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(\PF@(by餫9;R.pkGa Go7BuFǔ^\@Cm|=CsczXV/~z`8~p]ktgP(=:7}_ tDd !37df2lbxjaD+Sr| E\q14*TMX9=%#_H p5gPHs fKl lvJ WIr&4G( ]L0tYj.o7*} aa풪h:pc)J3/|f5_ "1ōD-Max #v 7TU;PwHm"z'H2!HFH"`h |rN@p§;s4/W?H(>sTjgˉܵ|i}('Ô}haE|\a>lHjI4ȭ\&Jܻ_}ٓKth#]##I9T=;7}F9\vriY-&6u˙EWqv#"}>j`ScZ19q+a)e"\ (}\CLꧤR|:}!{)T~^4АlޓC\}:uu.„}+Hℏ,dOK;;ޤ2Q\a%c/pUvb@tiA^2 ȩBZl$h6CS|'m*+ :]% pi"(1U/g5$N!ODwJrݗ%V!P$^i]oxE]&F~3ңq69 ٗGJA<; 0`ۗy6fl7+pxFp,D gBF6 wh)LO%5?g=={9C^ ҲkgjD-KIoT5՘\LzB@4 _TTM]3mo(Gsb~VEA̍~3/CO t\"SS`W T~7p( !$vZ7*R@\[=.BwE"%^d*Vƣх͒,9yB_[iOI"̄d~7g6f$zç+8X|g߉GAZD%V6MlDʀOx\9u?-oK.o EJ= ac&~Jx@uim Mxl+a2߮Q #n&O *Si+vrZł3>jm% C]A#Fd闄C`NKuCc>l`hßXjFbt',ȬXw@>`Ա(5ƒܠjS.Jj12A(d ei<[eZN$PԞ\KᵪaSly|^kJI>9CZt/FN IT₎7mZqF[Py~Tno[G}:gJPR7)ѭw՘|Kgu :! -p'Scܬ Tx![|DhڽzUKG_ys}USXEX^qh88~QO ҏ_?l[a˔q0Z/CBvfK>M )ipehyA/{7qg#5]3KS "{ozjpx#fn'ٚEQ̟. 3Mf+=P6|#?9Nv%ǦL(aXn%ΩI0772cwa>SH┾ a6jT gV 3  zGx! x7- ?!)`JeF<.`L;h HHX^t\7;=?@! t̔4:E @tSfLpEiK3 JOmH/!K$X#TXw 1aMa;VN7X΅havAΝԆJH15NՃJ&ʈ|i&嶝峴m4 NeG $G6ݪ!]A~%|'c?DEr6 -,1ƁvW +Ip?!1l Sިpfg2+P♆SعxP}l}cb( 5&Xz+(ށMXXNR1=JU>خYZW;n8fDхg%2UvޟS:=uokFXؾYw=.ڠlD!1|1<TQU{Oy_؂apmt*N3S˩Ր!EO‘?m`@Ԇ0gp9ljr]mT1JS ;BVx1GY+yq,SVXaix_jqJ}^DTlD0ǪذaM3|YI剞/-Q-aoINcdiipr.HrN |ok1UzOC?SGtt(gog&Cq x{~: @d/j7aV3Nz t05vDǞK|/>%ua;Te)*N !~tw r#.z k)ꅆ`AU Y)r@>fW:y1`3so?P4Aퟑ罹*(? i`:bӦ 5 XF69[_"'DU_E1c?R;-qC,V_4PJv↶XX-JK>_G>tr`P$LI8RBX`ھ̆edt]Cmavɏ) f}.уk5UQ+k*xiMBh e24Z Z{[z+mYf?2 i&]jAIdēz{ƫCS_ F)qhiV`-W]닧9uau@CfWƒ]F4^\eo3Q0[YPsQ;6jljj1p(7?p3VzVLmx(  pF u+ͥtA}P!6V6.ñ N?ΒgdYaZ]}a0hpm2He12bla,^~Րt8w˚zC%i]#[N (TϏ¼k M>&1z1E6҉O,OX]AjW֙Ymb er=q/|u`4H5M'ۃob8jFG] -fnN> 00:02:55,080 [Narrator] Greg and Megan also want to learn 47 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,000 how sharks use this unique underwater terrain to hunt seals, 48 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,880 including the final moments before an attack. 49 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,440 [dramatic sting] But first, they have to find one. 50 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,360 -Over here at two o'clock, John. - [John, radio] Ok, we got that one Wayne. 51 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,360 [Megan] Spotter pilots are able to find them relatively easily. 52 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,800 [Wayne] Ok, one o'clock now. [plane buzzes] 53 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,520 [Megan] The bottom is beautiful white sand, 54 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,400 and it contrasts really well with the dark grey tops of the animals. 55 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:26,840 Right under me now 56 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,560 [Megan] Wayne directs the research vessel to that shark. 57 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:32,520 [Wayne] A couple hundred yards. 58 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:34,880 [Megan] We really just kind of sneak up on it. 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:36,240 [Greg] Right there! 60 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,000 [Megan] And then we get underwater video footage of it with a GoPro. 61 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,720 [Greg] Look at this fish, look at that! Trying to size us up! 62 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,200 [Megan] If it's sticking around in water that's the right depth, he'll tag it. 63 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:49,280 [Greg] Come on, love! 64 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:51,520 [dramatic music] 65 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,800 [Greg] That's nice. Damn, that was perfect. 66 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,880 [Megan] Every time we're doing that, we're collecting all sorts of information, 67 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,960 where we saw it, what the water temperature is, 68 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,960 what the depth of the water is, how big that animal is. 69 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,320 And we'll do that repeatedly over the course of the day. 70 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:17,480 [Narrator] They're filming sharks of all shapes, sizes, and personalities. 71 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,040 [Greg] Oh, it came right for the camera! 72 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:27,400 He's definitely fired up. These little ones tend to be feisty. 73 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,600 Oh, now he's coming back to the boat, lets see what he does! 74 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,760 [Megan] It's got a ton of seal scratches, it's been trying! 75 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:41,360 [Narrator] Younger, smaller sharks like this one can be inexperienced hunters. 76 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,560 [Megan] Maybe they're not as good at it, they're honing their skills. 77 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,320 [seals bark] 78 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:53,080 Seals are big animals. They're really capable predators in their own right. 79 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,200 And they have big claws and big teeth. 80 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,160 So if the sharks don't successfully dispatch them with one strike, 81 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,000 the seal will fight back. 82 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,040 We call it seal rash. They'll have seal scratches all up and down their face. 83 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:07,720 And so some of these individuals, 84 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:09,920 particularly some of the smaller individuals 85 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,240 that probably haven't figured out how to best take down a seal here, 86 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,120 we'll see really extensive patterns of seal scratches. 87 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,200 [Narrator] Each tag will help them catalog and track the sharks. 88 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:31,120 [Greg] Got him! That's not a bad tag! Look at that! 89 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:36,480 - [Megan] It's right behind! [laughs] Wow! - [Greg] Whoa! Whoa! 90 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,920 - [Megan] Oh, jeez! - [Greg] It rammed us! 91 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:42,160 He's not into us. 92 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:46,400 [Megan] You know what, I was getting boat-rammer vibes from that one! [laughs] 93 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,520 [Greg] I figured that he was just going to take off offshore, 94 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:51,880 because he started accelerating, 95 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,160 and then he came right around and smacked the, bumped the boat! 96 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,440 We knew when we saw that shark it was fired up, you know. 97 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,760 I think it's in a heightened state of feeding, you know, 98 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:03,120 and those are the ones I worry about 99 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:09,040 in terms of, you know, a surfer, a diver, a swimmer paddling out here. 100 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:11,840 Unbelievable. 101 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,880 [Narrator] Their research suggests that the population is on the rise, 102 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,840 but just how many sharks are there? 