A bottlenose dolphin who blocks coral reef crevices with sea sponges to ensnare her prey features in the BBC’s Blue Planet III, which arrives 25 years after the original series first aired.
The production has taken four years to complete and marks a special milestone as Sir David Attenborough provides narration during his centenary year.
The dolphin, christened Gambara from an Aboriginal term meaning clever, was filmed employing this sophisticated hunting strategy in the shallow waters off Shark Bay in Western Australia.
The discovery represents one of several previously unrecorded ocean behaviours captured across six episodes of the new series.
The hunting method involves the dolphin inserting sponges into specific openings within the coral structure, eliminating potential escape routes for fish she targets.
Director Yoland Bosiger revealed the production team received intelligence about this particular dolphin from a local observer who had witnessed the behaviour in exceptionally transparent, shallow conditions.
“We called her Gambara after the Aboriginal word for clever,” Ms Bosiger explained. “She is incredibly good at hunting with a sponge and we think she’s probably 40 years old.”
The dolphin’s unique dorsal fin markings enabled the crew to track her movements using aerial drone technology.
Ms Bosiger also developed what she termed a “stone fish camera” — functioning as submerged surveillance equipment — to document the unprecedented behaviour. “I still can’t believe we got it to be honest,” she added.
Series producer Lara Bickerton became tearful upon hearing Sir David’s voiceover work for the first time, describing the experience as deeply moving given it was her initial collaboration with the broadcaster.
“It’s the first time I’ve worked with Sir David, so I did cry the first time I heard the first line of the Seasonal Seas episode,” she admitted. “That was just a dream, to be able to work with him on the show.”
Executive producer Liz White emphasised the uncertainty surrounding Sir David’s participation, noting his centenary year added particular significance to his involvement. “Obviously there was no guarantee he was going to do it, but the fact it’s his 100th year as well makes it feel so much more special to us,” she said.
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Ms Bosiger disclosed Sir David rewrote every line of her script for the opening Tropical Seas episode, enhancing the material with additional character and wit.
White praised the veteran broadcaster’s enduring inquisitiveness. “What’s wonderful is he hasn’t lost his curiosity,” she said.
Additional sequences showcased in the series include a pair of harlequin shrimps collaborating to detach a starfish’s limb.
Ms Bickerton described the crustaceans’ coordinated efforts in vivid terms: “Not only are they absolutely beautiful, they obviously work as a team. We saw them as a little Bonnie and Clyde going out on their midnight heist. We always knew that was going to be a really great sequence if we got it.”
Episode two, Open Ocean, presents a dramatic confrontation between killer whales and an adult blue whale, pitting the ocean’s most formidable predators against the largest creature ever to exist.
The series also features clownfish in Papua New Guinea working persistently to restore their bleached anemone home to health.
An octopus in Japan, dubbed the series’ hero by the production team, ventures onto land to hunt before racing back to water to avoid desiccation under the sun.
The production team conceived the series with multiple objectives, foremost among them presenting ocean conduct never previously documented.
Ms Bickerton, who has young children, views the programme as introducing marine appreciation to a fresh generation of viewers. “I’ve got small kids, so it’s Blue Planet for a new generation is the way I see it and the idea is that we can engage a whole new raft of ocean lovers,” she said.
The producers also sought to convey optimism regarding marine environments and their capacity for recovery. “We also wanted to inject a big sense of hope, because the ocean is a very resilient place and across the different episodes we’ve got some incredible stories,” Ms Bickerton added.
White stressed the importance of fostering audience connection with marine creatures rather than perpetuating their perceived otherness.
“It’s very easy to think of the ocean as a sort of alien place – but actually it’s not full of slippery, scaly things; it’s full of amazing animals and we wanted people to really relate to them, to understood the challenges these animals face as we really get into their world and see them as these remarkable creatures,” she said.
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