Documentary 52 minutes ~ Color
The Tiger Shark is responsible for the majority of shark attacks in tropical waters around the world.
We see the Tiger's changing moods - a slow moving, seemingly passive creature, who knows it's the Lord of the sea, then turning into a relentless feeding machine that does not stop until all is consumed.
Ben Cropp's family, tag and track the Tiger with sonar, to determine it's natural movements along Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Stars: Ben Cropp
The Tiger Shark is responsible for the majority of shark attacks in tropical waters around the world.
We see the Tiger's changing moods - a slow moving, seemingly passive creature, who knows it's the Lord of the sea, then turning into a relentless feeding machine that does not stop until all is consumed.
Ben Cropp's family, tag and track the Tiger with sonar, to determine it's natural movements along Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Stars: Ben Cropp
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00You
00:31The tiger shark, legendary thug of the sea, is responsible for the majority of
00:36shark attacks in tropical waters around the world.
01:00Perhaps the most horrific of tiger attacks occurred in July 1983 off Townsville in Australia when Ray Boundy watched in horror as a four metre tiger attacked and killed his two crew members after their trawler capsized and sank.
01:19Later we got washed off, we all got washed into the water by a bit of slop and the surfboard and bits of foam and the life ring were about five feet away from us.
01:32And as happened many times before we made a quick dash to try and get back to him and get out of the water and Dennis just yelled.
01:45Said it had a hold of his bloody leg and I was, first off I didn't know sort of what to say and I just yelled at him you know to kick it as hard as he could with the other leg and he kicked at it and kicked at it and kicked at it and he was still on the surface of the water and then he disappeared about two feet below the water.
02:07Still see his hands above the water and trying to pull himself back up sort of thing and still kicking at it with the other feet and when he came back up he just said to me, you know, as calm as when I'm talking to you, you know, it's taken me freaking leg off.
02:26I just couldn't believe it, you know, he just said you and Mindy bolt, get the bloody hell out of here and I sort of hesitated and I didn't want to leave him but I knew there was absolutely nothing else I could do.
02:41I think he knew then he was, he had no chance and we just turned around and swam about five strokes back the other way, back into the tide and I grabbed the life ring and the other bit of foam and just swam as hard as I could dragging the bits of foam and we got about 20 feet away before it attacked him again.
03:08Just kept circling us and pointing us and darting in towards us and then turn off and go around the other side and go underneath us and I did that for about an hour before it took Lindy eventually.
03:27The tiger took Linda Horton in one quick lunge. It was a nightmare for Ray. He waited his turn to die. The tiger kept circling. In the morning Ray found he was close to a coral reef and the waves swept him over the reef into safe waters.
03:45Shark haters are understandable and the adrenaline rush of catching a big tiger shark.
04:00A smaller whaler shark takes the next bait.
04:26When Rick Burner tries to retrieve the hook and give the whaler its freedom, the thrashing shark scores a bite. Rick feels faint at the sight of his own blood.
04:42A big tiger moves in. The whaler is still hooked. There's blood in the water, mostly Rick's, and the tiger picks up the scent.
04:58It's awesome to watch a creature eat its own kind.
05:08Various senses play important roles. Sharks have the highest known electrical sensitivity in the animal kingdom.
05:16Lateral line canals and sensitive electro-receptors in the head pick up the slightest vibration some distance away.
05:25Couple that with a powerful body and crushing jaws and the turtle has no chance.
05:41The eye goes white. That's a tough, movable membrane closing over the eye during feeding to protect it from damage.
05:59The skin is like flexible armour, composed of thousands of scale-like denticles.
06:09When mating, the male inserts one clasper into the genital opening to guide the sperm.
06:16The horror of shark attack has been dramatised since humans first entered the ocean.
06:22The highest risk area for tiger attacks is northern Australia, with Florida and Hawaii next.
06:29A hungry tiger became involved in a bizarre murder mystery.
06:34On Anzac Day 1935, a huge tiger shark was put on display at the Sydney Aquarium.
06:41Much to the horror of the spectators, the shark regurgitated a human arm.
06:46The arm had a distinct tattoo of two boxes facing up to each other,
06:51which allowed police to identify the arm as coming from a hood named James Smith.
06:58His accomplice, Patrick Brady, was arrested and charged with Smith's murder.
07:03The police prime witness was a boat builder, Reginald Holmes.
07:07But the night before the court inquiry, Holmes was shot dead.
07:12Brady was acquitted because his lawyers argued that an arm did not constitute a body,
07:18and that James Smith, minus his arm, could still be alive.
07:23So the shark arm murder became the perfect crime, with the help of a hungry tiger shark.
07:35Along the Ribbon Reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, I follow a game boat.
07:52I've learnt that black marlin fishing and tiger shark appearance go hand in hand.
