WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:10.243 --> 00:00:11.111 MAN: Oh my God. 4 00:00:11.878 --> 00:00:13.680 MAN: You’re in a bad spot. NEIL: I know, guys, get up. 5 00:00:13.747 --> 00:00:15.148 NARRATOR: The chance encounter, 6 00:00:15.215 --> 00:00:16.249 with a giant! 7 00:00:17.250 --> 00:00:19.619 Maybe the largest alive. 8 00:00:19.686 --> 00:00:21.855 MAN: That’s the biggest Bull Shark I’ve ever seen! 9 00:00:21.921 --> 00:00:24.657 NARRATOR: And evidence of more super-sized bull sharks! 10 00:00:24.724 --> 00:00:25.959 MAN (over radio): Two bull sharks, 11 00:00:26.026 --> 00:00:27.260 there’s two bull sharks. 12 00:00:27.327 --> 00:00:29.829 NARRATOR: Lurking just beneath the surface. 13 00:00:30.230 --> 00:00:31.498 Close to shore. 14 00:00:31.998 --> 00:00:33.733 STEVE (over radio): That’s a big shark. 15 00:00:33.800 --> 00:00:35.035 NARRATOR: Close to people. 16 00:00:36.202 --> 00:00:37.804 MAN: Hold on to it! 17 00:00:37.871 --> 00:00:41.007 NARRATOR: Now, a team is on the trail of 18 00:00:41.074 --> 00:00:43.676 a family of hungry giants. 19 00:00:43.743 --> 00:00:46.613 JAMES (off-screen): This is military grade technology. 20 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:48.214 NEIL: That is epic. 21 00:00:48.281 --> 00:00:49.482 NARRATOR: This is the hunt. 22 00:00:49.549 --> 00:00:51.084 JAMES (off-screen): Big bull shark down there! 23 00:00:51.151 --> 00:00:54.187 NARRATOR: For the world’s biggest bull shark! 24 00:01:02.962 --> 00:01:04.864 NARRATOR: Florida’s East Coast is one of America’s 25 00:01:04.931 --> 00:01:08.134 most popular destinations for beach-going vacationers. 26 00:01:12.806 --> 00:01:16.509 But there are also year-round residents. 27 00:01:19.345 --> 00:01:20.647 Just beneath the surf. 28 00:01:23.983 --> 00:01:27.854 Florida’s warm coastal waters are a hotbed for sharks. 29 00:01:31.658 --> 00:01:33.193 Including one of the most dangerous, 30 00:01:36.329 --> 00:01:37.831 the bull. 31 00:01:41.534 --> 00:01:44.370 Bull sharks are the deadliest sharks in the world after 32 00:01:44.437 --> 00:01:46.573 great whites and tigers. 33 00:01:47.707 --> 00:01:51.044 Adult bulls average around seven and a half feet long. 34 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:56.616 But there is one bull shark that may be queen of them all. 35 00:01:58.485 --> 00:02:00.920 NEIL: The amazing thing about the wild is you never know 36 00:02:00.987 --> 00:02:03.957 what you’re going to encounter and no two days are the same. 37 00:02:09.295 --> 00:02:11.564 NARRATOR: For marine biologist Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, 38 00:02:12.332 --> 00:02:16.536 no day stands out more than May 27, 2012. 39 00:02:26.212 --> 00:02:29.382 Neil and his team of researchers head out to study 40 00:02:29.449 --> 00:02:32.218 the health and numbers of bull sharks in South Florida. 41 00:02:36.856 --> 00:02:39.058 NEIL: It was a normal trip; I was out with my students doing 42 00:02:39.125 --> 00:02:41.127 our ongoing surveys of sharks. 43 00:02:41.528 --> 00:02:43.496 MAN: This is a nice piece of Barracuda, 44 00:02:44.831 --> 00:02:46.166 only the freshest meats! 45 00:02:46.232 --> 00:02:49.169 NEIL: Uh, 75 feet of monofilament, a weight, 46 00:02:49.235 --> 00:02:51.804 200 foot of line, so it takes it down to the bottom, 47 00:02:52.238 --> 00:02:53.239 and a float. 48 00:02:54.174 --> 00:02:55.308 Alright, clear! 49 00:02:56.843 --> 00:03:00.246 NARRATOR: The University of Miami team gives average sized bulls, 50 00:03:00.346 --> 00:03:03.349 like this one, the usual check-up for science. 51 00:03:04.918 --> 00:03:06.085 WOMAN: If I feel where its jaw is, 52 00:03:06.152 --> 00:03:06.986 it can’t bite me. 53 00:03:07.587 --> 00:03:09.856 So, I’ll stay right behind it because it’s a good gripping point. 54 00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:12.559 NARRATOR: They keep it safe by continually pumping water 55 00:03:12.625 --> 00:03:14.394 through its gills so it can breathe. 56 00:03:15.195 --> 00:03:17.931 WOMAN 2: Are we good on everything else data-wise? 57 00:03:17.997 --> 00:03:20.400 Here I have a biopsy and in this one here I have a 58 00:03:20.466 --> 00:03:23.336 the fin clip sample so I’m just labeling those. 59 00:03:24.771 --> 00:03:27.140 NARRATOR: The grad students takes samples from one bull 60 00:03:27.207 --> 00:03:28.708 after another. 61 00:03:29.075 --> 00:03:32.111 WOMAN 2: 170! 170 FL! WOMAN: Get the total length as well. 62 00:03:36.416 --> 00:03:40.286 NARRATOR: Suddenly, all the smaller sharks disappear. 63 00:03:51.097 --> 00:03:52.832 MAN: You’re in a bad spot. NEIL: I know, you guys. 64 00:03:52.899 --> 00:03:55.435 Get off! I need you guys to get off... 65 00:03:55.802 --> 00:04:00.373 And all of sudden, one of the lines became very difficult to 66 00:04:00.440 --> 00:04:03.076 bring in and I knew we had something big on it. 67 00:04:03.142 --> 00:04:05.178 I had no idea how big. 68 00:04:05.245 --> 00:04:07.647 NARRATOR: The whole team feels it; 69 00:04:07.714 --> 00:04:09.816 they are in the presence of greatness. 70 00:04:10.516 --> 00:04:11.684 MAN: This is insane. 71 00:04:11.751 --> 00:04:13.019 NARRATOR: A special shark. 72 00:04:13.086 --> 00:04:14.821 MAN: Okay, don't lean back. 73 00:04:15.855 --> 00:04:18.191 This animal was very hard to bring up here. 74 00:04:18.391 --> 00:04:19.959 A couple of times she just ran off. 75 00:04:20.026 --> 00:04:21.327 And no one could hold her. 76 00:04:21.861 --> 00:04:25.565 NARRATOR: The largest bull shark ever caught was 771 pounds, 77 00:04:26.532 --> 00:04:29.802 the scientists estimate that this one is bigger. 78 00:04:31.004 --> 00:04:32.205 MAN: How much would you say that fish weighs? 79 00:04:32.272 --> 00:04:33.873 MAN 2: At least 800 pounds. 80 00:04:33.940 --> 00:04:36.242 There’s no way is weighs less than 800 pounds. 81 00:04:36.309 --> 00:04:38.211 MAN 3: Bull cutter. MAN 4: Bull cutter. 82 00:04:38.278 --> 00:04:40.113 MAN: Can someone take a picture of this? 83 00:04:40.179 --> 00:04:42.115 NARRATOR: The typical adult bull shark is in 84 00:04:42.181 --> 00:04:43.616 the seven-foot range. 85 00:04:44.183 --> 00:04:46.452 This one, just over nine feet. 86 00:04:48.288 --> 00:04:49.489 NEIL: I think she’s 1,000 pounds. 87 00:04:49.555 --> 00:04:50.923 That’s my personal opinion. 88 00:04:50.990 --> 00:04:53.693 NARRATOR: They discover she’s a healthy strong female. 89 00:04:55.795 --> 00:04:58.865 And her extraordinary girth has her tipping the scales. 90 00:05:00.099 --> 00:05:01.367 WOMAN: 196. 91 00:05:01.768 --> 00:05:04.270 NARRATOR: It’s time to take tissue samples for DNA and 92 00:05:05.038 --> 00:05:06.873 draw blood from this amazing animal. 93 00:05:09.075 --> 00:05:11.711 MAN: Okay, got it. Fresh blood sample here. 94 00:05:12.011 --> 00:05:14.547 MAN 2: So now we have our blood sample from this huge bull shark; 95 00:05:14.614 --> 00:05:16.816 you can see the dark and richness of that blood. 96 00:05:19.552 --> 00:05:20.920 NARRATOR: To reach this size, 97 00:05:20.987 --> 00:05:22.822 she must be around 30 years old, 98 00:05:23.823 --> 00:05:26.626 no one knows for sure if they get any older. 