♪♪
I'M LUKE TIPPLE,
AND THIS IS YOUR "DAILY BITE."
ON THIS EPISODE,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
THE FASTEST SHARK IN THE OCEAN,
THE SHORTFIN MAKO,
AND ITS RACE AGAINST EXTINCTION.
THE SHORTFIN MAKO SHARK
POPULATION
HAS SUFFERED A 60% DECLINE
OVER THE LAST 75 YEARS.
JUST LAST YEAR,
THE INTERNATIONAL UNION
FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE,
KNOWN AS THE I.U.C.N.,
RECLASSIFIED
BOTH THE SHORTFIN MAKO
AND ITS LESSER-KNOWN COUSIN,
THE LONGFIN MAKO,
FROM VULNERABLE
TO AN ENDANGERED SPECIES,
WHICH MEANS THAT THEY FACE
A VERY HIGH RISK OF EXTINCTION
IN THE WILD.
BUT WHY DO MAKO SHARKS HAVE
A TARGET PAINTED ON THEIR BACKS?
WELL, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE MEAT
AND FINS OF THIS SPECIES
ARE PARTICULARLY VALUABLE.
IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES,
THEY HUNT DOWN AND IMPORT MAKOS
FOR A DELICACY
KNOWN AS SHARK FIN SOUP.
AND THESE FINNING PRACTICES
ARE PRETTY TERRIFYING.
OFTEN, SHARKS ARE CAUGHT,
THEIR FINS ARE CAUGHT OFF,
AND THEIR BODIES DISCARDED TO
SINK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN
ALL WHILE THE SHARK
IS STILL ALIVE.
MAKOS AREN'T ONLY FISHED
FOR THEIR FINS, THOUGH.
THE MEAT OF THESE SHARKS
REMAINS A POPULAR MENU ITEM
ACROSS THE GLOBE,
AND IT'S NOT UNCOMMON
TO SEE A MAKO SHARK
IN THE BUTCHER WINDOWS
AT YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET.
AND THERE'S NO SHORTAGE
OF RECIPES ONLINE.
I CHECKED.
UNFORTUNATELY,
THERE ARE NO INTERNATIONAL
FISHING REGULATIONS
TO PROTECT THE SPECIES
FROM BEING OVERFISHED.
NOW, MAKOS ARE
EXTRAORDINARY SHARKS.
THEY'RE THE FASTEST KNOWN
SPECIES,
CLOCKING SPEEDS
OF UP TO 60 MILES AN HOUR.
MY FRIEND AND "SHARK WEEK"
CINEMATOGRAPHER JOE ROMEIRO
HAS SPENT COUNTLESS OF HOURS
IN THE OCEAN
WITH THESE FINNED BULLETS.
MAKO SHARKS ARE MY ABSOLUTE
FAVORITE SHARKS,
AND THEY'RE MY FAVORITE SHARKS
TO WORK WITH.
I'VE BEEN STUDYING THEM
AND WORKING WITH THEM
FOR OVER 10 YEARS,
AND EVEN NOW,
EVERY TIME I SEE A MAKO SHARK,
IT FEELS LIKE IT'S THE FIRST
TIME I'VE EVER SEEN ONE.
EVERY TIME THAT YOU WATCH SHARKS
ON TV, YOU KNOW THOSE FACES.
YOU'VE SEEN THOSE ANIMALS
A MILLION TIMES.
AND YOU HAVE THE TIME
TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND
AND CONNECT WITH THAT ANIMAL
BEFORE YOU EVEN SEE IT.
BUT THE FIRST FEW TIMES
YOU START HAVING
ONE OF THOSE ANIMALS
REALLY LOOK AT YOU
AND YOU BOTH ARE TRYING
TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
YOUR INTENTIONS ARE,
THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T GET
FROM TV, BOOKS, MOVIES,
ANYTHING.
I THINK WHAT MAKES MAKOS
SO INCREDIBLE IS THAT
THEY'RE REALLY ENGINEERED
TO BE THIS PERFECT SHARK.
IT'S UNLIKE ANY OTHER SHARK.