103 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:27,600 [Megan] Since 2014, we conducted a really intensive population study, 104 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,080 where we went out twice a week, got underwater video footage, 105 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,680 and basically created a catalog of the white sharks of Cape Cod. 106 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,920 And what we're doing now using that information to extrapolate, 107 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:40,880 to come up with a population number. 108 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,080 [Narrator] They've cataloged hundreds, 109 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,280 but they believe the total number could be hundreds more. 110 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:53,640 [Greg] 25 years ago, if you said to me, 111 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,680 there would be lots of white sharks around, eating seals, 112 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,760 and you'd be tagging them, I'd say, "you're crazy." 113 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:08,160 But we've tagged now over 250 white sharks in the last decade, 114 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,080 and I never could have imagined that, 115 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,400 but, it is indeed, you know, a natural ecosystem coming back. 116 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,560 [Narrator] The reason? Seals. 117 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:25,520 Before the 1970s, fishermen saw seals as competition, and killed them on sight. 118 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,400 Their population was decimated. 119 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:34,080 And without a stable source of food, the sharks left. 120 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:40,280 For generations, there were fewer seals, and great whites were extremely scarce. 121 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:45,640 But in 1972, the seals were declared a protected species 122 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,840 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. [seals bark] 123 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:54,120 It's now estimated that there are up to 50 thousand seals in the Cape Cod region. 124 00:07:55,520 --> 00:08:00,600 Their numbers have bounced back. And so have the sharks. 125 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,560 [Greg] You've got this incredible natural ecosystem 126 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,360 where you've got the predator, the white shark, and the prey, the seals. 127 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,520 Then you've got people that visit here, you know, 128 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:14,920 that overlap with this predator-prey relationship. 129 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:21,160 And we realized that it was important to start thinking about public safety. 130 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,880 And that's when, the last couple of years, 131 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:30,480 we started really looking intensively at the predatory behavior of the white shark. 132 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,080 [Narrator] Around the world, great whites are ambush hunters. 133 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:42,520 Rocketing from deep water with such force, that they're airborne. 134 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:47,640 But not on Cape Cod. 135 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:53,120 Here the beaches are fringed with shallow sand bars. 136 00:08:54,720 --> 00:09:00,200 Without the advantage of depth, it's harder for the sharks to ambush the seals. 137 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:02,520 So they have to hunt smarter. 138 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,400 Greg and Megan's mission is to find out how. 139 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,480 The white shark's predatory strategy is all about stealth. 140 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:19,720 How tight the seals stick to the beach, 141 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,000 they know if they stay shallow enough the sharks can't get in. 142 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:26,840 And so what we see are sharks 143 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,640 really challenging themselves in really shallow water. 144 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:32,960 If you watch them here off the shoreline, 145 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,040 they're just kind of cruising the coastline, 146 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,840 essentially waiting for a seal to come out and make a mistake. 147 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:39,680 [tense music] 148 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:46,160 [Narrator] On the beach, there's no threat. But seals eat fish. 149 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,920 So, they must leave the safety of the shore. 150 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:59,480 For the sharks, every seal that enters the water is a chance at a high-calorie meal. 151 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:00,680 [tense music] 152 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:06,520 To survive, great whites must eat the equivalent of 40 pounds of blubber a week. 153 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,760 And they'll risk everything to get it. 154 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,120 [bird calls] 155 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:18,520 In these shallow waters, a female shark has killed a seal, 156 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,440 but that's only half the battle. [dramatic music] 157 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:28,880 Waves push the carcass into the surf zone and out of reach. 158 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,640 But the female shark stays close. 159 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:40,680 She pushes to her limits to reach the seal in just inches of water. 160 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,360 If she can't reach it, she'll waste valuable energy. 161 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:48,160 [Megan] She's in shallow water. 162 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:53,280 You can see water pushing up around her dorsal fin as she gets in there. 163 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:55,600 But it's just out of reach. 164 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:03,280 [Narrator] A slick of blood from the seal has attracted more sharks to the area. 165 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,200 It's now or never for this large female. 166 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:15,760 A meal so rich in fat and protein makes the effort, and the risk, worth the prize. 167 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,400 [Megan] A seal is a great meal for a white shark. 168 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:28,160 It's not the only thing they eat. 169 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,600 But a seal is equivalent to eating like hundreds or thousands of fish, 170 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,160 in terms of energy content. 