In the waters three miles off False Bay, ᴄʟᴏsᴇ to Cape Town, shark specialist Michael Rutzen captured the photographs of a 20-foot-long great wʜɪᴛe shark leaping out of water to capture its prey by attracting the animals with a dummy seal.
The 40-year-old was able to capture the great wʜɪᴛe sharks leaping up to 13 feet out of the water, giving researchers an important understanding of how great wʜɪᴛes ʜᴜɴᴛ. Rutzen said that he had seen them ʜᴜɴᴛing seals in this way, therefore he wanted to imitate this approach so he could take exceptional film.
When the shark spots its meal, it is well below the surface. It rises up, smacks the seal on the surface with its jaws, and fully immobilizes the victim. The only way that great wʜɪᴛe sharks will eat seals is by using this technique. But Mr. Rutzen said that using live seals for this exercise would have been unethical on his part.
The scientist’s vessel was 20 feet long, making it the same size as a great wʜɪᴛe shark. The man used a five-foot-long foam and fiberglass dummy seal to attract them. He argued that great wʜɪᴛes are sensitive and won’t ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ if you understand their body language.
When a shark was spotted, Rutzen released the fake seal to attract the sharks patrolling the seas near Cape Town, a well-known surfing destination. During one of the shoot’s moments, a passing seagull became curious about the fake seal and nearly paid the price with its life, narrowly avoiding the jumping shark’s teeth.
