Out in the open ocean, a large group of sea animals porpoise through the water, but then suddenly quicken their pace.

Many of them spouted each time they surfaced to catch a quick breath of air.

Dolphins... panicking.

The pod was made of Long-snouted Spinner Dolphins as they were fleeing from something.

They're being hunted by False Killer Whales.

Right behind the dolphins, was a hunting pod of False Killer Whales as one leaps out of the water and spouts catching a breath of air.

In the air, seabirds caw as the False Killer Whales pursue after the dolphins. And they're just as formidable hunters as their larger Orca cousins.

The dolphins continue fleeing as they porpoise keeping 1 step ahead of the hunters, and the predators were keeping pace with their prey. It was the ocean's equivalent of wolves hunting reindeer.

Dolphins are faster in short bursts.

But their hunters have stamina.

The dolphin pod flees as the False Killer Whales chased after them as they wait for a straggler to stray behind, and were beginning to close in.

Just as the killer whales close in, the dolphins make a sudden turn to evade their predators.

The pod then makes a sharp turn as the False Killer Whales were closing in to snatch one.

The Spinner pod porpoise through the air as they made a break for it.

These extraordinary events are taking place far from land, where few of us ever venture.

An aerial view shows the ocean high above as it looked flat almost like a blue desert.

This is the ocean beyond the boundary of any country... largely ungoverned, wild, and lawless.

THE HIGH SEAS


In the ocean, a few specks glimmer from the sunlight in the vast blueness.

Then, a blue shape slowly emerges from the blue as it moves through the water like a giant ocean glider. As the great blue leviathan emerges completely revealing to be the biggest creature that exists, or has ever existed on the planet.

Nothing symbolizes our relationship with the high seas better than the Blue Whale.

The Blue Whale glides through the water like a great ocean glider as it was barely using it's enormous tail fluke.

Weighing 200 tons and 100 feet, 30 meters long, these are the largest animals ever to have existed.

The Blue Whale slowly glides off as it started to vanish into the blue into an ocean phantom.

Yet much of their lives is still a mystery to us.

An aerial view shows a Blue Whale surfaced as it spouts a jet of mist over 20 feet in the air as it catches a breath.

Blue Whales live far out to sea, roaming ocean every from the tropics to the poles.

The Blue Whale glides through as it's skin casted a sky blue color as if it was glowing.

We have only recently discovered a few special places where they come close to shore.


In the water, a mile away from a rocky desert region, a Blue Whale dives as it's enormous 17 foot wide fluke lifts up.

The Gulf of California, on Mexico's Pacific coast.

The large fluke went underwater.

The Wild Kratts Tortuga rests in the water in Sea Turtle Mode as it sails alongside a female Blue Whale. Her size alone, was bigger than even the Tortuga. And they watch in pure amazement as the ocean giant slowly rises to the surface and caused little water disturbance as she did, and then she blasts a jet of mist through her blowhole as she was so close to them, they can even hear her taking a new breath of air as the blowhole closes as she went back under.

"Whoa, a Blue Whale." Martin said amazed.

"She's beautiful." Aviva said.

"Yeah, that's largest animal that has ever existed, right there." Chris said.

"Really?" Koki said.

"Yeah, she outweighs even the biggest known dinosaur." Martin said and shows a holographic screen from his CreaturePod showing a Blue Whale on a balanced weighing scale with 2 Argentinosaurus: the biggest and heaviest known dinosaur.

"Blue Whales are also 30 times the weight of an African Elephant." Chris added.

"Whoa, that's big." Jimmy said.

"Yeah, her tongue is as big as an elephant." Martin said. "Her heart, is the size of a grand piano. It only beats 5 or 6 times per minute, but it drives 10 tons of blood through a million miles of blood vessels."

"Get outta here!" Koki exclaimed completely shocked. "That's a distance covering to the Moon and back twice!"

"Yeah, and her lungs can hold 2,000 liters of air." Chris said. "That's 500 times the captivity as our lungs. And her tail alone, is the width of a small plane's wingspan."

"Whoa!" Aviva, Koki and Jimmy said in amaze unison.

"But, why is she here?" Aviva wondered.

"I'm sure if we stick with her, we'll know why." Martin said.

The Wild Kratts continued watching the ocean titan as the Tortuga gently sails along with her. As they were about to discover something, truly breathtaking.

This is a sanctuary for Blue Whales.

The Wild Kratts continue watching her as Jimmy suddenly noticed something.

"Uh, guys?" Jimmy frowned. "What's that?"

"What?" Chris asked.

They then saw what looked like a fin-like appendage underneath the whale.

"Uh, is it me or does that whale have 3 fins?" Koki frowned.

Martin stared at it and then gasped realizing what it was. "I don't think that whale has 3 fins."

They then watched as the flipper moves from underneath the whale, and then they saw what looked like a head as the objects reveals itself from the blue and underneath the whale as they were then in pure enchantment as the Blue Whale rose to the surface and huffs a spout.

Meet the world's biggest newborn...

The creature then reveals itself to be a smaller version of the whale as it surfaces and spouts a jet of mist through it's blowhole.

...a baby Blue.

"She has a calf!" Chris gasp in pure amazement.

"Oh, that is just about the cutest baby animal!" Aviva said adored.

"A real big baby." Koki said.

"No kidding." Jimmy said.

"Yeah, even Blues start out big." Martin said. "At birth, she was 23 feet long, and weighed 3 tons. Her mother was carrying her for about 12 months before coming here to these calm gentle waters of the Sea of Cortez."

They watched as the Blue calf dives back under.

Just a month old, she's already 26 feet, 8 meters long and weighs 6 tons.

They watched in astonishment as the calf swam back underneath her colossal mother as she held her 12 foot right flipper over her.

Her mother shelters her with a protective fin.

Chris, Martin and Aviva quickly got their wetsuits on and carefully got in the water and gently swam alongside them. And Koki sends a Flycam over them as she and Jimmy watched from her tablet. And they watched as the calf passionately rubs her body against her mother, almost like how any child would do to seek comfort from their mother.

They caress one another, cherishing their close bond.

The mother Blue Whale surfaces as she spouts a jet of mist from her blowhole.