171 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,680 [Narrator] But catching a seal isn't easy. 172 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:42,120 Eight times out of 10, the sharks' attempt will fail. 173 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:55,160 Successful or not, 174 00:11:55,640 --> 00:12:01,120 predatory sharks returning to what's become a tourist mecca could be dangerous. 175 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,480 Greg and Megan want to better understand what the sharks do. 176 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,120 [Greg] We want to know their behavior and how they go about making the decision 177 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,360 of where and when to attack and kill a seal. 178 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,960 [Narrator] But seeing the moment of attack is extremely uncommon, 179 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,080 and filming it is even more rare. 180 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:30,800 So they've helped develop new camera technology never used before on Cape Cod. 181 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:33,160 For the first time, 182 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:37,760 these CAT tags are recording unique great white behavior here, 183 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,240 from inside the action. 184 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,280 [Greg] It's got a camera system built into it. 185 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,640 So it can record everything that that shark is doing. 186 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:53,640 Basically the viewer will be able to ride the back of the shark for a couple of days 187 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:55,560 and see the behavior of that animal. 188 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,800 It will exhibit different behaviors and we will be recording those behaviors, 189 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,040 not every hour, not every minute, but every second. 190 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,320 [Wayne] Over here, two o'clock, John. Quite deep. 191 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,920 [Megan] The CAT tag's got the device that everybody's got in their smartphone 192 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:18,200 that lets you track your activity. It's got a three-dimensional accelerometer 193 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:25,400 that archives, 20 times a second, the movements and the behavior of that animal. 194 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,360 - Oh! The size of it, this is beautiful. - [Greg] Beautiful fish. 195 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:30,880 I do not see a tag. 196 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:37,480 - [Megan] It's Curvy Sloth! - [Narrator] A 12-foot long great white. 197 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:43,360 People they might think it's not very scientific to give white sharks nicknames. 198 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,280 But they help us remember who these individuals are, 199 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:49,680 and we'll go, "Oh, it's Curvy Sloth." 200 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,880 And a lot of people think a shark looks like a shark. 201 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:56,360 But there's a lot of unique traits and features 202 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,360 and coloration patterns to these individuals 203 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,120 that allow us recognize them from the surface. 204 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:03,520 [Greg grunts] 205 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:09,240 - [Greg] This gets tricky, magnets off? - [Megan] Yep! Ready to rock. 206 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,000 [Greg] He's moving off to the left a little, John. 207 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,920 [Narrator] The CAT tag must be deployed perfectly 208 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,880 for the camera to capture Curvy Sloth's movements. 209 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:18,960 [Greg] Slow down. 210 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,720 So he likes to come up, we'll just get him on the next sweep. 211 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:29,360 [Megan] We see them do this sometimes, we've learned from these tags 212 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,920 is they'll do... almost like these bounce-dive things. 213 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,600 But this one just needs to come up right now and get a tag! 214 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,240 [Greg] Come on, rise up, let's go. 215 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:44,360 [scraping] 216 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:49,400 [dramatic sting] 217 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,000 - [Megan] Nice, oh, that looks incredible! - [John] Yes, sir! 218 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,880 - [Greg] Yeah! - [Megan] Wooo! 219 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:01,240 [Narrator] Now, it's a waiting game, to see what Curvy Sloth does next. 220 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,240 - [Greg] Oh, there it is! - [Wayne] Do you see him, John? 221 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,680 [Greg] He's right there! Wow. That sucker's hunting pretty close. 222 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:13,200 So the shark that just got one of these tags, Curvy Sloth, 223 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:17,160 is now right up off of some seals in really tight to the beach. 224 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:19,320 [Greg] Doing exactly what we want it to do. 225 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,920 [Megan] Exactly. So that's what this study is all about, 226 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:26,240 characterizing this behavior and learning more about how they hunt for seals 227 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,520 in the waters off of our beaches here. 228 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,960 [Greg] We want to figure out when, where, and how 229 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,200 do white sharks naturally attack and kill their prey, the seals. 230 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:42,560 If we find patterns in behavior, then we have an ability to predict or forecast 231 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,880 where these animals are likely to be relative to human activities, 232 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:50,920 and relative to their feeding behavior. And this is the tool that lets us do it. 233 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:57,000 [Narrator] It will be a couple of days, 234 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,880 waiting for the tag to release from this shark. 235 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,360 If Greg and Megan can home in on the tag's radio signal, 236 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,080 they'll retrieve its valuable data. 237 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,760 And possibly, detailed video footage of an attack. 238 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:20,040 - [John] Ok, we got that one, Wayne. - [Wayne] Yeah, ok, one o'clock now. 239 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:25,520 [Greg] Is it happening at high tide, low tide, daylight, nighttime? 240 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:27,280 We're using all kinds of tools 241 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:32,760 to better understand what environmental conditions lead to that natural event. 