Living The Wildlife

European Eel and the Bottlenose Dolphin (2x6)

Air date: Jun 06, 2009

Colin discovers the incredible lengths that the European Eel goes to migrate and takes a trip on the Shannon to listen to Dolphins Our planet is home to some incredible examples of nature that can often travel mind boggling distances throughout life – in search of food, breeding and maturity. Tonights program features one of these creatures. On this episode Colin Stafford-Johnson discovers the incredible lengths that the European Eel goes to migrate; and it’s seemingly all down to instinct! Hatching in the Saragosa Sea near the Caribbean, the Eel picks up the scent of fresh water as it drifts across the ocean and enters European waters. One such place is the Burishoole River in County Mayo, and along with expert Russell Poole, Colin goes in search of this great traveller along its banks. However it soon becomes very evident, that the European Eel may be coming to a shocking and alarming end very soon! While learning more about this endangered battler, Colin gets to see the efforts being made by conservationists such as Russell, as they attempt to collect data in a unique way to try and determine the rate of decline for this special creature. As well as getting to know Eels better, Colin takes a trip to the Shannon Estuary and discovers that this industrialised area is home to a very special and popular mammal – the Bottle Nose Dolphins. But Colin hasn’t actually come to see the Dolphins. He’s come to listen to them! Along with Simon Berrel, we learn that Dolphins live in an acoustic world which provides us with a whole world of information about these amazing creatures. Whilst trying to figure out what it all means, Colin also heads out to our clifftops to try and catch a glimpse of them in action.