"Wow, how lucky are we?" Martin beamed. "A mother Blue Whale and her calf is very rare to come across, even with one as young as her."

"I know, we're likely the first humans the calf has seen in her life." Chris said as the Flycam above was getting great footage of them. "This has to be our greatest encounter yet."

These are the most intimate images ever captured of a Blue Whale mother and her calf.

And certainly the most beautiful and breathtaking.

The Blue calf surfaces and spouts a jet of mist and catches a new breath of air as she dives back under.

The mother Blue soon surfaces again and spouts a jet of mist in the air and soon dove under again.

This female will give birth only once every 2 or 3 years, so each baby Blue is extremely precious.

Chris, Martin and Aviva continued swimming alongside them as they were a few yards by the calf.

"This calf sure has a long way to grow." Aviva said.

"Yeah, but Blue Whale milk is very rich." Chris said. "Rich in calcium, fat and protein, and she'll gain 200 pounds a day, and drink 100 gallons of milk as well."

"Whoa, talking about putting on weight?" Aviva said.

"Yeah, and in 15 years, she could be as long as a Boeing 737." Martin said.

The calf will grow 3 tons a month.

The calf surfaced and spouts a jet of mist and takes a new breath of air as she went under, and her mother spouts as well taking a new breath.

They continued swimming alongside the mother Blue and her calf.

Once, there were more than 300,000 Blue Whales, but last century, they were hunted relentlessly, and only a few thousand survived.

The Blue calf rose to the surfaced and spouted as well as her mother as they begin to dive down.

"You know, it's likely that 360,000 Blues once swam in the world's oceans." Martin said.

"Really?" Aviva asked.

"Yeah, but then commercial whaling and the whaling era had them hunted relentlessly." Chris said.

"But today, they're making a slow and steady comeback." Martin said. "With numbers between 10 to 12,000 and climbing. So each whale and calf is extremely precious."

Blue Whales are now protected, and their numbers are slowly increasing.

They watched as the calf surfaced and spouts a jet of mist through her blowhole, and dives back under.

Soon, this calf will leave these sheltered waters to roam the high seas.

Chris, Martin and Aviva watched as the calf slowly swam towards them.

"You know, this makes it easy." Martin said. "I'll name you, Hope. And mom, Big Blue."

"Why am I not surprise?" Aviva smiled.

"Wait, why Hope?" Chris asked.

"Named after the whale skeleton in the natural history museum in London." Martin said. "It's perfect."

Hope continued swimming by them as they gently placed a hand on her side, as this was something they never wanted to end.

We once thought that the high seas were simply too vast for us to damage, but we now know that her ocean home is under threat as never before.

They watched as Hope gently swam off, as 1 day she'll play a role to help restore the numbers of her kind.

And become, the biggest mammal of all time.


Many miles away, the sun shines over the vast open ocean as clouds gently float in the sky.

Out here in the big blue, there remain a few pristine places to remind us how rich the oceans can still be.

At the ocean's surface, a pod of Long-snouted Spinner Dolphins traveled as some leaped into the air doing multiple acrobatic spins and twirls before hitting the water by one after another.

Spinner Dolphins.

The large Spinner pod continues on as the Tortuga flew over them.

In the Pacific, off the coast of Costa Rica, Central America, they are starting to gather in great numbers.

"Whoa, that's a lot of dolphins." Aviva said as they were all in the cockpit.

"No way! Those are Spinner Dolphins." Chris said.

"Spinners?" Koki frowned.

"Yeah, they get their name for the amazing spinning moves they do as they leap out of the water." Martin said. "And these are Long-snouted Spinners."

"But why do they spin like that?" Aviva asked.

"Many believe it's to signal other dolphins with different things." Martin said. "And probably also for fun."

"Let's get down there and join them." Chris said grabbing his Dolphin Power Disc.

The Tortuga's garage door opens as the brothers jumped out, and soon touch a passing dolphin and activate into Dolphin Power. But had the similar shape of a Spinner.

"Let's follow them." Chris said.

"Right behind ya." Martin said as they swam off.

The pod continues on as many leaped and spun in the air.

Spinners live in pods, groups of individuals linked by complex social relationships.

Underwater, the Spinners made clicking sounds.

The dolphins constantly touch and talk with one another, using a language of clicks and whistles.

The dolphins continue clicking and chatting with one another with the pod.

"Wow, it's full Dolphinese down here." Chris said.

"I know, I guess dolphins are just as talkative as us." Martin said.

"Maybe." Chris said.

Nearby, a school of tuna follow alongside with the dolphins.

They are shadowed by Yellowfin Tuna.

The Yellowfin Tuna followed the Spinner pod as Chris and Martin soon saw them.

"Hey, check it out." Chris said. "A school of Yellowfin Tuna."

"Why are they following the dolphins?" Aviva asked appearing on a holographic screen.

"I'm not sure." Martin said. "But I think it's important."

The tuna rely on the dolphins to find food.

The Spinner pod and Yellowfin school continued on in the same direction.

Everyone is searching for the same prey...

Somewhere ahead of them, was a large school of small fish.

...Lantern Fish... the most numerous fish on the planet.

The school of Lantern Fish swam around through the water.

No longer than your finger, Lantern Fish spend most of their time hiding in the deep. So, despite of their astounding abundance, we don't fish for them.

The large school Lantern Fish swam through the water.

They are one of the few fish that still thrives.

Nearby, the Spinner pod porpoise at the surface as Chris and Martin followed alongside them.

As they close in on their prey, the dolphin pod gets bigger and bigger.

"Hey, is it me or is the pod suddenly growing?" Koki wondered.

"I think you're right, there's gotta be thousands of them now." Aviva said.

This pod could be 10,000 strong.

The Spinners continued on as Aviva, Koki and Jimmy were trying to spot Chris and Martin through them.

"I can hardly see them." Aviva said and calls them through her CreaturePod. "Guys, where are you? We can barely see you with all these dolphins."

"We'll try to stick to the surface so we can see you." Chris said.

Chris and Martin near the surface as Aviva, Koki and Jimmy watched the great pod.

For every one at the surface, 20 swim below.

