Off the Fence - Go Wild

Shark Gordon is aboard a spotter plane above Ningaloo Reef, off the West Coast of Australia, where some of the largest animals on earth are about to hold their annual meeting. Whale sharks, among the gentle giants of the sea, congregate at Ningaloo every April and May, but exactly where they come from, and where they go after they leave remains a mystery to scientists. Ian is here to help Dr John Stevens from Australia?s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization), who is trying to track these huge creatures with limited success. The tethered transmitters he has been using so far have been detaching from the sharks. Ian thinks he can attach a plate to the shark?s fin that will keep the transmitter closer to the animal and upload data to a satellite whenever it comes to the surface. He goes through the plan with John and Peter Lake, a whale shark tour operator and one of the world?s most experienced whale shark divers. It?s been five years since Ian has swum with a whale shark and, even after 20 years? experience with sharks, tagging one of these will be his biggest job yet. They have just two weeks to find the right sized shark and attach the tag before the sharks pass a particular patch of reef. Ian explains the natural wonder that attracts these huge animals to the reef. The coral is made up of tiny individual animals. Once every year around this time they all spawn together on a massive scale, stimulated by the tide and light from the full moon. Hundreds of whale sharks descend on Ningaloo to indulge in this ultra fine feast. Despite its huge mouth the whale shark is a forced filter feeder and Ian reassures us it's not going to bite anyone. However, if the animal is disturbed, an accidental stroke from its powerful tail could inflict serious harm. Before tagging begins the spotter plane directs the researchers to a magical slow circle dance being performed by the sharks. A 30-foot (9.2 metre) male shark, with a previous tagging history, is targeted to wear the $5000 tag. The hole in his fin tells them he is ?Sharkbite?, one of the first whale sharks to be identified here in 1984. Things take a turn for the worse when Sharkbite manages to dislodge his tag and winds of over 30 knots plague the mission for several days. With just one day remaining a new tag arrives on board and Ian and Peter prepare for their last chance ? fitting the bolt using a compressed air drill. After an exhausting chase the mission is accomplished. But it could take years of transmissions and study to determine the true movements of the whale shark.

Presenter Ian Gordon is about to introduce us to one of only a few sharks that make him really nervous - the Oceanic White Tip, deep in the open ocean off the Hawaiian Islands.\nIt's a fast, aggressive pack hunter with a mean reputation and Ian warns that if your plane or boat goes down at sea and you survive your next problem is "the sailor's nightmare"!

A survivor of one of the most horrible sinkings of World War II, Ed Brown, lived that nightmare with 900 others who found themselves floundering in the Pacific Ocean 12 minutes after their ship USS Indianapolis was torpedoed. Ed tells how within minutes dozens of sharks, many of them thought to be Oceanic White Tips, were circling the survivors. As soon as a survivor drifted away from the group they'd get hit. Ed was one of just 360 to survive five days of shark circling torture.

Back then there was no useful defence against attack from Oceanic White Tips. Today there is and Ian is looking forward to meeting his favourite shark, one of the most dangerous, face to face to test the effectiveness of the latest anti shark device. Invented in South Africa to try and repel sharks from beach meshed areas rather than kill them, Ian has tested the POD on white sharks and although it's supposed to work on Oceanic White Tips they're less predictable.\nIt's a risky job and the crew and cameramen are warned to be exceptionally careful, particularly if the sharks get too excited. \nIan explains that in the event of a problem introducing another safety diver would be delivering "a lamb to the slaughter". It's serious stuff.

These sharks are known to attack suddenly without reason so Ian first takes to the water to test their reaction to the electric shark stick, which gives the shark a single jolt of electricity. Right on cue an 7ft (2.1 metre) Oceanic White Tip, big enough to tear him apart, swims up and gets a little too close even for a shark lover's comfort. The jolt makes him cautious, but he's still interested.\nIan manages to touch the shark's tail and both he and producer/camerman Mike Bhana emerge celebrating the buzz of swimming with such a dangerous animal.\nNext day Ian plans to test the POD unit on the sharks. The crew enjoy an awesome display of melon-head and Blainesville beaked whales, but no sharks to be seen.\nAnother day, another bucket of berley (bait) and the only killer Ian finds is an old piece of net drifting in the ocean. \nA spotter plane tracks a pod of pilot whales shadowed by Oceanic White Tips and Ian prepares to join them, this time testing the POD which fires continuous shots of electric field around the diver.\nHowever, if Ian uses his scuba gear today he'll risk decompression sickness as his flight leaves Hawaii tonight. He has to test the POD while snorkelling. He takes the electric stick for back up. Because the POD unit is designed to sit on a scuba tank Ian can feel the electric field himself and doesn't activate it until the shark gets extremely close. He's definitely interested but there's a line the animal just won't cross.\nIan is relieved to see the technology works on this species also.\nHe predicts a lot more high risk divers will be using the POD in their work and eventually this technology will be used in lifejackets to offer peace of mind to those like Ed, who faced the sailor's nightmare.\nIan concludes the Oceanic White Tip is the "scariest shark" he's ever dived with, but it's still his favourite.