242 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:38,920 I'm back, going to starboard now. 243 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,680 [Narrator] The best chance to see a shark is from the air. 244 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,120 {\an8}[Wayne] From my perspective, the amount of sharks I see 245 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,960 {\an8}is like infinitely more than the average person. I mean infinitely. 246 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,440 {\an8}Because the standard image of a white shark 247 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,920 is with the fin going along in the water, like in the movie Jaws, 248 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:01,520 and it almost doesn't happen. They're all underwater. That's why I do what I do. 249 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:05,120 The only way you're gonna find a shark is with an airplane. 250 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:10,600 I've seen several near misses of white sharks trying to eat a seal. 251 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,960 But most of the time the seals are very very aware and agile. 252 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:17,480 [camera shutters] 253 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:24,680 Here, the seal jumps very quickly aside and does a 180 or 270. 254 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:30,280 It comes around behind the shark getting on his tail where it's safe. [chuckles] 255 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,440 [Narrator] Even with a bird's eye view, 256 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,240 Wayne sees attempted predations just a couple of times a year. 257 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:44,880 [camera shutters] But it's not the only thing he sees. 258 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:48,360 [Wayne] People on the beach don't know they're there. 259 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,680 [dramatic music] 260 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:55,040 Swimming right by bathers, right by surfers. 261 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,760 Dangerous interactions with people are quite rare. 262 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,240 But you really have to pay attention. [camera shutters] 263 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,000 [Narrator] Tourism is the backbone of the cape's economy. 264 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,400 In summer, the population here more than doubles, 265 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,680 and so do the number of beach goers. 266 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,160 It's also prime time for the sharks. 267 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:33,120 In the last decade, Cape Cod has had five shark attacks on humans. 268 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,200 The most recent, in 2018, was fatal. 269 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,200 {\an8}[Newscaster 1] The victim was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead. 270 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,640 [Narrator] But the vast majority of beach-goers, tourists, and locals 271 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,960 have not changed their swimming habits. 272 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,960 Locals worry about the effect on tourism. 273 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:57,640 But like great white sharks, the number of tourists is also on the rise. 274 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,720 Big sharks so close to the beach is fueling shark tourism. 275 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:10,240 Seal tourism also draws a crowd. [seals bark] 276 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:12,360 With more people in the water, 277 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:17,600 understanding how sharks hunt here has never been more important. 278 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,040 Seascape ecologist Bryan Legare, from the Center for Coastal Studies, 279 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,680 works with Greg and Megan to predict shark behavior. 280 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:31,200 [Greg] That's nice. 281 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,200 [Narrator] And what he's discovering is a major clue. 282 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:40,040 He's tracking great white movements over the seafloor and sand bars, 283 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,440 on a scale never done here before. 284 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,000 [Bryan] Up until this point in time, 285 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,760 {\an8}we understood how sharks were moving from beach to beach, miles away. 286 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,200 But as a beach goer, 287 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:58,400 that doesn't really tell me where's the shark in relation to people. 288 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,760 We need a way of measuring these animals in much finer scale, 289 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,800 to see how they're using the bars and the troughs and the waves and the currents. 290 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,560 [Narrator] Bryan's first step was a sonar survey, 291 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,080 showing areas of the cape's seafloor. 292 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:22,520 {\an8}In the most detailed maps of the cape's underwater terrain ever made. 293 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:28,160 Using those maps he found a way to observe the shark's movements 294 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:30,440 on a moment-by-moment scale. 295 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:42,240 Here we have thousands of individual locations of about 60 different sharks 296 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:47,280 that were present one out of every two hours throughout the summer of 2021. 297 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,160 [Narrator] Each red dot indicates where a shark has been. 298 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:57,280 [Bryan] And what we were able to confirm is that, in these shallow-water areas, 299 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:02,480 a shark is present a majority of the time. [tense music] 300 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,160 [Narrator] And shark behavior at one location stands out, 301 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,000 a shark hot-spot that gets more activity than any other, 302 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:19,480 near one of the cape's largest seal haul-outs: the trough. 303 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:28,920 A place where currents create two shallow sandbars with a deep gutter in between. 304 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:35,800 [Bryan] As the sand moves along the outer cape, it forms two parallel bars, 305 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,920 one adjacent to shore and one a little further offshore 306 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:41,680 with a deep trough in the middle. 307 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,160 As the sharks move through this area, they use the inner bar, 308 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,840 traveling along the bottom towards the seal haul out. 309 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,680 [Narrator] A sneak attack using the trough for depth, 310 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:58,800 the sandbar for cover, and the murky green water for stealth. 