Underwater, the dolphins send clicks out as Chris and Martin followed them as the dolphins swam by the dozens as they clicked.

At the surface, a number of then leaped out of the water.

Below, some started to go into search-mode.

Using echolocation, a type of sonar, the dolphins detect Lantern Fish in the depths and drive them to the surface.

Soon, the dolphins start to herd the Lantern Fish school to the surface.

"A school of Lantern Fish." Chris said. "Let's help them out."

They quickly join the Spinners as they corral the fish into a ball.

They patrol the underside of the shoal to stop their prey escaping back to the deep.

A Spinner clicked and chattered as it nears some Lantern Fish and snatches a few. And soon, the other dolphins share to snatch their own share.

Chris and Martin watched as more dolphins group up to collect the fish.

Once the dolphins have had their fill, there's still plenty more for other predators.

Suddenly, a group of rays appeared from the Lantern Fish school as they come to claim their share. And Chris and Martin watched in amazement, and even Aviva, Koki and Jimmy watched from the HQ's big screen.

Mobula Rays swoop in.

"Whoa, Mobula Rays!" Martin said amazed.

The brothers watched as the Mobula Rays swam towards the fish school, collecting each a mouthful.

To maximize their catch, the rays attack in formation.

The Wild Kratts watched in amazement as the Mobula Rays attack in formation to snatch a mouthful of fish. Working together to be more successful.

A wall of mouths scooping up their prey.

The Mobula Rays continue snatching mouthfuls of Lantern Fish as they eventually soon head off.

Because we don't fish for them, Lantern Fish and their predators thrive.

After the great fishing, the Spinners head off as one surfaced and spouts through it's blowhole catching a breath of air.

All these hunters have barely made a dent in the great shoal.

After collecting the brothers, the Tortuga flies over the dolphins as they swam just under the surface.

Most life in the open ocean is concentrated in a thin surface layer, where the power of the sun has its greatest effect.

The dolphin pod continues on through the open sea.

These sunlit shallows are fertilized in a surprising way.

As the dolphins continued on, some left trails of sea manure.

As the dolphins produce waste, they play a vital role, recycling nutrients from the deep up to the surface.

The dolphins chitter as the Yellowfin Tuna school follows them.

This marine manure helps to fuel the basis of all life in the open ocean.

The Spinner pod continues on as some surfaced to breathe as a few seabirds flew above them along with the Tortuga.

In the HQ room, Chris moves a small vial under a microscope as water was shown with small green plants. And it was shown on the big screen.

"And there it is." Chris said. "Phytoplankton. The main source and start of the food chain of the ocean."

Phytoplankton... microscopic drifting plants.

"They get energy from the sun, just like grass does on land." Chris said.

"Yeah, and they're the start of the food chain." Martin said. "For every creature in the surface layer of the ocean."

They combine nutrients in seawater with energy from the sun to create the very foundation of every food chain out here.

"And with that, all sea life depends on them," Koki said.

So all animals, from the smallest fish, to the largest whale, ultimately depend on these tiny plants for food. And in turn, phytoplankton benefits from the nutrients produced by these animals.

Crucially, phytoplankton also produce half the Oxygen in the air we breathe. So, no matter where you live, you can thank these exquisite little plants for every other breath you take.

In the ocean, the phytoplankton drifts in the water.

In ideal conditions, they can bloom to such an extent that green swathes of the ocean turn green.


From space, parts of the North Atlantic turn green from great patches of phytoplankton.


Over the ocean, large clouds float gently as they were carried by the wind.

Surprisingly, phytoplankton also play a vital role in cloud formation.

Thunder rumbled as part of a great cloud plumes out almost like a cloud of ash pluming from an erupting volcano.

Moisture evaporating from the ocean condenses around tiny particles created by the plankton. These droplets combine to grow into colossal clouds.

A colossal cloud stood over the ocean.

They can rise 12 miles, 20 kilometers into the atmosphere.

The cloud continues pluming as it grows in size.

These oceanic clouds reflect the sun's energy back into space, helping to protect the Earth from rising temperatures.

The clouds continue to plume and grow in size.

Not only do the oceans produce half the Oxygen we breathe, they also drive the weather and climate, transporting life-giving fresh water around the world.

A large lightning storm rolls over the ocean as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.

The high seas are the life-support system of our planet.


In space, light from the sun casts over the Pacific Ocean.

The world's largest and deepest ocean.

They have such power simply because they're so vast.

The oceans cover two-thirds of the globe, and that's just the surface.


At the ocean, the Wild Kratts Pulponaut starts to descend.

They're also immensely deep.

The Pulponaut slowly descends into the deep ocean.

We can only journey into this unexplored space in special submarines that can withstand the crushing pressure.

The average depth of the oceans is nearly 2 miles, 4 kilometers, and the deepest point more than 6, 10.

"The oceans sure are deep." Koki said.

"Yeah, they average in 2 to 3 miles deep in most parts." Chris said.

"But they get even deeper in the ocean trenches." Martin said. "The Mariana Trench is the deepest point on Earth, at 35,856 feet."

"Wait a minute." Aviva said realizing something. "That's deeper than Mount Everest. Which is 29,032 feet."

"Exactly." Chris said and works on the dashboard. "In fact, Mount Everest would still be a mile underwater if you can fit it in the trench."

A computer screen shows Mount Everest in the Mariana Trench as it was still far underwater.

"Whoa." Jimmy said. "That's deep."

"Yeah, and most of the Mariana Trench is still mainly unexplored." Martin said. "As well as most of the deep ocean."

The deep makes up 95% of all the space available life.

They continued descending as then a strange straight glimmer was spotted.

"Hey, what's that?" Koki wondered.

They all turn to it as they made out a long shape with a wave-like movement on it.

"What is that?" Aviva wondered trying to make it out.

This alien world is home to weird and mysterious creatures.

Few are stranger than this one.

The Pulponaut slowly moves towards it as they saw it was a long creature with a bioluminescent glow. And they saw it's dorsal fin showing a wave-like motion.

For years, we only knew they existed from the occasional one washed ashore.

They have hardly even been seen alive.

An Oarfish.

"No way." Martin said astonished recognizing the creatures. "It's..."

