Maui Shark Mystery with Auli'i Cravalho from Disney's Moana (Full Episode) | SPECIAL

Maui has a higher number of shark attacks than any of the other islands. The state approached the shark lab to try to figure out what was going on. Why do we see this seasonal influx? So to help me solve this mystery, I need to deploy a camera accelerometer package on a free-swimming tiger shark. It involves me putting a clamp onto the dorsal fin of the tiger shark. While free diving. Guys, guys, we have a shark on the line. She's on it, she's on the bait. Oh my gosh, Paige, this is huge. Jules is trying to give us a signal. Paige is going down. Hawaii is a really, really special place to me. It's like this little oasis in the middle of an ocean desert. Animals here will test you just as much as the ocean itself will. It requires you to be always on your game. My name is Paige Wernly. I study tiger sharks at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology Shark Research Lab. I grew up in a super small town on a lake where fishing was really my first love. I was in high school and I got to go on my first fishing charter offshore and I saw a shark for the first time. I was so moved by it. So I moved out to Hawaii. You know, I've spent my entire adult life here pursuing shark research and it has really shaped me into the woman and the scientist that I am today. This year at the shark research lab, Paige aims to solve a mystery that began a decade ago on the island of Maui. Unfortunately, 10 years ago there was a rash of tragic accidents involving tiger sharks. The state approached the shark lab to try to figure out what was going on. In order to get to the bottom of the attacks, Paige's PhD advisor, Carl Meyer, began to tag and track tiger sharks. It's a big girl. Look at that. So we went to Maui and we captured 40-odd tiger sharks and we equipped them with different types of transmitters that allow us to study their movement patterns. Carl went forward with not only looking at the sharks on Maui but obviously comparing them to the other islands. The data revealed something astonishing. Tiger sharks across Hawaii stick to their home islands most of the year. Then, during the winter, they converge on Maui. It's not really typical behavior for these animals to come together in high numbers in one place like that. The scientific community was baffled. In order to solve the mystery, 15 receivers were placed around Maui. They collected data every time a tagged shark passed by and one receiver stood out from all the rest. When we recovered the receiver from Oluwalu, that's when we started to see this really interesting pattern. During the winter, the concentration of sharks off the coast of Oluwalu was off the charts. Carl began to catch and fit sharks with cameras to gather evidence. There's the timer, there's the camera. So I want the camera on the outboard side. In 2015, he captured video from a male tiger shark that almost solved the mystery. Now he shows the footage to Paige for the first time. So here you can see the shark is actually swimming fairly sedately over an area of coral reef and then suddenly it accelerates. You can see the reef going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. It starts banking and turning and it's swimming in these tight spirals as if it's trying to catch up with something that's turning away from it. There it is, out there. The tagged male pursues a female in what Carl thinks is an attempt to mate. A behavior never before observed with tiger sharks. And she's rolling her eyes, indicating that she doesn't want this male to catch up with her. She outmaneuvered him and swam off. That is so close. We've got the movement patterns showing the animals going there. We've got evidence that the sharks are mating. But what we don't have is any actual proof, direct proof. Paige thinks she may be able to get to the bottom of the mystery with a new camera tagging technique. It involves me putting a clamp onto the dorsal fin of the tiger shark while free diving with the animal. Scientists generally agree that shark behavior is disrupted for about two days after being caught on a line and tagged. So instead of bringing the shark to the scientist, the scientist will go to the shark. This deployment method is minimally impactful and minimally invasive and will hopefully not deter them from continuing on with their normal day. If it works, any shark on the hunt for a mate could capture footage of the event immediately. There's no guarantee of success. But if we're able to get a tiger shark during mating season, put a tag on it with one of these camera tags, then there's a chance that we'll be able to get the smoking gun evidence. First, Paige needs to perfect her tagging technique and see if the sharks return to their natural behavior after the fact. To do this, she'll start on her home turf of Oahu, where tiger sharks are more habituated to humans than on Maui. Interacting with sharks in the water when you're just diving with them is one thing. But trying to, quote unquote, do something to them changes the dynamic completely. She needs an extra pair of hands and eyes in the water. And there's one