WILD ISRAEL journeys to the country's southernmost region
to explore two worlds:
One- a clear, tropical sea teeming with life.
The other- a landscape of red granite mountains
and harsh desert.
Welcome to the Red Sea and the Eilat mountains range.
A place where every animal needs serious survival tactics.
Some rely on camouflage. Other prefer to hide.
The lucky few have developed lethal defense strategies.
Some manage alone and some need partners to stay alive.
[Bells ringing]
In Israel, history is everywhere.
Religion and culture have intersected over the centuries.
But the country is less known for its fascinating
wildlife and terrain.
Explore an Israel most people never see.
[Hissing]
From snowy peaks to the world's lowest sea.
From Mediterranean beaches to lush waterfalls
and ancient desert landscapes,
and from green mountains to colorful coral reefs,
surrounded by desert mountain ranges.
At the intersection of Israel, Egypt, Jordan
and Saudi Arabia, lies the Gulf of Eilat,
at the northernmost tip of the Red Sea
and the Indian Ocean.
Fifteen miles wide and 5,900 feet deep.
The Gulf's water is crystal clear and seductively warm.
Water temperatures hover at 75 degrees Fahrenheit
even though the temperature rises
above 113 degrees Fahrenheit on dry land.
The clarity, depth and steady temperature
have brought to life the northernmost coral reef
on the planet.
Densely packed together...
How do all these creatures survive
in this underwater jungle?
Welcome to a world where cooperation
is the key to staying alive.
The coral reef is one of the largest natural structures
built by living creatures.
It comprises thousands of tiny building units called polyps.
The polyps are able to move their tentacles in the water.
They secrete calcium carbonate, and gradually build
the colony's skeleton.
But the corals require assistance to build
their hard limestone skeleton.
That assistance comes from their partnership
with microscopic unicellular algae.
These algae live in the inner cell layer of the coral.
Using photosynthesis, they generate and provide the coral
with oxygen and most of its energy requirements.
They also speed up the processes of building
the coral's skeleton.
Both partners benefit from this relationship.
The algae can thrive in a comfortable, protected habitat.
The coral gets the oxygen and sugars it needs
to build its skeleton.
The cooperation is so critical
that when the algae are expelled, for example,
when temperatures fluctuate too much,
the coral loses its colors and source of energy,
and eventually can die.
This phenomenon is know as coral bleaching.
Corals also draw energy by feeding
on tiny plankton suspended in the water.
At the same time, corals are themselves food
for fish such as Parrotfish and Picasso triggerfish.
Corals grow in a range of shapes and forms:
massive corals that create huge balls, where thousands
of polyps close and open up at the appropriate time;
some resemble the human brain.
But not all corals are rock hard.
The skeleton of soft corals is different
to that of the stony corals.
They exist in a range of colors, are more flexible
and can move from side to side in the water currents.
Fire hydrocorals create dense zones on the reef.
All corals have stinging cells for trapping prey,
and it's especially painful to touch
the stinging cells of the fire hydrocorals
which is what gives this coral its name.
Like the corals, sea anemones also hunt their prey
in the water body.
The sea anemone is a large polyp attached
to the reef's base.
It has long hunting tentacles armed
with stinging cells - also useful for staying safe.
But this line of defense is not all.
This sea anemone has back-up.
Like so many down here on the reef, it survives
thanks to a crucial working partnership.
Clownfish swim freely through its tentacles -
immune to the sea anemone's stinging cells.
The sea anemone provides the clownfish with
protection and food, and in return receives
its own protection and cleaning services.
The fish's movement through its tentacles
ensures a steady flow of oxygen-rich water.
The sea anemone also enjoys the clownfish's secretion
of ammonia that serves as a vital source of nitrogen.
Two to six clownfish live with each sea anemone,
organized in a clear hierarchy.
A female heads the small group.
She reproduces with the dominant male.
If the female is eaten, her partner
does something incredible
He becomes a female, and takes her place.
The next male in the hierarchy becomes her mate.
The others will continue to wait their turn.
During the breeding season the female lays a mound of eggs
near the sea anemone and the male fertilizes them.
The two parents care for, clean and protect the eggs
with dedication against predators such as the Lionfish
that searches for such a tasty meal.
The sea anemone refuge is perfect for the clownfish,
and other fish find their home elsewhere.
The Cardinalfish hides among the spines
of the Sea urchin, well-protected.
