[dramatic music]
NARRATOR: So what is behind
this deadly spate of attacks?
According to local news
reporter Jerry Sinon,
it's a question on
everyone's mind.
There was a lot of rumors
in regards to the attacks.
Why did it happen?
And in two weeks time
it happened twice.
NARRATOR: One such rumor
concerns the identity
of the killer shark.
The ferocity of the attack and
the severity of the injuries
incurred seem to point
toward the ocean's
most fearsome predator.
People were saying that
it was a white shark.
[electronic music]
NARRATOR: Great
whites are the largest
predatory fish on the planet.
Growing up to 20 feet in length,
they are powerful hunters,
able to propel their bodies
completely out of the water
when attacking prey from below.
And they are responsible
for more fatal attacks
on humans than any other shark.
So is this the species
behind the spike?
Determining that type of
shark may help locals prevent
attacks from happening again.
Shark expert Dr. Enrico
Gennari studies great whites
off the coast of South Africa.
He believes the answer to
whether a white shark could be
responsible for the Seychelles
attacks may come down to where
these predators go and why.
White sharks travel a lot.
All their life is about moving.
NARRATOR: Gennari
has spent the past 13
years tagging these predators
to track their movements.
Using a long pole, he attaches
a small non-invasive device
to their fins.
[suspenseful music]
ENRICO GENNARI:
OK, shark coming.
3, 2, 1.
[dramatic music]
It's on.
Yes!
Now we track it.
NARRATOR: Through such tagging
studies, experts like Gennari
have discovered that white
sharks are highly migratory.
In fact, some great
whites will swim up
to 1,000 miles each month, or
more than 40 miles per day,
to reach a destination.
ENRICO GENNARI:
Often, white sharks
are attracted to a specific
place because of food.
NARRATOR: But in
their quest for prey,
white sharks don't
just go anywhere.
It really depends on the
temperature in the water.
NARRATOR: Unlike
most other sharks,
great whites are warm-blooded.
That means they always maintain
their body temperature above
that of the surrounding sea.
So they thrive in a
particular climate.
White sharks usually like
water temperature quite cold.
NARRATOR: This is the
key to the investigation
in the Seychelles, because
great whites are typically
found within temperature ranges
of 54 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
But the water off of the islands
routinely reaches into the 80s.
White shark definitely
don't like tropical water
like in Seychelles.
So that shark in the
Seychelles most likely
was not a great white shark.
NARRATOR: The culprit's
identity and the reason
it attacked remains unknown.
For locals and tourists
in the Seychelles,
it's a disconcerting premise.
It's still a
mystery and people
still wanted to know why.
[suspenseful music]
