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In a year-long mission, a BBC team probed a small part
of the earth's amazing undersea world. They completed 1000 dives and
explored seven different oceans across the globe. What they found was
extraordinary...
Early sightings of a dugong, or sea cow, were probably responsible for
the myth of the mermaids. But their numbers are declining rapidly. The
expedition headed to the Bazaruto archipelago, nine miles off the coast
of Mozambique, to investigate the very last sustainable population of
dugongs - which are related to elephants - in the western Indian Ocean.
One of the team's divers observes a shoal of jacks circling with
balletic precision. This behaviour is a source of much debate, but is
thought to be a defence mechanism against predators.
A giant manta ray, known to have the biggest brains of all fish,
spotted off the south coast of Mozambique. In the background lurks a
shark.
Paul Rose explores the wreck of the Paraportiani, a cargo ship that sank off the coast of East Africa in 1967.
None of the dive team had ever seen a weedy sea dragon, found only in
kelp forests. But Philippe Cousteau and Tooni Mahto struck lucky at
Fortescue Bay, on the east coast of Tasmania.
Despite the size of male sperm whales - which can reach up to 16 metres
in length - sightings are rare. But when you see one, it's worth the
wait.
Sea coral grows in abundance on the sheer, underwater cliffs of the
reef at the island of Pemba, 50 miles off the coast of East Africa and
one of the three islands off Tanzania, along with Zanzibar and Mafia
island.
Huge sunfish are indigenous to the Sea of Cortez, a strip between the
Baja California peninsula and mainland Mexico, 60-130 miles wide and
995 miles long. These giants can grow up to six metres long.
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