Kit Roberts
A film crew working on a documentary for Netflix have recounted how they were set upon by ravenous sharks.
In spite of numerous claims their fearsome reputation is overplayed, few creatures have captured human's fear of the ocean quite like the shark.
Large, predatory, and with mouths full of big pointy teeth, they're intimidating creatures.
Advert
Unfortunately, a crew working on the next series of the nature documentary Our Planet II has been on the receiving end of an unusually aggressive group of sharks.
The Netflix crew were left terrified after being repeatedly attacked by tiger sharks. Tiger sharks are one of a few species that are considered actively dangerous towards people.
Their extremely wide-ranging diet has even given them the unfaltering nickname of the 'dustbins' of the ocean, as they'll eat anything from sea turtles to scavenging carrion.
Producer Huw Cordey told the Forbes there had originally been a plan to stage an underwater shoot. However, due to tiger sharks repeatedly attacking the boat, this plan was abandoned.
He said: “The original idea was to do an underwater shoot with the tiger sharks waiting in the shallows at Laysan.
“But the first day the tiger sharks were around, the crew got into these inflatable boats — and two sharks attacked them. It was like something out of Jaws.
“Suffice to say, they didn’t get any underwater shots.”
The sharks attacked several times as well.
Producer/director Toby Nowlan told Radio Times: “This ‘v’ of water came streaming towards us, and this tiger shark leapt at the boat and bit huge holes in it. The whole boat exploded.
“We were trying to get it away, and it wasn’t having any of it. It was horrific. That was the second shark that day to attack us.
“They were incredibly hungry, so there might not have been enough natural food, and they were just trying anything they came across in the water.”
Despite how frequently they are reported on, sharks are overwhelmingly not aggressive towards humans.
Of more than 440 known species of shark only around 12 are considered to be a significant danger to humans.
These include the Great White, the Shortfin Mako, the Tiger Shark, the Oceanic White Tip, and the Bull Shark, among others. Despite Great Whites getting the most press, Bull Sharks are considered to be the species which is most aggressive towards humans.
However, sharks are the least of many divers' concerns. Other hazards include the Stonefish, so-called because it looks like a stone. It also has a highly venomous barb on its back that cause excruciating pain.
There's also the Blue Ringed Octopus. The innocuous octopus has one of the deadliest venoms in the natural world, paralysing the respiratory system. And this is before you get into the many species of jellyfish.