- Wait a second, there's something big down there.
- [Mario] Dude, he's here, here he is, here he is
he's out, he's out, he's right there
- [Mark] Right there, it's moving, it's moving, right there
he's going for here, he's going for here.
You got him - Got him.
Yes. (screaming)
- [Mark] Oh my gosh, a shark.
(suspenseful music)
(waves crashing)
(water flowing)
- Massive rock formations tower
like prehistoric giants as intense waves
crashed upon the jagged outcrops.
At high tide, the southern coastline of Africa
is an unforgiving landscape that has been carved
over millions of years.
Yet when the tide rolls back,
with it recedes the violence of the turbulent water,
leaving behind an intricate catacomb
of inter-tidal pools that are teaming with aquatic life.
Today we are exploring a stretch
of pristine shoreline known as Kenton on Sea.
The magical place where the South Atlantic
meets the Indian Ocean and to say the least
it's breathtakingly beautiful.
The sand was flawless.
The waves of water were warm
and with any luck we would happen upon
and get up close with a variety
of bizarre tide pool creatures.
Now the tide is going out at this point.
Looks like it's still coming in
but it's actually the best time to search for animals.
When all the rocks are still saturated,
that means that the animals are still comfortable
which gives us the best chance of actually catching 'em.
The water trapped within the individual pools
was crystal clear.
So as I scouted from pocket to pocket,
I carefully scanned the overhanging ledges
and shadowy nooks.
If there was ever a place for a sea beast to hide,
I was determined to be the seeker.
We've got a decent sized crab down here
in this little rock pool.
There's actually a little blenny next to it as well
which is a small little fish
that'll often times sit on the edges
of these little cliffs.
It's tempting to not go for them both at the same time.
We'll see what happens.
I'm really after the crab though.
I'm gonna use this net because it's a deep pocket of water.
(dramatic music)
- Oh, oh, oh, ah, got it yes.
- Yeah. - Wow, what a scoop.
I almost got the blenny at the same time.
Alright that's a pretty decent sized
little crab right there.
Look at you.
Look at those distinct striped markings on the legs.
Now I'm gonna actually have to look this one up
in a field guide.
I'm not sure exactly what species it is.
Let me keep it in the net like that just for a second.
Ut oh - oh.
- Ah.
- [Mark] He's gone.
Okay, and I lost him, hold on.
Oh I got a blenny, two of 'em.
Okay, game on.
Alright well...
- Lost the crab got a Blenny.
- Well there's the crab.
Got him, now I've got the crab and some blennies, wow.
Hold on, that's how he got away the first time.
Look at that, how's about that
for cleanin' up your mess?
Alright well, this is really pannin' out well for us.
Look at these guys, come here buddy.
I got two of 'em in one scoop.
Alright, let me keep the crab underneath the net.
He'll be fine, they can breathe out of water.
Look at that.
Those are blennies.
Those are super cool, they almost look like
mudskippers or like an eel type fish.
Notice the elongated shape of the body.
Kinda looks like a prickleback.
And they do have those long dorsal ridge fins
that run down the length of their backs.
They actually can breathe for a short amount of time
out of the water.
So we don't have to worry about them
just resting up on my hand.
And they can actually skip from pocket of water
to pocket of water.
What they'll often times do is exactly...
Oh my gosh, there's an octopus.
Nobody move, that's a huge octopus.
okay - Are you sure?
- I'm 100% positive.
I'm gonna let the crab go.
Alright, I'm going for the octopus guys.
We're abandoning the crab.
- I see 'em. - Nobody move.
(suspenseful music)
I can see it's tentacle.
Mario if you crouch down here
you might be able to get a shot.
Actually I wonder I can use my GoPro.
(beeping)
He's wedged right into that little cavity.
- [Mario] Can you see it?
- [Coyote] Yeah.
(suspenseful music)
Okay, here's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna actually place my net up in this area.
Try to reach my arm around and scare him up into the net.