lab mate that fits the bill. One shark. Two sharks. Three sharks. At once. I need Jules. Jules Hartle has been free diving with sharks for almost a decade. She will act as Paige's safety diver. This is really Paige's project. I'm here for the long haul and I'm here to help her as much as I can. Today, Paige's goal is to approach a shark from its blind spot and attempt to make contact. I have to get kind of right on top of one of these in order to put the clamp onto its dorsal fin. There's no knowing how it will react. But it is an essential step to prove that non-invasive tagging can work. Before long, hungry Galapagos sharks begin to circle. One of Hawaii's most fearsome predators, they can grow to about 10 feet long and usually stay deep, hunting in groups just offshore. But the scent of food has brought a frenzy to the surface. Galapagos sharks are extremely calculating in the water. We're seeing Galapagos sharks kind of stack in numbers and they're kind of starting to surround us a little bit. These are really powerful animals that have the potential to be extremely dangerous and cause a lot of damage. We're just kind of watching their behavior, counting their numbers. Paige hopes this exercise will help develop skills needed for her ultimate goal, to put a tag on a tiger shark by hand. But as she tries to make contact, the Galapagos shark swims off. The behavior of the group is changing. The sharks are skittish. Then Paige sees why. A massive tiger looking for an easy meal. This is the species that I need the most practice with because this is the species that I'm looking to put a tag on. There is no playbook for this. I'm literally kind of writing the book with jewels. The shark doesn't react at all. Step one is complete. If jewels is with me, I know that I can safely work with these sharks. The gathering of tiger sharks in Maui grows closer by day. The team heads out for the next step with the more habituated Oahu tigers to prove that it's possible to tag a tiger shark while freediving. The tag Paige has is light years ahead of what her mentor Carl used in 2014. We have a wheel here that gives me the tiger shark's speed through the water. The camera is here. A gyroscope also records the orientation of the shark in the water and a beacon provides its location. After a preset amount of time, the tag will fall off the shark and emit a radio signal so Paige can retrieve it. Paige, this is the shark. Get your tag. It's a big female. Where is she? Going down right in the back corner. Jewels provides some incentive to stick around. The first opportunity that I see, I need to just take advantage of it. The first approach startles the shark. All I'm thinking is, this is it. I start kicking as hard as I can. She angles her body down just as I'm putting the tag on and I release my hand from the tag a fraction of a second too early and the tag pops off of her and it just immediately starts sinking. It hurts a little but getting closer. The mistake will cost Paige valuable time. The clamp is programmed to dissolve in salt water so the tag will stay at the bottom for 48 hours before floating to the surface. Two days later, things get even worse. The tag should be at the surface by now but Paige isn't picking up a signal. I am not hearing anything. Not getting location information from a tag usually means that's it. It's the only tag she has. The entire Maui mission could be sunk. Oh my gosh, I blew it. Just as the team is about to give up hope on finding the camera tag, Paige hears something. I hope I'm not like crazy. I'm not like totally sure if I'm hearing something. If I am, it's really faint. This way. Turn into the wind. More starboard. Starboard. It's my tag. I can't believe it. I looked that way and I couldn't believe that there was just big orange $11,000 tag sitting in the blue water. This little guy is what saved the day today. Truly cannot believe I found that. That's crazy. Half of the game is just having the tenacity to keep getting up and trying again every time you get knocked down. The team departs from Maui in less than three months and successful tag deployment is still a box unchecked. Today, while the rest of the team focuses on tagging Galapagos sharks, Paige will be on the lookout for another tiger. Oh my god, you're freaking ripped. Joining the team is fellow scientist and shark researcher Chloe Blandino. Watch your toes. And assistant Madison. Right on. Carl, anything else? Don't look at me. You guys pull the shots. The team hopes to deploy several acoustic transmitters on the mission. An acoustic transmitter is a small device that is implanted into a shark and they can go about their whole rest of their life without any bother and we can then trace their movements. It's the same technology used by Carl to track tiger sharks in 2014. Right off the bow. Easy, easy. Yeah, we got a shark already. I can't say for certain that it's a female but her body characteristic is definitely feminine. In order to implant the transmitter, they need to do it the traditional way. All right, fishing gears ready. And catch the shark. We want to keep them interested but not like too full. Right here Paige, coming to you. We've got two sharks. So let's, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, almost. We're here mama. We just want to give you a little work up. Make sure you're okay. Some extra bling. