WORLD OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, THE: SERIES II: GREAT WHITE SHARK (TV)
Summary
One in this series of nature documentaries. This program, narrated by F. Murray Abraham, profiles the feared – and misunderstood – great white shark.
On Dyer Island off the coast of South Africa, Cape fur seals gather to breed and swim in clusters known as "rafts," aware that lone stragglers are easy prey for the sharks. The sharks, who prefer live food but will scavenge if need be, have been hunted by humans for centuries, considered impressive "trophies" because of their size and fearsome nature. South Africa has recently outlawed shark hunting; a group of scientists attempts to study their behaviors by using bait to lure the animals and then attaching computerized tags and "critter cams" to their bodies. The camera footage offers unique perspectives on their swimming and hunting patterns, though the machines are sometimes knocked off by other sharks.
On the other side of the world, at the Farallon Islands near San Francisco, the great whites and their main prey, large elephant seals, are both protected by law. Researcher Peter Pyle explains that he does not use bait, but simply watches the sea and hurries out when he spots a bloody attack in the waves. The shark typically departs the scene and then returns to its dead prey. Pyle and colleague Scot Anderson observe that, contrary to the image of a great white shark as a solitary predator, the hunter is sometimes joined by three to six other sharks, as well as a number of hungry seagulls. The scientists take photographs in order to study the sharks' "visual displays and postures," noticing that the largest sharks typically get to eat first. Anderson uses a surfboard to mimic the shape of a seal and then observes the sharks' behavior, studying the bite marks on the board – sometimes also suffered by unfortunate swimmers and surfers.
The researchers craft a durable "video board" to record the sharks up close, and their various scars and markings denote their unique social rituals, though no scientist has yet captured footage of their undoubtedly "tumultuous" mating process. Pyle and Anderson use their data to determine if the same sharks repeatedly return to the Farallon area. They find that a large female, nicknamed "Stumpy" for her damaged tail, does indeed hunt in the same areas in successive seasons and captures an impressive number of elephant seals, just one of which can sustain a shark for up to three months. The scientists then comment on the stereotype of sharks as terrifying hunters who actively seek to harm humans, explaining that they have been given an unfair reputation by Hollywood because of their untamed nature and their intimidating roles as "the essence of wildness." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
- DATE: 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:54:40
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:76986
- GENRE: Science/Nature
- SUBJECT HEADING: Science/Nature; Education/Information; Animals; Sharks
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Keith Scholey … Executive Producer
- Nicolas Noxon … Executive Producer
- Kathryn Pasternak … Coordinating Producer
- Teresa Koenig … Supervising Producer
- Grace Niska Atkins … Producer
- Paul Atkins … Producer, Director
- Thomas Atkins … Writer
- Jennie Muskett … Music by
- F. Murray Abraham … Narrator
- Scot Anderson … Interviewee
- Peter Pyle … Interviewee