>> YOU'RE WATCHING HELMET CAMERA VIDEO OF THE CAPTURE OF A
179-POUND GRAY SEAL.
SCIENTISTS NAMED HIM BRONX.
THIS IS NORTH BEACH ON CAPE COD.
BRONX DOESN'T KNOW IT, BUT HE IS ABOUT TO BE THE FIRST ADULT GRAY
SEAL TAGGED AND TRACKED IN THE UNITED STATES.
>> ESSENTIALLY, I'M INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING HOW HUMANS
INTERACT WITH THOSE ANIMALS AND -- AND HOW THAT AFFECTS
THEIR SUSTAINABILITY OVER THE LONG-TERM.
>> AND DUKE UNIVERSITY MARINE BIOLOGIST DR. DAVID JOHNSTON
COULDN'T HAVE PICKED A BETTER TIME TO STUDY GRAY SEAL
BEHAVIOR, BECAUSE THE ANIMALS HAVE HAD A ROUGH HISTORY IN THE
CAPE COD REGION.
THE ENTIRE POPULATION WAS KILLED BY HUNTERS IN THE 1800s.
GRAY SEALS HAVE REBOUNDED UNDER FEDERAL PROTECTION SINCE 1972,
BUT NOT EVERYBODY IS HAPPY ABOUT THAT EXPLODING SEAL POPULATION.
>> AND THEY'VE RECOVERED TO THE POINT THAT THEY'RE VERY
NOTICEABLE ON CAPE COD NOW.
>> FISHERMEN LOSE VALUABLE CATCHES TO THE ANIMALS.
AND, AS THIS VIDEO SHOWS, SEALS CAN CROWD ONTO AND SPOIL
LOCAL BEACHES.
SCIENTISTS WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND SEAL BEHAVIOR AND HOW
THE ANIMALS INTERACT WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING PEOPLE.
>> TELEMETRY DEVICES LIKE THIS ONE ALLOW US TO GET GLIMPSES OF
THOSE ANIMALS' LIVES WHEN THEY'RE NOT AT THE SHORE OR
NOT -- OR EVEN AT THE SURFACE, AVAILABLE FOR US TO -- TO ACCESS
THEM AND STUDY THEIR BEHAVIOR.
>> AND THAT'S WHERE THAT GROUNDBREAKING HIGH-TECH MONITOR
COMES IN.
THE WATERPROOF, BATTERY-POWERED DEVICES ARE GLUED ONTO THE
SEAL'S FUR.
THE DEVICES RECORD LOCATION, THE DEPTH OF SEAL DIVES,
AND WATER TEMPERATURE.
THE DEVICES THEN TRANSMIT THE DATA USING CELL PHONE TOWERS
WHENEVER THE ANIMAL COMES TO THE SURFACE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
>> SO IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY, VERY LOW POWER, VERY EFFICIENT SYSTEM
FOR BEING ABLE TO TRACK THE ANIMALS.
>> RESEARCHERS CALL IT BIOLOGGING.
AND THE WINDOW INTO HIS WATERY WORLD BRONX HAS OPENED FOR
SCIENTISTS IS REVEALING BEHAVIORS NEVER SUSPECTED.
>> SO HERE, BEING THE BAY OF FUNDI, DOWN HERE IS THE CAPE COD
REGION, NANTUCKET, MARTHA'S VINEYARD.
AND ALL OF THIS IN GREEN ARE ACTUALLY ALL OF THE DIVES THAT
THE ANIMAL MADE DURING THIS DEPLOYMENT.
>> THE TRACKING DEVICES REVEALED THAT BRONX SPENT A LOT OF TIME
CLOSE TO SHORE.
THE TRACKING WAVES SHOW EACH INDIVIDUAL DIVE.
MOST OF THE DIVES AVERAGED ABOUT 200 FEET DEEP.
>> YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE TIME THAT THE ANIMAL SPENDS AT SEA IS
PROBABLY FORAGING.
WE DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT THE SOCIAL BEHAVIOR OF THOSE
ANIMALS AT SEA, BUT THEY PROBABLY DO SOME SOCIALIZING,
TOO.
THEY PROBABLY DO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AT SEA.
BUT THE MAJORITY OF WHAT WE DETECT, I THINK, USING THESE
THINGS, IS ESSENTIALLY THE ANIMAL AT WORK, HOW IT'S MAKING
A LIVING.
AND SO A LOT OF THAT'S GOING TO BE DEDICATED TO FORAGING.
AND SO WHEN THESE ANIMALS ARE DIVING, THEY'RE DIVING DOWN AND
FORAGING ON ANY NUMBER OF SPECIES.
WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE ACTUAL DIET OF THE ANIMALS.
>> BUT BRONX ALSO TRAVELED LONG DISTANCES, ON ONE TRIP SPENDING
17 STRAIGHT DAYS AT SEA, SWIMMING HALFWAY TO CANADA AND
BACK.
THAT'S A JOURNEY OF 156 MILES.
>> YEAH.
WELL, IT'S AMAZING.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT -- THAT,
YOU KNOW, IT MAKES DIFFERENT DECISIONS, YOU KNOW, SO IT
DOESN'T ALWAYS JUST STAY IN ONE PLACE, THAT IT GOES AND FORAGES
IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
SO THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
THE FACT THAT IT WOULD MAKE THAT INCREDIBLE TRIP OFF TO GEORGES
BANK AND BACK, WE HADN'T SUSPECTED THAT IT WOULD DO THAT.
I MEAN, IT LITERALLY SWAM HALFWAY TO NOVA SCOTIA ON THAT
TRIP.
>> WHILE PRESSURE GAUGES ON THE DEVICE RECORD EACH DIVE,
ONE JOURNEY UNDERWATER TOOK THE SEAL ALMOST 900 FEET DEEP.
>> YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE DEPTH OF DIVES,
UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, A LOT ABOUT THE DIVE PARAMETERS,
IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY -- IT'S EXCITING.
WE NEVER KNEW THAT GRAY SEALS IN THIS AREA WERE DIVING TO 264
METERS.
>> BRONX WILL SHARE HIS TRAVELS WITH SCIENTISTS FOR ABOUT NINE
MONTHS.
THE BATTERIES ON THE CELLULAR TAGS SHOULD LAST ABOUT THAT
LONG.
THE DEVICE WILL ALSO COME OFF WHEN THE ANIMAL MOLTS, OR SHEDS
ITS FUR.
>> AND SO ONE OF THE KEY GOALS FOR OUR RESEARCH IS TO TRY AND
IDENTIFY AND HELP DESCRIBE THEIR ROLE IN THE GULF OF MAINE MARINE
ECOSYSTEM.
>> JOHNSTON ADMITS HE'LL MISS HIS UPDATES ON THE ADVENTURES OF
BRONX, THE GRAY SEAL, BUT HE'LL BE STUDYING THOSE ADVENTURES FOR
YEARS.
>> AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE NOW BEING ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND SPATIALLY HOW THOSE ANIMALS FIT INTO THE MARINE
ENVIRONMENT.
AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THEY -- THEY INTERACT
WITH HUMANS.
THEY INTERACT WITH FISHERIES.