99 00:05:27.460 --> 00:05:29.796 No one has seen anything like her in the 100 00:05:29.862 --> 00:05:31.597 United States in decades. 101 00:05:32.765 --> 00:05:34.400 NEIL: Alright guys we have a loose fish. 102 00:05:34.467 --> 00:05:36.969 MAN: Loose fish, fish is not secured to the boat by... 103 00:05:37.036 --> 00:05:39.105 NARRATOR: It’s possible that they’ve got their hands on 104 00:05:39.172 --> 00:05:41.808 the largest living bull shark in the ocean. 105 00:05:44.811 --> 00:05:47.513 MAN: Okay, hold on, I’m gonna use this pump to pull her out. 106 00:05:47.580 --> 00:05:50.049 NARRATOR: They release her no worse for wear. 107 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:54.721 NEIL: It’s like those wrestlers who are all neck. 108 00:05:54.787 --> 00:05:55.655 And it was just like... 109 00:05:57.523 --> 00:05:58.691 I couldn’t even see its eyes, 110 00:05:59.192 --> 00:06:00.693 because there was just meat around it! 111 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:05.865 NARRATOR: She disappears into the depths. 112 00:06:06.733 --> 00:06:08.968 But not before Neil and his team give her a name 113 00:06:09.035 --> 00:06:10.470 that befits her size. 114 00:06:12.705 --> 00:06:14.907 They call her Big Bull. 115 00:06:16.175 --> 00:06:18.144 NEIL (off-screen): In all the years of surveying sharks including 116 00:06:18.211 --> 00:06:21.581 hundreds of bull sharks, I’d never seen bull shark 117 00:06:21.647 --> 00:06:23.316 anywhere near that size. 118 00:06:24.650 --> 00:06:27.320 NARRATOR: The photos taken of Neil with Big Bull go viral. 119 00:06:28.087 --> 00:06:31.891 She captures the imagination of millions the world over. 120 00:06:32.992 --> 00:06:36.028 No one thought the ocean had giants like this anymore. 121 00:06:38.865 --> 00:06:40.566 NEIL (off-screen): It was incredible that we captured one of the 122 00:06:40.633 --> 00:06:43.002 largest specimens ever recorded! 123 00:06:43.536 --> 00:06:46.038 But it also showed us how little we actually 124 00:06:46.105 --> 00:06:47.640 know about bull sharks. 125 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:51.778 NARRATOR: They could only guess how she got this big, 126 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:54.447 the range of her territory, 127 00:06:54.981 --> 00:06:57.884 and whether she’s given birth to more giants like her. 128 00:07:00.686 --> 00:07:01.621 Until now. 129 00:07:02.622 --> 00:07:04.991 Eight years later there’s more. 130 00:07:06.159 --> 00:07:09.162 Big bull sharks are showing up all along Florida’s coastline. 131 00:07:12.031 --> 00:07:13.566 Fishermen notice first. 132 00:07:14.167 --> 00:07:17.270 FISHERMAN: Oh my gosh, what a monster. 133 00:07:17.970 --> 00:07:21.140 NARRATOR: 160 miles from where Big Bull was first captured. 134 00:07:23.776 --> 00:07:25.178 FISHERMAN: That’s a giant bull shark. 135 00:07:27.246 --> 00:07:30.750 NARRATOR: Then divers report large bulls by a shipwreck. 136 00:07:32.218 --> 00:07:35.288 Now scientists wonder if Big Bull has ushered in 137 00:07:35.388 --> 00:07:37.790 a new wave of giant sharks. 138 00:07:39.392 --> 00:07:44.163 Could this big momma have spawned a new generation of behemoths? 139 00:07:46.232 --> 00:07:48.301 NEIL: In humans, there are traits associated with 140 00:07:48.367 --> 00:07:50.670 being big or size that are hereditary. 141 00:07:50.736 --> 00:07:53.339 They're passed down from parent to offspring. 142 00:07:55.675 --> 00:07:57.810 And I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing applies in 143 00:07:57.877 --> 00:08:00.446 sharks that are hereditary, that could be contributing to 144 00:08:00.513 --> 00:08:02.281 the sheer size of Big Bull. 145 00:08:04.550 --> 00:08:06.986 NARRATOR: It’s time to find out if Big Bull is still here, 146 00:08:07.687 --> 00:08:10.523 and if other big sharks are her pups. 147 00:08:16.195 --> 00:08:18.564 NEIL: The goal of this trip is to gather more information 148 00:08:18.631 --> 00:08:21.834 that allows us to understand how and why she got so big, 149 00:08:21.901 --> 00:08:24.470 and ultimately figure out whether there’s even a 150 00:08:24.537 --> 00:08:26.172 bigger bull shark out there. 151 00:08:26.672 --> 00:08:29.308 NARRATOR: If Big Bull is still out here, 152 00:08:29.408 --> 00:08:31.110 and the mother of a large family, 153 00:08:32.111 --> 00:08:34.146 it may cause concern for beachgoers. 154 00:08:37.517 --> 00:08:39.952 Shark attacks in the areas just north of here have 155 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:42.788 increased 37% in that last ten years. 156 00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:50.363 Bull sharks are crucial for a healthy ocean and 157 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:52.064 they are near threatened, 158 00:08:52.131 --> 00:08:54.233 so a slew of big bulls would give 159 00:08:54.300 --> 00:08:56.736 the species hope for the future. 160 00:08:58.004 --> 00:09:02.241 Neil is rooting for the sharks and he’s not alone. 161 00:09:04.076 --> 00:09:08.781 Shark conservationist and former Royal Marine commando, James Glancy, 162 00:09:08.881 --> 00:09:12.218 joins the marine biologist for a chance to make history. 163 00:09:13.219 --> 00:09:15.521 JAMES: Florida is a really special to me because it’s 164 00:09:15.621 --> 00:09:19.158 where I first learned to dive as a kid in the '90s and 165 00:09:19.225 --> 00:09:22.061 I saw my first bull shark on that trip, 166 00:09:22.128 --> 00:09:25.565 and that gave me my passion for sharks and the ocean. 167 00:09:25.631 --> 00:09:28.601 So it’s incredible to be back here using the military skills 168 00:09:28.668 --> 00:09:32.672 that I’ve developed over my career to support shark science 169 00:09:32.738 --> 00:09:35.608 and to go out and find the world’s biggest bull shark. 170 00:09:38.844 --> 00:09:41.047 NARRATOR: But the conditions are not ideal. 171 00:09:41.113 --> 00:09:44.550 JAMES: Well the sun is out today but the swell is huge. 172 00:09:45.384 --> 00:09:46.986 It’s gonna be an interesting dive. 173 00:09:47.887 --> 00:09:50.523 MAN: Ripping currents, deep water, poor visibility, 174 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:52.391 plus bull sharks? 175 00:09:58.130 --> 00:10:00.499 NARRATOR: They head to where divers have seen big bulls, 176 00:10:02.902 --> 00:10:05.338 near a wreck site just two miles off shore. 177 00:10:11.043 --> 00:10:13.079 This was a drug-smuggling ship, 178 00:10:14.714 --> 00:10:18.584 seized by the coast guard and sunk here 20 years ago. 179 00:10:21.253 --> 00:10:23.823 Now it’s habitat for fish of all kinds. 180 00:10:27.393 --> 00:10:30.363 And for bull sharks, a seafood buffet. 181 00:10:31.597 --> 00:10:35.868 If Big Bull is here, she would have grown close to an inch a year 182 00:10:35.935 --> 00:10:38.571 and now be an incredible ten feet in length. 183 00:10:44.710 --> 00:10:46.312 SOT: Yeah, we are on the wreck right now, yeah. 184 00:10:51.851 --> 00:10:55.488 NARRATOR: James sets up his camera to check the size of sharks. 185 00:10:55.554 --> 00:10:57.456 JAMES: I’ve got my camera rigged up with two lasers; 186 00:10:57.523 --> 00:10:59.959 that’s gonna help us measure the sharks. 