At about 3ft (0.9 metres) long the unusual looking Port Jackson is not the most dangerous shark in the ocean, but possibly one of the more fascinating.Presenter Ian Gordon takes us to Jervis Bay Marine Park, on the New South Wales coast south of Sydney, for the Port Jackson shark breeding season where he hopes to clear up a mystery surrounding their eggs.The unusually shaped eggs, known as ?mermaid's purses', are protected inside springy coils. There is a widely held theory that Port Jackson mums wedge these eggs into rock crevices to keep them safe and secure.Ian plans to find out if they do.These harmless sharks are only found around Australia and spend the daytime resting on the sea bed, making them easy prey for Ian's experiment.He catches one and demonstrates the intense power of their jaws, designed to crush shellfish.To determine whether these sharks are loyal to a home breeding ground Ian selects and tags a Flintstone foursome, Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty, names well suited to the Port Jackson's prehistoric look".The Flintstones are taken from their home reef and released several miles (about 3 km) away.Meanwhile

Presenter Ian Gordon takes us along on a 1000-mile (1600km) air rescue mission to help save the rapidly declining populations of Grey Nurse sharks in the wild.Australia's new Melbourne Aquarium needs a young female Grey Nurse to start its captive breeding programme.The lucky girl is Julie, an 8ft (2.4 metre) four-year-old Grey Nurse, born at Mooloolaba Seaworld on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.We visit Seal Rocks, 300 miles north of Sydney, an area where Grey Nurse sharks lived in abundance 20 years ago. There is scarcely a Grey Nurse in sight today.Australia moved to protect these sharks, not prone to human attacks, in 1984, but not a moment too soon.Ian explains the importance of captive populations as both a study tool and reservoir of breeding stocks.Mooloolaba holds the world's largest captive Grey Nurse population where their visibly sharp teeth and fierce appearance make them a big hit with the public.Julie will be ready to breed in a year or two, which makes her a valuable specimen. Ian teams up with Melbourne Aquarium's curator of sharks, Craig Thorburn, to capture Julie using a new clear experimental tube and fly her in a specially-designed one and a half ton (1.5 tonne) tank to her new home in Melbourne.But it can be a risky procedure. If Julie gets too stressed during the transfer the resulting increase in toxins in her system could kill her.She amazes Ian and Craig by swimming calmly into the tube.They tilt her to make her belch, which will help her sink and lie flat in the transport tank. It's then all hands on deck to help carry the 230 pound (104 kg) shark by stretcher to the transport tank.Blood samples are taken to analyse stress factors and water quality in the tank is critical.Ian and Craig aren't taking any chances - they're in for a long night of regular checks on Julie's condition.Julie is whisked off as guest of honor onto a regular freight flight where Ian and Craig play ?Flying Doctors' to the ?Flying Nurse' maintaining her condition for the two-hour flight to Melbourne.Once in the holding pool at Melbourne Julie is clearly keen to stretch her fins and explore her new home. It's been a textbook transfer.As is expected Julie is initially sinking a bit and Ian guides her to the surface, encouraging her to gulp some air into her stomach to help her flotation.Four months later Ian checks on Julie's progress. The males have been following her closely. Craig now has the beginnings of a breeding population, which means Grey Nurse sharks to study for years to come.Ian's work is over - it's now over to Julie to impress the boys!

