DANGER IS MY BUSINESS: SHARK DOCTOR

[music] >> Man risked his life to doctor man-eaters of the deep on Danger is my business. >> [music] [music] >> The king of the sea, the shark, does not thrive in captivity unless he is lucky enough to be a patient of Doc Brown. Here to tell us more about this daring shark doctor is Mr. Adventure, Colonel John D. Craig. Medical doctors have all sorts of patients. But here is a man who doctors some of the strangest creatures from King Neptune's domain. He nurtures them, cares for them. And how do they repay him? Well, sometimes they try to bite off his leg. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Dave Brown, aquarist at Marineland of the Pacific. Dave, people are always asking me, "How do you acquire all these strange creatures you have here at Marineland?" Well, kind of we uh we catch them. If you want some real excitement, you should join us sometime aboard the Geronimo. I'd like to. >> [music] [music] [music] >> And so, early one morning, along with Dave, I joined the Geronimo and met a stocky, powerful man of Sicilian descent, Frank Barcato, the skipper. His father fished the waters of the Mediterranean before coming to America. Frank has old-world knowledge of boats and nets unknown in this country. I also met Boots Calandrino, Frank's assistant. Boots handles the gear aboard. As we headed to sea, Dave told me how Frank had taught his godson, Boots, so much about the sea and how Boots had learned from him a marvelous skill with nets, lines, blocks, and all variety of gear found aboard the Geronimo. How generally it was useless for uninitiated to help these two very experienced seamen when it came to catching specimens. Dave Brown and Frank Barcato are a unique team. Frank uses all his inherent fisherman's sense of the sea to search [music] out and capture fishes never sought or encountered by commercial fishermen. And Dave uses his seemingly limitless knowledge of marine life to keep them alive and healthy for display at Marineland. Right now, we are searching for sharks. Yet in the early morning like this, the broad Pacific [music] offers many surprises. Porpoise belong to the tooth whale family, descending from mammals that ages ago chose an aquatic existence. >> [music] >> They are extremely fast swimmers and can outswim most fish and even catch the speedy flying fish. >> [music] >> Although sharks are our priority, Dave felt that Marineland could use another porpoise or two. So, Frank put the boat in position so we could intercept them. Porpoise love to play and follow ships for long distances. Their habit of rolling and jumping near the ship makes it possible for Frank to snare them. How does one catch a porpoise? Well, they seldom if ever will bite on a baited hook. But Frank has a method that usually is successful. He reminded me that porpoise are warm-blooded creatures and breathe air. Sometimes they remain underwater 3 minutes at a time, but usually they surface for breath every 35 to 45 seconds. Frank's porpoise-catching method is risky. He uses no harmful hooks or restraining gear that slows the animal or reduces its ability to exert its full strength. Because of this, he has often been pulled overboard. Here's where experience counts. Knowing just how much pressure to keep on that line without exerting the porpoise to the point of dangerous exhaustion. It's impossible to land it without the aid of the skiff. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Other porpoise approach either out of curiosity or some instinctive desire to aid their ensnared companion. Would these attack if Frank or Boots fell overboard? If the skiff capsized, they could get caught in that line and be pulled under. Strangely enough, once the porpoise is out of water, it seldom struggles or batters and thrashes about with its flukes. Mostly it lies perfectly still like this, giving evidence of life only by irregular, explosive breathing. Its intelligence seems to tell it it is useless to fight. >> [music] [music] >> With the porpoise safely aboard, we continue our search for sharks. Catching sharks is a comparatively simple thing, but catching a specific kind of shark, like the ones we are after, well, that takes skill and a vast knowledge of the sea. >> [music] >> We're looking for large blue shark. Boots knows a proper cut of mackerel bait that are most likely to appeal to them. A few small pieces thrown out for chum will bring a shark close to the boat >> [music] >> where he's more likely to take the baited hook. Boots always prepares a barbless hook for this work. It is less likely to tear or injure the shark when it is removed. >> [music] >> There's a blue shark now. Okay, Boots, chum him up. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Once Boots gets a shark on the barbless hook, the line has to be kept taut or the shark can shake itself free. >> [music] [music] [bell] [music] >> Very few fishermen who have encountered large sharks have come away uninjured. These men must take these chances. They want to keep him alive and kicking, so into the tank he goes. >> [music] [music] [music] >> These men are expert at recovering that hook, but don't you ever try anything like this or you're likely to lose a hand. The struggle with one shark has attracted others. This is good. We'll try and catch several, but one can never be sure how big they will come. The bigger, the more dangerous the struggle. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> His whole body is a mass of muscle and its thrashing about is highly dangerous. It will snap and bite at anything within reach. >> A shark's vise-like jaws are especially dangerous. Those triangular, razor-sharp teeth can easily bite through bone. While Frank speeds the boat back to the Marineland dock, it's Bootsy's job to see that the sharks don't leap out of the tank. Transferring the sharks at the dock is always a grave concern of Dave's. Not only is there danger to the men who must hastily handle them, sometimes without due precaution against being battered or bitten, but also danger to the sharks. Rough treatment induces shock, from which the sharks can die. Then all the risks and efforts made would be lost. >> [music] [music] [music] >> The quicker the sharks can be moved into the transportation box and trucked up to Marineland's big tank, the better. With all the millions of dollars that have been spent on scientific research, still very little is known about sharks. This creature was so perfectly designed in the beginning that little, if any, change has occurred in his structure since prehistoric times. To find out more about them is one of Dave Brown's keenest interest, but to do this after he catches them, he must find ways to keep them alive. Dave is continually being confronted with problems for which he must devise new methods to meet them. Who, except a shark doctor, would ever be confronted with hoisting his patient 100 ft in the air in an [music] aquatic