Ocean Predators

The deep blue.

The origin of all life. Lagoon bays, oceans and seas.

Billions and billions of litres of water,

all containing an abundance of species, which are unique to our planet.

From the smallest living being up to the biggest animals on earth.

From harmless vegetarians and animals who live on plankton,

to the most dangerous predators on earth with razor sharp teeth

which can wreak havoc beyond our imaginations.

Beings that we love for their blaze of colour,

and beings, that for centuries,

we have feared for the stories told about them.

All of this is accommodated

by the wonderful, almost infinite element of life, the sea.

Here, in the oceans of our planet, live some highly trained predators.

Sharks are one example of these predators.

They have been on this earth for over 400 million years

and, in that time, have hardly needed to change or adapt.

They are the kings of our oceans,

truly the pinnacle of sub-water evolution.

The number of species of shark is still not entirely clear

because, to this day, new, previously unknown species are discovered.

At this time, we know of about 500 different species.

All of these sharks have strategies and tactics to catch prey.

All of them are perfectly adapted to life in the sea.

Some of them hunt in the daytime, some only at night.

We will now search for the most dangerous hunters

and find out what makes these animals so frightening.

We will also find out

which of these underwater hunters is the most dangerous

and which can be crowned king of the predators.

More than half of these animals live in the deep ocean, around 650 feet down,

so they are rarely seen by man.

All various sizes, shapes, and textures are represented.

From the 21 inch dogfish,

to the giant whale shark, which can grow up to 60 feet long.

From very rare species, which have only been seen in specific areas,

to common ones which can be found in almost every part of the world.

Let's go on a journey to discover these impressive and beautiful animals.

Let's dive off together

into the fascinating and exciting underwater world of sharks.

We start with a very common fellow.

The family of reef sharks.

They can be very different

and the largest reef shark can reach a maximum of 7 feet in length.

There are three species of reef sharks we take a look at.

The whitetip, the blacktip and the silvertip reef shark.

Have a look at this beautiful breed,

and you will quickly realize how you can distinguish between them.

For, as their names imply,

there is a band of colour on the tip of their mayor fins.

Reef sharks can weigh from 30 up to 70 pounds.

With its slim body shape,

it is perfectly adapted for hunting in the coral reef.

Here, the agile hunters find their prey between coral branches and in caves.

Small fish, crabs, lobsters and squid are its main prey.

With deft, snake-like movements

they can manoeuvre in even the tightest of crevices.

The different members of the reef shark family

can grow from 5 to 6.5 feet,

making them larger than most human beings.

In rare cases, some reef sharks can reach a length of 9.5 feet.

Their mouths contain 96 teeth, three times as many as a human,

which makes them extremely effective hunters.

In addition, the reef sharks also have exceptional sensory perception.

His excellent sense of smell acts as a radar,

which is useful, as he prefers to hunt at night.

But even during the day the stomach can growl.

And, so, if the sharks are not resting

they are always on the lookout for small snacks.

The whitetip reef sharks have a number of favourite places.

Even over several years,

these animals visit the same resting places day after day.

The reef shark, like all sharks, benefits from its exceptional skeleton.

This is because the shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, and not bones.

That is why it's more pliable than most animals.

This is an immense advantage for these hunters.

A relatively low body weight and high flexibility

make these animals quick and agile swimmers.

Unprovoked attacks from this modest species are extremely rare.

If they feel threatened, they would much rather flee than fight.

Once the white hunter learns of the advantage of a reef,

he always comes back.

Diving tourists are delighted.

Attracting the gentle souls with fish bait is easy,

and peaceful sightings of the sharks are guaranteed.

Unfortunately, their prey is also very popular within the human diet.

Therefore, by overfishing, we increasingly

eliminate the natural habitat of these sharks.

In some parts of the oceans,

we have already annihilated 80% of the population of sharks.

The main reason for their decline is that

they are very often caught by longline fishermen and gill nets.

With limited breeding, sharks take a long time to reach puberty,

and then only get a few offspring a year.

The survival of these sharks is difficult enough as it is,

but a strong presence of near-shore fisheries makes it even more troublesome.

Better management of shark fisheries and shark habitats is urgently needed.

In their natural habitat,

the whitetip reef sharks have only one group of natural enemies,

bigger sharks.

Like the tiger, white or bull sharks.