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Clear the boat, clear the boat. All right, shark on baby. Okay, keep eyes on the buoy. All right, Paige. Nice and easy. Game on. Once the shark is on the hook, we need to be able to quickly restrain the animal in a way that keeps the animal safe. All right. Come on, mama. Okay, I'm going to pull her up. Oh, another free swimmer. Uh-oh, uh-oh. Is that a tiger? Oh my gosh. While the arrival of the tiger could benefit Paige, at the moment, the concern is for the Galapagos shark on the line. The large tiger shark could make an easy meal of it. Right here. Give it some snacks. We're going to get this shark up so that he's on dinner. Okay, right there. Grab it, grab it. Okay, okay. Okay, no worries, no worries. We don't know its level of interest in this Galapagos shark, but we do know that we need to get this job done and release the animal. Okay. Go, Chloe. Work your magic, Chloe. There you go. Over and under. Got rope on. Okay, clear it. Rolling the shark over calms the frantic Galapagos and puts her in what's called tonic immobility. It's kind of like a natural sleep slash comatose state for them. Beautiful. Good job, Jules. But it makes it even easier pickings for the tiger shark. So everyone keep an eye on a big T. We're looking for like an 11 footer. Right up here, guys. Tiger shark on the surface. Don't get this Galapagos. We've got tigers. It's the season. The tiger appears uninterested in the hooked Galapagos shark, so Jules proceeds quickly with the surgery. Okay, knife, please. There we go. Okay, beautiful. Thank you. So it's ID number 9853. Tag is in. Needle, please. You're all right. Relax. Thank you. Perfect. Tag is in. Suture's done. We're going to flip this animal over. I'm going to live a long and healthy life. Yes, baby. Go get them. Yes, girl. Yeah, we're just going to keep chumming, I think, and T it up. Now, Paige has another chance to tag an Oahu tiger shark before they gather in Maui. As soon as I jumped in while she's prepping the camera, Paige, this is your shot. This is your shark. I am really trying to just let the rest of the noise that's going on in my head kind of fade away. And I am on a level of focus that I have not experienced before in my life. It's here, Paige. It's here. It's good? I looked over, and she's already swimming down. She's literally at that one point right behind the shark where he can't quite see the back of his dorsal fin. My heartbeat in that moment was so loud in my ears. It was like I couldn't hear anything else. And seeing it go on right where it needs to be, the shark had no idea until, boom, the clamp went on. And I was just so relieved. Like, I was just like, yes. I was like, we did it. We didn't know what the shark was going to do after the tag was put on his dorsal fin. And then he comes back. Here comes this tiger shark with a bright orange little package. And we were just like, ah, now we're on his camera. You know, it's so cool. Now the shark's filming us. For Paige, this is the culmination of years of preparation. The sense of relief that I felt once I saw that the camera was on was, it was huge. I'm super proud of her. She has worked her butt off for the last few years to make sure that this thing is deployed on a tiger shark. And she nailed it. Paige has proven that it doesn't disturb the shark's natural behavior in the slightest. I mean, the fact that he came back around validates the method of tagging. It was exciting enough to see from the shark's point of view. But then I see that he actually went and swam up to another tiger shark, which is just insane. It brings the proof of concept full circle. It takes a uniquely skilled team, trained in the right way with the right equipment. And we have that team. I have no doubt that Paige has the ability to pull this off. I'm definitely ready for Maui. By January, the shark migration is in full swing. Olovalu should be swarming with sharks from around Hawaii. So this is the site that I'm really interested in looking at for a tiger shark mating aggregation. This is where I have the best chance of getting a tag on. I need to start here. All right, what have we got? All right, we've got some nice mahi carcasses today. I don't know exactly what to expect from these Maui tiger sharks. The tiger sharks on Maui, I expect to be a little bit more wild. Mating can be very dangerous for female tiger sharks. So I expect them to be very cautious. And I kind of expect the opposite from the males, more unpredictability, jumpy. It's just going to be a completely different game than it was on Oahu. Let us know if you need more pieces of chum. Paige and Jules will have Kaylee, another shark lab researcher, to help them on Maui. Chum in one hand, notes in the other. It isn't long before their captain, Corey, sees the first visitor of the day. Guys, guys. We got a tiger shark in the water over here. Hello, she's right there. It's a good omen for the mission. You ready? The