"An Oarfish." He and Chris said in unison.

"Oarfish?" Aviva frowned.

"Yeah, perhaps the strangest deep-sea fish you can find." Martin said. "With that serpent-like body, it's probably how legends of sea serpents and some sea monsters started. But they actually feed on small animals."

"They're also the longest fish in the world." Chris added. "They're often seen washed ashore every now and then. And hardly seen alive at the surface."

32 feet, 10 meters long.

They watched the Oarfish as it hangs vertically as it slowly moves, and saw it's silver color.

"Why do Oarfish hang vertically like that?" Aviva asked.

"I'm not sure." Chris said. "Some think it's to grab attention to other Oarfish that are close by."

Hanging vertically and using rhythmic waves along their dorsal fin, Oarfish commute easily between the surface and the depths.

They watched the Oarfish hanging vertically as another Oarfish was close by.

Eventually, they left the Oarfish as they descend further down as it started to get dark.

Below 656 feet, 200 meters, there's not enough light for plants to grow, so deep-sea animals depend on food sinking down from the surface... marine snow.

"Okay, we have entered the Twilight Zone." Koki announced.

"Yeah, hardly any light down here." Chris said. "And creatures depend on food drifting down."

"Hey, who's that?" Jimmy wondered spotting a strange creature.

In front of them, was a type of jellyfish.

"Whoa, that's a Crown Jellyfish." Martin said.

A Crown Jellyfish drifts with tentacles outstretched to ensnare prey.

"Why are it's tentacles out like that?" Aviva asked.

"It's a why to snatch prey." Chris said.

They live in every ocean, to depths up to 4 miles, 7 kilometers.

The deep is so vast that these could be the most abundant of all jellyfish.

The Pulponaut continues descending, and saw many strange creatures.

We use to think the deep supported little life, but scientists now believe there are 10 times more animals living here than previously thought.

So, there must be many yet to be discovered.

They continued descending as they saw a small Hatchetfish.

And soon, they came across a creature that they almost miss.

"Whoa, Jimmy!" Chris said. "Stop for a moment."

"What is it?" Jimmy said halting the Pulponaut.

"Look." Chris said.

They looked and right in front of them was a see-through creature.

This deep-water crustacean, Cystisoma, is as clear as glass.

"Whoa, Cystisoma." Martin said.

"Cystisoma?" Aviva frowned.

"Yeah, a type of deep-sea crustacean that is clear as glass." Martin said. "Great use at hiding from predators."

They all watched the Cystisoma in amazement.

It hides in plain sight.

In this twilight zone, invisibility can be the difference between finding a meal and being one.

A computer screen was brought as the Wild Kratts got a better look on the Cystisoma and saw it's huge eyes.

Its huge eyes strain to see in the gloom.

"Wow, those eyes can really see in the dark down here." Chris said.

They watched the Cystisoma as it drifts in the water.

Eventually, they continued descending down as the water got blacker.

No light penetrates below a thousand meters.

They continued descending as they soon barely caught a glimpse of a familiar set of monstrous teeth.

In this darkness, animals create their own light... bioluminescene.

"Whoa, a Dragonfish." Chris said.

"Still, that's scary." Jimmy said lightly shuddering.

"They're only 6 inches long." Martin assured. "Totally harmless."

"Yeah, but still." Jimmy said.

A glowing lure entices victims into this Dragonfish's terrifying teeth.

"It's really amazing how they use bioluminescene in many ways." Martin said.

"Yeah, to hunt and to hide and much more." Chris said.

They soon continued descending.

On most expeditions down here, we are surprised by something new.

They continued descending keeping their eyes out, when then a strange shape was spotted. And they soon saw what it was.

A Deep-Sea Anglerfish.

"Whoa, is that an anglerfish?" Jimmy wondered.

"Yeah, it's a Deep-Sea Anglerfish." Martin said. "A little different from the Humpback Anglerfish we've met."

They watched the anglerfish as it had long thin straight string-like structures on it.

"Whoa, what are all those lines?" Aviva asked.

"Sensors to help out detect prey." Chris said. "And it looks like they can cast some light as well."

Her extraordinary array of sensors will detect even the faintest movement by prey tempted to her lure.

They watched the anglerfish as a shrimp was seen swimming by.

Here, in the deep midwater, predators play a patient game.

The Wild Kratts kept watching as the shrimp swam around, and then the anglerfish lunges and snatches the shrimp.

They soon left the anglerfish and descend further down.

Eventually, we reach the bottom, nearly a thousand meters down.

The Wild Kratts Pulponaut soon reaches the bottom as the lights shined on the seabed.

"Whoa, sure is all still and quiet down here." Aviva said.

"Yeah, who knows what's around us." Chris said. "Out here on the deep-sea plains."

The deep-sea plains cover more than half the Earth's surface, and yet we know more about the surface of the Moon.

They continued moving alongside over the sea plain when they they spotted a strange fish.

Chimaera, an ancient relative of the shark, up to 6 feet, 2 meters long.

"Whoa, who's that?" Koki asked.

"No way! A Chimaera." Martin said amazed.

"A what?" Aviva blinked.

"It's an ancient relative of sharks." Chris said. "They're sometimes called Ghost Sharks."

They watched the Chimaera gently swam through the water.

Few species of this size can make a living on the barren seafloor.

The Wild Kratts watched a trio of Chimaera swam over seabed as they hunt.

Moving slowly to conserve energy, they use special electrical sensors around their mouths to search for scarce prey buried in the sediment.

The Wild Kratts soon leave the Chimaera as they eventually arrived to an outcrop of rocks.

Rocky outcrops rising from the seafloor can be oases in this desert.

"Hey, looks like we found a rocky outcrop." Martin said. "Let's see if anything's around."

They went further into the deep sea oasis as they soon saw a Ragged-tooth Shark.

"What kind of shark is that?" Jimmy asked.

"Cool, a Ragged-tooth Shark." Chris said.

This Ragged-tooth Shark has come here for good reason.

500 meters down off the coast of Florida, a rare hot spot of life.

The Wild Kratts Pulponaut gently glides over the seabed as the Wild Kratts saw what looked like coral.

"Is that... coral?" Aviva said baffled.