IT HAS THESE HUGE GILLS
TO ALLOW A LOT OF AIR INTAKE
BECAUSE THE ANIMAL TRAVELS
FASTER THAN ANY OTHER SHARK.
IT HAS THESE SILVERY SIDES
AND COUNTERSHADING
THAT I HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN
IN ANY OTHER SHARK.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE
A SKIN STRUCTURE THAT'S STUDIED
BY THE MILITARY AND ALL KINDS
OF DIFFERENT BOATING SPECIALISTS
AND COMPANIES THAT WANT TO KNOW
EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS.
AND WHAT IT REALLY IS, IS THIS
TEXTURE CALLED DERMAL DENTICLES.
AND BASICALLY THEY'RE ALL
JUST VERY, VERY TINY TEETH
THAT THE WATER CAN PASS THROUGH.
BUT THE ACTUAL SHAPE
OF THESE DENTICLES
ON THIS PARTICULAR SHARK
FLUTE AND KIND OF
PUSH THE WATER THROUGH IT.
SO, RIGHT NOW, SCIENTISTS
AND ESPECIALLY THE MILITARY
ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
HOW TO MAKE SKINS
THAT MATCH THE MAKO SHARK
TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THINGS
TRAVEL THROUGH THE WATER
WITH MORE EFFICIENCY.
WHAT YOU SEE WITH MAKOS
GENERALLY ARE SMALLER ANIMALS,
AND THAT'S NOT BECAUSE
THIS ANIMAL DOESN'T HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO GROW LARGE.
IT'S JUST BECAUSE THE LARGER
ONES EITHER KNOW HOW TO HIDE,
KNOW HOW TO AVOID HUMANS,
OR JUST MAY NOT BE THERE.
BUT IT'S A VERY RARE AND HARD
ANIMAL TO SEE AS AN ADULT MAKO.
AND I'M NOT SAYING
JUST AN AVERAGE ADULT MAKO.
I'M TALKING ABOUT
THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG.
AND THIS YEAR FOR "SHARK WEEK,"
I WAS ABLE TO HAVE
THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH
THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG AGAIN.
SO, WE CAME BACK
WITH "MONSTER MAKO 3,"
AND IN THIS EPISODE,
WE HAPPEN TO CATCH SOMETHING
I DON'T THINK
ANYBODY'S EVER SEEN BEFORE --
OR AT LEAST NOT IN THE WATER.
ALL THE BIRDS LEFT IT!
-MAKO! MAKO! RIGHT THERE!
-RIGHT THERE! YEAH! YEAH!
♪♪
LOOK HOW BIG THAT SHARK IS!
DEFINITELY ONE OF
THE RAREST SHARKS
YOU WILL EVER SEE
IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.
NOW, THAT IS SERIOUSLY COOL.
THE TIME THAT I'VE SPENT
WITH MAKOS HAS BEEN SOME
OF MY MORE THRILLING EXPERIENCES
IN THE OCEAN.
THEY'RE SMART. THEY'RE FAST.
AND THEY'RE BOLD.
AND YOU DEFINITELY WANT
TO KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL
WHEN YOU'RE SWIMMING
WITH THESE INCREDIBLE SHARKS.
THE OCEANS REALLY
JUST WOULDN'T BE THE SAME
WITHOUT THESE PERFECT PREDATORS.
AND WITHOUT A CHANGE
IN PROTECTION STATUS,
WE STAND TO LOSE THIS
CHARISMATIC SPECIES FOREVER.
ONE STEP THAT YOU CAN TAKE
TO HELP SAVE SHARKS
IS TO TEXT "SHARK" TO 707070
AND DONATE TO OCEANA AND THEIR
EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE OCEAN.
STICK WITH US
ALL "SHARK WEEK" LONG
AS WE CONTINUE TO BRING YOU THE
BIGGEST DISCOVERIES IN SHARK.
IN THE NEXT EPISODE
OF THE "DAILY BITE,"
WE'RE ENTERING THE TOTALLY WEIRD
WORLD OF BABY SHARKS.
AND I'M TALKING IN-UTERO,
SIBLING CANNIBALISM.
THAT'S RIGHT. CANNIBALISM.
♪♪