311 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,040 [Bryan] They aren't just doing things at random. 312 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,960 The white sharks are following the sea floor, 313 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,320 adapting to the local environment in a hunt for seals. 314 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,520 [Narrator] It's a unique strategy not seen anywhere else in the world. 315 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,440 [Bryan] They are displaying a different type of behavior 316 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,200 than we've seen in different white shark hot spots across the world. 317 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,680 [Narrator] Critical new information for Megan and Greg. 318 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,760 [Greg] Cape Cod is probably the most challenging place in the world 319 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,080 {\an8}for white sharks to successfully feed on seals. 320 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:36,840 [inquisitive music] 321 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,200 Gotta figure out how to negotiate shallow water, 322 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:48,320 how to successfully ambush their prey. So they have to be very calculating. 323 00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:52,920 We typically don't think of fish having to learn, but they do. 324 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:57,720 They have the cognitive abilities to adapt based on experience. 325 00:22:58,440 --> 00:22:59,560 And I'll tell you right now, 326 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,560 anytime a white shark commits to trying to kill something, 327 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,320 it's a massive expenditure of energy. 328 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,440 And if there's not an energetic payoff, a big meal at the end of that, 329 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:14,920 then it's wasted energy. 330 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:18,960 If it does that too much, it's not going to survive. 331 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:21,080 [dramatic sting] 332 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,040 And so even an experienced shark is going to hold back 333 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:31,640 until it's absolutely sure that it can successfully ambush and kill that seal. 334 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:37,360 Those that do successfully feed here have figured it out. 335 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,640 They wanna put themselves in the best position to feed. 336 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,760 And so we're trying to figure out how they're doing that. 337 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,960 [Narrator] New technologies like the CAT tag on Curvy Sloth 338 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,960 may hold clues to the critical moments before an attack. 339 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,560 [Greg] We're really just scratching the surface. We really are. 340 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:03,320 [bird calls] 341 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:08,600 [Narrator] It's been two days, 342 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,320 and the camera tag on Curvy Sloth pops to the surface. 343 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,240 Megan tracks its radio signal to retrieve it. 344 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:26,400 Its footage could help solve the puzzle of how great whites hunt on Cape Cod. 345 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,280 [Megan] These tags have a video component. 346 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,480 It's basically like you're riding on the back of a white shark, 347 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,280 {\an8}so you can see exactly what that animal is doing. 348 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,200 So this is really cool. You can see just how shallow he is. 349 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,320 You can see the surface of the water and the bottom. 350 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,520 Oh, there it is! He is going after something. 351 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:53,680 [dramatic music] 352 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,880 And it's so impressive to see how quickly these animals accelerate. 353 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:02,360 They're so powerful. This has not been sped up. 354 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,400 [Narrator] This is the closest the scientists have ever come 355 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,400 to witnessing a predation from the shark's perspective. 356 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,160 Will Curvy Sloth eat, or go hungry? 357 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,680 [Megan] So, if we watch Curvy Sloth in slow motion, 358 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,040 you can actually get a better idea of what it is he's doing. 359 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:33,920 It's incredible how fast these animals move, but you can see him right there. 360 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:38,160 He's going to see something and kinda gonna to do a double take almost. 361 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,200 So there! He does a double take. 362 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,840 And you can see just how quickly he's going in. 363 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:49,840 There's a shadow there that you could just make out. That's actually a seal. 364 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,600 You can see his dorsal fins almost breaking the surface here, 365 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,160 you can see there's a big splash of water 366 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,720 and that right there, that dark gray spot, that's a seal. 367 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,040 You can see how fast it's swimming, it's kicking up a wake, 368 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,400 it knows it's being pursued by a white shark. 369 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:10,840 [dramatic music] 370 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:15,440 [Narrator] But it gets away. 371 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,640 [Megan] So this wasn't a successful predatory attempt. 372 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:26,800 But we still are learning a lot from this interaction. 373 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,400 I mean, Curvy Sloth gets so close to the seal at one point, 374 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,040 you kind of almost go like, "how did he miss it?" 375 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,960 But seals are incredible animals in their own right. 376 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:44,680 They're very agile, once they cue into a shark coming in at them, 377 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:47,760 a lot of times they're able to escape. 