Shark Gordon takes us to an underwater mountain top in Mexico's Sea of Cortez for the annual school reunion of one of the most bizarre looking sharks in the sea - the Scalloped Hammerhead.\nForty miles (64 km) from the Mexican seaport of La Paz is El Bajo, an underwater seamount where scientists first discovered these Hammerheads in large schools.\nThe sharks gather for about three months while water temperatures are cool, but as presenter Ian Gordon finds out, the ferocity of local storms can make for poor water visibility and difficult diving conditions.\nLocal marine biology expert and dive guide Rocio Lozano explains how the numbers have varied hugely over the past 10 years, but there can be hundreds of Hammerheads at this amazing gathering.\nAnchored nightly at the island of Espiritu Santo, in case a storm hits, the crew makes the two-hour trip to El Bajo.\nOn the way Ian takes a playful dive with some inquisitive Californian sea lions.\nCharts and navigational aids pinpoint the spot. Straight below Ian shows us where El Bajo drops down 2000 ft (615 metres).\nBut there are no hammerheads. Visibility is poor and Ian's scuba bubbles may be scaring the sharks.\nHe dons a specialist rebreather kit, which removes the CO2 from his breath and replaces it with fresh oxygen, releasing fewer bubbles. The dangerous blend of gases used in the system means there's a lot more potential for disaster. Ian and the crew have incorporated his communications mask into this technology. Diving doesn't get more complicated than this!\nAn Olive Ridley sea turtle appears to be undisturbed by Ian and then he spots the Hammerheads. But at 146 ft (45 metres) the 40 animals in the school are too deep for Ian and cameraman Mike Bhana to get close to. The rebreather equipment limits them to no deeper than 117 ft (36 metres) and poor visibility has them rethinking their strategy.\nThen El Dorito, a renowned local electrical storm, which translated means "little bull'', rages in shaking up the murky sea some more.\nThe crew decides to come back in autumn when the water is cooler and the sharks come up to a shallower depth.\nMeantime, Ian heads to Hawaii's Coconut Island to check out the latest scientific theory that Hammerheads may navigate their way to El Bajo via an electromagnetic sixth sense. Here Steve Cordura from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology has been experimenting with baby Hammerheads using electric currents to create tiny magnetic fields that attract the sharks.\nIt's autumn back in La Paz. Conditions are better and Ian is hoping for 60ft (18.4 metres) water visibility.\nBut El Bajo is a popular dive site - the dive boats gather and Hammerheads are naturally shy.....still no Hammerheads.\nNitrogen build-up in his blood means Ian can't dive anymore today, so Rocio and cameraman Adam Jones take over the hunt. Just Ian's luck! They come across a large school. Growing up to 13ft (4 metres) long, Scalloped Hammerheads are big enough to be nasty, but unlikely to attack unless provoked.\nFinally Ian gets his chance - a school of 30 to 40 sharks where the females outnumber the males by about six to one, probably for mating reasons. Ian detects the "love bites" to prove it!\nFinally he has witnessed El Bajo's legendary Hammerhead school. He celebrates with his Mexican mates.\nStatistics suggest there's been a massive population decline and this concerns Ian greatly.\nHowever, efforts are being made to conserve stocks. Ian hopes he can repeat this unforgettable experience in years to come.

Presenter Ian Gordon is at Miami Beach along the Florida coastline, notorious for its shark attacks. Ian is about to embark on one of his most dangerous experiments yet to find out why sharks attack people and what can be done to stop them.\nHe's about to get uncomfortably close to some very large Bull sharks, the most dangerous sharks in the world. They grow up to 11 ft (3.3 metres) long, can weigh nearly 700 pounds (318 kg) and kill more of their human victims than Tiger sharks or Great Whites!

Ian hops on a plane to Walkers Cay in the Bahamas, just 100 miles northeast of Miami, for a short boat ride to an unusual classroom where shark behaviourist, Dr Erich Ritter, teaches students how to make shark encounters safer.\nErich's class is gathered amid a feeding maelstrom of up to 100 feeding Caribbean and Black Tip sharks. They're learning about the communication and body language between humans and sharks.\nUnderwater with the feeding sharks Erich disproves the myth that sharks mistake humans for food.

Ian's excitement is evident as he and Erich prepare to experiment with much larger and more dangerous Bull sharks in shallow water, with no cages, no mesh suits or anti-shark protection devices.\nIan explains that the Bull sharks ability to swim in freshwater as well as salt water means it not only attacks people when they least expect it, but where they least expect it.

