ReviewHow BBC Earth’s Spy in the Ocean uses robot sperm whale, hammerhead shark, pufferfish and cuttlefish to film wildlife acting naturally
- Clever animal impostors allow us to observe marine creatures in their natural environment in BBC Earth’s Spy in the Ocean
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I spy with my camera eye … something mesmerising beneath the waves. Is it a deranged LCD screen? A salty sci-fi film? No! It’s a giant cuttlefish off Australia, wearing its heart on its manufactured skin to express its mood swings.
Arguably the most sophisticated animatronic animal ever built, this spy cuttlefish must be up for the best aquatic actor award for its role in Spy in the Ocean (BBC Earth). Its fully immersive, method-acting performance imitates that of real cuttlefish, which manipulate pigment cells to show their feelings.
The impostor inhabits an animal kingdom of undercover agents, sent by the BBC to mingle with their organic counterparts and report, via on-board cameras, on private lives that would otherwise be impossible to observe.
As well as proving a boon for conservationists keen to stem the swelling tide of extinction, they also generate engrossing entertainment. As returning, wonderstruck narrator David Tennant announces in creamy tones, “ocean life is interconnected in ways we could hardly imagine”.
The technological arsenal of a spy hammerhead shark, deployed in Indonesia’s seaside menagerie, extends to a camera in its dorsal fin – surely the ultimate fish-eye lens – and captures its symbiotic relationship with its dental hygienist, the cleaner wrasse.