187 00:11:02.395 --> 00:11:06.065 NARRATOR: Problem is, bull sharks can come in a pack. 188 00:11:09.468 --> 00:11:12.104 JAMES (off-screen): When you get more than five or six bull sharks, 189 00:11:12.171 --> 00:11:14.240 they get more of a pack mentality. 190 00:11:14.306 --> 00:11:17.143 They are an incredible predator that understands 191 00:11:17.209 --> 00:11:19.311 where our sensory systems are. 192 00:11:19.378 --> 00:11:23.949 They know how to use stealth, how to use ambush to try and 193 00:11:24.016 --> 00:11:25.084 get close to you. 194 00:11:38.831 --> 00:11:41.600 NEIL: Whoa. Look at that! 195 00:11:42.802 --> 00:11:45.871 This is some great shark habitat. 196 00:11:49.141 --> 00:11:51.377 JAMES: We’ve got a really strong current in here. 197 00:11:53.546 --> 00:11:55.247 NEIL: It’s a little dicey. 198 00:12:03.956 --> 00:12:06.459 NEIL: Lots of shark food around here. 199 00:12:16.702 --> 00:12:18.137 NEIL: We got a shark. 200 00:12:18.504 --> 00:12:19.371 There we go. 201 00:12:19.939 --> 00:12:21.140 I think that’s a bull shark. 202 00:12:21.574 --> 00:12:22.775 About thirty feet away. 203 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:25.578 NARRATOR: It is a bull. 204 00:12:25.644 --> 00:12:26.712 And it’s not alone. 205 00:12:27.213 --> 00:12:28.514 NEIL: Watch your left! 206 00:12:29.148 --> 00:12:30.349 NARRATOR: More and more show up. 207 00:12:31.984 --> 00:12:34.320 NARRATOR: Suddenly, they’re surrounded. 208 00:12:38.457 --> 00:12:41.160 NARRATOR: Neil and James search a shipwreck for the 209 00:12:41.227 --> 00:12:44.597 megashark Big Bull, and other large bull sharks that 210 00:12:44.663 --> 00:12:46.398 may be her descendants. 211 00:12:46.465 --> 00:12:48.167 JAMES (over radio): Neil, you okay? 212 00:12:48.234 --> 00:12:49.902 NEIL (over radio): I’m good over here. 213 00:12:50.903 --> 00:12:53.305 NARRATOR: Bull sharks have a pack-like mentality and 214 00:12:53.372 --> 00:12:55.441 swarm around possible food. 215 00:12:56.909 --> 00:12:58.577 They surround the divers. 216 00:13:00.079 --> 00:13:01.881 NEIL (over radio): They’re right behind you. 217 00:13:01.947 --> 00:13:03.649 JAMES (over radio): Let’s get some cover! 218 00:13:03.716 --> 00:13:06.719 NARRATOR: Neil and James nestle into the wreck for protection. 219 00:13:06.786 --> 00:13:08.687 NEIL (over radio): Yeah, one’s on your right! 220 00:13:08.754 --> 00:13:10.890 NARRATOR: Now to get some measurements. 221 00:13:11.757 --> 00:13:14.527 JAMES (over radio): Neil, I’m gonna try and laser it. 222 00:13:14.593 --> 00:13:16.128 I’m going to get closer. 223 00:13:16.195 --> 00:13:18.998 NARRATOR: James’s two lasers work like an electronic ruler 224 00:13:19.064 --> 00:13:21.433 to confirm the size of the bulls. 225 00:13:23.469 --> 00:13:25.504 If one is close to ten feet long, 226 00:13:25.571 --> 00:13:30.810 it could be Big Bull, possibly, the largest shark alive. 227 00:13:33.946 --> 00:13:35.815 JAMES: I’ve got the laser. I’ve got it locked on. 228 00:13:36.615 --> 00:13:37.516 Laser locked on. 229 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:41.420 JAMES: I’ve got it. I’ve got a shot. 230 00:13:42.655 --> 00:13:45.691 NARRATOR: There, multiplying the six inch-long distance of 231 00:13:45.758 --> 00:13:49.695 the lasers they estimate that this shark is young, 232 00:13:49.762 --> 00:13:52.097 from snout to the curve of the tail, 233 00:13:52.164 --> 00:13:54.300 a little over five feet long. 234 00:13:58.237 --> 00:13:59.471 But nearby. 235 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.174 JAMES (over radio): There’s a big bull shark over there, 236 00:14:03.375 --> 00:14:04.977 I’m going to try to get a laser on it. 237 00:14:06.545 --> 00:14:07.379 I’ve got it. 238 00:14:08.113 --> 00:14:10.516 NARRATOR: A giant, pushing nine feet. 239 00:14:11.250 --> 00:14:14.954 Only inches smaller than Big Bull was in 2012. 240 00:14:18.123 --> 00:14:19.692 They get more measurements. 241 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:21.227 NEIL (over radio): Awesome job. 242 00:14:22.995 --> 00:14:24.630 NARRATOR: But the strong current, 243 00:14:24.697 --> 00:14:28.200 with this many sharks, turns this dive dangerous. 244 00:14:29.535 --> 00:14:30.669 JAMES (over radio): Hey Neil, let’s head up. 245 00:14:32.638 --> 00:14:35.107 JAMES: This current is going to carry me to England otherwise. 246 00:14:36.108 --> 00:14:37.176 NEIL: I’m with ya. 247 00:14:46.752 --> 00:14:48.120 JAMES: How ‘bout that! Ah! 248 00:14:48.187 --> 00:14:50.522 NEIL: That was epic! JAMES: Loads of bull sharks. 249 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:53.259 NEIL: Some nice sized bulls; not as big as Big Bull, 250 00:14:53.325 --> 00:14:56.095 but I feel really good about this as a good starting point 251 00:14:56.161 --> 00:14:58.030 to take the search to the next level. 252 00:14:58.731 --> 00:15:00.399 NARRATOR: They’ve confirmed bulls as large as those 253 00:15:00.466 --> 00:15:03.502 reported by local divers and fishermen. 254 00:15:05.938 --> 00:15:08.407 While they’re not quite the size of Big Bull, 255 00:15:08.474 --> 00:15:10.843 this is her territory. 256 00:15:14.780 --> 00:15:16.749 And if Neil’s theory is right, 257 00:15:17.016 --> 00:15:19.551 the sharks here may be her offspring. 258 00:15:22.688 --> 00:15:24.623 There’s one way to find out. 259 00:15:29.194 --> 00:15:30.930 When Neil encountered Big Bull, 260 00:15:31.397 --> 00:15:34.099 he collected tissue for DNA analysis. 261 00:15:34.166 --> 00:15:36.769 NEIL: Okay got it. Fresh blood sample here. 262 00:15:36.835 --> 00:15:39.338 NARRATOR: Now, they can use it to find her offspring. 263 00:15:40.839 --> 00:15:44.276 She may be the matriarch of a giant family that could 264 00:15:44.343 --> 00:15:46.679 include other super-sized bulls. 265 00:15:48.213 --> 00:15:52.785 She could have more than 100 children and countless grandchildren, 266 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:57.323 a hopeful sign for a declining species. 267 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:04.530 JAMES: What's exciting to me is that that bull shark was 268 00:16:04.596 --> 00:16:07.766 clearly an amazing genetic specimen. 269 00:16:07.833 --> 00:16:11.503 So now can we find out whether she's bred successfully and 270 00:16:11.570 --> 00:16:15.274 passed those genes on to other bull sharks that are in the 271 00:16:15.341 --> 00:16:17.109 coastal areas around Florida? 272 00:16:18.978 --> 00:16:20.746 NEIL: The sample from Big Bull was taken as 273 00:16:20.846 --> 00:16:23.015 part of larger population study. 274 00:16:23.082 --> 00:16:25.784 Now, I’ve sent that sample off to various collaborators to 275 00:16:25.851 --> 00:16:27.453 see what else we can learn. 276 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:32.358 NARRATOR: Enter shark biologist, Dr. Toby Daly-Engle. 277 00:16:32.424 --> 00:16:34.326 TOBY: Hey, how ya going? NEIL: Daly-Engle dangerous. 278 00:16:34.393 --> 00:16:35.327 TOBY: How's it going? 279 00:16:35.394 --> 00:16:37.663 NARRATOR: DNA could tell Toby if other large sharks in 280 00:16:37.730 --> 00:16:40.165 Florida are Big Bull’s babies. 