Wildlife Instincts: The Dangerous & Deadly Journey of the Florida Mullet | Free Documentary Nature

the sun-kissed florida coastline every autumn a mysterious shadow gathers at the water's edge millions of fish synchronized in shoals larger than football fields moving like a gigantic swirling tornado pitting themselves against a frenzied assault from above and beneath the waves this peaceful shoreline is transformed into a battlefield with a primordial instinct to gather in their millions for just a short window each year these fish leave themselves vulnerable to hurricanes toxic algae and predatory attacks from some of the biggest fish around nevertheless survival of their species depends on it [Music] [Music] early september it's still a sticky 30 degrees celsius here in florida but there are subtle signs that the season is changing this is singer island on the southeastern edge of the florida peninsula this eight kilometer sandy stretch accompanied by high-rise buildings is an unlikely setting for a wildlife mystery [Music] but it is here that wildlife photographer michael o'neill first captured a strange phenomenon the first time i saw this giant school of fish coming down the beach close to the shoreline i was extremely curious because i had never seen it before it looked like a giant serpent swimming down the coastline i couldn't wait to study it and photograph it and find out what it was this giant shawl only appears between september and october with a window of just a few days now is the right time to see it again and the crew must be ready for every opportunity it has been witnessed numerous times along the coastline from singer island ranging 120 kilometers to the north with singer island as the starting point michael and the film crew embark on their journey of discovery their aim to travel northwards and intercept the shoal as the fish move in the opposite direction to the crew with diving equipment underwater cameras and an aerial drone at the ready they are fully prepared to capture the spectacle from the water and from the air car looks like we have a big patch the team have spotted something just kilometers from their starting point a black figure swimming close to the surface not a school of fish but a manta ray at two and a half meters in length this manta is still a juvenile but it will grow to be one of the biggest rays in the world adults grow to be in excess of four meters [Music] these solitary rays are commonly seen close to the coastline where nutrients from upwellings and coastal rivers provide them with food [Music] this one is in search of high concentrations of zooplankton near the surface and it's not alone bottlenose dolphins breed here they are found in most oceans around the world but favor the shallow seas of continental shells just like singer island and a baby the mother appears to be showing the baby how to hunt she's focused on following and capturing a solitary fish [Music] the team have found a manta ray and dolphins but not the school of fish they're after they continue their search it isn't long until something else catches the crew's attention small school uh masa i would get ready right now moving very fast using the drone the crew have picked up a black mass that has congregated close to the shoreline it's just a small shoal but it's similar to the one in a photo [Music] the team approached cautiously but the fish don't appear to feel threatened they ignore the boat as it moves in [Music] closer time to enter the water for a closer look a shoal of mullet there are approximately 80 species of mullet found in waters around the world florida is home to four of them these are striped mullets individuals can grow up to 50 centimeters long and here there are around a thousand of them gathered in one spot [Music] they appear to gradually edge their way along the coast hugging the shoreline but this shawl is nowhere near the size of that in michael's photo the team continues northwards in search of something bigger the crew are now 100 kilometers north of their starting point of singer island birds are congregating close by a not so subtle sign that there is something happening below the water's surface [Music] another shoal of mullet [Music] this time much bigger up to 20 000 of them edging along southwards slowly but surely still packed tightly to the shoreline and seemingly unaffected by the waves that crash in on the beach brown pelicans are on the approach [Music] they dive in one after another [Music] the mullets speed up in defense [Music] despite a barrage of attacks the mullet are unwavering they continue their mysterious journey and their speed is increasing [Music] foreign as they head south smaller schools join the aggregation some of these fish have traveled over 100 kilometers from the north as the season changes they seek the warmer water down south and congregate here on the peninsula the whole area now boils with thousands of fish [Music] the shoal has increased to 200 000 [Music] with more and more joining [Music] this behavior is only seen for just a short time each autumn with the rest of the year spent in rivers or lakes in land the mouth of the river is where fresh water and sea water mix the brackish water forms in pockets around the peninsula and an animal symbolic to florida's coastline travels down rivers into brackish waters to feed easy to spot as it moves it raises a cloud of mud and silt [Music] the manatee with a body length of three and a half meters propelled along by a fan-like tail manatees are peaceful creatures that keep to the shallows [Music] they spend up to eight hours a day grazing on aquatic plants [Music] and these calm warm waters provide ideal growing conditions for seagrasses and other vegetation algae even colonizes on the skin of the manatee mangroves are a common feature of this coastline