"But... coral only grow in the shallows, right?" Koki said also confused.

"Actually, this is deep-sea coral." Chris said.

Lophelia, deep-sea coral.

"You're kidding me." Aviva said bewildered. "Coral reefs even down here?"

"Yeah, this is Lophelia." Martin said.

The Pulponaut glides over the deep sea reef as the Wild Kratts watched in amazement.

We used to think that corals were only found in the warm, sunny shallows. But, astonishingly, deep-sea reefs cover a greater area of the seafloor than their shallow-water relatives.

The Wild Kratts can even see like the coastal reefs, the deep sea reef supports a variety of life as they saw some fish sheltered among them.

"Wow, it's amazing even deep sea reefs can support life like those at the shallows." Chris said.

These underwater forests provide shelter and food for a rich community of marine life.

The Wild Kratts saw a number of fish and squid among the coral as well as deep sea shrimp like the reefs at the shallows.

They're also vital nurseries for many deep sea creatures.

A deep sea shrimp fiddles it's mandibles.

The Pulponaut continues gliding through the deep as the lights shined over the reef.

The corals are made up of many anemone-like individuals, polyps that live in colonies connected by a hard skeleton.

"Say, are these coral also made from polyps like those in the shallows?" Koki asked.

"Yeah, polyps are small anemone-like individuals connected to each other." Martin said.

A computer screen then shows a closeup of the coral branches and their polyps.

The polyps have stinging cells in their tentacles to snare passing prey, their only source of food.

Amphipods were seen swimming by the coral as one was snatched by the polyp tentacles. And they watch as more were snatched.

But they don't always get to keep their catch.

As they watched, Jimmy noticed something hiding in a coral branch.

"Hey, who's that guy?" Jimmy asked.

They then saw a white worm poking it's head into view.

"It's a Bristle Worm." Martin said.

A Bristle Worm has set up home within the coral.

The Wild Kratts watched as the Bristle Worm looks around the polyps as it looks for food.

It checks the polyps for a freshly caught morsel... and steals it from the coral.

The worm then steals the amphipod.

"Hey, it just took some food from the polyp." Koki said narrowing her eyes at it.

"Whoa, whoa, this Bristle Worm actually has a better side to the coral." Martin said

But this theft is actually a protection racket.

Soon, a white urchin was spotted.

"Uh-oh." Chris said. "An urchin. They're destructive with coral as they are with kelp."

Urchins attack and eat the corals.

Time for payback.

The Wild Kratts watched as the Bristle Worm was soon aware of the urchin.

The urchin may have protective spines, but the worm has a shocking weapon, and goes on the attack.

The Bristle Worm then opened its jaws in a way how some fictional alien creatures would. And then attacks the urchin by biting the on the spines. And eventually, the urchin was pulled off and leaves.

The urchin has been seen off, and the worm has saved its home.

The Pulponaut continues gliding over the reef.

Like most deep sea animals, these corals grow extremely slowly. Some reefs may be 40,000 years old.

Despite being so far beneath the surface, these corals are still within our reach.

The Pulponaut continues gliding over the reef, but then came across an area with damage sections of coral.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Aviva wondered.

"Looks like fishing nets have damaged this area of reef." Chris said. "Despite being far down, they're not out of our reach."

Deep sea fishing nets dragged across the seafloor reduce the fragile reefs to rubble. Half of all deep sea corals have already been destroyed.

It will take centuries for these communities to recover.


Waves crashed over a rough section of the ocean.

Beyond the boundary of any 1 country, the high seas are wild and barely protected.

The water continues to heavily stir.

Wildest of all, the Southern Ocean, home of the albatross.

Soaring over the ocean's surface, a Black-browed Albatross glides over the water.

The albatross continues gliding over the ocean using the updrifts to stay airborne.

Albatross live solitary lives far out to sea.

They can travel hundreds of miles a day, often for weeks at a time, searching for food.

Somewhere in the Southern Ocean, a feeding frenzy occurred as a sea lion carcass floats on the surface.

A dead sea lion is a rare opportunity.

On the surface, a flock of sea birds known as Giant Petrels feed on the carcass. And the Wild Kratts watched from nearby in the Amphi-Sub.

Giant Petrels are the first to arrive.

The Wild Kratts watched the petrels gorge themselves on the carcass.

They use their powerful beaks to rip the carcass open.

"Wow, those Giant Petrels are like vultures out here." Martin said.

"Yeah, these guys are amazing scavengers." Chris said.

Known as Sea Vultures, they are the top scavenger in Antarctic waters.

They continue watching the petrels feed on the carcass as cawing was heard among the frenzy.

Soon, group of Black-browed Albatross arrived.

"Hey, check it out." Chris said seeing the albatrosses. "Black-browed Albatross."

"Black-browed?" Aviva wondered.

"Yeah, they have a thin black line on their brows, giving them their name." Martin said. "It's also the most widespread and common member of the family, Diomedeidae."

Black-browed Albatross have an extraordinary sense of smell and can follow a scent from 12 miles, 20 kilometers away.

The Black-browed Albatrosses soon land in the water and join in on the frenzy as a Giant Petrel mobs 2 of them.

The Black-browed must grab mouthfuls when they can.

The Wild Kratts watched as the albatrosses quickly snatch mouthfuls of meat before the petrels came in.

They are bullied by the more aggressive Giant Petrels.

The albatrosses continue to grab mouthfuls of meat as the petrels mob them as they fought over the carcass.

The Wild Kratts watched them as the frenzy continues, and a group of smaller seabirds called Wilson's Petrels watched at the edge of the frenzy.

Wilson's Petrels are too small to compete and pick off scraps from the edge of the frenzy.

"Hey, look." Chris said. "Wilson's Petrels."

"Those birds sure are small." Aviva said.

"Yeah, too small to compete for food in the frenzy." Martin said. "So they pick off scraps at the edge of the frenzy."

These delicate little petrels are the most numerous of all seabirds because they're found in every ocean.

The cawing and squawking continues as the Wild Kratts watched the frenzy of Giant Petrels and Black-browed Albatross feed on the sea lion carcass, as they fought over the meat.

It's only when these normally solitary birds gather like this that we can appreciate the wealth of life supported by the high seas.