281 00:16:43.736 --> 00:16:45.804 TOBY: The genetics that we're doing is basically the same 282 00:16:45.871 --> 00:16:49.808 exact process that would happen if you swabbed your 283 00:16:49.875 --> 00:16:53.512 cheek and sent it into an ancestry database. 284 00:16:54.446 --> 00:16:57.182 NARRATOR: As a first step, Neil has looked more closely 285 00:16:57.249 --> 00:16:59.985 at Big Bull’s original blood sample for clues. 286 00:17:02.354 --> 00:17:03.889 JAMES: From the blood samples you took when you caught 287 00:17:03.956 --> 00:17:06.158 Big Bull were you able to tell if she was pregnant? 288 00:17:06.225 --> 00:17:10.195 NEIL: The bad news is that she was not pregnant, based on the blood work, 289 00:17:10.262 --> 00:17:14.099 the good news is that she had recently given birth. 290 00:17:14.166 --> 00:17:15.401 JAMES: Awesome. TOBY: Wow. 291 00:17:15.467 --> 00:17:18.604 JAMES: So her offspring are potentially off the coast right now. 292 00:17:18.670 --> 00:17:21.073 TOBY: So she might have grandchildren and 293 00:17:21.140 --> 00:17:23.075 maybe even great-grandchildren. 294 00:17:23.142 --> 00:17:26.145 We can do DNA fingerprinting that will give us a 295 00:17:26.211 --> 00:17:29.581 measurement of how closely any two sharks are related. 296 00:17:32.051 --> 00:17:35.521 NARRATOR: Is Big Bull populating the coast with big babies? 297 00:17:36.221 --> 00:17:39.124 They head back out to the shipwreck, 298 00:17:39.191 --> 00:17:41.894 but this time it won’t be just to observe. 299 00:17:43.362 --> 00:17:46.331 TOBY: Our goal on this expedition is to find one of 300 00:17:46.398 --> 00:17:50.202 her relatives and that can tell us a lot about the 301 00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:54.073 life history of this shark and the entire species. 302 00:17:55.574 --> 00:17:58.110 NARRATOR: Finding her offspring may also reveal the 303 00:17:58.177 --> 00:18:02.681 size of Big Bull’s range, the importance of her role in this 304 00:18:02.748 --> 00:18:06.518 community and even if she’s still out here. 305 00:18:09.822 --> 00:18:13.092 The team will go face to face with large bulls to get samples. 306 00:18:14.693 --> 00:18:16.962 And this time, instead of blood, 307 00:18:17.029 --> 00:18:19.064 it’ll be easier to get skin. 308 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:24.636 Shark skin is up to four inches thick in some species. 309 00:18:26.105 --> 00:18:28.640 Female shark skin, like Big Bull’s, 310 00:18:28.707 --> 00:18:31.810 is thicker than male skin so it can withstand bites 311 00:18:31.877 --> 00:18:33.512 they receive during mating. 312 00:18:35.214 --> 00:18:39.218 TOBY (off-screen): Studies have shown that in some species, 313 00:18:39.284 --> 00:18:45.290 the male tooth length corresponds to that thick skin 314 00:18:45.357 --> 00:18:47.326 in the female of the species. 315 00:18:49.061 --> 00:18:52.397 NARRATOR: They’ll easily handle a pinch from a biopsy spear. 316 00:18:53.098 --> 00:18:55.100 It’ll be like getting an ear pierced. 317 00:18:55.801 --> 00:18:58.303 But that doesn’t mean the sharks won’t react. 318 00:18:59.705 --> 00:19:02.074 TOBY: There’s a bunch of bull sharks on the surface. 319 00:19:02.141 --> 00:19:03.408 They’re right here. 320 00:19:03.475 --> 00:19:06.178 I mean, this is the chance that we’ve been waiting for. 321 00:19:07.112 --> 00:19:08.580 WOMAN: We're getting there. 322 00:19:08.647 --> 00:19:10.782 TOBY: All right so, you're gonna, I’m gonna stay on the surface, 323 00:19:10.849 --> 00:19:13.152 you’re gonna load the gun and hand it down. 324 00:19:13.218 --> 00:19:14.419 NEIL: Yep. TOBY: Okay. 325 00:19:17.556 --> 00:19:19.858 NARRATOR: They won’t need air tanks for this dive 326 00:19:19.925 --> 00:19:21.727 for one simple reason. 327 00:19:23.829 --> 00:19:27.299 The sharks are ready for them at the surface, 328 00:19:31.170 --> 00:19:32.571 too many to count. 329 00:19:35.607 --> 00:19:37.242 JAMES: Big one here. 330 00:19:40.078 --> 00:19:41.613 NARRATOR: Toby is here for science, 331 00:19:42.915 --> 00:19:45.651 but the sharks are here to eat. 332 00:19:57.396 --> 00:19:59.164 She gets a tissue sample. 333 00:19:59.898 --> 00:20:01.099 But then. 334 00:20:07.206 --> 00:20:09.374 NARRATOR: The giant shark Big Bull may be 335 00:20:09.441 --> 00:20:11.777 the largest living bull shark in the ocean. 336 00:20:13.078 --> 00:20:15.814 And she may have given rise to a new generation of bulls just 337 00:20:15.881 --> 00:20:19.218 like her, just off the coast of Florida. 338 00:20:22.020 --> 00:20:25.490 Dr. Toby Daly-Engel gets a DNA sample from a shark that could 339 00:20:25.557 --> 00:20:27.793 be one of Big Bull’s offspring. 340 00:20:30.062 --> 00:20:33.131 But something may want a piece of her as well. 341 00:20:38.036 --> 00:20:41.540 MAN: Wow, I can’t believe she did that. 342 00:20:42.874 --> 00:20:45.043 NARRATOR: The DNA expert is unharmed. 343 00:20:47.012 --> 00:20:48.747 It’s a freak occurrence. 344 00:20:49.915 --> 00:20:53.785 A mahi-mahi impaled itself on her biopsy spear. 345 00:20:55.921 --> 00:20:58.890 Now they scramble back to the boat before the fish blood 346 00:20:58.957 --> 00:21:00.225 attracts more sharks. 347 00:21:02.527 --> 00:21:05.130 Crew members take some of the fish for themselves. 348 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:09.935 The rest goes to the sharks. 349 00:21:11.169 --> 00:21:13.372 And draws more of them even closer. 350 00:21:15.874 --> 00:21:17.876 This mission just got a shot in the arm. 351 00:21:20.746 --> 00:21:23.982 It’s more dangerous now, but the more samples they get, 352 00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:27.019 the better chance they’ll have of finding Big Bull or 353 00:21:27.085 --> 00:21:28.587 one of her offspring. 354 00:21:29.121 --> 00:21:30.722 TOBY: There’s a ton of sharks in there. 355 00:21:30.789 --> 00:21:33.625 It's the perfect opportunity to sample these animals. 356 00:21:36.495 --> 00:21:38.930 JAMES: Certainly huge bull sharks around here. 357 00:21:39.364 --> 00:21:42.334 NARRATOR: It’s a good sign for a species that’s near threatened. 358 00:21:43.135 --> 00:21:46.471 And one of the sharks looks big enough to be the queen herself. 359 00:21:49.975 --> 00:21:52.010 JAMES: There’s a really huge bull shark down here. 360 00:21:52.077 --> 00:21:53.745 JAMES: Definitely worth... NEIL: Holy shit! 361 00:21:53.812 --> 00:21:55.280 JAMES: Definitely worth getting a sample. 362 00:21:55.347 --> 00:21:57.683 NEIL: Yeah, right here. Huge. 363 00:21:59.318 --> 00:22:00.986 NARRATOR: They switch to scuba gear so 364 00:22:01.053 --> 00:22:02.654 they can stay down longer. 365 00:22:03.655 --> 00:22:04.856 NEIL: We’ve got the take all opportunities to 366 00:22:04.923 --> 00:22:06.892 get that sample, all hands-on deck. 367 00:22:12.297 --> 00:22:14.733 NEIL (over radio): Woah, tons of sharks. 368 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:19.404 More swarming. Down below. 369 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.742 NARRATOR: These are all big bull sharks. 