Now the good thing is that none of the octopus species
here in South Africa are lethal to humans.
Keep in mind if we were in Australia
and that was a blue-ring octopus,
I would not be performing this maneuver.
Now all octopus are capable of biting.
All are venomous but hopefully this one doesn't
besides give me a net.
(suspenseful music)
- [Mario] Here he is, he's out, he's out,
he's right there, he's right there.
- I see him, I see him, I see him.
Oh.
- [Mario] Dude, you see him?
- Where?
- [Mario] Right there, right there, right there
right there, he's movin', he's movin',
right there, he's runnin' from you,
he's runnin' from you.
- [Mark] There here is, you got him.
- Yeah, yes (screaming)
(screaming)
Woo, how about that.
Well the tactic worked.
Certainly coaxed him out of one pocket
and into the next and there you have it,
we have got ourselves an octopus.
Wow, I'm gonna actually let him out of the net
and onto my arm.
Hopefully I do not take a bite.
There you go buddy.
Now they do have a little beak on their underside
that of course he could give me a bite with.
But the venom of this species is non-lethal.
This is the common octopus.
They can get bigger than this.
But to be honest with you guys
this is the largest octopus I have ever caught.
And it is on the move.
Wow, look at it just showing it its valves.
Right, I'm trying to keep it as calm as I can.
I don't want it to ink.
And look how it's turning dark in coloration.
But if I do this, check this out, set it down,
and sort of try and corral it to this pool.
What it wants to feel is like it's protected.
Look at that color change.
Within a matter of seconds,
it completely morphs the shape of its body
and its coloration.
Got an okay shot there?
- [Mark] Yeah.
- This is actually great.
You can see it pumping water through the valves
on the side of its head.
If I keep it like this, it will feel more comfortable.
They want to feel concealed.
Wow, look at that.
And they want to feel like they are hidden.
And just like if I were to handle a snake,
I wanna go one hand to the next.
Octopus have eight tentacles.
And one of the coolest things about these creatures
is that if they lose a tentacle,
they can rejuvenate it.
Wow, that is so cool like a big slimy bugger.
Alright, I'm gonna place it back down
into this pocket of water.
Here we go, keep him positioned
and I'm getting totally slimed right now.
Alright, now if I just keep my hand positioned
watch the way that it will actually slink,
I guess he's gonna go over my arm.
I thought he was gonna go under my arm.
And as the tide goes out,
if these animals are stuck in a shallow pool,
they can do this.
Slink from pocket of water to pocket of water.
That is so cool.
Now one of the key defense tactics of all octopus,
octopuses for plural,
is that they can actually eject ink.
And that allows them the ability to disappear
into a rock crevice or back into the ocean waters.
Now if the octopus needs to,
it can actually stay out of the water
for a significant amount of time.
And the only reason you'd ever find an octopus out of water
is if it's moving from tide pool to tide pool.
As that tide recedes, the octopus
if it's not in a deep enough pocket
will often times try to find itself
back out into the ocean currents.
Alright buddy, time to get you back into your pocket.
As I release the octopus back into its watery realm,
we witnessed an incredible sight.
The most classic octopi defense maneuver,
ink and jet.
- [Mario] Whoa.
- [Mark] Just got inked.
- [Coyote] And as it disappeared
back into the cavernous rocks,
I came to the realization that never before
had a single pool of ocean water
provided us with so many species.
This isolated miniature biome was an absolute
gold mind of bizarre aquatic creatures.
And I felt incredibly fortunate
to have successfully gotten so many of them
up close for the cameras.
Yet, little did we know
the adventure wasn't quite over.
As we meandered our way back to the production vehicles,
we stumbled upon the one creature
I had always dreamed of finding in a tide pool.
- [Mark] Oh my gosh, a shark.
- Oh my gosh, a shark.
- [Mark] Get Mario.
(laughing) I can't believe that.
I'm like this is so cool.
