Elstner's Travels - The Saviors of the Sharks
Frank Elstner goes on the trail of sharks in his new species protection documentary. Currently, about 100 million sharks are killed worldwide every year, most of them for Asian shark fin soup. The consequences for the largest predators of the seas and the ocean ecosystem are severe. On the Bahamas and in Florida, Frank Elstner therefore visits people who have dedicated themselves to the protection of sharks - and gets closer to the predatory fish than expected. Always along for the ride is Dr. Matthias Reinschmidt, the Karlsruhe zoo director who has been accompanying Frank Elstner on his journeys to the world's endangered species for six years now. "I have great respect for sharks and really don't know if I will get into the water with them," Frank Elstner said before filming began. Joseph Baron von Kerckerinck from Münsterland wants to help the showmaster overcome his fear. With his association "Shark Protect" he wants to inspire people to protect sharks. On the trip, they visit scientists who research the giant hammerhead sharks and meet the diver from the "James Bond" movies, who has dived with reef sharks several hundred times. "We were really lucky: in total, we found five different shark species in the wild - and some we really got up close and personal with!" reports Frank Elstner. He also meets the famous "swimming pigs," which are considered the happiest sows in the world. The second destination of "Elstner's Travels" is Florida - here Frank Elstner travels with shark researcher Patrick O'Donnell into the mangrove forests - the nursery of the bull sharks. "That was really an exciting night! We caught four sharks that we had to touch with our bare hands," Frank Elstner recounts. Whether the journalist and presenter also went into the water with the sharks? That's what the seventh documentary in the series "Elstner's Travels" shows.
Broadcasting on 03rd of January 2022 at 10.13am on 3sat
Music: POPVIRUS Library