370 00:22:25.143 --> 00:22:27.913 But the largest is down deep. 371 00:22:30.782 --> 00:22:31.817 JAMES: Can’t get to her. 372 00:22:33.719 --> 00:22:35.454 It’s too dangerous to go down. 373 00:22:36.188 --> 00:22:37.889 Fingers crossed, she’ll come up. 374 00:22:43.962 --> 00:22:45.764 NARRATOR: They collect sample after sample. 375 00:22:47.399 --> 00:22:49.101 Any one of these younger sharks could have 376 00:22:49.167 --> 00:22:50.902 inherited Big Bull’s DNA. 377 00:22:53.672 --> 00:22:55.173 NEIL (over radio): Watch my back. 378 00:22:56.208 --> 00:22:58.577 NARRATOR: Biopsies from a dozen sharks. 379 00:23:03.849 --> 00:23:07.919 Then, finally, the largest of them comes up from the deep. 380 00:23:11.890 --> 00:23:13.625 It’s not quite Big Bull’s size. 381 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:16.595 NEIL (over radio): I’m going for that big one. 382 00:23:16.661 --> 00:23:17.929 NARRATOR: But a healthy female. 383 00:23:24.636 --> 00:23:26.004 JAMES (over radio): That was awesome. 384 00:23:27.305 --> 00:23:29.408 NEIL: We got it! 385 00:23:34.112 --> 00:23:35.213 TOBY: We've got DNA! 386 00:23:36.882 --> 00:23:38.517 NEIL: Just got a biopsy from a bull shark. 387 00:23:39.518 --> 00:23:41.319 It is wild down there right now. 388 00:23:43.054 --> 00:23:45.791 JAMES: Yeah, maybe 15 big bull sharks it’s unbelievable. 389 00:23:46.391 --> 00:23:47.225 Excellent. 390 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:50.962 That is definitely mission success. 391 00:23:52.998 --> 00:23:55.100 NARRATOR: Toby now has what she needs to find out if any 392 00:23:55.167 --> 00:23:57.502 of them are related to Big Bull. 393 00:24:01.773 --> 00:24:03.742 TOBY: Ooh, nice! 394 00:24:03.809 --> 00:24:06.178 So we’ve got a little bit of skin. 395 00:24:06.244 --> 00:24:08.079 That’s that black stuff that you can see. 396 00:24:08.146 --> 00:24:10.215 We can get a lot of DNA off of this. 397 00:24:13.051 --> 00:24:14.686 NARRATOR: Big Bull is not here, 398 00:24:15.253 --> 00:24:18.590 but she could have had as many as seven pups every two years 399 00:24:18.657 --> 00:24:19.991 for most of her life. 400 00:24:22.894 --> 00:24:26.164 So she may be the mother of more than 100 bull sharks. 401 00:24:28.767 --> 00:24:33.071 And she may still be out here, 40 years old, 402 00:24:33.138 --> 00:24:35.106 more than a foot longer. 403 00:24:35.173 --> 00:24:37.075 And still having pups. 404 00:24:39.611 --> 00:24:43.815 If so, Big Bull could be at a pupping ground right now. 405 00:24:45.317 --> 00:24:47.085 JAMES: Where is a good location to go and 406 00:24:47.152 --> 00:24:49.754 see if we can find her offspring? 407 00:24:49.821 --> 00:24:51.990 TOBY: Well the Indian River Lagoon is a 408 00:24:52.057 --> 00:24:54.326 hot spot for baby bull sharks. 409 00:24:54.392 --> 00:24:56.194 She could have given birth there. 410 00:24:58.296 --> 00:25:00.732 NARRATOR: While Toby heads to the lab to work on the samples, 411 00:25:02.534 --> 00:25:06.204 Neil and James head to Big Bull’s possible pupping ground, 412 00:25:07.572 --> 00:25:08.974 the Indian River Lagoon. 413 00:25:11.109 --> 00:25:13.411 Big Bull was first captured off Marathon. 414 00:25:14.646 --> 00:25:16.348 The wreck site they’ve searched is around 415 00:25:16.414 --> 00:25:18.216 three miles from Palm Beach. 416 00:25:20.085 --> 00:25:22.254 Now they head even farther north. 417 00:25:22.320 --> 00:25:25.524 And into the estuary that is the Indian River Lagoon. 418 00:25:27.292 --> 00:25:31.296 That’s more than 200 miles, well within her range. 419 00:25:33.298 --> 00:25:36.301 All bull sharks migrate once they reach maturity. 420 00:25:38.103 --> 00:25:40.338 Bulls may go as far north as New York. 421 00:25:42.207 --> 00:25:44.943 NEIL: Even if we don’t find her here in this lagoon, 422 00:25:45.644 --> 00:25:49.147 we should find evidence she gave birth here if we capture 423 00:25:49.214 --> 00:25:52.017 a small juvenile with her DNA signature. 424 00:25:54.653 --> 00:25:57.489 NARRATOR: Few sharks would venture into this brackish lagoon. 425 00:25:59.724 --> 00:26:01.459 But bull sharks are special. 426 00:26:02.861 --> 00:26:07.532 They have adapted to live in both saltwater and freshwater. 427 00:26:10.035 --> 00:26:14.205 Pregnant females like Big Bull can travel into the Indian River Lagoon 428 00:26:14.272 --> 00:26:17.509 to give birth, away from other predatory sharks. 429 00:26:19.844 --> 00:26:22.747 It’s just feet from a residential community but 430 00:26:22.814 --> 00:26:24.416 pregnant sharks, like Big Bull, 431 00:26:25.283 --> 00:26:28.553 may return here again and again every two years. 432 00:26:33.058 --> 00:26:35.293 Neil and James join up with marine biologist, 433 00:26:35.360 --> 00:26:38.063 Dr. Matt Ajemian, to see if Big Bull, 434 00:26:38.129 --> 00:26:40.365 or her pups are here. 435 00:26:41.266 --> 00:26:42.567 MATT: Under normal conditions, 436 00:26:42.634 --> 00:26:44.502 the Indian River Lagoon can support, 437 00:26:44.569 --> 00:26:46.338 a nursery habitat for these animals, 438 00:26:46.404 --> 00:26:47.472 or so we suspect. 439 00:26:48.073 --> 00:26:50.442 NARRATOR: The goal is to get more samples, 440 00:26:50.508 --> 00:26:52.577 but the brackish water is murky. 441 00:26:53.178 --> 00:26:54.679 NEIL: I mean the water is like coffee. 442 00:26:55.046 --> 00:26:57.048 NARRATOR: It’s way too dangerous to dive. 443 00:26:58.149 --> 00:27:01.152 Neil and James come prepared with some cutting-edge tech. 444 00:27:02.654 --> 00:27:06.124 JAMES: This Remote Operated Vehicle has a 4K underwater camera, 445 00:27:06.191 --> 00:27:09.928 and it’s also got the Blueprint Subsea Oculus Sonar. 446 00:27:09.995 --> 00:27:12.831 This is military grade technology that allows us to 447 00:27:12.897 --> 00:27:15.533 see through really dark murky water, 448 00:27:15.600 --> 00:27:17.235 for up to 100 feet. 449 00:27:17.302 --> 00:27:19.971 And that’s a game changer when you’re operating in these 450 00:27:20.038 --> 00:27:22.307 murky water conditions in the lagoon. 451 00:27:24.943 --> 00:27:27.746 NEIL: It essentially, shoots out this sound wave that 452 00:27:27.812 --> 00:27:30.048 bounces off objects, reflects back, 453 00:27:30.115 --> 00:27:31.850 and is able to form an image. 454 00:27:31.916 --> 00:27:33.251 And what I hope with this technology, 455 00:27:33.318 --> 00:27:36.855 is that we will see an SSO. 456 00:27:36.921 --> 00:27:38.189 A Shark Shaped Object! 457 00:27:47.332 --> 00:27:48.400 Can you see anything on this camera? 458 00:27:48.466 --> 00:27:50.468 JAMES: You cannot see anything through this water 459 00:27:50.535 --> 00:27:52.003 on the camera, nothing at all. 460 00:27:53.238 --> 00:27:55.273 NARRATOR: Only the sonar can see the abundance of 461 00:27:55.340 --> 00:27:56.875 potential shark food. 462 00:27:58.476 --> 00:27:59.878 It sees in the dark. 463 00:28:00.945 --> 00:28:03.348 But will it see bull shark pups? 464 00:28:04.716 --> 00:28:06.584 Or their big mammas? 465 00:28:07.385 --> 00:28:09.287 NEIL: What’s that? JAMES: There we go. There it is! 466 00:28:09.354 --> 00:28:11.790 NEIL: There’s a big shark coming in. 467 00:28:17.362 --> 00:28:19.698 NARRATOR: The enormous shark Big Bull may be 468 00:28:19.764 --> 00:28:22.367 the largest living bull shark in the ocean. 