08:09Just when the marlin is about to be tagged and released, a tiger falls upon the helpless, exhausted fish.
08:23While most captures are tagged and released, this huge black marlin is a potential record breaker,
08:29and had to die to be weighed.
08:33We take the carcass back to my vessel as burley for tiger sharks.
08:38The oily flesh sends out an irresistible smell.
08:43The fish are fed with the smell of the fish.
08:49We wait 30 minutes for the first tiger to appear, and it is soon followed by 9 more.
09:01They are surprisingly cautious at first, until the largest, 4 metres long, takes the first bite.
09:19Smaller whaler sharks quickly disperse. The king has arrived,
09:24and the whalers are relegated to circle underneath for scraps drifting down.
09:30I notice a distinct pecking order in the tigers.
09:34They take turns to feed, but hang back when the largest moves in.
09:39She has more turns.
09:44What a feeding machine!
09:48The teeth function like a saw.
09:52The jaw twists from side to side like a cookie cutter, neatly excising a large chunk of flesh.
09:58The teeth function like a saw, the jaw twists from side to side like a cookie cutter, neatly
10:14excising a large chunk of flesh.
10:44Pacific Islanders understandably have a long cultural link with ocean creatures and view
10:53sharks from a variety of perspectives. Sharks play central roles in religion, folklore,
11:00culture and fishing techniques.
11:14Islanders grow up with sharks, and while recognising their danger, have attitudes toward them quite
11:26different to us. Even so, there have been 136 recorded attacks.
11:44Solomon Islanders believe that the bodies of tiger sharks are inhabited by the ghosts
11:54of the departed. Such blood brothers become legendary sharks. The natives worship these
12:00sharks and believe they will not harm them. Tangali is one such legendary shark and the
12:07natives of Togo village praise him in song.
12:37Tangali will protect us, they say.
13:08We never fish for shark, we are worshipping our old people.
13:25It is said that old Harry Jagaloo can actually call in his sacred shark, Gayatani. Harry
13:32chews betel nut to stimulate the magic he is about to perform. Waving special leaves,
13:38he calls for the shark to come to him. A shark does indeed come to the beach, but it's a
13:46small one, not the tiger Gayatani. Harry needs to send a more powerful message.
14:02It is said that old Harry Jagaloo can actually call in his sacred shark, Gayatani. Harry
14:32told me if a canoe rocks, the shark will come.
15:02I've had a lifetime of experience with sharks, but never with a real shark.
15:32I've never before seen anything like this. Watching old Harry Jagaloo, I wonder how one
15:38separates fact from fiction.
15:55It seems these islanders share a special relationship with the tiger shark, a vital faith to enable
16:01them to harvest from the sea.
16:15Trobriand islanders treat the shark very differently. They hunt the tiger shark. The leaves believed
16:21to have magical properties are taken by the hunters for a special purpose.
16:31The magic leaves are rubbed over everything, the canoe, their bodies, the line and the
16:42bait. They believe this ritual will protect the hunters and ensure good fishing.
16:50An ingenious rattle is used to attract the shark. It's made of coconut shells cut in
17:02half. The hunters know that the clackety clack vibrations of the shells will draw the shark
17:08to the canoe and then sight and smell will lead it to the bait.
17:20To the Solomon Islanders, the tiger shark is a god. To the Trobriand Islanders, it's
17:43food.
17:46Raine Island is a beachhead for turtles, the largest green turtle rookery in the world.
17:52Lying at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef, it is also an important nesting site
17:57for sea birds.
18:04Hundreds of rotting carcasses and bleached bones form a graveyard of turtles. Some became
18:18disorientated and died of heat exhaustion.
18:26This one laid her eggs in the blistering heat of the day and died from dehydration before
18:36she reached the water. Now the tide laps the carcass and drifts it away for a sea burial.
18:45But it's not to be. It is the local tiger shark's daily routine to swimming close to
18:51the island in search of a meal in the late afternoon. I regularly time their appearance
18:57around 3pm.
19:22At Raine Island, I witness an extraordinary event that occurs frequently enough to imprint
19:36on the local shark's brains. A sudden storm darkens and cools the sand, and the waiting
19:42hatchlings, thinking it is night, emerge from the sand.
19:52Several sharks are already waiting in the shallows. They know precisely what to expect,
20:06unlike the innocent baby turtles.
20:22Some still survive in spite of nature's sinister setup.
20:43The sun takes a terrible toll. It's over 50 degrees Celsius and no shade. In just one
20:51night, 14,000 turtles came up to lay. In one season, we counted 680 that died.
21:00A movement catches my eye. How long has she lain here, upside down, after tumbling over
21:06the beach rock ledge?
21:13Now comes the exhausting task of hauling her to the water.