Maui tiger shark is wary of Jules. Obviously a little shy. Let's send the crate down deep again and then pull it up really slowly. We're really just trying to entice her to come in a little closer. Does anyone have eyes on her? That's a negative. It's nothing like the Oahu sharks. I haven't seen the tiger shark approach our area in five to ten minutes. The drone will give Corey a better view. Guys, we have a second tiger shark coming in. That's enough for Paige. Having multiple tiger sharks around the boat was really exciting, but then as soon as we get in the water, they exhibit that really, really shy behavior. She's definitely not people-friendly. She's like, no, swim away, please. And the tiger shark is gone. This is catastrophic for the project. This, as it stands right now, if it doesn't change, is game over. The next morning, it's more of the same. The tiger sharks are not giving Paige and Jules the time of day. They're potentially looking for a mate and then there's little us with our cooler trying to make ourselves as attractive as possible. Mating very well could be what's keeping the tiger sharks at a distance. But as the days go on, it becomes apparent that there may be a much bigger distraction here. That scared me. Each winter, humpback whales descend on Maui by the thousands. That's like every time I turn around, there's one breaching. They've come from the North Pacific to mate, give birth, and raise their young in the warm waters of Hawai'i. Tiger sharks are migrating to this area during midwinter. Yes, we think for mating. Or are they coming to Maui to take advantage of humpback whale season? If there's a chance that Maui's humpback whales play a role in this tiger shark mystery, Paige needs to get to the bottom of it. She knows just the man to talk to. Ed Lyman has been working with Hawaiian humpbacks for 20 years, often coming to the rescue of whales tangled in fishing lines. Paige hopes he can provide some insight into how their arrival affects the tiger shark population. Is there any kind of interactions that you see between tiger sharks and humpback whales? And if so, kind of what do those look like? There's been times where we've had compromised animals and it has drawn sharks. Sharks have shown up and we've actually seen the animals basically kill the whale. And another good example, Paige, would be carcasses. It's food for them. Tiger sharks that typically inhabit O'ahu coastlines or Big Island coastlines will actually migrate to Maui during these midwinter months. It makes some sense based, again, on what we know of the whale movement patterns, their concentrations, the number of calves that are born here. That's because we know they don't all make it. I mean, some older data suggests that one in five are not going to make it. Oh, wow. Humpback whale blubber, muscle, visceral tissue, all of that is very, very calorie dense. The massive influx of potential food could be a large part of why the Maui sharks are not hanging around for scraps of fish. One thing we can do is we're getting calls on compromised animals, especially entangled whales. Some of those we know are not going to make it. We'll let your team know that there's a potential case where sharks might be looking for a meal. Yeah, that would be amazing. Another week goes by and Paige is running out of time. Soon, the Maui tiger sharks will begin their migration back to points all over Hawaii. And the mystery of what they do here each winter is no closer to being solved. We are getting a shark around the boat every now and again. Tiger at the surface. Right here, right here, right here. But we're playing by their rules. It's like as soon as you give up is when they show up is like the running trend of this trip. It's just like, don't stop. We're here. Don't forget. We'll come around. It's like, OK, well, we've just been out here for like 36 hours. My window is slowly closing. And maybe I can get something done, but not with the way things are right now. As time runs out on their Maui expedition, Paige gets a call from Ed Lyman, the whale expert. There's an injured humpback a few miles away. The sharks have taken a couple bites out of it already. I'm not sure if it's still alive or if it's kind of let go. It's the best lead yet. When they arrive, the whale is clinging to life. A second humpback circles, watching helplessly as several tiger sharks line up to feast. They're probably really fired up just from the prospect of this whale that's going to die soon. Before long, an eight-foot male, the smallest of the group, breaks away to check out the boat. That's a beautiful animal. That's exactly what I'm looking for right there. For a shark at the bottom of the pecking order, the promise of a guaranteed meal is too much to resist. I'm going to go get in and say hi. The shark circles Paige, dropping its pectoral fins and rolling its eyes. A clear sign her presence is viewed as a threat. His energy levels are very elevated. He's coming in really hard, making these sharp, fast turns. Then it goes for the boat. He's like, you are now other things in the water that are big. I'm competing with you as well. You need to get out of this