But in the gulf no refuge is completely safe.
The Picasso Triggerfish managed to reach this sea urchin,
leaving behind only an empty spiny shell.
Its eyes are located far from its mouth,
which helps it avoid getting stabbed while it eats.
The spectacular Wrasse, also ate from the sea urchin,
and still carries an unwanted souvenir
this spine stuck in its face
With no partner to provide shelter,
the hermit crab hauls its refuge wherever it goes.
It needs to find abandoned shells, like this one,
and will abandon it when it becomes too small
to live in anymore.
Partnerships are found all over the coral reef,
but the mutual benefit is not always clear to the observer.
Looking at the coral, Acropora, and the Green Reef Chromis,
the benefit to the fish is clear: they swim
close to the coral, and when they need to,
escape between its tough branches.
But what does the coral gain from this partnership?
The fishes' nitrogen-rich secretions enrich
the coral with essential nutrients.
And with their waving fins, the chromis fish also ensure
a flow of fresh, oxygen-rich water.
Without this private school of fish, corals may suffer
from oxygen deprivation at night.
And there are some corals that are not satisfied
by symbioses with algae and fish.
This Christmas tree worm, grows inside this coral's skeleton,
a perfect place to settle upon and grow,
and enjoy the protection from predators.
In return, the worm provides the coral with a flow of
oxygen-rich water, and a safe growth platform for its polyps.
A Pipe-organ sponge is also attached to the reef's base.
Sponges are one of the simplest and most ancient creatures
in the oceans.
Their body contains a complex network of openings,
tunnels and cavities lined with special cells,
which enable water to be pumped into their body.
In this way the sponges strain microscopic food particles
from the water.
Sponges are the reef's 'vacuum cleaners', cleaning its water
from particles and maintaining the water's clarity.
The giant clam also needs help down here,
and has developed a symbiotic relationship
that enables it to reach its massive size.
Like the corals, the clam works with algae
that live inside its tissues.
They provide the clam with sugars.
In return, the clam offers a comfortable home.
In the Gulf of Eilat the clam reaches 30 kg.
But beyond here in the great oceans other clam species
can grow to weigh 300kg and live up to 70 years.
If the large animals need help, the small ones
need it even more.
This is the Yellow Spotted Boxfish.
It spends the first part of its life in the same coral.
Facing danger, it releases a toxic protein from its skin.
The toxin can be fatal for fish that threaten it or its coral.
And even before it goes on the attack, its bright yellow color
sends a warning to all potential predators:
I am toxic!
When the boxfish matures its color changes to blue-gray.
Of course, in the Gulf of Eilat, some fish
use tougher methods to stay alive.
This moray eel searches for small fish and crustaceans.
Despite its appearance, the moray eel is not a snake.
It's actually a fish. And it's not poisonous.
Many species of moray eel live in the Gulf of Eilat,
in the sea bed or in the reef's refuges.
These fish are adapted to life beneath the surface;
their bodies have lengthened and lost all protrusions
that might impede it from digging into the sand.
This makes hunting a lot easier.
To trap its prey, this Snake eel digs into the ground
and then blocks any escape route to open water.
The moray eel's body is covered by very thick skin.
Some secrete sticky mucus that repels predators
and shields them from bruising.
The eel can open its mouth beyond the width
of its own body, enabling it to swallow fish that weigh
as much as a third of its body weight!
The moray eel's sense of smell is so sensitive
it can detect prey dozens of feet away.
Then it moves with frightening speed.
Moray eels stick to a permanent area,
returning home after each hunting trip.
They find the red-backed cleaner shrimp waiting
to take care of them.
The cleaner shrimp moves over the moray eel cleaning away
dead tissue, parasites and bits of food and dirt,
even from inside its mouth.
It's a win-win situation for both sides.
The cleaner shrimp faces some competition,
but it seems there's enough work for everyone.
Next to the reef wall a cleaner fish marks out
his cleaning station with a welcome dance.
Fish passing by approach the cleaning station
and receive excellent service.
Even the barracuda gets taken care of.
Several species of cleaner fish live in the Gulf of Eilat;
each one carries out its work according to its size.
A smaller cleaner fish enters the gill openings
of a pufferfish.
Sometimes, the cleaning is annoying and the cleaner
is dismissed.
but not to worry, it will return at the earliest
available opportunity.
In one of the reef's alcoves something secret
is taking place.
