Big Pacific

On the Galapagos Islands, marine iguanas have developed new behaviors to make the most of the rich meadows of algae offshore. They can hold their breath up to an hour while feeding on the algae. After the excursion, a gland in the marine iguana’s nose filters out excess salt

The Peppered Moray Eel is known by many names, but has a little known behavior that scientists have only recently discovered. In the Marshall Islands, the peppered moray propels itself from the familiarity of the water to hunt crabs on land. Once high tide arrives, the moray eels return to

In China, even humans are making the most of the violent power of the Pacific. In Hangzhou Bay, brave surfers wait for the annual return of an ancient sea monster: the silver dragon, a predictable yet potentially destructive wall of water that grows into the world’s largest tidal wave.

Some islands are less than hospitable. In China’s Bohai Sea is a fleck of land called Shedao, also known as Snake Island. This is the home of 20,000 deadly Pit Vipers, and they are all poised to make a meal of the autumnal songbird migrations.

Off the coast of Japan, the white-spotted pufferfish is at work creating a masterpiece. This three-inch long pufferfish is a male who is trying to attract a mate. He constantly shovels sand into a circle with intricate details. Then he decorates the pattern with shells. If a female approves, they

Olive ridley sea turtles live most of their lives in the open ocean. But each year female sea turtles return en masse to their natal beach to synchronously lay eggs. Ostional, Costa Rica is one of their nesting locations. How half a million sea turtles find this same shore is

Nature creates her own battles. In the waters around Hawaii, Humpback Whales complete a mass migration from northern feeding grounds; they are gathering to mate. But males outnumber receptive females, and a testosterone-fueled event known as the heat run sees a brawl of gargantuan proportions as the males clash for

For some life in the big Pacific, mating can be the kiss of death: Along the California coastline sea otters’ courtship is a wrestling match with no holds barred and females can be drowned in the process.

Follow behind the scenes with the Big Pacific film crew to Amami Oshima, off the coast of Japan. Cameramen Peter Kragh and Ernie Kovacs set out to film a mysterious pufferfish. They must find creative ways to film without destroying the pufferfish’s delicate sand circles.

The Big Pacific crew travel to Shedeo, or Snake Island, to film pit vipers preying on migrating songbirds. The essential shot for the story, or money shot, is the moment a pit viper captures a bird. Cameraman Scott Snider searches for that moment among 20,000 snakes. While under the

Beyond a coral reef, a tomb of lost turtles leaves more questions than answers. Skeletal remains of sea turtles line the underwater cave, some with stillborn eggs. But it is not understood why they are here. How could sea turtles, one of the best navigators of the sea, get lost

Yellow-eyed penguins care for their young together. Nesting in the dense New Zealand forest, the pair will take turns fishing so one parent is always watching over their chicks. But when the breeding season ends and the offspring leave, the partnership will dissolve – until the next mating season.

A mass spawning event happens on an empty shoreline high in the Gulf of California: the grunion run. Thousands of silvery bodies flicker in the shallows in an explosion of life and death. No other fish spawns so boldly, in the open air, under blazing sun. This is a tidal

Manta rays stretch to 15 feet across. To reach this size, they must nearly constantly feed on prey so minute it is just a haze in the water. A rich patch of plankton starts a feeding frenzy amongst the manta rays. They gracefully glide though the water while filtering the