♪♪
I'M LUKE TIPPLE, AND THIS IS YOUR "DAILY BITE."
NOW, I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SNAG
SOME PRETTY INCREDIBLE SHARK SELFIES OVER THE YEARS.
AND LET'S BE HONEST -- WE HUMANS ARE OBSESSED
WITH RECORDING THESE ELUSIVE PREDATORS,
ESPECIALLY IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION.
BUT GETTING THE PERFECT SHOT TO DOCUMENT
THEIR ASTONISHING APPEARANCES ISN'T EASY.
AND TODAY, WE'RE TALKING TO SOME OF SHARK WEEK'S
CRAZIEST PHOTOGRAPHERS,
WHO HAVE RISKED IT ALL TO BRING SHARKS TO OUR SCREENS.
WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME
ABOUT MY GNARLIEST EXPERIENCES UNDERWATER,
I CAN TALK ABOUT NEAR MISSES WITH SHARKS CHARGING AT ME
OR MAYBE GETTING MORE THAN I BARGAINED FOR
IN THE MIDDLE OF A FEEDING FRENZY,
BUT, HONESTLY, BY FAR, THE SKETCHIEST MISSION
THAT I'VE GONE ON WAS HUNTING FOR AN ELUSIVE SAWFISH
ON A SHIPWRECK AT 230 FEET DEEP.
NOW, WE'D HEARD REPORTS OF MATURE SAWFISH
CONGREGATING ON THE WRECK OF THE QUEEN OF NASSAU.
THAT'S JUST OFF OF THE COAST OF THE FLORIDA KEYS.
IT'S A REALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES,
AND I WANTED TO SEE WHICH SEXES
MIGHT BE THERE AND, PERHAPS EVEN,
IF THIS CONGREGATION WAS A SEASONAL EVENT.
THAT EVIDENCE WOULD HAVE HELPED BETTER PROTECT THE SAWFISH
BY POSSIBLY INCLUDING THE WRECK AS A BREEDING GROUND.
DIVING THAT WRECK IS NOT A JOKE.
IT'S A TECHNICAL DIVE, IT REQUIRES MULTIPLE GASSES,
AND WE'RE AT REALLY EXTREME DEPTHS.
AND THE WRECK IS NOTORIOUS FOR ENTANGLEMENT,
LOW VISIBILITY, STRONG CURRENTS, AND BIG PREDATORS.
WE DID MULTIPLE DIVES IN, FRANKLY, HORRIBLE CONDITIONS
AND STRUGGLED THROUGH GEAR FAILURES AND TEAM FRUSTRATION.
AND I GOT TO TELL YOU -- THERE WAS DEFINITELY MOMENTS
WHINE I WAS FLYING AROUND 230 FEET UNDERWATER,
LOW VISIBILITY, ON MY UNDERWATER SCOOTER,
WONDERING WHAT THE HELL I WAS DOING
LOOKING FOR A 15-TO-20-FOOT ANIMAL
WITH AN 8-FOOT SWORD FOR A SNOUT.
I MEAN, IF I'D ACTUALLY RUN INTO THE THING AT THAT SPEED,
ITS FIRST DEFENSE WOULD HAVE BEEN TO SLASH OUT AT ME,
AND THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE I WOULD HAVE BEEN TOAST.
DESPITE EVERYTHING, WE GOT THE SHOT WE WERE AFTER,
AND IT HAPPENED ON THE VERY LAST DAY AND THE VERY LAST DIVE.
IT WAS REALLY TREMENDOUS PRESSURE TO BE UNDER,
BUT THE FOOTAGE WAS VALUABLE,
AND IT WENT TOWARDS THE DATABASE OF LOCAL SCIENTISTS
WORKING TO BETTER PROTECT THE SAWFISH.
♪♪
I'VE BEEN FILMING GREAT WHITE SHARKS FOR OVER TWO DECADES NOW,
ALL OVER THE PLANET.
THEY ARE MY FAVORITE SHARK IN THE WORLD.
AND I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU THIS INCREDIBLE STORY.
RECENTLY, I WENT TO A LOCATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
THAT WE NICKNAMED THE "ISLE OF JAWS."
AND THEN, SUDDENLY, I SEE THESE TWO SHARKS
SWIMMING RIGHT UP TO ME.
THEY SPLIT PAST ME, AND MY HEAD IS EXPLODING.
I'M THINKING, "I'VE NEVER HAD TWO WHITE SHARKS
THIS CLOSE IN PERFECT SYNCHRONY, RIGHT OVER TOP OF ME.