21:21Freedom at last, but not quite. An expectant male is waiting for her.
21:29Even worse, it's after 3pm and out of the deep comes a tiger on the prowl.
21:42The end of the day, the shark is ready to go.
21:58The amorous male doesn't want to give up. He sees the tiger, but the female is too slow,
22:14too exhausted.
22:22As the tiger approaches, it tilts its head back so the lower jaw makes contact first.
22:31The upper jaw then crunches down with a biting force of 3 tons per square centimetre. That's
22:3820 bone-crushing ton per square inch.
22:52This is my microlight, a trike we call it. I often use it for aerial surveillance, for
23:14collecting data on dugong, turtle, crocodile and tiger shark numbers.
23:21I love this flying by the seat of my pants.
23:52A tiger shark just 200 metres offshore and 5 kilometres from a popular tourist resort.
24:05It's chasing a dugong. My camera captures the dugong's evasive tactic. It's twisting
24:10in a circle, stirring up a sand cloud to disguise its retreat.
24:17The dugong must slow and surface to breathe. The tiger is relentless.
24:31The tiger shark reaches a length of 5.5 metres. 4 metres is an average large one at an age
24:38of about 20 years. While its favourite diet is sea turtle, stingrays are easier to catch.
24:48Bat Reef off Port Douglas is our base for tiger shark research.
25:08I anchor my vessel over a very shallow sandy patch where stingrays and turtles frequent.
25:18A stingray is used as bait and plenty of abattoir blood to go with it.
25:26A stingray is used as bait and plenty of abattoir blood to go with it.
25:44Both my sons, Dean and Adam, assist marine biologist Benjamin Kahn. A blood slick is
25:50vital. We expect it to drift for an hour before a tiger prowling the shallows picks
25:55up the trail.
26:02Suckerfish arrive promptly. We wonder where their host is.
26:08With a long wait ahead and nothing much to do, Dean has sport with the remoras.
26:16Shane Down is our other crew member, a real expert on tiger sharks who swapped hunting
26:23for research. The wait proves longer than expected. It seems too idyllic, too shallow
26:30for tiger country, but Shane tells us all to be patient and prepared.
26:46So you can just shoot that into the shark and this will curve round and it will stay in.
26:53Exactly what are the tags for?
26:56Well these tags are made in New South Wales for the Fisheries Research Institute and what
27:02Shane and I are trying to do out here is basically tag the tiger sharks so we get a really good
27:06feeling about how many sharks there is in this area, top predators, and what sort of
27:10range they're spanning. They're coming in very quickly or it takes us hours to get them
27:14around so we're getting a really good feel of how many sharks are out here.
27:24Our first shark. Not a tiger, a tawny shark. A harmless clumsy creature but quite photogenic.
27:45Two tawnys are courting, right behind the boat.
28:06This is about as nasty as a tawny can get. The bite is small, the teeth really grind
28:12us for crushing shellfish. They suck when they bite.
28:42Remora and pilotfish swarm around them. Notice the pig eye and the whiskers on the top jaw.
28:56Now there are four. So gregarious and a wonderful interlude while we wait for the tigers.
29:04I love their curiosity for our cameras and the way they suck at the lens.
29:15The tawny refuses to let go of this fish. It's much too big to go down its throat.
29:37Shane knows the right time to play with the shark when it literally has its mouth full.
30:15The ray bait has apparently been forgotten but not by the little snails.
30:25They'll need a lot of help from their friends to eat this giant.
30:38The hours roll on and still no tiger.
30:46At last we breathe a sigh of relief and move to our stations.
30:54It looks like a four metre female. She's wary and we patiently wait for her to grab the bait.
31:01Tagging a tiger is not easy. We must lure the shark right up to the back of the boat.
31:16An impatient pull on the line can spook the shark away.
31:32Shane patiently waits till the shark locks onto the bait.
31:41And then smoothly hauls the bait in so the shark is unaware it's coming in with the float.
32:01A perfect shot.
32:26That was fabulous. Right on the edge here. In the straight part of the body. Easy to see.
32:51A second tiger arrives immediately after the first one leaves.
32:55The pecking order probably dictated it must stay out wide.
33:00This one doesn't waste any time and catches Benjamin unprepared.
33:05Leave me the rope. Come on. Right in the face.
33:18And another one here comes down.
33:21Come on, Johnny.
33:32Yes, that's right. Whoa!
33:37Come on, baby.
33:44Come on, baby.
33:59It went right in here as well. But I couldn't see it very clear because it was all over the place.
34:05I was in there just before on the last one and as it took off it slapped me in the face when Benjamin tagged it.
34:12Yeah, this next one, as it went underneath the boat it touched my foot and that's why it got up so quick.
34:22Slowly pull it.
