Tiger Sharks, awesome yet formidable marine predators. Back in 2009 I'd been tasked by the Remote Imaging Department at National Geographic to spend six months based just south of Durban in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, to help document the sharks that frequented the Aliwal Shoal marine protected area, MPA. Having been based in Palau and Micronesia for many years prior to this tasking I'd dived and interacted with a wide array of shark species, predominantly reef shark species but on the odd occasion Tigers too. But this was going to be a different kettle of fish. Actively baiting the animals and then jumping into the open water with them in order to get close enough to manually place an animal borne imaging device, or 'CritterCam', on the dorsal fin of Tiger Sharks, easier said than done.

Hanging with the locals just south of Durban, South Africa. Tiger sharks and Blacktip sharks a plenty. Image © Bora Mutlu

Science is continually in need of data, and visual based data is like gold dust to marine scientists. Given the difficulty of getting underwater footage in the first place. But then getting imagery that either backed up or indeed introduced those studying the target species with known or new behavioral evidence was always the goal. For the tasking at Aliwal Shoal we were looking predominantly for predatory behavior, what were the sharks eating? what was their preferred method of attack? did they have a specific food source within the area of study? These and many other questions we were hoping to answer.

Thus six months were spent in the amazing company of not just Tiger Sharks but clouds of Blacktip Sharks, not the reef species. Oceanic Blacktip Sharks can reach almost 3m in length and can be very inquisitive in baited situations. Many a dive we would get our fins bumped or even 'tested' with a little nibble! When there are then upwards of 50 of these guys in all directions it can, and does, get quite the task to be spatially aware at all times. On a couple of occasions we would also see Marlin, Bull Sharks and almost a Sperm Whale as it swam very close to our shark drift dive of the day, hearing it underwater was amazing.

If there was one moment that made me cringe during the whole project was the day we decided to go ahead with a dive even though the underwater visibility was not that great. I guess we should have exited the water when it was clear that we couldn't even see our fin tips let alone the 'entities' we were sharing the water with. Feeling a big tug on my left fin and lifting my leg up to see the broad head of a Tiger Shark attached to it sealed the deal. I was out of the water in a few seconds flat, walking on water in full SCUBA gear became my party piece.

It was an adventure that ended all too soon. Did we get the footage we were after? I'm not a liberty to say but if you watch old reruns of the Crittercam Chronicles, if you can find them anywhere, you'll be able to see the fruits of that project. A call had come to shift from Durban and head North into Botswana. A project that required my documenting of Elephants, African Painted Dogs, Leopards and a man mad watering hole was now the main point of focus.

But that, as they say, is another story...

“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.”

Rachel Carson - The Sea Around Us