A groper approaches a moray eel and invites it
to a joint hunting expedition.
It moves its head in the eel's direction.
this is the familiar signal.
The moray eel accepts the invitation.
This fascinating partnership is found between different species
of gropers and moray eels in the gulf.
Each partner has a different role in the joint activity.
The eel crawls ahead towards the reef crevices,
while the groper waits outside.
Any prey fleeing the groper for the reef refuge,
meets the eel.
and those escaping from the eel are swallowed by the groper.
It turns out that hunting in tandem is five times
more effective than hunting alone.
How did this partnership form?
Is it related only to instincts or does it indicate
intelligence and learning by the fishes?
Until it is solved by a future researcher,
the answer will remain the predators' secret
and the nightmare of the reef fish.
Night falls on the Red Sea.
It does not affect the water's temperature, but the darkness
changes the balance of power.
Sea creatures who were active during the day
withdraw to the reef to sleep through the night.
This is the hour of the night predators.
A group of lionfish sets out to hunt tiny glass fish.
The glass fish are small enough to be caught by Tube Corals
The transparent comb jelly, which resembles a jellyfish,
is also active now.
It moves in the water using tiny rows of lashes,
searching for plankton in the water.
At night most corals spread out their hunting tentacles,
waiting for prey.
In the darkness an extraordinary dancer
bursts into action.
The Feather star may look like a plant, but it is an animal.
Twenty species of feather star live in the Gulf of Eilat.
With open arms it moves around the sea bed or swims
through the open water in search of food.
The mouth is found in the upper part of their body,
surrounded by feathery arms that strain tiny food particles
and plankton floating in the water.
The lower part of their body is equipped with special hooks
for gripping onto rock protrusions or corals.
Feather stars are very sensitive to light,
and with perfect timing they set out
the moment darkness falls.
Before sunrise they return to the hidden reef labyrinth.
At first light, in another corner of the reef,
a strange journey takes place: a large octopus
sets out, accompanied by a school of lionfish.
These lionfish have learnt the value of joining
a much bigger powerful hunter.
They swim alongside the octopus like backup forces,
primed and ready to steal any leftovers or a fingerling
that escaped the hunting net.
Other fish gather and join the large hunters,
waiting for a forgotten crumb.
The octopus hunts the small fingerlings
relying on the coral to save them.
It spreads out its body like a fishing net,
covering the entire coral.
The octopus hunts all over the reef, but prefers
the coral canyons and the seagrass meadows.
Seagrass meadows resemble the broad savanna plains,
home to herds of grazers, chased and threatened
by predators.
Large sea turtles swim here;
fish graze among algae and plants,
aware of every movement or shadow.
In these open grazing meadows, danger is everywhere.
Speed and camouflage are the name of the game.
At the edge of the reef, the seagrass covers
a large area that looks like a lawn.
It is not seaweed, but a more complex plant
with flowers, that migrated millions of years ago
from dry land to the sea.
The sea grass lives in partnership with bacteria
which take gaseous nitrogen dissolved in the water
and convert it into organic forms,
useful for the reef's organisms.
These plants and their associated bacteria
play a fundamentally important role in the food web.
Only a few plants in the world, including sea grasses
and Acacia trees on land, have associated bacteria
that can trap gaseous nitrogen and make it accessible
to living organisms, which use it to build proteins.
In contrast to the many places around the world
where reefs have formed, the reef in the Gulf of Eilat
grows on the edge of a desert environment,
surrounded by arid mountain ranges.
[twittering]
Herds of gazelles and Ibex have managed to survive
in this harsh dry land.
These surface animals owe their survival
to the Acacia tree, their primary source of food.
The Acacia Strap Flower grows on the trunk
and blossoms nearly all year round.
[Chirping]
It conducts photosynthesis but it also draws fluids
and all of its essential nutrients from the tree itself.
[Twittering]
With so few insects in the desert the Acacia Strap Flower
needs birds to carry out pollination
and the scattering of seeds.
This is able to happen because the flower's vibrant red
attracts sunbirds and other songbirds and these partners
transfer the sticky seeds to other trees.
Is the Acacia tree and the Acacia Strap relationship
a partnership or parasitism? It's still not clear.
Another relationship that takes place under the scorching sun
also looks like parasitism.
The Desert Broomrape rises up and flowers from the arid soil
in strong patches of yellow.