It's time for the world famous Walkers Cay Shark Rodeo, a "feeding frenzy" of 100 sharks. But Erich says that sharks sense our fear. He proves his theory that erratic or animated movements accompanying fear seem to attract sharks.\nErich's class observes the shark's safety zone from the seabed while masses of sharks attack the large block of frozen bait strung above them. \nHe believes many shark attacks are actually a defensive bite.\nEven when part of the bait block breaks away and cameraman Mike Bhana ends up in the middle of the ruck, he's not bitten.\nBoth Erich and Ian agree if you run from a shark it may sense your fear, or think you have food and give chase.

Erich and Ian wade into shark-infested shallow water smearing blood and fish heads around their legs to prove that sharks are too intelligent to mistake humans for food. A heart-rate monitor reminds them to stay calm and Ian even manages to safely hand feed a large Bull shark. The adrenalin builds as Ian and Erich are knocked out of the way by five or six 9 ft (2.7 metre) sharks going for the bait.\nFinally Erich and Ian illustrate how rising heart rates and running away can dramatically change a shark's attitude towards us.\nIt's about as dangerous an experiment as Ian is prepared to attempt.\nIan warns not to try this at home and concludes with some scary statistics; \nmore Americans are injured by toilets than by sharks!

It begins in the egg or the womb, and it isn't over even when the breath of life has finally departed the body. From birth to death and all those formative times in between; like growing up, leaving home, finding food and home building, this is a pacy romp through the weird and wonderful ways animals have of coping with the tough situations life throws at them.

Wherever there's life there's sex. Wild Sex shows us just how wild and weird nature can be when it comes to satisfying the carnal urge. There are fighters, dancers, posers, sneakers, orgies and sex changes... But is sex worth all the trouble?

Treacherous natural death traps have been killing animals since life began and then preserving their victims so we can find their remains and learn their stories. Some traps are still killing today, while others go back half a billion years to some of the earliest life on the planet. Now skilled paleo-detectives are unlocking the secrets of these natural death traps. They're putting flesh on long-dead bones at traps from the Arctic to Australia, from Canada to Mexico, and even in downtown Los Angeles. The traps are shedding light on age-old mysteries, such as why so many of the world's big mammals died out at the end of the last great ice age.

From a specially-designed shark cage Ian Gordon introduces us to the ultimate predator, a 16-foot (4.9metre), 2200lb (1000kg) great white shark, one of the most feared animals on earth. He explains that these sharks have a nasty reputation for unprovoked attacks on humans, but Ian is out to show us that there is more to them than the image of a mindless killer. Great whites have been one of his greatest loves in 20 years of shark research, but in two to three decades of study about these animals researchers have only managed to scratch the surface when it comes to their behavior. Apart from the danger involved in approaching them, their mobility and the fact that they live in deep, often rough, water makes them even harder to study. Ian sets off from South Australia?s Spencer Gulf, where they filmed the great white sharks for the movie Jaws. He plans to attach a special data tag to a great white for Australia?s scientific research organization, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization). This will record the depth and temperature of the water the shark moves through. Further up the coast Ian tosses the berley (bait) bag off the boat to create a scent trail that lures the white sharks away from their popular Neptune Island hunting ground, home to a massive colony of New Zealand fur seals. Most of the great whites attracted to the boat are instantly recognisable to Ian, as the 16 foot (4.9 metre), 2,200lb (1000kg) to 2,300lb (1045kg) ?D8? and her gang. They have been tagged by Ian during the last few years and still wear his visual ID tags. Ian dons his dry-suit, hops in the shark cage and takes us down to meet D8, who gets a little aggressive with the cage as she goes for the bait. In 1996 he climbed out of the cage to test a shark pod on one of the whites. Fortunately a close call then had a happy ending. But he warns their massive jaws have a deadly reputation and swimming outside a cage with them is taking a big risk. As more of D8?s gang circulate Ian is more convinced of his theory that they probably hunt ambush style in packs. He believes they are thinking, social animals ? not just cold killing machines. Ian misses his first chance to tag ?Jackie?, the 12-foot (3.6 metre) target for the CSIRO?s tag. Then the mission is temporarily halted as a huge storm blows through. Surprisingly, though, D8 and the gang are still around at the end of it, and once a few ?strangers? arrive Ian goes underwater to show us the unmistakable body language evident among the pack and the ?outsiders?. Jackie lunges for the bait at the rear of the boat giving Ian the perfect opportunity to secure her new tag. Her movements over the next five years will now be closely monitored.