Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00 (gunshots)
00:02 Worldwide, there are around 400 species of shark,
00:06 almost half of which can be found
00:08 in the waters surrounding Australia.
00:11 Monsters of the deep, the stuff of myth and legend.
00:17 They are supreme killers.
00:27 Over the last 50 years, there have been 53 fatal shark attacks
00:32 in Australian waters.
00:33 But usually, these so-called man-eaters
00:40 prefer prey of a different flavour.
00:44 Hammerhead sharks hunt stingrays.
00:49 Tiger sharks attack and kill turtles,
00:55 and even other sharks.
00:58 But there is a giant amongst their number
01:01 with a taste for warm-blooded victims.
01:04 It's the largest of all flesh-eating sharks,
01:08 the great white, one of the most feared predators on Earth.
01:14 But it is not human flesh that whets this monster's appetite.
01:22 Inhabiting the colder coastline of southern Australia,
01:25 fur seals make for tempting appetisers.
01:28 While sea lions are the main course,
01:32 the colonies here make up a significant part
01:35 of the great white's diet.
01:36 This alpha male sea lion watches over a group of females
01:43 and their pups.
01:44 On land, they appear cumbersome and clumsy.
01:51 (upbeat music)
01:53 But once they enter the water,
01:58 it quickly becomes apparent that they are in their element.
02:04 Sea lions are fast, agile, and elegant swimmers.
02:10 Their streamlined bodies enable them
02:14 to efficiently chase down prey species
02:17 like crustaceans and cuttlefish.
02:19 (upbeat music)
02:22 But the sea lions aren't the only marine predators
02:25 to prowl the chilly waters of the great southern ocean.
02:29 And all this activity does not go unnoticed.
02:34 A nightmare of the deep approaches.
02:40 Great white sharks can detect the scent of prey species
02:49 from great distances.
02:51 For this 15-foot long monster,
02:55 the sea lion hunting ground is a smorgasbord.
02:59 Busy with their own hunt,
03:01 the adult sea lions are oblivious to the approaching threat.
03:06 And the great white seizes the opportunity
03:09 to target one of the pups.
03:16 Weighing around one ton,
03:18 it breaches the water's surface at over 30 miles an hour.
03:22 Returning to the beach,
03:29 the adult sea lions have one less mouth to feed.
03:33 Even the most attentive of parents
03:37 have little hope of defending
03:39 against such an overwhelming force of nature.
03:42 (upbeat music)
03:46 (upbeat music)
03:49 (upbeat music)
03:51 (upbeat music)