It has no green leaves and so does not conduct photosynthesis
In order to survive, it has evolved to take advantage
of other plants.
The Broomrape's roots are deeply entwined
n the root system of a saltbush.
The Desert Broomrape feeds off the saltbush,
and flowers at its expense.
Neither the saltbush nor the Acacia tree appears to be
gaining anything from the partnership forced upon it.
The Acacia tree is an entire world.
At any hour during the day desert creatures come to rest
in its shade or eat from it.
In the hot noon hours something that looks like
a prehistoric dinosaur comes in close.
The Egyptian Mastigure, the largest lizard in Israel,
weighs up to 3kg and can reach 75 cm in length.
It looks threatening armed with a large, spiny tail
that it whips to ward off threats.
The Egyptian mastigure stands guard
at the entrance of its burrow.
From here it looks out in all directions,
while warming up in the sun.
In the morning its colors are darker.
Dark colors warm up rapidly.
Only during the noon hours, when its body reaches
a high temperature, is it ready for action.
Then its color lightens to the dusty shade of the environment.
The adult is completely herbivorous,
eating from Acacia trees, and gathering flowers
and seeds at the base.
At times of danger it escapes to its burrow.
Each Egyptian mastigure guards a territory around
its burrow and around its own Acacia tree.
At night, when the temperature drops, it returns home.
This is when the nocturnal desert snakes set out.
[Hissing]
In our imagination, cobras belong to moist,
green tropical forests, but an impressive member
of this family lives here in the desert.
And the Black Desert Cobra is one of the most dangerous
snakes in the entire country.
Guided by its keen sense of smell, it slithers among
the rocks searching for toads, rodents and reptiles.
And when it finds its quarry, the cobra swallows it whole.
[Hissing]
When the cobra feels threatened it hisses loudly
with surprising aggression.
This cobra is here to stay.
[Hissing]
The rising sun drives the snakes away to their
shady refuges, and reveals the beauty of the Timna Valley.
Ancient sandstone cliffs rising to great heights,
sculpted and weathered by wind and water,
broad arid channels and sparse, scattered vegetation
create a colorful and surreal landscape.
On the edges of the valley grow rare Doum Palms.
Originally from the extremely arid regions of Eastern Africa
and the Nile Valley.
this is their northernmost location in the world.
Compared to other palms growing from a single trunk,
the Doum Palm boasts a unique branched trunk.
When the temperature in the river valleys
surrounding the gulf exceeds 104 degrees Fahrenheit,
Ornate Mastigures are the only creatures
which wander the landscape.
The Ornate Mastigure is smaller and more colorful
than its Egyptian cousin which lives on the open plains.
The Ornate mastigure lives in steep canyons and rocky areas.
It feeds off desert shrubs and their fruit.
The sweet, succulent offerings from the Taily Weed
are a real delicacy, and provide the mastigure
with all the water it needs.
There's no mistaking the male ornate mastigure,
which is yellow, blue and green,
and the female, which is camouflaged in brown.
Mastigures are attractive to predators
and must protect themselves.
When it notices an eagle the ornate mastigure squeezes
between rocks or into a shady crevice and disappears
from sight thanks to its color and skin pattern.
Camouflage is critical here.
And it's not exclusive to surface creatures.
On the sandy seabed out in the open there are no rocky
refuges to hide in, and animals rely on camouflage to survive.
The Sole has evolved to become completely flat.
This allows it to dig in and camouflage itself in sand.
Only Its two eyes protrude above.
Equipped with a similar survival tactic,
Pegasus draconis looks exactly like sand.
Down here, hiding is not the only line of defense.
Some fish can go on the attack, if they need to.
Like their shark relatives, sting rays do not have bones.
Their skeletal structure consists of hard,
but flexible, cartilage.
The Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray, lies in the sand during the day
covered so that only its eyes are visible.
But it cannot see its prey.
The hidden hunter locates crabs, clams and mollusks
using its excellent sense of smell and electric receptors,
and cracks them with its strong teeth.
Its main predators are sharks, but its tail is armed
with a poisonous spine.
The sting ray does not hesitate to thrust it into a threat.
This Scorpion fish was nicknamed "Walkman"
because of its ability to walk on the sandy seabed.
Completely camouflaged, it looks just like a rock
covered in seaweed.
Its entire body is shielded by bumps and highly toxic spines.
Its camouflage is so convincing that it can simply
lie quietly in wait and then ambush a passing fish.