469 00:28:23.702 --> 00:28:27.706 She could have had more than 100 pups in her life time and 470 00:28:27.772 --> 00:28:30.041 she may be here in the Indian River Lagoon, 471 00:28:30.108 --> 00:28:32.077 giving birth to even more. 472 00:28:34.612 --> 00:28:37.182 NEIL: What’s that? JAMES: What do you think? 473 00:28:37.248 --> 00:28:38.083 That is big! 474 00:28:38.149 --> 00:28:40.118 NEIL: Yes yeah, and it’s moving like a shark! 475 00:28:42.020 --> 00:28:43.955 NARRATOR: Neil and James use a remote-controlled sub 476 00:28:44.022 --> 00:28:46.157 with sonar to search. 477 00:28:47.959 --> 00:28:48.960 NEIL: Shark shaped object confirmed. 478 00:28:49.027 --> 00:28:50.361 JAMES: There’s a second one coming in. 479 00:28:50.428 --> 00:28:51.730 NEIL: Yep, yep, coming in hot. 480 00:28:51.796 --> 00:28:52.831 And here’s a third one! 481 00:28:52.897 --> 00:28:53.832 JAMES: Amazing! 482 00:28:53.898 --> 00:28:54.999 NEIL: Okay, we’ve got three confirmations. 483 00:28:55.066 --> 00:28:56.000 JAMES: This is a good spot. 484 00:28:56.067 --> 00:28:58.303 NEIL: Let’s set up the drumlines here. 485 00:29:00.739 --> 00:29:04.175 NARRATOR: A new generation of supersized bulls could be here. 486 00:29:05.543 --> 00:29:08.813 And this is the same method Neil used when he 487 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:12.083 first captured Big Bull in 2012. 488 00:29:14.786 --> 00:29:17.155 NEIL: Whose got Shark, shark! Yeah, sharks on. 489 00:29:17.222 --> 00:29:19.491 Woah, woah, woah. Let it go. 490 00:29:19.557 --> 00:29:21.760 Watch the weight. Hold the rope. 491 00:29:21.826 --> 00:29:24.295 Watch out, just want to see its size. 492 00:29:24.996 --> 00:29:29.367 NEIL: Wow. We got a bull shark! Yes! 493 00:29:29.434 --> 00:29:30.769 NARRATOR: It’s a pup. 494 00:29:30.835 --> 00:29:32.504 Around a year old. 495 00:29:32.570 --> 00:29:35.273 Proof that this is a birthing ground. 496 00:29:37.308 --> 00:29:40.378 JAMES: We’ve got a beautiful one meter long baby bull shark. 497 00:29:40.445 --> 00:29:43.381 I’m just keeping the water going through his gills. 498 00:29:43.448 --> 00:29:44.916 Pull out here again. 499 00:29:45.683 --> 00:29:49.020 NARRATOR: Its DNA will reveal if it is one of Big Bull’s. 500 00:29:52.190 --> 00:29:56.561 If she’s still alive, Big Bull’s spawn may be all over this lagoon. 501 00:29:56.628 --> 00:29:58.830 NEIL: Perfectly adapted for this environment. 502 00:29:58.897 --> 00:30:00.632 It’s an incredible specimen, 503 00:30:00.698 --> 00:30:03.134 you can see just amazing power. 504 00:30:03.201 --> 00:30:07.305 Oh my goodness, I’ve never seen a Bull Shark this, small! 505 00:30:07.372 --> 00:30:08.206 Pretty much. 506 00:30:08.273 --> 00:30:09.374 You know, I work with the big ones and 507 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:10.642 I know it sounds kind of obvious, 508 00:30:10.708 --> 00:30:13.011 but it’s literally a miniature version of a big one! 509 00:30:13.077 --> 00:30:14.712 Just perfect! The perfect bull shark! 510 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:15.780 WOMAN: Maybe a little chubbier. 511 00:30:15.847 --> 00:30:17.015 MAN: Yeah, well, he's healthy. 512 00:30:17.081 --> 00:30:18.516 MAN 2: Gonna take a quick weight. 513 00:30:19.083 --> 00:30:21.319 NARRATOR: PhD student Shannon Barry, 514 00:30:21.386 --> 00:30:22.821 will take it from here. 515 00:30:23.588 --> 00:30:26.457 NEIL: So will we be able to know if Big Bull came in here 516 00:30:26.524 --> 00:30:28.092 and gave birth by? 517 00:30:28.159 --> 00:30:29.761 SHANNON: Yeah, if this is one of her offspring, 518 00:30:29.828 --> 00:30:32.096 we’ll be able to tell based on her genetics. 519 00:30:32.163 --> 00:30:33.231 NEIL: Incredible. 520 00:30:33.298 --> 00:30:34.265 SHANNON: So earlier this week, 521 00:30:34.332 --> 00:30:36.134 I received the Big Bull sample. 522 00:30:36.201 --> 00:30:38.670 She was part of a larger population study, 523 00:30:38.736 --> 00:30:41.940 so, uh, specifics into her genetic sequencing 524 00:30:42.006 --> 00:30:43.274 haven’t been done yet. 525 00:30:43.341 --> 00:30:46.477 So, I’m really excited to take a look closer at that and, 526 00:30:46.544 --> 00:30:49.113 um, hopefully try to find some of her offspring. 527 00:30:50.515 --> 00:30:53.718 NARRATOR: No sign of Big Bull, but if one of these pups is 528 00:30:53.785 --> 00:30:57.255 hers it’ll show that her range covers most all 529 00:30:57.322 --> 00:30:59.157 of Florida’s southern coast. 530 00:31:00.124 --> 00:31:04.896 It’ll also prove that she was alive as recently as a year ago! 531 00:31:07.131 --> 00:31:10.535 MATT: Awesome. There he goes! 532 00:31:10.602 --> 00:31:12.704 You see his little tag? Right there, look at that. Beautiful. 533 00:31:12.770 --> 00:31:13.771 NEIL: Yeah. SHANNON: Nice. 534 00:31:13.838 --> 00:31:16.074 MATT: Awesome job guys! 535 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:19.410 NARRATOR: They find more and more juveniles. 536 00:31:19.477 --> 00:31:20.879 MATT: That was, that was the first one. 537 00:31:20.945 --> 00:31:24.515 NARRATOR: These youngsters may live in this area for several years, 538 00:31:24.582 --> 00:31:26.584 growing strong on cat fish. 539 00:31:29.020 --> 00:31:31.055 NEIL: What a perfect specimen. 540 00:31:31.122 --> 00:31:33.157 NARRATOR: It’ll be about ten years before they 541 00:31:33.224 --> 00:31:35.360 can have pups of their own. 542 00:31:35.426 --> 00:31:38.363 SHANNON: 17.2 PCL. 543 00:31:38.963 --> 00:31:40.798 NARRATOR: Lab work will soon show if these 544 00:31:40.865 --> 00:31:42.867 sharks have Big Bull’s DNA. 545 00:31:48.206 --> 00:31:50.375 And, there’s one more lead to follow. 546 00:31:52.343 --> 00:31:54.379 To get to the size of Big Bull, 547 00:31:55.213 --> 00:31:59.684 a shark’s gotta eat, and they may have just found 548 00:31:59.751 --> 00:32:01.552 her favorite spot to hunt. 549 00:32:03.421 --> 00:32:06.724 35 miles south, outside Jupiter Inlet, 550 00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:11.129 a shark around the size of Big Bull has just been spotted 551 00:32:11.195 --> 00:32:14.966 from the air, gorging on fish. 552 00:32:16.100 --> 00:32:19.771 Could it be Big Bull or one of her supersized offspring? 553 00:32:27.545 --> 00:32:30.181 NARRATOR: Neil’s colleague Dr. Steve Kajiura studies 554 00:32:30.248 --> 00:32:33.484 shark movements from 500 feet above the ocean. 555 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:36.888 MAN (over radio): What kind of survey are you doing? 556 00:32:36.955 --> 00:32:39.557 STEVE (over radio): Uh, We’re counting sharks along the beach here. 557 00:32:39.624 --> 00:32:41.192 MAN (over radio): Oh nice. 558 00:32:44.729 --> 00:32:46.431 NARRATOR: But down below, it’s not the 559 00:32:46.497 --> 00:32:48.866 crystal clear ocean you’d expect. 560 00:32:53.137 --> 00:32:55.807 Dark clouds sprawl across the shallows. 