stretcher? >> [music] [music] >> And finally, there is the most unusual and probably the most hazardous activity involved in handling sharks. How do they look, Dave? Well, we don't really know yet, Colonel. You know, I enjoyed being out there on the Geronimo on that porpoise and shark fishing, but this business of walking the sharks, it looks kind of dangerous to me. Well, when they come to, they can surely give you a nip. Well, then why do you do it? Well, you know, as you know, you were out on the Geronimo, you saw these fish being captured. When we put them into the small tank, they're rather inclined to lose consciousness. So, when we bring them to Marineland, we have to give them artificial respiration to bring them round. That's how you walk them, then. That's why we walk them. We walk them round and round in circles. The water flows through their mouths, gives them the necessary oxygen, and invariably they come out of it very quickly. I see. Well, they look kind of hungry to me. Well, I better go down there now, John, and and help out here. >> [music] [music] >> We'll see how Dave makes out after this brief message from our sponsor. >> [music] >> A shark doctor has many duties that are hazardous, but this one of walking the sharks is probably the most dangerous. >> [music] >> The creatures are somewhat stunned by their capture and the sudden change in their surroundings, and Dave never knows just what they may do when they come out of shock. A shark is probably the most perfect machine of destruction ever created. The three sets of fins on its back, sides, and stomach [music] are superbly set for quick turning and powerful thrust. When it is swimming free, it moves without seeming effort, with grace and lightness that belies its savagery. It is a voracious [music] pirate of the sea. Its whole life is spent hunting. It never stops, for it has an insatiable appetite. >> [music] >> In the sea, a shark's acute hearing and keen sense of smell guides [music] him toward food. Once he sights it, he swims around his victim in ever smaller circles, and then moves in for the kill. A group of hungry sharks, once aroused, will tear a victim to pieces with unbelievable speed and savagery. In these struggles, the shark's sandpaper-like skin rasps painful abrasions on the bodies of the divers. Still, they would rather have the abrasions than let the shark get away, possibly to take a bite out of their torsos. The shark's gimlet eyed stare seems to emit hostile looks at everything within range. It is hostile, and he's just waiting the opportunity to show it. In popular usage, the term man-eater might apply to almost any medium or large-sized shark. Man-eater statistics are virtually nonexistent, and this is usually a ticklish subject among ichthyologists. Contrary [music] to popular belief, although a shark's mouth is on the underside, it does not have to turn over to attack. Because of this, Dave and his assistant must constantly be alert. >> [music] >> In its daily battles to survive, its ruthless teeth are readily broken off. But other rows of teeth form reserves and move up quickly to fill the gaps. These teeth are so sharp, you can shave with one of them. This creature, whose ancestors roamed the seas 40 million years ago, stems from the first family of the ocean. He was around prior to modern bony fishes, prior to land vertebrates. Maybe his vigor, his strength, and his savagery are reasons for survival. But right now, his life depends on Dave's ability to help him revive. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> When the sharks are sufficiently [music] revived, they are released into the big oval tank at Marineland, where they can be seen and studied with the other inhabitants in this giant [music] fish bowl. Here in his new home, the blue shark moves with ease among the giant grouper, pargo, bat rays, sheephead, and other deep-sea creatures. How many he will eat a day is something Dave hasn't yet figured out. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> This great 16-ft octopus would be a formidable opponent to the shark. Its very movement reeks of evil menace. >> [music] >> When Dave asked me if I would like to shake hands with Oki, I accepted with apprehension. [music] Imagine shaking hands with an octopus. >> [music] [music] >> Not all shark doctor Dave Brown's patients are aggressive or dangerous. These baby harbor [music] seals have lost their mothers. Dave knew the right procedures to follow, and apparently has the right formula. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> But what about those porpoises they caught? They too must have experienced somewhat of a shock to find themselves confined in this tank. When they won't eat, they sometimes develop something akin to rickets and need vitamin shots, special medication, and other care. These are valuable animals and it is Dave's job to see that they stay healthy. They have 30 to 35 teeth in each jaw and they have been known to charge and ram a shark to death. Still, these men risk getting in there with them. Catching a porpoise in this small tank can be more exciting and much more dangerous than landing him in the open sea. >> [music] [music] [music] >> Keeping these animals healthy in a strange, new environment is a tremendous responsibility and taxes all of Dave Brown's ingenuity and resourcefulness. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Dave discovers many traits in his patients that indicate a surprising intelligence. >> [music] >> They soon learned the porpoise enjoyed playing with those rubber rings. The natural inclination of the porpoise to be playful made it easy to train them. This creature has a flexible neck like many land animals and can jerk his head easily in any direction. This ability to move its head quickly suggested a game and the porpoise never seemed to tire of playing catch with their trainer. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Dave and his assistants have trained these creatures to perform many amusing stunts. Although they look docile here, they still are wild creatures of the deep and it has provided Dave Brown with many anxious hours and several hazardous incidents to nurture them. >> [music] [music] >> He will continue facing dangers and taking calculated risks seeking and learning about the odd [music] denizens in King Neptune's domain. As long as he pursues his quest, truly [music] he can say, "Danger is my business." Thank you, Dave Brown, for your courtesies and for allowing us to tell your story. And please thank Marineland of the Pacific for their many courtesies to us. Well, thank you very much, Kirtland. It's been a great pleasure having you here with us. I do hope that you and all of your crew one day come down and see us again. Thank you so much. And I hope you'll be with me again when I bring you another unusual adventure on Danger Is My Business. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music]