378 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,560 And so one thing that we've learned from these tags 379 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,160 is not only getting a better idea of their predatory behavior, 380 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,440 but realizing how hard they have to work 381 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,920 to successfully feed on a seal in the waters off of Cape Cod. 382 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:08,120 [Narrator] Some locals believe neither sharks or seals have a place on the cape. 383 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,280 [Nick] I grew up on Cape Cod. I've been a commercial fisherman for 21 years. 384 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,400 When I was a kid growing up here, seals were a rare thing to be seen. 385 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,080 We now have a problem, they're overpopulated, 386 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,760 {\an8}and they're decimating the entire fish population 387 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,120 {\an8}and ruining the ecosystem, the fragile ecosystem that we have here. 388 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,080 [Narrator] Fishing is part of the culture and allure of the Cape, 389 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,600 named for the abundance of cod that once filled its waters. 390 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,760 Declining fish populations due to decades of over-fishing 391 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,640 are making it harder for the fishermen to make a living. 392 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:53,000 Many are blaming the seals. [seals bark] 393 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:54,720 [Nick] At the end of the day 394 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,920 the seals here are a direct effect on my bottom line, 395 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:03,400 on the livelihood of myself, my family, my business, and it hurts. 396 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,920 Because there's so many seals here now, they've attracted the white sharks, 397 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,480 and they've made it dangerous for people to go in the water. 398 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,000 And now, my daughter, she goes in the ocean, 399 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,360 there's a very real threat she could die. 400 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,960 [Narrator] Many consider the sharks and seals a recent phenomenon. 401 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,600 But the local Mashpee Wampanoag people 402 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,600 have co-existed with seals and sharks for centuries. 403 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:37,640 [David] These waters have sustained us for thousands of years. 404 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,200 Seals are something that our culture relied upon heavily. 405 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,760 {\an8}People saying seals are new and sharks are new, 406 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,680 {\an8}that's inconsistent with the historical written record 407 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,320 and definitely inconsistent with tribal oral histories. 408 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,760 The returning of the seals and the sharks, Mother Nature is a powerful thing, 409 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,000 and to see the wildlife returning, 410 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,960 means that these animals have food supplies, 411 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,680 everything's reliant on each other, that's our belief system, 412 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:18,360 and that everything has the right to live. So we have to be respectful of that being, 413 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,800 and that they come here during particular seasons, 414 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:27,520 the same way that we allow tourists to come and overwhelm our streets, 415 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:32,800 [laughs] and disturb the locals. We're patient with them. 416 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,720 So we all need to be mindful and patient of all the beings, 417 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,000 like the sharks, the seals, everyone. 418 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,040 [Narrator] Grey seals are the most common seal on Cape Cod. 419 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,200 They can reach 10 feet long and weigh nearly 900 pounds. 420 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:55,360 [barks] 421 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:02,280 On land they're clumsy. But in the water, they defy gravity. 422 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:03,720 [playful music] 423 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:08,960 They are curious and playful. 424 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:16,040 And the waters around the cape are rich in the fish and crustaceans they love to eat. 425 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,440 It's a grey seal paradise, year round. 426 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:29,640 But every time they enter the water, they're vulnerable. 427 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:31,880 [tense music] 428 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:37,840 A close call with a shark has left this seal with gruesome wounds. 429 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,400 And while seals have a remarkable ability to heal, 430 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:48,280 the next time he enters the water might be his last. 431 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:55,600 Grey seals must eat up to six percent of their body weight every day to survive. 432 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:04,280 So there's no time to recover. He must return to the water to feed. 433 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,880 The shark attack that caused the bloating in this seal will likely be fatal. 434 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:22,560 His inability to dive means he can't eat. 435 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:27,320 He's a sitting duck, and he hasn't gone unnoticed. 436 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:30,600 [tense music] 437 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,160 But the shark doesn't attack. 438 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:49,880 [Megan] It's really kind of mind blowing. 439 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:54,240 The way we think about these animals, right, are these big amped up predators. 440 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,960 A lot of people think of them as kind of mindless eating machines. 441 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:06,240 [Narrator] Instead of mindless killers, could these great whites be picky eaters? 442 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:12,320 [Megan] It's very different from what you typically see on TV or in the movies. 443 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:14,840 So that really blew me away. [laughs] 444 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,160 [Narrator] It's a question for next years shark season. 445 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:23,840 As the summer draws to a close... 446 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,080 great whites migrate south, as far as Florida, to escape the cold. 447 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,280 In winter, a stark beauty sweeps over Cape Cod. 448 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,800 Snow falls on empty summer homes. 