they serve as a buffer protecting land from hurricanes and coastal storms and form a vital habitat for the animals that live above water and below it their tangle roots provide shelter and safety for the mullet as well as filtering out toxins in the water [Music] florida boasts 30 000 lakes big and small [Music] all surrounded by thick forest upstream the brackish water turns to fresh water [Music] the mullet can live here in relative safety there are no big predatory fish here thanks to special regulatory mechanisms mullets can tolerate both salt and fresh water these crystal clear waters provide a tempting feeding spot mullets are omnivorous their diet consists of algae detritus and zooplankton [Music] the seabed is thick with algae which is fed by the nutrients of the surrounding forests so these mullets have plenty to eat and at this time of year they appear to gorge themselves taking in vital nutrients in preparation for what is to come their feeding method is unique using a row of tiny teeth on its upper jaw the mullet moves its head hurriedly back and forth across the rocks like a broom breaking off pieces of algae less than a millimeter in length leaving marks on the rock surface where there's no rock its lower jaw shaped like a shovel comes in handy for scooping up sand [Music] and filtering out organic matter plenty of food and no enemies this inland waterfront is paradise for mullets [Music] and ideal conditions for young mullets to develop and grow [Music] there are around 220 species of freshwater fish in florida [Music] these include the bluegill a fish that feeds on aquatic insects and other small fish and the channel catfish [Music] it might look charming but it is in fact a savage carnivore with a diet of snakes and frogs [Music] this florida gar is a primitive fish that hasn't changed in over 110 million years [Music] its distinguishing features are its long thin mouth and diamond shaped scales that cover its body its gill respiration is weak compared to other fish it must take in oxygen from air at the water surface [Music] striped bass journey up river in search of fresh water to rid themselves of parasites they harbor parasites that survive only in salt water fortunately for the bass they like the mullets can survive in both they congregate around the spring water upwellings rainwater stored underground flows through holes in limestone rock florida's aquifers are considered to be one of the most productive underground water sources in the world ranging from little more than a trickle to others that discharge millions of cubic meters per day but for the adult mullets in this lake a natural instinct has been triggered despite this mullet safe haven the mullets seem to know that they cannot stay here across the peninsula mullets are leaving the fresh water of their summer horns making their way down rivers and gathering at river mouths before moving south in unison towards the open ocean [Applause] the changing season appears to have sparked a mass movement that goes against safety and security [Music] and the crew are on hand watching their every move oh huge school guys unbelievable a huge swirling mess just 20 kilometers north of singer island this is what the team have been waiting for [Music] it's not long before pelicans move in once more to take advantage of this easy meal [Music] causing chaos in the water [Music] the mullets make frenzied leaps into the [Music] air an osprey's presence adds to the turmoil these raptors feed exclusively on fish their vision is adapted to hone in on their target from the air backwards facing scales on its turns enable it to hold on firmly to its catch this is a shoal in crisis [Music] suddenly michael spots something sharp [Music] black tip sharks [Music] [Music] more than 40 of them lying in weight [Music] their hunting strategy is to trap the mullets in the shallow water before charging through the mullet's formation [Music] trevally too seize upon the opportunity this meter long carnivorous fish is known locally as the crevel jack the mullets change their formation in response to surrounding pressure [Music] what was initially an elongated ribbon is becoming a more tightly bound mass the close formation offers some protection to those in the middle as sharks and trevally charge in the mullets do their best to part forming patches of clear water the sharks and travali often miss their target but the darting response of the escaping mullet throws the shoal into more confusion in these normally gentle waters life hangs in the balance and suddenly there's a new arrival tarpon at two and a half meters long and weighing in at 150 kilograms these are some of the largest strongest fish in the sea the mullets attempt to maintain their distance just as they did with the sharks but the tarpon are equally as persistent the mullets swim closer to the shoreline out of reach from the larger fish [Music] but the tarpon changed tag swimming on their sides to reach the shallows then with one sudden movement the tarpon makes a lunge towards the shore throwing its large body against the water surface [Music] the tarpon's impact on the water stuns the muds by moving along on their sides the tarpon have another advantage with one eye looking up they can scour for mullets near the surface and can watch the movement of the school carefully before making their next move the tarpon make leaps that the mullet attempt to dodge the battle continues for nearly one hour [Music] the mullet swim a fine line between swimming as close as possible to the shore and stranding themselves as the big waves hit [Music] the bodies of the dying can be seen in the shallows clinging onto life [Music] but the shoal survives to continue its journey [Music] it's a migration of life and death but the survivors must now contend with other threats it's the end of