Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): The table is set for the mightiest predator of them all. The humpbacks have reached their feeding grounds. After six months without a bite to eat, the humpbacks can finally break their fast. The whales have learned to target these ready-made balls of fish. But they'll need more than just a mouthful, and with the feast now in full swing, this is their chance. To exploit the vast shoals of herring that are in deeper water, they rely on teamwork. For these whales have developed a truly remarkable way of hunting.
[WHALES SINGING]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): The inlets echo to the sound of a mysterious song.
[WHALES SINGING]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): A curtain of bubbles and a haunting call hold the secret to an ingenious way of fishing.
[WHALES SINGING]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): [HIGH-PITCHED SINGING] This is "bubble-net feeding". A dozen whales work together to harvest the herring bonanza. Such fishing requires an extraordinary level of intelligence and cooperation. The lead whale dives first. She is the bubble-blower. It's her job to find the fish.
[WHALE SPOUTING AIR]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): The rest follow in formation. Each takes exactly the same position in every lunge. Once she's located the fish, the leader blows a net of bubbles that completely encircles the shoal.
[WHALES SINGING]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): Another whale calls to synchronise the group.
[WHALES SINGING CONTINUES]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): Panicked by the eerie sound and the blinding bubbles, the fish won't cross this fizzing curtain.
[HIGH-PITCHED SINGING]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): As few as 100 humpbacks have learnt how to feed as a team like this. And this is the only place on the planet where whales fish in this way.
[LOUD MOANING]
Himself - Narrator (Attenborough, David): At the height of the great feast, these humpbacks fish around the clock, each eating a ton of herring a day. Only man has learnt to exploit the seas on a greater scale.