Open Ocean

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Category: TV Series Episode Video On Demand

Buy New: $1.99

Rating:

1 reviews
Sales Rank: 16625

Genre: Nonfiction
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 49 Minutes
Clothing Size: 1

ASIN: B000MVI8FG

Original Air Date: September 26, 2001
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Season: 1
Episode: 3
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Synopsis:

An unfortunate shoal of sardines is first attacked by three-meter-long striped marlin with meter-long, needle-sharp javelins on their heads. The commotion attracts juvenile yellowfin tuna and then a 14-metre Sei whale scoops up the remains. David Attenborough says: "Predators and prey are locked in a deadly three-dimensional contest of hide and seek, played out over immense distances." None are better at tracking down food than dolphins. A school of spotted dolphins herd mackerel, but the noise of their sonar attracts one of the most glamorous fish in the sea, a sailfish. With a top speed of over 120km/h, it herds the fleeing fish with its unique sail before gunning them down with ease. Human flotsam and debris that pollute the sea sometimes becomes a floating home or nursery for small fish. Patches of giant seaweed also become mobile cleaning stations. Giant sunfish line up, waiting for small cleaner fish to pick off their parasites. For the more stubborn parasites they summon passing seagulls that dig out the bugs with their savage bills. All ocean life, however, is not hard work. Spinner dolphins gather in their thousands, putting on a stunning aerobatic display as they while away the daylight hours. Common dolphins meet a passing school of pilot whales, chirping and rubbing together as they head towards their summer breeding grounds, flirting as they travel. Traveling is the key to success. A pod of common dolphin reaches the Azores, off the Portuguese coast, in early July. They are looking for mackerel but are not alone - 400,000 Cory's shearwaters have already arrived. These elegant gliding seabirds are superb divers - reaching depths of 15 meters they snatch food from right in front of both dolphins and yellowfin tuna.