I look over, I'm like a shark.
- The camera team is just returning.
I think the goal here is gonna be
to catch the shark, look at it very quickly
you definitely don't wanna stress it out
or try to handle it for too long.
But this is so cool, a shark in a tide pool.
Alright guys, so this is super crazy.
We just got finished filming with an octopus
and there is a shark in this pocket of water.
That is a spotted gully shark.
Now they are bottom feeders
and unlike Great White sharks or Tiger sharks,
they only have small little blunted teeth.
So, it should be okay for me to gently pick up this shark.
Are you guys ready?
- [Mark] Yep.
- I have no idea how fast its gonna move.
I'm gonna actually not use my net
and try to grab it by the back of the tail.
They have very sandpaper-like skin.
So I should be able to grip on to it no problem.
- [Mark] Heads up.
- Okay, I got a hold of it there.
Bringin' it up.
Hey buddy, look at that.
That is the first shark we have ever caught
or featured on the Brave Wilderness Channel.
What a beautiful fish.
And the way that I can tell this is a Spotted Gully shark,
see all those black spots?
Pretty obvious right?
And they usually have a very light colored belly.
They also have very distinct triangular pectoral fins,
very distinct triangular dorsal fin,
and then a second fin on the rear part of its tail
that's almost as tall as the actual dorsal fin.
Alright, I'm gonna dunk it back down.
It's being very calm.
That is so cool.
The Spotted Gully shark is a species of Hound shark
that can often be found in shallow in-shore waters.
They favor sandy tide pools such as the ones
we have been exploring
and occasionally find themselves marooned
when the tide drops.
When you run your fingers in one direction
across the skin it's smooth,
but if you go in reverse direction,
it feels just like sandpaper.
Go ahead Mark, pet the shark.
Go one way.
- Wow - Right?
- [Mark] Very rough.
- Like a fine grit sandpaper right there.
Now this shark has one, two, three, four, five gill slits.
Now when we're talking about the teeth of this creature,
it's almost like a cheese grater.
What they feed on are small crustaceans
and other animals on the basin of the ocean.
And actually this is one of those rare occasions
where I could probably be bitten by a shark
and be just fine.
They often times will hunt in tide pools
just sifting along the bottom
for small crabs and other mollusks.
Let me dip it again.
Woo, that is so cool being able to handle a shark.
Okay buddy, there you go, there you go.
At nearly three feet in length,
this shark is considered a juvenile.
Yet they can reach lengths of nearly six feet
and are primarily active at night
feeding on crustaceans, small fish
and cephalopods such as octopuses.
Bring the shark back up here.
- [Mark] Man, a tide pool shark.
- So cool right?
Now you may be saying to yourselves,
Coyote, is this shark permanently marooned
in this tide pool?
No, actually the tide is on its way back in right now
and once the water gets deep enough,
it will be able to move to the next pocket
or out in the ocean if it chooses to.
But what a cool opportunity for us
to get a shark up close for the cameras.
Talk about topping off a day of tide pooling
here in South Africa.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Alright buddy, let's put him back in the environment
and get some cool shots of it swimmin' around.
Wow, that's awesome.
As I released the shark into a deeper pocket of water,
I could hardly believe that this was the ultimate conclusion
to our epic day of tide pooling.
And as its silhouette disappeared into the current,
I watched with a child-like wonder.
And the sense of gratitude for the path
that lead the team and I to this moment in time
which marked the day we finally found and caught
a tide pool shark.
Nice, down into the depths of that pool.
Wow, the first shark on Brave Wilderness.
That was excellent.
- Woo, tide's comin' in let's go guys.
- [Mark] Yeah, Mario, what you think of that?
Yeah - Yeah.
- If you enjoyed this encounter
make sure to go back and watch
as we get the cameras up close
with some of the planets most fascinating animals.
And don't forget, subscribe and click the notification bell
so you can join me and the crew on our next wild adventure.