Inside the jaws of death: The stunning images that capture what it's like to be attacked by a Great White shark

By Gavin Allen


Jaws: Julian Cohen's photographs were taken from inside a shark cage as the Great White charged at him


This is an image you are only likely to see once in your life, if experienced first hand.

However, this shudderingly close-up image of a Great White shark's wide-open jaws, seconds before it strikes, has made one of the most rare and dangerous sights in the world accessible to all.

The photographs are the work of Julian Cohen who was in a cage taking his snaps as the shark slammed into it whilst chasing bait.

Too much iron in your diet, Jaws? The Great White's blood-stained gums and rows of mercilessly sharp teeth are clear as it attempts to bite the metal shark cage


His amazing shots were taken near Neptune Island, just off the coast of South Australia.

Cohen went there to photograph the sharks, which he says are acutely misunderstood.
'I took these photos to demonstrate the magnificent power of these animals, not to make them look like crazed killers,' he said.

'Just as we can appreciate the power, grace and beauty of a tiger, we don't go wandering around in the forest where they live.

'For me the same applies to sharks. When we enter their world we can't blame them for the consequences.'

Despite their reputation stoked by the film Jaws, since the year 2000 there have been a total of 66 unprovoked Great White shark attacks, with only 14 of these attacks being fatal.

Rare and beautiful: Cohen's photographs are not designed to demonise the sharks, but to reverse the misunderstanding of the creatures brought about by popular fiction and film


In fact the fish do not target humans and don't even like their taste. What they are after is a fat, protein-rich seal rather than a bony human.

But often it is a case of mistaken identity, in which a shark ambushes a bather or surfer from below, believing the silhouette is from a seal.

And this is backed up by the fact that many attacks occur in waters with low visibility or other situations which impair the shark's senses.

It is believed many incidents seem to be 'test-bites' as they can tell in one bite whether or not the object is worth attacking.

Great White sharks also test-bite buoys, flotsam, and other unfamiliar objects, and might grab a human or a surfboard to identify it.

No accurate population numbers are available, but the Great White shark is now considered endangered.

Ironically, the trip that captured these pictures was organised by Rodney Fox, himself a victim of a Great White attack.

'These photos were all taken on the Neptune Islands in the Great Australian Bight, south of Port Lincoln, the tuna fishing capital of Australia,' said Cohen.

'I was diving with Rodney Fox who needed 360 stitches after being bitten by a Great White shark in 1963.

'He was spear fishing and the shark attacked him due to the blood in the water from the injured fish.

'Although he initially exacted revenge on every shark he could find, Rodney soon realised that this was a mistake, and has now become one of the foremost champions in shark conservation.

'His boat, the Princess II, a converted fishing boat is especially designed by him to allow divers and non divers alike to safely see these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.

'And even though the shark looks really angry, you'd be pretty narky if someone was waving a big mac in your face and then kept taking it away as you tried to bite it.'


source:dailymail

Great White sharks are already here and UK waters are an ideal hunting ground, claims expert

Shark Trust president Richard Peirce: 'Conditions here mirror those in parts of South Africa, Australia and northern California'

By Stephanie Darrall

British waters are an ideal hunting ground for great white sharks, who are already 'occasional vagrant visitors', claims a shark expert.

President of the Shark Trust Richard Peirce said that it is only a matter of time until his theory that the predators visit British shores is verified.

Mr Peirce believes he almost proved the presence of a great white in the UK with a photograph of a shark caught off the north-east coast of Scotland.

He said: 'I sent the photo to some of the world's leading experts but as soon as they heard it was caught off Scotland they started looking at what else it could be.'

'The real surprise is that we don't have an established white shark population, because the conditions here mirror those in parts of South Africa, Australia and northern California.

'The normal range of water temperature for great whites is between 14C and 20C which fits with British water in the summer.'

The shark expert has investigated more than 80 reported sightings of great whites in British waters over the last 14 years but only seven were found to be credible.

Fishermen in Cornwall have reported great whites sticking their heads out of the water, known as 'spy-hopping', and fishermen on three different boats described a sighting of a great white within three weeks of one another.

Mr Peirce said: 'The reason the evidence is so compelling is that it's from independent witnesses who do not know each other on different boats.

'The problem is these things happen in a flash. Unless the shark jumps right out of the water or is caught, all we'll see is a dorsal fin sticking out the water.

'The closest capture of a great white was off La Rochelle (in western France) about 200 nautical miles from UK shores which is no distance to them.'

There have been sightings of other sharks in British waters over the summer.

Earlier this month fisherman Jim Millar spotted a 15ft thresher shark off Dartmouth in Devon, where they are very rarely seen.

Another fisherman caught a 21 stone porbeagle shark off the coast of Donegal, Republic of Ireland, last month.

There have also been two separate sightings of what was believed to have been an oceanic whitetip shark, a species also known to attack humans, in St Ives, Cornwall, in June.

Mr Peirce believes it is only a matter of time before proof is found that the species at the top of the marine food chain, the great white shark - Carcharodon carcharias - is occasionally present in British waters.

He said: 'Great whites are highly nomadic in movement around the north Atlantic so it's reasonable to say there's a good chance they may stray into British waters.

'I do suspect we do get the occasional vagrant visitor.'

Global warming may have driven the sharks' prey further north, added Mr Peirce, which could further entice the great white to British shores.

He said: 'The water temperatures around Britain are well within the great white's tolerance range. So in theory there's no reason they shouldn't be here already without global warming.

'But what may be happening is that it may affect the distribution of shark's prey - meaning they may follow that.'

