Episode Information

Life is a challenge for a young seal in the untamed waters off the southern tip of Africa. Every day is a struggle for survival, whether he’s avoiding aggressive seal bulls or escaping a great white shark. This is the story of a courageous little seal who braves the ocean and its perils, and leaves his colony, to follow one of the greatest migrations on Earth – the Sardine Run. Every year, millions of sardines move en masse up the east coast of South Africa, following the cool winter currents for almost 1,000km. For the sardines it’s a perilous journey – their migration attracts a vast following of formidable predators that attack from sea and air. Huge flocks of Cape gannets pursue the sardine shoals while thousands of dolphins strike relentlessly from just below the surface, and hundreds of sharks attack from the depths. But strangest of all, there are a few adventurous seals that join this frenzied journey. To this day, the reason a seal would embark on the sardine run remains a mystery...