For movie viewers of a certain age, you just have to say, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” and they know exactly what you are talking about.
For South African tourists on a shark tour and dive, they almost found out exactly why Chief Brody from the classic 1975 movie “Jaws” said they would need a bigger boat.
The tour was in Mossel Bay, South Africa, where underwater videographers were filming shark footage. So, what is the best way to lure sharks? Bait, of course.
As the bait was being lowered, some six feet from the video team, a massive great white lunged up out of the water and bared its terrifying teeth trying to snag the bait.
Needless to say, onlookers were stunned. To be fair, the videographer was in a shark cage, but that doesn’t make the scene any less tense.
The videographer, Mark Graham, had some interesting comments about the close encounter and sharks in general. “I feel a sense of excitement every time I see a great white shark. The sharks come right up to the boat, often investigating people in the cage in a curious manner figuring out what they are.”
A sense of excitement might be what Graham feels, but the regular person would likely feel a warm sensation in their pants. Mark Graham, however, is no regular person. He seeks to peel back some of the fear and mystery of great white sharks. He continued: “I think humans have an instinctive fear of what they can’t see and don’t understand. I think the mainstream media has a big part to play in perpetuating and exaggerating negative stories about shark encounters. I don’t think the reputation is justified.”Â
Once again, something we can blame on the mainstream media. Except in this case, it might be justified. Great White sharks have up to 300 serrated, triangular teeth that grow in rows. They can bite you seemingly several times with one chomp. They also have an extremely keen sense of smell, picking blood up in the water often from miles away. Considering the species can grow up to 20 feet long, the fear is warranted.
Graham concluded: “Great white sharks more often than not are extremely slow and curious staying just below the surface investigating the boat and the cage. So when we do have active days, where the great whites show how effective they are as predators breaching out of the water and lunging for the bait, it is amazing to see.”
No one was hurt during this close encounter, and Graham got some unreal footage, not to mention the story the guests now have to tell about the new “Jaws” movie they were almost a part of.
It is natural to fear what we don’t know and understand, but in the case of sea-dwelling monsters like great white sharks, it is probably a good fear to have.
Now, if we could just get folks to fear alligators, perhaps we would have far fewer gator-related incidents in Florida.
Featured image screengrab from embedded YouTube video
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