They are higher in the food chain,

as we will see later when we come to our top three predators.

During the daytime, the reef sharks sleep on sandy ground and in caves.

They sleep off the nocturnal hunt.

Unlike many other sharks, the different reef sharks

do not necessarily have to be in motion to breathe.

By opening and closing their mouths,

they can create enough water passing through the gills

to extract oxygen out of the water.

In our ranking,

all the different reef shark species only occupy the lower end,

but they are still dangerous predators ranked

high on the food chain of their reefs.

On the other hand, they are completely harmless for divers,

so it is possible to observe everything about them that fascinates us.

If you are underwater,

it is very likely that you will come across a reef shark sooner or later,

because this species is so geographically widespread

in warm temperate seas.

These two clown fish always rest in their favourite place,

near a protective sea anemone.

With it, they live in a symbiosis.

The anemone is toxic to most fish.

However, the skin of the clown fish is immune to their poison

and, so, the clown fish hides in its tentacles

whenever the next dangerous predator shows up.

Within this colourful coral world,

there is yet another highly specialized hunter at home, the nurse shark.

The family of nurse sharks can grow from 1 .5 feet to 14 feet in length,

making them double the length of the whitetip reef shark.

The most unusual thing about the shark is its liver.

It can weigh up to 88 pounds, 20 times heavier than a human liver.

The liver is so large because, unlike bony fish,

sharks don't have swim bladders.

They instead rely on their livers

to produce an oil which gives them buoyancy.

These hunters can be found, not only in the East Pacific,

but also at the coast regions of the Atlantic.

If the nurse shark decided to attack, he would only need one bite.

The reason for that is the mouth construction of the nurse shark.

It works like a vacuum cleaner, and sucks the prey in.

Hunting, he shows the typical behaviour of the nurse sharks,

searching in columns or under rubble for hidden prey,

which he will simply suck into his mouth and do his best to filter the water.

Although remnants of coral and algae

have been found in the stomachs of nurse sharks.

The vacuum effect not only makes hunting easier for the nurse shark,

it also allows him to breathe while he's not moving.

The nurse shark is one of a few types of shark with this capability.

This gentle shark can be quite lazy during the day.

Caves, little sandy places, or under coral columns

are perfect places for a nap.

This is when he likes to be around his own kind

who enjoy the quietness of the day with him.

Even though the nurse shark doesn't have great eyesight,

he is still not one to mess with.

Sharks have fantastic senses.

For example, they are able to locate other fish

even in the deepest, darkest recesses of the ocean.

The reason for this enormous advantage is the lateral line,

a system of sensory organs which reach from the shark's head to its tail fin.

The nurse shark seems to have two small tusks.

Actually these "tusks" are barbels.

The barbels are found on the shark's snout

and contain powerful sensors which help the shark detect nearby prey.

The good-natured nurse sharks are easy prey for spear hunters.

But the greatest menace for the nurse sharks

are the changes to their native habitat, the reef.

And, especially, fishing and finning.

The numbers in the southern Atlantic at the coast of Brazil are a primary concern.

Nurse sharks, though, are not on the same level of danger as larger sharks.

Their features still make them individuals which need to be taken seriously.

This hunter is just like the nurse shark,

fond of looking for food on the coral reef.

The moray eel.

She has no paired fins or gill cover.

She, therefore, bears most resemblance to a snake,

but, in fact, belongs to the eel-like bonefish family.

The moray eel can be found all around the world

where the water temperature is right.

The longest moray eel ever found was an incredible 13 feet long.

Even though moray eels don't have the best vision,

they will always find their prey.

Their sense of smell is four times as powerful as that of a dog.

The moray eel's size varies,

depending on what kind of eel family she belongs to.

Some come to just a hand's length, others are up to 10 feet long.

This fish has come dangerously close to the eel's mouth.

Luckily this moray seems to have no appetite.

Even though it doesn't have any protective armour,

sharp rock edges are of little concern for the moray eel.

She is covered with a thick layer of slime

which functions as an overall body layer that

protects her well from external injuries.

These smaller creatures can also be scary.

The reason, the constant opening and closing of the mouth.

This, however, isn't designed to scare, but allows the moray eel to breathe.

She holds her mouth open to let oxygen-rich water flow through her gills.

But if the mouth remains open, caution is advisable.