561 00:32:57.542 --> 00:33:00.545 Look more closely, and they move. 562 00:33:02.046 --> 00:33:03.481 MAN (over radio): Wow look at that bait around the pier, 563 00:33:03.548 --> 00:33:05.416 wow that was cool. 564 00:33:05.483 --> 00:33:07.251 NARRATOR: This is the mullet run, 565 00:33:09.020 --> 00:33:12.457 millions of bait fish, and they are under attack. 566 00:33:13.591 --> 00:33:16.294 MAN (over radio): Oh, big ball of bait fish and some sharks hittin’ it. 567 00:33:16.361 --> 00:33:19.464 NARRATOR: It’s the easiest meal of the year for tarpons. 568 00:33:19.530 --> 00:33:22.367 And sharks. 569 00:33:28.172 --> 00:33:30.308 NARRATOR: There’s a feeding frenzy just outside of 570 00:33:30.375 --> 00:33:33.311 Florida’s Jupiter Inlet, the mullet run. 571 00:33:34.245 --> 00:33:37.415 Mega-shark Big Bull or her offspring might be feeding 572 00:33:37.482 --> 00:33:39.484 within it right now. 573 00:33:40.084 --> 00:33:43.788 Dr. Steve Kajiura watches this food-chain in action. 574 00:33:44.756 --> 00:33:47.091 STEVE (off-screen): When these bait fish are here in, in large numbers, 575 00:33:47.158 --> 00:33:50.495 it brings in the bigger predators like the, uh, like the sharks. 576 00:33:50.895 --> 00:33:52.864 NARRATOR: Under attack from below, 577 00:33:52.930 --> 00:33:54.298 the mullet scramble. 578 00:33:56.467 --> 00:33:59.170 Black tip sharks, and tarpons move in first. 579 00:33:59.804 --> 00:34:01.806 STEVE (over radio): We have a ball of baitfish, 580 00:34:02.407 --> 00:34:05.510 followed by more baitfish that were bisected by a... 581 00:34:05.576 --> 00:34:08.212 is that a shark or tarpon on the outside? 582 00:34:11.482 --> 00:34:12.383 NARRATOR: Then. 583 00:34:13.317 --> 00:34:14.485 STEVE (over radio): Loads of sharks down there. 584 00:34:14.552 --> 00:34:15.386 Whoa. 585 00:34:16.020 --> 00:34:17.855 NARRATOR: Bull sharks move in. 586 00:34:17.922 --> 00:34:19.057 STEVE (over radio): That’s a big shark. 587 00:34:19.123 --> 00:34:20.158 What is that? 588 00:34:20.825 --> 00:34:22.527 NARRATOR: One of them is large, 589 00:34:22.593 --> 00:34:24.395 around Big Bull’s size. 590 00:34:25.830 --> 00:34:27.999 It’s not here for the baitfish, 591 00:34:29.534 --> 00:34:31.936 it’s here to eat the other sharks. 592 00:34:35.973 --> 00:34:37.608 STEVE: You might have a bunch of baitfish that are 593 00:34:37.675 --> 00:34:39.444 attracting little black tips. 594 00:34:39.510 --> 00:34:41.546 Well, then those might be bringing in the big bull sharks 595 00:34:41.612 --> 00:34:43.448 to feed on the black tips in turn. 596 00:34:43.514 --> 00:34:45.950 And so, you've got this whole cascade that builds up, 597 00:34:46.017 --> 00:34:47.885 from just the presence of these little tiny fish 598 00:34:47.952 --> 00:34:51.022 influencing huge things like, like Big Bull. 599 00:34:52.990 --> 00:34:54.926 STEVE (over radio) Lots of sharks, lots of sharks. 600 00:34:54.992 --> 00:34:55.827 Look at that. 601 00:34:56.227 --> 00:34:57.328 That’s a big shark. 602 00:34:57.395 --> 00:34:58.963 Look, that’s not a black tip. 603 00:35:00.164 --> 00:35:01.632 A big bull shark. 604 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:05.870 NARRATOR: Steve transmits the location to James and Neil. 605 00:35:05.937 --> 00:35:08.372 STEVE (over radio): Hey Neil, I’ve got some coordinates for you. 606 00:35:09.073 --> 00:35:10.541 NARRATOR: They’ll need to move fast to catch 607 00:35:10.608 --> 00:35:12.210 the mullet run in action. 608 00:35:14.212 --> 00:35:17.215 This may be their best chance of finding Big Bull. 609 00:35:18.549 --> 00:35:21.352 Or it might prove Neil’s theory that Big Bull has 610 00:35:21.419 --> 00:35:23.788 given birth to other Big Bull sharks. 611 00:35:26.023 --> 00:35:28.092 But the skies are no longer safe. 612 00:35:29.827 --> 00:35:31.295 STEVE (over radio): I got some clouds going in 613 00:35:31.362 --> 00:35:33.231 from the, uh, northwest here. 614 00:35:34.098 --> 00:35:35.666 NARRATOR: It’s a record year for storms. 615 00:35:36.767 --> 00:35:39.437 STEVE (over radio): Hey Neil, looks like you’ve got some weather 616 00:35:39.504 --> 00:35:41.272 moving in towards you right now. 617 00:35:43.174 --> 00:35:45.009 NARRATOR: Kajiura has no choice. 618 00:35:45.076 --> 00:35:46.377 He has to land. 619 00:35:46.444 --> 00:35:48.446 MAN (over radio): Runway three to Kajiura. 620 00:35:48.513 --> 00:35:49.514 STEVE (over radio): Roger. 621 00:35:49.580 --> 00:35:52.150 MAN (over radio): Kajiura. Good land, runway 3307. 622 00:35:56.287 --> 00:35:58.289 NARRATOR: But Neil and James aren’t giving up, 623 00:35:58.789 --> 00:36:01.692 if they can find Big Bull or her pups, 624 00:36:01.759 --> 00:36:04.228 it will show hope for the species. 625 00:36:04.962 --> 00:36:06.964 JAMES (off-screen): Last night we had lightening, thunder; 626 00:36:07.031 --> 00:36:08.833 today we’ve got that on the forecast, 627 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:11.102 so we want to get out as quickly as possible. 628 00:36:11.169 --> 00:36:12.236 NEIL (off-screen): It's not looking pretty, 629 00:36:12.303 --> 00:36:14.172 but I think it's workable and you know, 630 00:36:14.238 --> 00:36:15.506 we're just, we're running out of time. 631 00:36:15.573 --> 00:36:16.807 So we got to get out there. 632 00:36:38.296 --> 00:36:40.331 NARRATOR: After an hour of pounding they 633 00:36:40.398 --> 00:36:42.200 finally reach the location. 634 00:36:42.266 --> 00:36:44.669 JAMES: It’s been an absolute epic journey to get out 635 00:36:44.735 --> 00:36:47.071 of 10 to 12 feet swells. 636 00:36:47.438 --> 00:36:49.507 But it’s definitely worth it, we’re here now. 637 00:36:50.608 --> 00:36:52.743 NARRATOR: It’s too rough for scuba gear and 638 00:36:52.810 --> 00:36:54.478 laser measuring devices. 639 00:36:55.713 --> 00:36:58.716 They’ll free dive on the outskirts of the mullet run, 640 00:36:59.150 --> 00:37:01.786 and try to get DNA from the largest bull sharks, 641 00:37:03.688 --> 00:37:05.223 maybe Big Bull. 642 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:23.341 Big sharks. 643 00:37:23.441 --> 00:37:26.811 But here the big ones are lemon sharks. 644 00:37:30.181 --> 00:37:32.116 Lemons are formidable predators. 645 00:37:33.017 --> 00:37:35.953 They’re assertive and outnumber the bulls. 646 00:37:36.020 --> 00:37:38.055 But nowhere near as deadly and not what 647 00:37:38.122 --> 00:37:39.690 Neil and James are after. 648 00:37:42.426 --> 00:37:43.294 Then. 649 00:37:44.528 --> 00:37:45.363 Bulls. 650 00:37:47.131 --> 00:37:48.733 Two big ones. 651 00:37:51.502 --> 00:37:53.204 One comes in fast. 652 00:37:58.476 --> 00:38:00.311 Neil has his probe in position, 653 00:38:02.380 --> 00:38:04.215 but he must wait for the right moment. 654 00:38:10.621 --> 00:38:11.555 Bull’s eye! 655 00:38:12.023 --> 00:38:13.924 JAMES (over radio): Nice shot! 656 00:38:13.991 --> 00:38:15.226 NARRATOR: One down. 657 00:38:15.293 --> 00:38:18.062 But they also want a sample from the second larger shark. 658 00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:26.937 It could even be the queen of bull sharks herself, Big Bull. 659 00:38:31.075 --> 00:38:33.144 NARRATOR: But a gang of lemon sharks moves in. 660 00:38:36.180 --> 00:38:38.482 And one of them locks in on James. 