space. Paige calls off the dive. This is not a safe situation for me to try and do a deployment. And it's really unfortunate because I don't know if I'll ever get another opportunity like this or another interaction like this with sharks on a whale. The team is running out of hope that they will get a tag on a shark this season. Desperate to compete with the lure of humpbacks, the team upgrades their bait from mahi-mahi to ahi tuna. The only thing we can do is wait and just keep chumming. Right now we've got a bait crate down at depth and then we've got a float line with a carcass hanging off of it. So we're kind of all guns blazing right now. Guys, guys, there's a shark, there's a shark. Oh, I'm going to get my suit. She's on it, she's on the bait. Oh my gosh. Paige, this is huge. Yes. Coming at us. It appears the bait change is just what they needed. The female checks out the bait, keeping an eye on the male. It could be he's interested in her as a possible mate. But the female overmatches him in size and confidence. She closes ranks on the food and the male swims off. She's coming right under you. Jules keeps the female's attention while Paige sizes her up. As soon as I got in the water, I could tell she was cautious, but comfortable enough to make close passes to me, which is really what I had been looking for the entire time. I see her, she's coming back for the bow. The 11-foot female is the most interactive shark they have encountered in Maui. The shark circles at 25 feet below the surface, interested in the bait box. It's too deep. Jules needs to lure it closer to the surface. Paige is going down. She needs to wait for that perfect moment. I get a close pass from this female. It's honestly perfect. She's moving very slowly, just kind of right underneath me. I got her on my camera. She's approaching the shark. I was kind of hanging back a little bit, just trying to be ready for any kind of reaction. I just get like booted and it starts sinking. The startled shark beats its powerful tail to get away and hits Paige hard, sending the tag flying. It's a wild tiger shark, so they're fully capable of telling us, no, Paige just ended up right in the line of fire. The shark hit Paige with what is called the peduncle, the end of the shark's muscled body, just forward of the fleshy tail. It's like getting hit with a baseball bat. That's a really hard hit and it's got to hurt. The clamp was over the dorsal fin and the movement of the fin itself actually popped the tag off. Jules grabs the tag just in time, but Paige is shaken. Are you okay? I think I need to sit for a minute. Take a deep breath. You got it. I don't know, dude. My arm hurts pretty bad. I can only imagine what Paige is feeling. It definitely rattles you. If she dives again, there's a chance she might not be able to secure the tag properly. Jules, just give it a shot. Paige makes the tough call for Jules to take them across the finish line. It was literally like the last 10 minutes of daylight that we're trying to work with. And I'm like, just go. If you see an opportunity, just get after it. Jules has the tag. She's committed to the deployment at this point. I'm right there next to her. I know that's a lot coming from her to put that responsibility in my hands, but we're a team. Let's go, let's go. I look at Jules and she's already diving down, just taking advantage of that opportunity of having the shark distracted and right in our space. And she goes down and she just nails it. I'm psyched. I'm so proud of Jules for being able to pull it off. It's been so grueling and so many ups and downs of trying to get this done in this area. So to finally see a package on a tiger shark in Maui and watch it swim away, I mean, it's just so cool. Yeah, I couldn't ask for anything more. Paige Warnley and her team have made history. They successfully deployed a camera tag on a free swimming tiger shark in Maui for the first time. It proves that we can free dive with these tiger sharks on Maui. We can get successful deployments. We can get footage back. We can get interactions with other tiger sharks. Two o'clock. I see it. It means the mystery of what's bringing the tiger sharks here is one step closer to being solved. Got it. We deployed on a female, but we see two other males in the footage, kind of in that inshore habitat with her, sharing the same space. It's a breakthrough to the mystery that can't be overlooked. Male tiger sharks are typically found in more offshore habitats. And so it's not the usual thing to see males close in to coastal habitats. It's amazing. We can see a female being pursued by two males. It makes the puzzle that much more exciting. What we've seen so far is really just the tip of the iceberg. No, the work's not done. We're really just getting started. There's never a time that I ever doubted that she could do anything. And I think that now she is completely unstoppable. I'm so proud of the effort that the whole team has put in, really, to accomplish this. It's not something that I could ever attempt to do by myself. We have a lot of hardworking people, a lot of love, and we have a kick-ass team of women out here, and we're making it happen.