The Wild Kratts continue watching the frenzy.

"It sure is amazing how much the ocean can support so much life." Chris said.

"Yeah, the ocean is the planet's life-support system." Martin said.

"Yep, ocean currents carry nutrients across the world." Koki said.

Soon, another albatross arrives on the scene.

Seabirds are opportunistic, and the bigger they are, the more opportunities they have. Unfortunately for the Giant Petrels, their frenzy has attracted the biggest opportunist of all seabirds.

And they don't call him the Wanderer for nothing.

Soaring overhead, came a Wandering Albatross.

A Wandering Albatross is last to arrive.

"Whoa, a Wandering Albatross has come to claim it's share." Chris said.

The Wanderer lands in the water as the Black-browed Albatross quickly moved aside.

It dwarfs the other birds and uses its great size and 10 foot, 3-meter wingspan to dominate.

The Wanderer held it's wings high up to have the other birds back off, as well as the petrels.

Even the Giant Petrels back off.

The Wanderer started feeding as a few Black-browed and petrels came in to feed as well. As when it comes to feeding rights, size matters.

The Wanderer finally gets its share.

A few Giant Petrels sat in the water as one in the water flew over another as it cawed.

Elsewhere in the Southern Ocean, an albatross soars through the air.

"This sight is actually quite neat." Jimmy said. "Almost making me hungry."

"Yeah, but even seabirds get in trouble sometimes." Chris said.

"I'm guessing due to fishing lines and other plastic pollution." Aviva said.

"Yeah." Martin said. "Which is way most kinds have been in decline."

In recent years, albatross and other seabirds have been in decline. Their need to travel great distances exposes them to the dangers of a poorly regulated and overexploited ocean.

It's a problem for all hunters of the high seas.


After leaving the Southern Ocean, the Tortuga flies over the Pacific as they soon came across a large school as famously large fish.

These giants cross entire oceans in their search for food.

Underwater, the large fish swam in great numbers.

They can grow over 9 feet, 3 meters long and weigh half a ton.

The fish swam as they were larger cousins of the Yellowfin Tuna.

Bluefin Tuna.

The Tortuga soon slows down, and the Wild Kratts looked through the windows of the cockpit, and a fishcam swam alongside the tuna school.

"Whoa, Bluefin Tuna." Martin said.

"Whoa, they're huge." Jimmy said. "I can why tuna are famous in sport-fishing."

"Yeah, and the Bluefin is the biggest tuna species." Chris said. "These guys can also live for 40 years."

"And they're incredible hunters." Martin added. "You know, we don't meet enough blue animals."

They're streamlined to perfection and built for speed.

The Wild Kratts watched the Bluefins as they travel just under the surface.

They hunt in great packs, hundreds strong.

The Wild Kratts watched as there were many tuna in the school.

"This is amazing." Martin said. "There's gotta be at least a hundred tuna in this school."

"Maybe more." Chris said.

"I wonder where they're going." Aviva said.

"Yeah, I think I see something up ahead." Koki said noticing a shape ahead of them barely in view.

Ahead of them, was what the tuna are after.

The target: a school of Anchovies.

"Hey, an Anchovy school." Chris said. "I think we're about to have a hunt here."

The Anchovies swam through the ocean unaware of the great Bluefin pack behind them.

Soon, the Bluefin pack begin to close in on their target.

And the Wild Kratts watched from above.

"Yeah, I think it's starting." Chris said.

They watched a few Bluefin slowly near the Anchovy school.

They gently corral the Anchovies into a tight ball at the surface, careful not to cause panic.

"It looks like the tuna are corralling the fish into a bait ball." Aviva said.

"Wow, it's almost like how dolphins do it." Koki said.

"It's one of the Bluefin's hunting skills." Chris said.

And then they attack.

Then, a Bluefin makes the first lunge as it attacks from the side snatching any Anchovy in it's way. And another Bluefin came in after at the back of the school, and a third Bluefin made it's approach. And the Wild Kratts were amazed by this coordinated hunt.

The attack continues as a flock of terns flew over them hoping get some of the Anchovies as well. And the Bluefin pack continue their attack on the school.

This is a highly coordinated hunt. The tuna take turns, striking from the same direction to keep the anchovies on the run.

The Wild Kratts watched in amazement as the tuna continue their strike attack, each taking a turn after one another.

After a mouthful, each Bluefin peels off to take its place at the rear.

Wave after wave continues the assault.

The Wild Kratts watch the Bluefin continue their attack, as seabirds dove in to snatch some as well.

"Wow, I didn't think tuna were amazing hunters like that." Koki said.

"Yeah, it's cool." Jimmy said.

With their power and devastating pace, Bluefin Tuna are one of the ocean's most impressive hunters.

A Bluefin leaps out and falls back into the water, as well as another as a tern flew near it.

After the hunt, the Bluefin pack swam through the ocean as Chris and Martin swam alongside them in their Manta-Sleds.

They are also the most prized fish in the sea.

"Say, how popular in fishing are Bluefins anyway?" Jimmy asked through a holographic screen from Martin said.

"Real popular." Martin said. "They're actually the most prized fish in the sea."

So valuable that a single Bluefin can sell in Japan for over a million dollars. So, perhaps it's inevitable that they have been fished almost to extinction.

"In fact, Bluefins got so popular, they were almost fished to extinction." Chris said.

"Yikes." Jimmy said. "No wonder fishing has to be careful."

Elsewhere in the ocean, a large school of tuna swam as a large fishing net encircles them.

Bluefin Tuna are not the only ones in peril.

The tuna and other fish it's way are now trapped in the net.

Decades of unsustainable fishing have left many fish stocks in serious decline.

A third have collapsed altogether.

Soon, the fish were trapped completely in the net as many poke through the netting trying to get free.

Plastic pollution is a grave issue for our oceans, but industrial overfishing is far more dangerous. If we continue to harvest the seas in this way, it's not just fisheries that will collapse.

The whole ocean system could follow.

The fish continue trying to break free, as one sticks it's head out through the netting.


Elsewhere in the ocean, a Blue Shark swims through the water as the Tortuga flew over it in the air.