661 00:38:50.561 --> 00:38:52.830 NARRATOR: Neil and James want a biopsy from a shark down 662 00:38:52.897 --> 00:38:55.366 below that may be Big Bull, 663 00:38:56.500 --> 00:38:59.370 possibly the largest bull shark in the ocean. 664 00:39:02.006 --> 00:39:04.842 But a swarm of aggressive lemon sharks pins them down. 665 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:12.216 One of them sees James as a target. 666 00:39:22.393 --> 00:39:23.928 James deflects an attack. 667 00:39:26.030 --> 00:39:27.798 And covers their retreat. 668 00:39:37.074 --> 00:39:38.409 JAMES: I think that’s enough for now. 669 00:39:38.476 --> 00:39:41.779 The lemons are getting way too intense. 670 00:39:41.846 --> 00:39:43.948 I think someone’s going to get bit at some point. 671 00:39:44.014 --> 00:39:45.483 My camera certainly did. 672 00:39:57.094 --> 00:39:59.296 NEIL: We’re super lucky that we got one biopsy because 673 00:39:59.363 --> 00:40:02.533 those bulls were staying deep and any time they came kind of 674 00:40:02.600 --> 00:40:04.969 close the lemons would charge. 675 00:40:08.572 --> 00:40:10.174 NARRATOR: It’s just too dangerous. 676 00:40:10.775 --> 00:40:12.176 They decide to call it. 677 00:40:13.277 --> 00:40:16.647 But Toby has been working on the DNA they already collected. 678 00:40:17.281 --> 00:40:18.749 And she has results. 679 00:40:20.217 --> 00:40:23.020 Was Big Bull just a freakish anomaly? 680 00:40:23.387 --> 00:40:27.158 Or has she given rise to a new generation of giants up and 681 00:40:27.224 --> 00:40:28.993 down the Florida coast? 682 00:40:33.330 --> 00:40:36.200 TOBY: We pretty much expected to get nothing, right, 683 00:40:36.267 --> 00:40:39.603 I mean finding two related sharks should be 684 00:40:39.670 --> 00:40:41.405 like a needle in a haystack. 685 00:40:41.472 --> 00:40:43.674 NEIL: Like a huge ocean haystack. 686 00:40:43.741 --> 00:40:48.913 TOBY: Huge haystack, and not only did we find offspring 687 00:40:48.979 --> 00:40:52.016 we found three offspring of Big Bull. 688 00:40:52.082 --> 00:40:53.384 NEIL: Are you kidding me? 689 00:40:53.451 --> 00:40:54.785 JAMES: That’s and amazing story, that’s good news. 690 00:40:54.852 --> 00:40:55.686 TOBY: Yeah. 691 00:40:56.287 --> 00:40:59.290 JAMES: So her offspring are potentially off the coast somewhere now. 692 00:40:59.356 --> 00:41:02.626 TOBY: Not potentially, they’re definitely there. 693 00:41:05.029 --> 00:41:08.098 NARRATOR: The big question is where were they found? 694 00:41:08.799 --> 00:41:11.202 Is Big Bull having pups in just one area, 695 00:41:11.268 --> 00:41:14.104 or spreading her DNA all over Florida? 696 00:41:16.240 --> 00:41:17.641 NEIL: Where were these offspring? 697 00:41:17.708 --> 00:41:19.210 TOBY: Well a couple of different places, 698 00:41:19.276 --> 00:41:21.645 so we actually got one at the shipwreck. 699 00:41:22.947 --> 00:41:24.682 NEIL: No kidding that’s deep water, 700 00:41:24.748 --> 00:41:26.283 I mean those were some big sharks. 701 00:41:26.350 --> 00:41:28.652 TOBY: Yeah, those were not baby sharks. 702 00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:30.754 NARRATOR: The sharks they sampled at the wreck were 703 00:41:30.821 --> 00:41:32.623 around ten years old. 704 00:41:33.624 --> 00:41:35.392 They could even be from the litter Big Bull had 705 00:41:35.459 --> 00:41:39.230 just before her original capture in 2012. 706 00:41:41.432 --> 00:41:45.903 TOBY: The second sample came from Indian River Lagoon. 707 00:41:47.171 --> 00:41:49.006 NEIL: From one of the small sharks that we sampled? 708 00:41:49.073 --> 00:41:51.041 That’s insane. 709 00:41:51.108 --> 00:41:51.942 TOBY: I know. 710 00:41:52.009 --> 00:41:55.079 I ran this data about 100 times because I, I thought 711 00:41:55.145 --> 00:41:56.480 I had to be wrong. 712 00:41:58.616 --> 00:42:00.184 NARRATOR: This is the pup. 713 00:42:00.251 --> 00:42:02.786 WOMAN: Aw, he has a tiny little mouth. 714 00:42:02.853 --> 00:42:04.288 NARRATOR: Just a year old. 715 00:42:04.355 --> 00:42:06.056 NEIL: It’s an incredible specimen. 716 00:42:06.724 --> 00:42:08.492 NARRATOR: And from Big Bull herself, 717 00:42:10.094 --> 00:42:14.932 which means it’s likely Big Bull is still out there. 718 00:42:14.999 --> 00:42:16.967 NEIL: This blows my mind. 719 00:42:17.034 --> 00:42:22.172 I never expected to be able to actually identify offspring of Big Bull 720 00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:26.076 suggesting that she’s still not only alive but reproducing. 721 00:42:26.143 --> 00:42:27.444 Where else? 722 00:42:27.711 --> 00:42:31.715 TOBY: Well the third offspring was one of the big sharks that 723 00:42:31.782 --> 00:42:33.584 was following the mullet run. 724 00:42:33.651 --> 00:42:34.652 NEIL: That’s amazing. 725 00:42:36.320 --> 00:42:39.256 NARRATOR: Four locations off the Florida coast, 726 00:42:39.323 --> 00:42:41.325 from Marathon where she was captured, 727 00:42:41.992 --> 00:42:44.595 to the wreck site, to the mullet run area, 728 00:42:44.662 --> 00:42:47.398 and all the way up to the Indian River Lagoon, 729 00:42:48.265 --> 00:42:50.834 at least a 200-mile range. 730 00:42:51.569 --> 00:42:53.938 TOBY: The fact that we are finding her offspring in these 731 00:42:54.004 --> 00:42:58.375 different places shows that she represents an important 732 00:42:58.442 --> 00:43:02.046 biological linkage between these different habitats. 733 00:43:02.112 --> 00:43:03.180 NEIL: Incredible. 734 00:43:03.247 --> 00:43:04.315 JAMES: So given that. 735 00:43:04.381 --> 00:43:07.217 She’s potentially had many children over her life time. 736 00:43:07.284 --> 00:43:09.954 TOBY: Yeah, she may have grandchildren or even 737 00:43:10.020 --> 00:43:12.156 great grandchildren out there somewhere. 738 00:43:12.723 --> 00:43:13.791 JAMES: Awesome. 739 00:43:15.659 --> 00:43:18.095 NARRATOR: There’s no sign yet that Big Bull’s offspring are 740 00:43:18.162 --> 00:43:19.797 any bigger than normal. 741 00:43:20.798 --> 00:43:22.333 But there’s a lot of them. 742 00:43:22.399 --> 00:43:26.403 And with any luck they’ll have inherited her knack for survival. 743 00:43:27.605 --> 00:43:30.107 She also may still be out there. 744 00:43:30.541 --> 00:43:33.477 And a important matriarch of an enormous family. 745 00:43:34.044 --> 00:43:35.779 NEIL: Encountering such a large shark, 746 00:43:36.213 --> 00:43:38.882 for me, is actually a sign of hope. 747 00:43:39.883 --> 00:43:44.288 It means that this animal was able to make it past all 748 00:43:44.355 --> 00:43:47.257 the threats and grow to be this size. 749 00:43:47.324 --> 00:43:49.860 It also means there are likely other big Bull Sharks 750 00:43:49.927 --> 00:43:52.129 that are still out there yet to be discovered. 751 00:43:53.797 --> 00:43:56.767 NARRATOR: Neil may never see Big Bull again, 752 00:43:56.834 --> 00:43:58.769 but he has swum with her children. 753 00:43:59.370 --> 00:44:02.406 They have her DNA, and given time, 754 00:44:02.573 --> 00:44:05.309 one of them may also claim the title of 755 00:44:05.376 --> 00:44:08.379 the world’s biggest bull shark! 756 00:44:08.445 --> 00:44:09.580 Captioned by Cotter Media Group.