I SEE THEM LOOP BACK AROUND,
AND THEN THEY SWIM RIGHT UP OVER ME AGAIN.
AND I LOOK, AND I SEE THESE ALMOST IDENTICAL BIRTHMARKS.
AND I'M THINKING, "THEY LITERALLY LOOK LIKE
GREAT WHITE SHARK BROTHERS."
SO, AS IT'S SWIMMING PAST, I PET THIS ONE'S BELLY,
GIVE IT A BIT OF A RUB, JUST TO LET IT KNOW,
"HEY, I KNOW YOU'RE CLOSER THIS TIME,"
AND THEN, ACTUALLY, THIS SMALL ONE CAME RIGHT IN,
BUMPED THE CAMERA HOUSING.
I PUSHED IT OFF.
AND THEN I REALIZED, WHEN THEY START TO GET SUPER INQUISITIVE,
SUPER CURIOUS, IT'S BEST TO NOT PUSH IT.
THIS LOCATION -- WHAT'S REALLY UNIQUE ABOUT IT IS, VERY CLOSE
BY, THERE'S A PUPPY GROUND, A GREAT WHITE SHARK NURSERY.
GREAT WHITE SHARKS CAN HAVE UP TO 1 TO 14 PUPS
IN THE SAME LITTER.
SO WHAT I BELIEVE IS THIS NURSERY
THAT'S CLOSE BY -- IF YOU'RE A BABY WHITE SHARK
AND YOU HAVE 13 BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
OF COURSE YOU'RE GONNA HANG OUT WITH THEM --
SAFETY IN NUMBERS, COOPERATIVE HUNTING.
IT MAKES SENSE.
AND THESE TWO GREAT WHITE SHARK BROTHERS --
THEY ARE THE DIVE OF MY LIFE.
GREAT WHITE SHARK BROTHERS ROCK.
♪♪
THE MAKO SHARK IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SHARK
AND MY FAVORITE SHARK TO WORK WITH.
I'VE STUDIED AND FILMED THEM FOR OVER 10 YEARS,
AND THEY'VE DEFINITELY POSED A LOT OF CHALLENGES.
MOST OF THE ONES THAT WILL STAY AROUND WITH CAMERAMEN
ARE VERY BOLD, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES
THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE THESE AMAZING ENCOUNTERS WITH.
ONE OF THE CRAZIEST EXPERIENCES THAT I EVER HAD HAPPENED
ABOUT NINE YEARS AGO.
WE WERE OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.
THEN WE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A VERY LARGE MAKO IN THE SLICK.
AND I GOT GEARED UP, I JUMPED IN THE WATER TO GO FILM HER,
AND IT STARTED SPARKING ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING REACTIONS
AND BEHAVIORS I'VE EVER SEEN FROM A MAKO SHARK.
SHE WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN MY CAMERA
AND TRYING TO KEEP ME AWAY FROM THE BOAT.
A $5,000 LENS TURNED INTO A $5 LENS REALLY QUICKLY,
AND I THINK SHE BIT IT LIKE CLOSE TO 20 TIMES
WHEN WE WERE IN THE WATER.
USUALLY, THESE ANIMALS JUST SWIM BY.
THIS ANIMAL WAS REALLY INTENT ON FIGURING OUT WHAT I WAS.
AND TO THIS DAY, IT'S ONE I STILL WILL NEVER FORGET.
SO, YOU MIGHT ASK, WHY DO WE RISK OUR LIVES?
IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR PEOPLE TO CALL US CRAZY,
AND IT'S KIND OF TRUE, BUT CRAZY FOR SHARKS
AND FOR PROTECTING THEM FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
DOCUMENTING SHARK BEHAVIOR HAS HELPED PASS IMPORTANT
LEGISLATION TO PROTECT THINGS LIKE MATING AND PUPPING GROUNDS.
IT ALSO HELPS SCIENTISTS GATHER IMPORTANT DATA ABOUT CHANGES
IN SHARKS' BEHAVIORS, THEIR AGES AND SIZES,
AND IT HELPS ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT ARE TRULY ELUSIVE SPECIES.
BUT DESPITE THOUSANDS OF HOURS WE SPENT UNDERWATER
WORKING AND FILMING SHARKS,
THERE'S STILL SO MUCH MORE TO DISCOVER.
STICK WITH US ALL SHARK WEEK LONG, AS WE CONTINUE
TO BRING YOU THE MOST JAW-DROPPING MOMENTS IN SHARK.
IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE "DAILY BITE,"
WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT ALL OF THE NEWEST BREAKTHROUGHS
AS SEEN ON SHARK WEEK.