One hundred million sharks are killed every year, just to make shark fin soup.

The Blue Shark glides through the water as the fishcam follows alongside it. And the Wild Kratts watched from the garage platform.

"Whoa, one of my favorite sharks." Martin said. "A Blue Shark."

"Yeah, as amazing as sharks are, even they are at risk." Chris said. "Remember what Gourmand tried to do with Razor-Mouth?"

"Yep, I never knew they were being hunted like that." Aviva said.

"100 million are killed each year." Koki said. "Due to sport-hunting, and shark fin soup."

They watched the Blue Shark swim through the water from Koki's tablet as another Blue Shark was seen close by.

90% of all large ocean hunters have disappeared.

Without them at the top of the food chain, the whole community of marine life is declining and changing beyond recognition.

They continued watching the Blue Shark as then an old fishing line was seen on it.

"Hey, the shark as some fishing line on it." Chris said.

"Oh, we better help him out." Martin said.

Aviva then works on her M.I.K, and works it's robot arm as it extends into the water and grabs the fishing line. Luckily, it was only caught around it's left fin as it was removes off the shark as the arm extends back.

"There you go." Aviva said grabbing the fishing line. "All better."

This helping hand may help the Blue Shark for now, but in the long-term, survival is still being certain for a healthy ocean.


At night, Chris and Martin swam in Pacific waters by a school of squid.

Squid are increasingly replacing fish.

They watched the large school of squid swam through the water.

"So, how exactly are increasing squid numbers a problem?" Aviva asked from CreaturePod. "Aren't they food are a lot of animals?"

"Yeah, but if you get less fish and more squid, it's an imbalance in the ocean." Chris said.

We have severely depleted both their predators and competitors, so squid are taking over, an indication of a serious imbalance in the oceans.

"I'm guessing that's another reason why we need new ways to fish, right?" Jimmy assumed leaning into view.

"Yep. Squid are starting to take over where fish once swam in some areas." Martin said.

Among the large shoal, some squid started to breed.

Squid breed quickly and have lots of fast-growing young, so they can rapidly exploit the gaps left the fish that we have harvested.

The brothers even some squid by egg cases on the seafloor.

They lay their eggs in cases on the seafloor. The young develop even faster in these warm, shallow waters.

Then, 2 sea lions appeared as they started snatching some squid. When they should be hunting fish.

With such drastic changes in the marine menu, predators are having to adapt.

Chris and Martin watched as the sea lions feed.

Sea lions prefer to eat more energy-rich prey, like Anchovies and Sardines, but with these in short supply, they're forced to rely more on a diet of squid.

"With fish becoming harder to find, sea lions are forced to go for a squid diet." Chris said.

"Which they usually prefer more rich fish like Anchovies and Sardines." Martin said.

"Another indication of an imbalance in the ocean?" Koki assumed.

"Yeah, and it could be us sooner or later." Chris said.

We, too, will be forced to change the seafood we eat if we continue to fish as we do.

The sea lions continue swimming around the squid shoal snatching any in reach as the brothers watched.

But if we harvest the oceans in a sustainable way, they can be marvelously productive and will provide us with an abundance of food.

The Kratt Brothers continue watching the sea lions hunt.

"You know, I'm sure we can figure out a more sustainable way to fish." Chris said.

"Yeah, that way there can be plenty for us and animals." Martin said.

"Well, that's why we're here to help figure out new ways to fish." Koki said. "To solve new ways to fish and allow fish populations to thrive."

"And with that, sustain the whole ocean for it to recover." Chris said. "The oceans belong to all of us."

There are already signs that the ocean has the power to recover astonishing quickly.


A few miles from land, a great oceanic giant breaches out of the water and spouts a jet of mist from it's blowhole.

And the creature falls back, and crashes into the water with a loud-crashing splash.

Humpback Whales.

A Humpback Whale breaches upwards as it spouts from it's blowhole, and falls forward hitting the water. As they are proof of how the ocean can recover quickly.

They live in every ocean, traveling the highs seas, from their polar feeding grounds to the tropics, where they breed.

Chris and Martin swam alongside a pair of Humpbacks as one made a song-like moan.

Yet whales have not always enjoyed such freedom.

The Humpback moans another song-like sound.

"These Humpbacks are truly amazing." Aviva said through a holographic screen.

"Yeah, they and other whales didn't enjoy such freedom like today." Chris said.

"I'm guessing from commercial whaling?" Aviva asked.

"Yeah, many whales have been killed for their oil." Martin said. "Sperm Whales were hunted heavily for the spermaceti wax in their large heads, and Blues were hunted a lot as they soon became virtually impossible to find. And in the 18th century, the Atlantic population of Gray Whales were hunted to extinction."

"And North Atlantic Right Whales have suffered a lot, with 400 remaining today." Chris said. "In whaling years, they are the right whales to catch. As they move slowly, and floated when dead."

"Oh, so that's why they're called right whales." Jimmy said leaning into view.

"Yeah, and even Humpbacks suffered as well." Martin said.

They watched as one Humpback nears the surface.

Once, there were more than a hundred thousand Humpbacks in the oceans, but last century, they were hunted to near extinction.

The Humpback dives under as another whale behind it surfaced and spouts a jet of mist.

Just a few thousand survived the onslaught.

The Humpback continues diving as it's tail fluke lifts up and went under.

A Humpback Whale swam through the water as the 2 brothers swam with it. And Aviva in her wetsuit recently joins them.

"So, what brought an end to whaling?" Aviva asked.

"Well, scientist soon discovered that Humpbacks can sing." Chris said. "Underwater microphones pick up calls from them, and listened as they made complex songs."

"Humpbacks use them to talk to each other, and listen to others even to those hundreds of miles away." Martin said. "And soon, people started viewing them with personalities. Creatures with feelings, and might even have plans for the weekends."

"Soon, Humpback Whales started to make a comeback." Chris said. "Right as they were near extinction."

A huge public outcry finally led to a ban on commercial whaling in 1986.

Chris, Martin and Aviva swam with 3 Humpbacks as 2 of them flipped around through the water.

Since then, the number of Humpback Whales has been steadily increasing.