449 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:46,880 [seals bark] 450 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:51,800 But for gray seals, this is the most important time of year. 451 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:56,760 They are here to raise their young. 452 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:04,400 After 11 months, female gray seals give birth to only one pup. 453 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:10,880 At birth, the pup is around 35 pounds, but over the next 3 weeks, 454 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,520 drinking its mother's rich milk, it will gain around 3 pounds a day. 455 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,640 During this time, mom's only job is to look after her newborn. 456 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,600 She won't leave her pup, even to eat. 457 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,560 It's a vulnerable time for both mother and pup. 458 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:35,360 So they settle on this secluded beach on the outer edge of the cape for the winter. 459 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:49,040 Biologist Dr. Andrea Bogomolni monitors their role in the environment. 460 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,680 [Andrea] There are misconceptions that people have about grey seals, 461 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:56,360 specifically here in this region. 462 00:33:56,360 --> 00:34:00,080 {\an8}One is that they're eating all the fish, not just some fish, all the fish. 463 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:02,080 {\an8}And they are not. 464 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:05,480 They eat what's abundant. 465 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,200 The meat and potatoes of their diet are these little forage fish. 466 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,000 [Narrator] And studies show that the nitrogen in seal scat 467 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:16,560 is fertilizing native beach grass, 468 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:22,080 helping to stabilize sand dunes and protect the area from storm surges. 469 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,000 [Andrea] Nitrogen from the seal poop that's on the beach. 470 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,120 it's actually contributing to the beach grasses. 471 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:37,600 So ecosystems could be changing in ways that were completely unexpected 472 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:42,240 by having these animals return to their environment. It's really exciting. 473 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,120 [soft music] 474 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:58,280 [Narrator] By spring, mother seals and their young return to the sea to feed. 475 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:09,640 The sharks are returning, too. And they're hungry. 476 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:12,760 [tense music] 477 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:17,720 After their long journey north, they must replenish their fat stores 478 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:19,120 [bird calls] 479 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,440 And a recent kill drifting in shallow water... 480 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:30,040 ...is an opportunity this large male can't afford to pass up. 481 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,160 But in just two feet of water, it's risky. 482 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,320 [Greg] It's a dangerous scenario. This is a really big shark. 483 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,240 Probably weighs in excess of a thousand pounds. 484 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:49,760 Big fish don't like super shallow water, 485 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:52,600 particularly if there's any kind of current or waves 486 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:54,120 pushing them even shallower. 487 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:58,840 It can end up on the beach very, very easily. 488 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,280 It's a gamble the shark is taking, 489 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:12,840 and it's going to get this seal come hell or high water. In this case, low water. 490 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:17,040 Not a good place for a big fish. 491 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:21,640 People don't realize that sharks don't have a reverse gear, 492 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:24,200 and so they have to move forward. 493 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:29,320 [Narrator] A single wave could push him to the point of no return. 494 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,200 [Greg] They can't just back up. And so if a shark ends up on the sand, 495 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:41,080 it's going to have to wiggle and writhe, and twist and turn to get off. 496 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:51,000 And some cases they don't successfully do that, and they die. 497 00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:54,040 [dramatic music] 498 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:07,960 [Narrator] Hunting in the surf, this shark is nearly out of the water. 499 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:11,640 This has never been filmed before. 500 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:21,280 Using his muscular tail, the shark fights his way back into the water. 501 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:31,320 He drags the seal out of the danger zone. 502 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,680 Finally, he can eat. 503 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,240 The commotion hasn't gone unnoticed. 504 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,160 Two more sharks are closing in. 505 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:50,880 An unusual occurrence. Great whites are thought to be solitary. 506 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:58,040 [Greg] The new part for us is seeing multiple sharks on a kill. 507 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:04,680 Once that dominant shark moves off, then the next size one down moves in, 508 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:08,760 maybe get a quick bite, before the other shark comes back. 509 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:14,480 [Narrator] Multiple sharks cooperatively feeding has rarely been documented. 510 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:18,400 Seeing it on Cape Cod is a first. 511 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:25,600 Surprising new research suggests they are much more social than ever imagined. 512 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,840 [Megan] People think of white sharks as kind of solitary, 513 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,720 not necessarily the most intelligent creatures. 514 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:36,280 They're kind of thought of as swimming noses, 515 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:39,560 essentially just out there looking for the next meal all the time, 516 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:42,520 but there are these complex social interactions 517 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,160 that scientists are just starting to understand. 