[dramatic music]
NARRATOR: Great
whites are the most
feared predator in the ocean.
They typically hunt large
mammals, like seals,
sea lions, and whales.
But they are also responsible
for more attacks on humans
than any other shark species.
And that's not all.
When Collier digs into the
details from the other four
incidents in 2014, it
appears they were all
carried out by white sharks.
So what's making the great
whites of Southern California
suddenly go on the attack?
Good morning.
Thanks.
NARRATOR: According to shark
expert Dr. Andrew Nosal,
a great white's
actions are highly
driven by the presence of prey.
And a major food source
for these predators
can be found along the
coast here in abundance.
DR. ANDREW NOSAL:
There's a seal.
NARRATOR: Pinnipeds.
A great white's favorite
food are pinnipeds,
like the California sea
lions we see behind us.
And they like them because
they're full of fat and full
of nutrients.
NARRATOR: But there may
be a particular time
when sharks need to gorge
themselves on these pinnipeds--
right before they make an
incredible annual journey
to a remote and
mysterious location
nicknamed the White Shark Cafe.
DR. ANDREW NOSAL:
The White Shark
Cafe is located about halfway
between California and Hawaii--
so right about here in the
middle of the open ocean.
NARRATOR: Dubbed
a pool of nothing,
this unremarkable
patch of sea is
roughly the size of Colorado.
And for some reason, every year
great whites that typically
swim solo gather
here by the hundreds
as part of the largest
known congregation
of white sharks in the world.
It's unclear what the purpose
of the White Shark Cafe is.
But one theory is that
this is a place where
mating is actually happening.
NARRATOR: Not only that,
but these predators
remain here in the middle
of nowhere for months.
DR. ANDREW NOSAL: We typically
see the white sharks leaving
California about
November, December,
and then late summer is when we
see them start showing up again
off the coast of California.
NARRATOR: But this long-term
stay seems odd because there
appears to be a distinct lack of
one crucial thing at the cafe--
food.
DR. ANDREW NOSAL:
For a long time,
we thought that it
was a desert of sorts.
There was nothing there.
NARRATOR: So if there's nothing
to eat when they arrive,
could great whites
be stocking up
on pinnipeds before the journey
in order to sustain themselves?
DR. ANDREW NOSAL: White
sharks want the easy meal,
so they're going
to go to a place
where there's a lot of
seals and sea lions.
NARRATOR: A place like
the California coast.
So are humans here simply in
the middle of a feeding frenzy?
Is that what's causing this
alarming spike in attacks?
According to Nosal, the answer
lies far below the surface
of the cafe where,
in 2018, scientists
make an unexpected finding
involving the very thing
that appeared to be absent--
food.
[uplifting music]
DR. ANDREW NOSAL:
Turns out that there's
actually a lot living there.
There's all kinds of fish and
crabs and things in the water
there.
NARRATOR: This prey
just lives much
deeper than could previously
be seen on satellite images.
DR. ANDREW NOSAL: So because
they're feeding there,
I don't think the white shark
stocking up on food right
before their migration
is a sound explanation
for the uptick in shark bites.
[dramatic music]
NARRATOR: Something else must be
driving great whites to attack.
And maybe it isn't
what they're hunting,
but what's hunting them.