At the surface, a few Humpbacks surfaced to take a breath of air as they spouted. And with the African coast less than a mile away.

They're returning to their ancestral feeding grounds, like these off the coast of South Africa.

Chris, Martin and Aviva followed the Humpbacks as they made their famous song-like calls.

They are gathering to take advantage of a seasonal abundance of Krill, tiny shrimp-like crustaceans.

Soon, a Humpback swam through the water with a large number of Krill swimming around as Chris, Martin and Aviva followed.

"Hey, is this Krill?" Aviva asked.

"Yeah, huge numbers of them." Chris said.

"And that's why the whales have come here." Martin said. "It's a feeding ground."

They then followed the whales as they knew they were going to be in quite a wildlife spectacle.

They watched as a Humpback opens it's large mouth as it takes a great mouthful of water and water as the skin of it's underside and lower jaw swells like a water balloon.

The whales take in great mouthfuls of water, trapping the Krill on sieves of hairy bristles that line their jaws.

"So, how does the feeding skill of baleen whales work anyway?" Aviva asked.

"It's truly amazing." Chris said and works his Creaturepod showing a holographic screen and a Blue Whale with it's mouth open and the skin from it's lower jaw to underbelly was stretched out like a net." As the whales open their mouths, water and krill are pulled in as the skin under the lower jaw and belly extend like a water balloon. The tongue is also stretchy, as the mouth closes, the tongue rams the water through the baleen like a piston. Leaving the Krill trapped, and the tongue licks the Krill and the whale swallows them."

"It's like having a built-in net in your mouth." Martin said.

They watched as the Humpbacks continue feeding, and one opens it's large mouth collecting water and Krill and nears the surface. It soon surfaced as it spouts a jet of mist from it's blowhole.

Even Koki and Jimmy watched from the Tortuga's balcony in amazement.

Underwater, Chris, Martin and Aviva watched as the whales continue to gather huge mouthfuls of water and Krill. But also keeping out of the way of an open mouth.

Each whale can eat over a ton a day.

The whales continue feeding as one grabs a mouthful and surfaces as it spouts a jet of mist catching a breath of air.

Underwater, other Humpbacks swam around as one opens it's mouth taking another mouthful of water and Krill.

From their balcony view, Koki and Jimmy watched as several Humpbacks surfaced as spouted jets of mist to breathe. And other Humpbacks spouted as others dive back down as another whale spouts a new breath of air.

Underwater, 2 Humpbacks swam as a Cape fur seal twirls through the water as it swam.

With food so plentiful, fur seals come to claim their share.

"Check it out, even fur seals came to get their share." Chris said.

"This is so amazing." Martin said.

A Humpback flips over to it's back as it bellows a song-like call as the fur seal swam around as Chris, Martin and Aviva swam by.

Another Humpback closes it's swelled mouth as a fur seal behind it grabs some Krill as well as 2 others.

Chris, Martin and Aviva swam alongside with 2 Humpbacks and a pair of fur seals as they swam off, and one of the whales bellows a song-like call.

At the balcony, Koki and Jimmy watched the Humpbacks in pure amazement as some surfaced to breathe.

"This is so cool." Koki said.

"Awesome!" Jimmy said.

These extraordinary scenes were unimaginable just a few years ago.

Underwater, Chris, Martin and Aviva swam by 3 Humpbacks with swelled mouths.

Koki and Jimmy continued watching the whales as many surfaced to breathe as the Tortuga in Sea Turtle Mode was completely surrounded by whales.

They form super-groups, hundreds strong.

Chris, Martin and Aviva continued swimming with the whales as many song-like moans rang through the water.

The Tortuga then lifts off from the water as the Humpbacks surfaced so Koki and Jimmy can get a clear view of the super-group.

Underwater, Chris, Martin and Aviva swam alongside 2 Humpbacks with swelled mouths as they now witness the greatest wildlife spectacle they have ever seen.

This is the greatest gathering of whales seen for a century.

In the air, Koki and Jimmy saw the number of whales in pure amazement as dozens were by the surface as many surfaced to breathe, and others dove down. Proving that Humpback Whales are the greatest comeback story in the ocean.

Underwater, the whales swam around as Chris, Martin and Aviva watched them.

"This is so incredible." Aviva said.

"I know, Humpbacks have truly proving their comeback." Martin said.

A Humpback Whale lies by the surface as Krill swam around.

Whales recycle nutrients that enrich surface waters, which fuel the growth of phytoplankton, and they, in turn, feed Krill in a perfect self-sustaining cycle.

Chris, Martin and Aviva followed a Humpback as it twirls around.

We now know that a healthy community of great hunters, whales, dolphins, tuna, and sharks, is essential for a fully-functioning ocean.

A Humpback gently glides through the water as it's right flipper skims over the surface.

And a functioning ocean is vital to the health of our planet and humanity.

3 Humpbacks swam alongside each other.

In a remarkable recovery, Humpback Whales have almost returned to their original numbers.

Chris, Martin and Aviva join a Humpback Whale floating vertically as it moans.

But during that time, we have done more harm to the oceans than ever before in human history.

The 3 held on to the whale's flippers as it spins around and bellows.

Only with global cooperation will our oceans recover and thrive once again.

2 Humpbacks swam as they near the surface.

We saved the whales by international agreement.

Now, it is time to save our oceans.

One Humpback floats at the surface and twirls around as the other whale nears the surface and calls out a song-like moan.


Please visit ourplanet .com to discover what we need to do now to protect the high seas.


Author's Note:

The High Seas episode is truly my favorite in the series of Our Planet.

I can never get enough of the scene of the Blue Whale mother and her calf, and the soundtrack for it, "Baby Blue", is truly beautiful. I decided Hope, because this year marks the sad death of 15 year old Hope the Blue Whale, in her honor as it's been 130 years as of March 25, 1891.

A Blue Whale truly would be my favorite Wild Kratts episode.

I hope 1 day, to see a live Blue Whale.

I also never thought Humpback Whales would actually form mass gathering like those in South Africa. They have truly proving to be a great comeback story.

As it would've been a sad wild world without whales.

Let's hope there's still a future for whales, and the ocean to recover.

Along with World Ocean Day to inspire many people for years to come.