Great White Shark Wows Crew As It Jumps 15 Feet Through The Air
Aug 18, 2020 by apost team
Video footage that was filmed as part of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week captured a great white shark jumping a whopping 15 feet in the air in Seal Island, a small island in South Africa's False Bay. The video was posted on August 10.
When sharks appear in adventure movies, the sea beasts' computer-generated recreations depict them doing less-than-believable things. Sharks don't perform stunts. Or, at least that is what most people believe.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video :-)
Cameras were out on the water as part of the Air Jaws: Ultimate Breach documentary special. The goal here was to capture "shark-jumping" footage for television. Great whites can jump out of the water, but they usually only hit about 10 feet in height. 15 feet is impressive, especially when considering the size and weight of a great white.
A boat's team saw the fantastic feat. The world has more than an eyewitness account to the nautical high-jump, as a videographer captured the jump on video. It's authentic and amazing.
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We can only wonder how many times sharks hit 15 feet or more, but no one was there to capture it on video. And how many times did this occur with no eyewitnesses present? Such questions remain mysteries of the sea.
Not surprisingly, the Discovery Channel was behind the production of the program. Air Jaws: Ultimate Breach-Off would air during the popular Shark Week schedule of programming. According to VT, Chris Fallows, a top great white expert, traveled to False Bay in South Africa to seek out "performing" sharks. South Africa stands a country with a massive great white population in its waters. Everyone involved likely expected to capture a great deal of jumping footage, but no one expected anything so spectacular.
The boats dropped meaty bait into the waters to attract the sharks. The great whites did not pass up any meals. Nor did they disappoint the crew, as they breached the surface with their jumps. Why did this particular great white jump so high? Usually, the sharks will jump to catch fast-moving prey. The available bait was hardly going anywhere. Maybe the shark thought it was something else and did not wish to take any chances.
The Discovery Channel did find itself involved in Shark Week controversies in recent years. As per The Washington Post, the channel aired a faux-documentary dealing with the gigantic and extinct megalodon shark. The water-breaching show appears free of any debate.
At the beginning of the video, one of the crew on the boat can be heard exclaiming, "Whoa! ... That was incredible."
Ironically, the jumping great white does tap into the pop culture realm thanks to comparisons to the shlocky Sharknado series. No, this great white shark doesn't act like a cartoon character, but it does defy reality a bit.
Do you know someone who likes Shark Week and finds the animal kingdom interesting? Tell that person about the incredible jumping shark. Let them know that natural animal kingdom wonders never cease.