When hunting, it opens its large mouth
rapidly and sucks in its surprised prey.
Speckled shrimpfish look like branches and swim
in a head-down, tail-up position,
well-hidden among the branches of the black coral
that is their background.
Some don't require camouflage, and boast vibrant colors.
Various species of sea slugs, creep along the sand.
Each one with its own psychedelic pattern and color.
Their gills flap on their backs like a flower, enabling them
to breathe the oxygen in the water.
Sea slugs prey on poisonous organisms like sponges,
and absorb the poisons in their bodies.
These chemical compounds make them very unappealing
to potential predators and compensate
for the evolutionary loss of their shell.
They advertise their toxicity with an array of warning colors
and crawl along the sand without a worry.
Most predators do not dare to touch them.
In the open sandy area, far from the reef,
strong water currents whip up the plankton
floating in the water.
The Upright Garden Eel knows exactly how to exploit
this abundant food.
The eels hide away, each one in its burrow,
in dense colonies, and as if some instant message
was passed around, they emerge one after the other
in quick succession.
To prepare for feeding they hang upright in the current
while the other end of their body is firmly anchored
in their sandy burrow. And then it's dinner time.
Any passing movement or shadow causes them
to escape rapidly into their burrows.
Among the sandy patches and seagrass meadows,
hidden from the eye, live pipefish and their relatives,
the seahorses.
They are so well-camouflaged it is difficult to detect them.
They feed on little organisms, sucking them up
with their long, narrow, toothless mouths.
But for all these different vanishing acts around the reef,
the master of camouflage and variation remains the octopus.
Lacking a skeleton, it can squeeze into
incredibly narrow crevices.
And it can swim backwards by creating a powerful water jet.
The octopus's supple body discards and assumes
multiple shapes and textures, sometimes smooth and pale,
other times bumpy and speckled.
Its skin contains pigment cells that allow it to change colors
according to the surroundings or message it wants to convey.
When hunting it uses its eight tentacles armed
with strong suction cups to hold its prey.
During the mating period the male octopus guards
his female partner aggressively,
expelling other male courters from its territory.
Here he holds one of her tentacles and pulls her
into a nearby hiding place, far from competitors.
Another inhabitant of the seabed is the Sea cucumber
which crawls slowly along the sand
using tiny hydraulic tube feet.
Special legs surrounding its mouth gather up sand.
It swallows a large amount of sand through its mouth,
sifts out the organic matter and excretes the sand pellets
at the other end of its body.
In order to survive the underwater jungle,
finding a reliable secure refuge is essential.
Some search for solid objects to grab and settle on.
Rocks or other protruding objects can become
an anchor for life.
In 1994 a decommissioned ship was sunk
off the coast of Eilat to serve as an artificial reef.
Within a short period of time the first settlers
had clung to its walls.
And after 20 years it had become a well-developed,
rich reef and spectacular diving site.
Today, efforts are being made around the world
to support coral reefs with the help of man-made foundations.
These artificial structures create new diving sites
and help to divert divers away from natural reefs,
thus reducing environmental stresses
on these delicate worlds.
Next to the ship's wall above a sandy area,
a school of squid swim past.
Their tentacles are a direct extension of their heads,
perfect for hunting.
Group living gives the squid a better chance for survival,
especially for creatures that are easy prey.
In a dense school there is always a chance
that someone else will be eaten.
Swimming fast helps.
So does swimming in the center of the group
and not at the edges.
The Sea Goldie also lives in dense schools,
staying close to the reef for safety.
The school comprises several groups, or harems which include
a purple-colored territorial male and several
bright orange-colored females.
The females swim above an area of coral
that is divided between the males.
During the mating season the male releases sperm cells
into the water and the females release egg cells.
Only females develop from the fertilized eggs
and they eventually join the harem.
When the male dies, a large dominant female
changes her sex to male and takes his place.
After the sex change there is no way back
and the female functions as a male in all senses of the word.
Many other species have developed the strategy
of living in schools,
searching for food together, and protecting each other
from predators.
These schools appear to move like one big organism,
especially when they escape threats with a single
unified movement.
There is more to it than meets the eye.
Delving deeper into these social and survival patterns
reveals complex mosaic full of surprising relationships,
dependencies and partnerships, between different species
and between individuals of the same species.
The coral reef is a supreme example of this living,
evolving mosaic that we have only just begun
to explore and understand.
♪♪