?

LIZ BONNIN: It really has.

But I can't quite believe just how great it's been, that's for sure.

SANJAYAN: Yeah.

LIZ BONNIN: Oh!

SANJAYAN: Oh!

LIZ BONNIN: Hold on a second, we've got the w-we've got the blue whale again.

A live image of the whale, it's re-emerged under the water.

SANJAYAN: We have a blue whale, I'm doing my little blue whale dance.

LIZ BONNIN: [Laughs] SANJAYAN: It's incredible.

What a place, honestly.

We brought you a blue whale live on camera.

And this place has been described as the greatest comeback in conservation history.

Liz and I couldn't agree more.

If it can happen here, it can happen absolutely anywhere.

LIZ BONNIN: And you know what struck me is just how astounding a healthy ecosystem can be.

It truly is a breathtaking sight to witness.

Including when there's a blue whale live on television!

SANJAYAN: [Chuckles] LIZ BONNIN: But what's also struck me is the dedication and passion of the scientists we've been working with.

Not only are they helping us all to understand this remarkable place, they've also made it possible for us to bring it all to you.

This is what wildlife and people living alongside each other can look like.

SANJAYAN: It's a huge thank you, in particularly the Monterey Aquarium, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which brings us this great wildlife event.

LIZ BONNIN: Thanks for watching everybody.

Good night, take care.

SANJAYAN: Good night.

[Music plays] [Music plays] [Music plays] COMMENTATOR: Thelays] of Big Blue Live was made possible COMMENTATOR: The Best of Big Blue Live is available on DVD.

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Or call 1-800-play-PBS.

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