If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like
to be attacked by great white sharks, here’s your chance to find out. A team
from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) captured a lot more than
they bargained for when they took their specially-equipped REMUS Shark Cam
underwater vehicle to Guadalupe Island in Mexico. Six cameras on the robot
record the tense scene as the sharks come sidling in.
“In the clear waters near Guadalupe Island,
white sharks lurk in the depths and look for the back-lit silhouette of prey at
100 meters depth,” says Edgar Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, a marine biologist who
worked with the WHOI team to study shark behavior. “When they spot a target,
they swim up quickly and attack the hind fins or flippers in order to disable
it before moving in for the kill.”
“We discovered back in 2008 that the sharks
were killing seals in deep waters, but we did not know the exact depth until
November 2013 – thanks to the REMUS SharkCam.” The footage was featured on the
TV show ‘Jaws Strikes Back’ as part of Shark Week 2014 on the Discovery Channel.