september lightning and tornadoes are frequent at this time of year and with hurricanes on the approach the sea is too rough for a boat new dangers are also emerging a red tide a toxic algal bloom poisoning fish and deoxygenating the water [Music] seaweed washes up on the beach bringing death with it the team begin to wonder if the giant schools of mullet they saw just weeks ago have survived two weeks later calm has returned and on singer island so have the beach goers and the mullets [Music] they have overcome hurricanes red tides and predatory attacks but the sharks and tarpon are now nowhere to be seen this school swims calmly and slowly they are no longer journeying south it's as if they've arrived [Music] these fish have traveled from inland waterways some more than a hundred kilometers from the north and they have come together to form a giant shoal off the beach at singer island such a large gathering is a rare sight even for the locals until the 1980s mullets were fished excessively for use as crop fertilizer and bait for fishing as a result the mullet population dramatically fell to near extinction at the time but strict measures have ensured their comeback and now they are thriving state officials banned the use of large nets some 20 years ago 25 years ago the mullet has made a remarkable recovery and i never get tired of seeing these huge schools of mullet as they come down the beach every september in october the next day something unexpected happens the crew discover the giant shawl of mullet have vanished overnight so schools of mullet have been witnessed at the beach for several years now but it has not been known where they disappear a local diver shed some light on the matter after returning from an open sea dive there was a lot of um boiling but boiling yeah it appears to be boiling nice with you can see the mullet obvious mullet jumping and you see a lot of bird over there hovering mullets have been spotted three kilometers away from the coast but as the team arrives at the location there is no sign of them they head further out to the open sea birds circle overhead like sentinels [Music] and in the water mullets crew decide to dive in [Music] the mullets are moving much faster this time [Music] the divers can't keep pace soon they've overtaken the boat and are heading further out to sea but when the boat catches up the team are rewarded they have followed the mullet's migration from rivers and lakes in the north down the coast all the way to singer island and now out to sea they are the first crew to have captured the behavior of such a large number of moloton film off the coast of florida [Music] it's spectacular and i can't believe you found it [Music] the crew continue to follow them until the mullets descend disappearing out of sight a study has shown that a depths of 200 meters off the coast of the southern tip of florida young fish including young mullets can be found scientists have discovered that adult mullets migrate offshore and lay their eggs in the salty depths of the ocean if the mullets are spawning the crew may be able to find newly hatched mullet and film the next important stage of the mullet's journey but for this they must wait till dark they leave the bright lights of the marina and head out into the blackness [Music] a strong light is shone into the sea to attract the young fish and increase their chances of finding mullets [Music] the plankton in the water is a good sign they become nutritious food for the young fish [Music] like this young mackerel and a baby slipper lobster riding on a [Music] jellyfish this larvae is a species of tongue fish [Music] and this one a grouper its spines will offer protection as it [Music] grows a young flying fish and something else not often seen a young tarpon distinctly lacking the strength and ferocity of its parents plenty of young fish but no young mullets but why do these mullets gather at singer island before heading to the open ocean the season may be changing but the mullet make the most of the warmest waters by traveling out of their lakes down the coast and southwards along the peninsula to its tip four kilometers off the coast the seabed depth plunges to 100 meters a rich stream of plankton flows in off the gulf stream providing the perfect spawning conditions for lots of fish and the mullets take the shortest route to get to this depth and take advantage of the nutrients the school of mullets are using their geographical knowledge of the seabed to make their migration as efficient as [Music] possible it is the end of october [Music] in the brackish waters close to the coast a school of young mullets after hatching in the open ocean they arrive at the coast having ridden the current for a month further inland these larger mullets are now a year old [Music] their jumps even at this age resemble the jumps of mature mullets when dodging their enemies they will spend a total of four years in the safety of florida's inlets before running the gauntlet embarking on their own epic journey out to the open ocean to have young of their own [Music] these young mullets will have to overcome the threat of sharks travali and tarpon [Music] red tides and hurricanes and the perils of spawning in the depths of the open ocean just like their parents did but safety in numbers will see them through [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

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Rating: 4.8881121 out of 5

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Wildlife Instincts, Wildlife, Wildlife Documentary, Animals, Animal Documentary, Florida, Florida Mullet, Mullet, mullet run, Ocean, Ocean Life, Marine Life, Grey Mullet, Singer Island, Singer Island Florida, School of Fish

Id: BWzDL0Wp2Mk

Length: 50min 14sec (3014 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 23 2021