A great white shark launches from the water during an attack off the coast of Seal Island in South Africa. The breaching behavior of great white sharks was a complete surprise to everyone, most shark scientists included, when "Air Jaws: Sharks of South Africa" premiered on Discovery Channel during Shark Week in 2001.
Image Credit: DCL
"When I first heard that great whites were jumping back in 2000 I didn't believe it," says "Air Jaws" producer Jeff Kurr. "So, when I saw it for myself and filmed it for the first time I was mesmerized."
Image Credit: DCL
A South African great white shark.
"There had been a few random breaches in documentaries in the past," says producer Jeff Kurr, "but very few people, even shark experts, knew great whites jumped like that. Pretty exciting filming this because I had a feeling it would make history. And now, 11 years after we made "Air Jaws" it still airs all the time and people still love it!"
Image Credit: DCL
The Cape fur seals of Seal Island.
There are some 60,000 seals living on the island; only a small percentage are taken by the sharks.
"Air Jaws" features the first-ever footage of great whites from the seal's point of view, thanks to two custom cameras built by producer Jeff Kurr called Seal Cam and the Sea Viewer.
Image Credit: DCL
A great white shark hangs in mid-air in this spectacular scene from "Air Jaws: Sharks of South Africa."
"Filming Air Jaws, before anyone knew there was "Air Jaws," was probably the highlight of my career," says Jeff, "because it really felt like we were discovering brand new behaviors that would change the world's perception of these animals."
Image Credit: DCL
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