This time on Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, a new Blue World cameraman!
Hi, I’m Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
Ever since I was a kid, I have read in books and magazines that Tiger sharks will eat anything.
It’s been referred to as the “ocean’s garbage can” and in the movie Jaws, a Tiger
shark’s stomach was depicted as containing a tin can and a license plate.
This license plate reference is seen virtually everywhere, in books and web pages.
Even Wikipedia says: Because of its aggressive and indiscriminate feeding style, it often
mistakenly eats inedible objects, such as automobile license plates, oil cans, tires,
and baseballs.
Honestly, I have to wonder how much of this is true, and I’m going to try to find out.
So, I have mounted an expedition to a famous place in the Bahamas called Tiger Beach, where
Tiger sharks have been fed by divers for many years, so the sharks are used to interacting
with divers.
Expert Shark Handlers Rich D’Argento and Connor Cassidy are going to help me with a
little experiment.
Once the chum is in the water and the sharks have shown up, it’s time to go diving and
find some Tiger sharks.
Connor brings down a big crate of bait, to get a large Tiger shark to come close.
Julia is with me as camerawoman.
I have left my big camera behind and instead brought a tiny GoPro on a pole.
The GoPro is fun for underwater selfies, but that’s not why I brought it.
I want to see if a hungry Tiger shark will try to eat a camera if I offer it.
Worst case, I’m going to lose my GoPro.
Best case, I might get a great shot inside a Tiger shark’s mouth!
A monster Tiger known to the divemasters as “Roxy” comes on the scene.
She is very gentle as she munches down fish heads and swims around the divers.
I offer her my camera as a snack.
In spite of everything I have read about Tiger sharks eating anything they find, this shark
has no interest in eating a GoPro.
In fact the only way I can get her to bite it is by putting it in her mouth when she
is gulping down a piece of fish.
And even then, she lets it go.
Every single time I try….she spits it out.
So much for Tiger sharks eating anything that fits in their mouth.
I’m not sure I believe all that hype about Tiger sharks being the “garbage cans of
the ocean.”
I actually think Tiger sharks are a lot smarter than they get credit for.
And I’m going to prove it with Rich and Connor’s help.
One of the goals of this expedition is to audition a potential new Blue World cameraman.
Rich and Connor have invented a great new gadget which will open up new creative possibilities.
So, Rich, what is this thing?
Well, this is actually our shark cam that clips on the dorsal fin of the Tiger Shark!
We clip it on the shark like so, and you get different angles of the shark, so you get
all the head motion and all the cool swimming around it does, going around the reef, coming
back to us.
No harm to the shark, as you can see, it clips on very soft and can fall off if need be.
If it does fall, it falls on the ground, also keeps the right angle.
So this is a highly scientifically-developed product?
Absolutely, made with zip ties.
Is there a trick to putting it on the shark?
There is, yeah, I mean the shark’s got to be coming in at the right spot at the right
time.
They can shake it off if they want to, so you got to keep an eye on it, because we don’t
want to lose our camera!
Right.
Well, let’s go try it out!!
To deploy the Shark-cam, first we need a willing shark.
Our team hits the water again.
We gather around as Rich and Connor feed the big Tiger sharks, looking for a cooperative
animal.
Roxy comes in close and presents a perfect opportunity to clip on the shark cam.
I can clip it on my hand so it definitely doesn’t hurt.
But Roxy can feel it on her fin and she doesn’t like it.
She shakes it off.
But we got the camera back so we can try again.
Connor clips it a little lower, hoping it will stay on better.
And off she goes, the first Blue World camera shark!
When we come back…Roxy steals the show!
After clipping the Shark Cam to Roxy’s dorsal fin, we watch as she swims away with our camera.
Now Roxy is shooting the footage!
We couldn’t ask for a better view, looking out over her head as she gently swims over
the bottom.
A nice big shark swims so smoothly!
She does give it a shake, trying to make it pop off, but for the moment at least, the
camera stays on.
I’m really hoping she doesn’t swim too far and lose our camera!
As if knowing exactly what we want, Roxy cruises off, on a lap around the reef.
Of course, we are back near the boat, wondering if we will ever see our GoPro again.
She begins to bank left, making a huge circle.
She swings down a little deeper to get us some excellent shots of the beautiful sea
grass bed, a habitat so important to fish, invertebrates and sea turtles.
Look how great this video is!
She is an awesome camera shark!
Next, she glides over the sand at 40 feet, showing rows of ripples created by currents
and waves.
She is cruising just above the sand.
In the distance: the reef where she began her lap.
This shark knows exactly what she is doing.
Wait are those scuba bubbles?
She is coming right back to our group!
As she comes over the top of the reef, nobody sees her yet.
But then you can hear cheering as we spot her coming into view.
Just as she reaches the bait box for another snack, she shakes the camera off right at
our feet, as if she planned it that way.
If you think sharks aren’t smart, you’re wrong.
Roxy knows exactly what she is doing.
Who needs a CameraMan, when you have a CameraShark?
Roxy the shark has shown me that it’s possible we misunderstand Tiger sharks.
They are smarter than they look.
They don’t go around the ocean eating license plates and GoPros.
In fact, in my admittedly limited experience, a Tiger shark is more likely to shoot some
great video than it is to eat the video camera!