[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]
SHARK!
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♪♪
Narrator:
LONG BEFORE SHARK WEEK,
THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT ABOUT
SHARKS THE MOST
WERE LIKELY FISHERMEN
AND MARINE BIOLOGISTS.
THIS, OF COURSE, ALL CHANGED
ONCE SHARKS ENTERED
IN THE WORLD OF CINEMA.
Casagrande:
THE ONLY THING PEOPLE HAD
TO GO OFF OF WAS "JAWS."
PEOPLE WERE AFRAID TO GO
INTO SWIMMING POOLS, BATHTUBS,
IN THE SHOWER.
A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT
IT WAS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE
TO CATCH A SHARK
AND HANG IT UP ON A DOCK
AND TAKE PICTURES WITH IT.
IF YOU TRY TO DO THAT TODAY,
YOU'RE GONNA TAKE A LOT OF FLACK
FROM A LOT OF SHARK WEEK FANS
OUT THERE.
Narrator: SHARK WEEK BECAME
A CULTURAL PHENOMENON,
WORKING TO CHANGE
THE NEGATIVE PERCEPTION
PEOPLE HAD OF SHARKS
AND SPARK CURIOSITY
ABOUT SHARKS AROUND THE WORLD.
AUDIENCES WERE INTRODUCED
TO A NEW SHARK --
AN INTELLIGENT
AND AWE-INSPIRING ONE.
THE OCEANIC WHITETIP CAN DO
THESE LONG MIGRATIONS
WITHOUT FOOD SOURCES.
Wharton: THEY LIVE FAR FROM
LAND, FAR FROM NUTRIENTS,
LIKE A FOOD DESERT.
THEY CALL IT
AN "OPPORTUNISTIC FEEDER."
♪♪
IN 1988, AT THAT TIME,
PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY GOOD SHARK
WAS A DEAD SHARK.
AND NOW IT'S GETTING BETTER
AND BETTER
BECAUSE I GET TO SEE
A LOT OF EPISODES
THAT JUST FOCUS ON SCIENCE,
AND IT IS REAL SCIENCE.
Ebert: DO YOU WANT TO
TAKE SOME TISSUE?
OH, YEAH, YEAH.
EXCELLENT.
SO YOU CAN REALLY APPRECIATE
JUST WHAT
A SPECIALIZED PREDATOR
THESE ARE --
THEY'RE JUST FINELY TUNED
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
IN WHICH THEY'RE --
WHICH THEY'RE FEEDING IN.
THIS IS A SMALL ONE, AND I THINK
I MIGHT FIT IN HIS MOUTH.
Ebert: WE BUILD A GENETIC
DATABASE OF THESE THINGS,
AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO, LIKE,
LOOK AT POPULATIONS,
AND WE'RE GONNA TRY AND SEE IF
WE AGE IT USING THE VERTEBRAE.
IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE
WITH THIS SHARK.
Narrator:
THROUGH SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES,
SHARK WEEK EXPLORED THE UNKNOWN.
Stone:
YOU OR I COULDN'T SEE MORE THAN
A FEW FEET IN FRONT OF OUR FACE.
AND IT'S IN THIS ZONE THAT
THE STRANGE TRAITS
BEGIN TO EMERGE
LIKE REFLECTIVE EYES
SO HE CAN SEE UNDER
LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS.
de Gelder:
IT GOT PEOPLE INTERESTED
AND CURIOUS ABOUT SHARKS.
YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT HAVE
BECOME MARINE SCIENTISTS.
Narrator: BY PROVIDING A REAL,
NUANCED PICTURE OF THE ECOSYSTEM
THAT SHARKS BELONG TO,
SHARK WEEK
HELPED SHED THE IMAGE
OF THE EVIL, AGGRESSIVE MONSTER
AND REPLACE IT
WITH A MORE ACCURATE DEPICTION
OF A CREATURE IN PERIL.
ARE GREAT WHITE SHARKS REALLY
MINDLESS KILLING MACHINES?
WELL, WE'VE FOUND OUT
THAT NO, THEY'RE NOT.
THEY'RE SELECTIVE, CURIOUS,
AND INTELLIGENT ANIMALS.
HE WAS ACTUALLY CURIOUS.
HE SEEMED TO BE DRAWN
TO OUR BOAT
AND DRAWN TO OUR CAMERAS.
♪♪
♪♪
Fallows: OKAY, I GOT A LARGE
SHARK UNDERNEATH ME HERE,
AT LEAST
THREE-AND-A-HALF METERS.
SHE'S JUST GENTLY TOUCHED
THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT THERE
AS SHE CRUISED UNDERNEATH.
IT'S INCREDIBLE
TO BE SHARING A MOMENT
WITH SUCH A SPECIAL ANIMAL
LIKE THIS.
♪♪
UNBELIEVABLE.
Kurr: SHARK WEEK HAS GONE A LONG
WAY TOWARDS MAKING SHARKS
THE MOST POPULAR WILD ANIMAL
IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: BY SHOWING THE DANGER
SHARKS FACE,
WHETHER IT'S COMMERCIAL FISHING,
HABITAT DEGRADATION,
OR MERELY UNINTENTIONAL CAPTURE,
SHARK WEEK HAS HELPED
AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND
THAT SHARK POPULATIONS
ARE IN A STATE OF CONSTANT RISK.
THE ENERGY FOR PRESERVING SHARKS
HAS GROWN CONSIDERABLY
AND I THINK
WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO
AS WE UNDERSTAND
THE TRUE VALUE OF SHARKS,
NOT ONLY IN THE ECOSYSTEM,
BUT IN OUR LIVES AS WELL.
IT TOOK ABOUT 10 YEARS
FOR SHARK WEEK
TO CHANGE THE MINDS
OF THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
THAT WE NEED TO SAVE SHARKS.
Hueter: WE'RE LOOKING FOR
A PLACE WHERE SHARKS ARE GONNA
BASICALLY FIND REFUGE,
WHERE SHARKS WILL ABOUND,
WHERE THEY'RE NOT BEING CAUGHT
BY COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN.
Narrator: IT'S BECAUSE OF
THE PUBLIC'S NEWFOUND OBSESSION
WITH THESE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
THAT SHARK WEEK
BECAME A TESTAMENT
TO WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
♪♪
Shaq: [ Thinking ] MAN,
WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?
I COULD'VE SWORN THE GUY
ON THE PHONE SAID "SHAQ WEEK."
I'M SURE NOBODY SAID ANYTHING
ABOUT SHARK WEEK.
I DON'T DO SHARKS.
Narrator: WATCH SHARK WEEK
ON DISCOVERY GO.