518 00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:53,840 To see those three sharks kind of giving way to each other as they feed, 519 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,280 almost like doing a dance. 520 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,120 I'm honestly completely floored by it. 521 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:08,960 You know, there's no fighting, they weren't getting into it with each other, 522 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:10,760 which is really surprising. 523 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:15,440 We've never seen this kind of behavior before on Cape Cod. 524 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:23,800 [Narrator] And this large, successful male may even be a shark they know. 525 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:33,480 [Megan] I think we're actually gonna be able to identify 526 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:35,880 the big shark out of the three that were present. 527 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,080 That shark was so tight to the beach and really shallow water, 528 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,200 that we could clearly see some of its markings 529 00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:48,400 as well as the edge of the dorsal fin, which is unique to every individual. 530 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:51,480 It's kind of like a fingerprint is for a human. 531 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,000 At some points you can actually see markings on the tail, 532 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:57,360 there was some really clear notching. 533 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,880 Now that I have seen this footage, I am a hundred percent sure 534 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:11,200 that this is white shark Curvy Sloth, He was first identified in 2014. 535 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:13,440 - [Greg] Magnets off? - [Megan] Yep! 536 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:20,200 What is even cooler, Curvy Sloth was tagged with a camera tag last summer. 537 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:26,120 We saw him actively pursue a seal... 538 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:31,320 which was incredible to see. But he ultimately failed. 539 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:35,000 [Narrator] But not this year. 540 00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:38,440 [Megan] Hunting for seals off the coast of Cape Cod isn't easy. 541 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:42,960 The fact that he comes here year after year is a good indication 542 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:48,120 that he's figured out how to successfully hunt for seals in this area. 543 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,560 [Narrator] Learning from one year to the next. 544 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,840 [Megan] He's learned how to navigate this environment, 545 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:57,360 which is so incredibly exciting. 546 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,240 [Narrator] But Curvy Sloth is just one of many white sharks 547 00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:04,280 returning year after year. 548 00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:08,680 [Megan] There was never a population estimate 549 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:10,240 for white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic. 550 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:14,880 It's one of the most mysterious populations of white sharks on the planet. 551 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:19,760 So the impetus behind starting this catalog 552 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:27,120 wasn't just to identify these individuals. The impetus really was to get an idea 553 00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:29,840 of how many white sharks were coming to Cape Cod. 554 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:33,520 [Narrator] Now, for the first time, 555 00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:37,480 Megan and Greg have a total number of sharks in the area. 556 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:41,200 And it's far higher than expected. 557 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:47,600 [Megan] We were able to estimate that 800 to 900 individuals 558 00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:51,360 visited the waters off of Cape Cod during a five-year period, 559 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,280 which is absolutely incredible. 560 00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:02,400 [Narrator] Nearly 900 great white sharks visit the beaches of Cape Cod, 561 00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:04,360 making it one of the largest 562 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:09,360 and potentially the densest area for great whites in the world. 563 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:17,240 Greg, Megan and Bryan's groundbreaking work 564 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:24,360 reveals these sharks are smarter, more social, more selective, 565 00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:29,800 and here in far greater numbers than ever known. 566 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,480 But how can that information help keep people safe? 567 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,160 [Greg] This is a really popular swimming beach, 568 00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:44,840 arguably one of the most popular on all of Cape Cod, 569 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,360 but I've tagged white sharks literally 20 feet from the shoreline. 570 00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:57,880 And so the research we're conducting right now is studying where sharks are hunting, 571 00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:03,360 how they're hunting, and how that it relates to the environment, 572 00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:07,080 to find patterns that will lead to predictability. 573 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:10,640 [Narrator] Like a weather report for shark activity. 574 00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:16,960 [Greg] When you've got healthy shark populations, 575 00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,400 healthy seal populations, [seal barks] 576 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:25,880 and this predator-prey relationship happening right here, that's a good thing. 577 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:31,000 That's the restoration of a natural ecosystem. 578 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:36,760 {\an8}Those are conservation efforts paying off, and that's what we want. 579 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:39,720 {\an8}We want a well-balanced marine ecosystem. 580 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:44,840 {\an8}[Narrator] This would enable wild animals to continue to thrive 581 00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:48,760 {\an8}even in a place heavily populated by humans. 582 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:51,840 {\an8}[Greg] We're trying to produce information right now 583 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:54,760 {\an8}that will hopefully help save lives down the road, 584 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:58,160 {\an8}but keep in mind, it's a good thing that the sharks are here.