However Dr Russell Wynn, co-ordinator of the SeaWatch SW project and a senior marine scientist at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, said the odds of a great white being found in British waters were extremely low as the creatures are very rare in the northeast Atlantic.

The SeaWatch SW survey team has spent more than 5,000 hours scanning the seas off southwest England in the past five years but the only predatory sharks seen have been single blues and threshers.

Habitat: A map showing the global distribution of the Great White Shark


'The only large shark the public are likely to see is the harmless plankton-feeding basking shark, which can grow to over 10m long and is occasionally seen leaping out of the water,' he said.

But Dr Wynn accepted there was a small chance of a great white sighting off the British coast.

'It's certainly not impossible that a great white could be seen or caught in British waters one day, as we know they occur off southwest Europe in very low numbers.'

Spotted: In recent months both thresher (left) and porbeagle sharks have been seen around the British Isles


But despite the recent sightings, the opportunity of seeing sharks is decreasing year on year.

A study by Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, concluded that the North Atlantic shark population had declined by more than 50 per cent between 1986 and 2000 due to overfishing.

Mr Peirce said: 'Unless we do something about shark mortality in the Atlantic we won't be having this conversation in 50 years time.'

The Great White: An expert claims these predators will soon be spotted in British waters


source:dailymail

Taking the bait: The moment divers had to rescue a GREAT WHITE SHARK after it became snared on an oxygen tank

By Daily Mail Reporter


Hooked: A diver stares into the jaws of death as he struggles to release the tank from the shark's grip


In any encounter between man and the fearsome great white shark, there's normally only one winner.

But the tables were turned on this particular predator after it became snared on a diver's oxygen tank off the coast of Mexico.

A group of divers were in a safety cage 30ft below the surface when the 15ft-long great white made its approach.


The shark bit into the tank but then hooked its jaw onto the metal cylinder, becoming trapped.

And because sharks cannot swim backwards, the great white was unable to manoeuvre itself free.

That's when the divers put their lives on the line by prizing the cylinder loose and pushing the one-and-a-half tonne shark to safety.

The remarkable pictures were taken by photographer Don Carpenter, who described the incident as the most amazing he had ever experienced in the ocean.

Gently does it: The diver pushes the shark away from the cage and to safety


'We were surprised by the animal's behaviour in that she was quite calm through the whole ordeal,' Mr Carpenter, from Lubbock, Texas, said.

'Don't kid yourself for one minute - when you're practically touching the nose of a great white, you're thinking two things - how fast can I get back into the cage and will ithurt when she rips my torso off and leaves my legs standing there.

'These giants are portrayed as man-eaters, but when she did go for the cage, you can see their colossal power.'

Back for more: The shark charges the cage again but this time steers well clear of any oxygen tanks


source:dailymail

Jaws-dropping! Great White shark takes to the air to capture its prey

By Oliver Pickup


-Scientist uses dummy seal to get close-up view of hunting techniques

Killer: A great white shark leaps out of the water and attacks a dummy seal, allowing Michael Rutzen to snap this image


This 20-foot long great white shark may look like it has made a spectacular kill but, astonishingly, no seals were hurt during the shooting of these stunning photographs.

The images were taken by shark expert Michael Rutzen, who used a dummy seal to attract the beasts in the waters three miles from False Bay, near Cape Town.

The 40-year-old was able to capture the sharks leaping up to 13 feet out of the water, proving a valuable insight into how great whites hunt.

Scroll down to see Rutzen catching a ride with a Great White shark

Splash down: The shark surges through the water to leap with the dummy sea before contorting its body in the killer move, lifting its 20-foot long body completely out above the waves


'I'd seen them hunting seals in this way, so I wanted to imitate this process so I could capture extraordinary footage,' explained Rutzen, from Kleinbaai in South Africa.

'The shark is deep underwater when it spots its prey. It rises up and completely demobilises the target by gripping the seal in its jaw and smashing it on the surface.

'Great whites are very selective and will only use this method to eat seals. But it would have been unethical for me to have performed this exercise with living seals.'

Flippin' amazing: A great white is shown leaping out of the water near to Cape Town with the sunset providing a beautiful backdrop

On the attack: A great white shark breaches the ocean near False Bay, South Africa

Leap: It is believed that the creatures only use this technique - lifting themselves out of the water fully - for certain prey

At 20-foot long, the scientist's boat is the same size as a great white shark.

The man who famously swims with the beasts - he claims that great whites are sensitive and will not attack if you comprehend their body language - used a five foot-long foam and fibre glass dummy seal to attract them.

Once a shark was spotted, Rutzen - who has taken Brad Pitt on dives before - released the fake seal to attract the sharks patrolling the waters close to Cape Town, a popular surfing destination.

At one point during the shoot a passing sea bird became interested in the dummy seal and almost paid for its curiosity with its life - only missing the jaws of the leaping shark by inches.



'Despite the danger I love the great white shark,' Rutzen continued. 'Not only are they massive but they are intelligent.

'They often outwit sea mammals such as dolphins when competing for prey.

'This shark has developed a highly effective hunting method.'

Over the 18 years that he has observed great white sharks Rutzen has been fortunate enough to witness 34 'natural breaches' - where the shark has launched itself out of the water against real prey.

'Every time I see this event it makes me jump out of my skin,' he said.

'When I show my pictures to other people they can't help but feel a healthy respect for this mighty predator.'

The great white sharks population is listed as vulnerable but because they can live in almost all of the world's oceans the exact number of great white sharks - who can live up to 30 years - in the wild is not known.

Humans are the main danger to great white sharks - as they are hunted for their jaws and sold as trophies in South Africa for as much as $20,000 dollars per pair.




source:dailymail