34:49You got it. Keep going. Keep going. Feel the pressure. Keep going. You got it.
34:59Pull him in. Come on.
35:13You're crazy, Shane. Remember, wait until the shark has its mouth full.
35:28I'll give Shane credit for courage.
35:35Shane saw an old tag in the tiger's head but it's moving away.
35:40They opt to chase the shark and put a fresh tag in.
35:58Keep going. That's it. You're on top of it.
36:07A bit more. A bit more power. That's it. You're on top.
36:18Hi, Dean. Could you grab me a tag, please?
36:20Yep, sure.
36:22These are the tiger sharks that we've been studying for the last couple of months.
36:25We've seen the same individuals a couple of times now.
36:29According to those recaptures, there's about 12 to 18 tigers in this area, mainly females.
36:37Now the question is, of course, how big is their home range?
36:42Hopefully we can set a bit of light on that question when we start tagging them.
36:45It might be this big reef system here or perhaps larger than that even.
36:48That would be good. See where they go.
36:51We're going to track them for a couple of days and basically find out what sort of movement patterns they have.
37:00Shane, this is the trench juicer, the underwater tinger from Canada.
37:04We'll rig it up and see how it all works. Do a proof session on it when it's dry.
37:13It's tinging at the moment. I've connected it, soldered it all off.
37:17It should be ready to go by now. See how it works.
37:21Close to four nautical miles, but it depends a lot on your reef topography, I would guess.
37:29Here we go. Shane and I have prepared the pinger and hydrophone setup.
37:34What we'd like you to do is take this away 200 metres initially, hanging it over the side, 400 metres and then 800 metres.
37:42We'll pick up the transmission and get a good idea of the range of this pinger.
37:49That would be nice if you could just cruise over there and give me a sign when it's in the water.
38:08Hey guys, if you can put him in the water there and we'll give it a try.
38:12Roger that, he's in the water now.
38:15He's in the water.
38:17Okay, thank you very much. Stand by for a few moments.
38:24How's that going?
38:25Okay guys, that worked out really well. We're getting a really good signal there.
38:28If you could go another couple of hundred metres out and then we'll try it again.
38:31Alright, let's go.
38:38Alright, we're in position and the thing's in the water, so are you getting ready?
38:45Okay guys, can you drop it a little bit deep in the water for us and we'll give it another try there.
38:51Are you getting reading?
38:59Yeah, we're getting a fairly good reading at that. That is quite good, straight over.
39:04Oh, that's good.
39:07We need more bait.
39:09The whole operation starts over again,
39:12this time with the scientific goal to track the natural movements of a tiger shark.
39:31The big cobia Shane caught is an excellent oily burly.
39:40Nice.
39:54Of course, the tawny shark arrives first.
40:10A newcomer, much more dangerous than the tawny, a lemon shark.
40:15It's an active large shark that hunts fish and rays.
40:19A newcomer, much more dangerous than the tawny, a lemon shark.
40:22It's an active large shark that hunts fish and rays.
40:50Awesome teeth.
40:52I'm leaning right over with my underwater camera
40:55and the bait rope snags my body and topples me in.
41:06Okay June, you ready?
41:08Okay.
41:10Nice.
41:18There's another one.
41:26That one don't take it, the other's not.
41:34It's a stroppy shark.
41:41Lemon sharks are not on our tagging agenda,
41:44but their record may be useful for future shark projects.
41:52We know we're in for a long wait for the tigers to appear,
41:56so Adam and his friend James have a ball teasing two lemon sharks.
42:00Oh, he's got a big one.
42:02Oh, he's got a big one.
42:04Oh, he's got a big one.
42:06Oh, he's got a big one.
42:09Man, he's tough.
42:17Otherwise he won't get his teeth in.
42:26He's huge.
42:28He's huge.
42:36He's got it, he's got it.
42:38He's got it.
42:52He's pretty big.
42:55Look.
42:57He's got a big one.
43:03He's got a big one.
43:05He's got one.
43:10He's got one.
43:12Oh, look at that.
43:14Oh, look at that.
43:18He's got him.
43:20While we're having fun at the stern, Dean spots the approaching tiger off the bow.
43:41The team are going to work from Shane's boat this time.
43:45It's more versatile for tracking the tigers.
43:48A storm has come up, making working conditions difficult.
44:08Still tied to my vessel, but hanging well back, they offer the shark a pile of rich
44:13smelling burley.
44:14Here we go.
44:15We've got a shark coming up now, Benjamin.
44:16Looks like he's got the bait, Benjamin.
44:46Yeah, he's going for it now.
44:47Yeah, he's straight in for it.
45:48All right, okay.
46:10Tiger's in the top left side.
46:13That tag is nice and very deep.
46:33It's sticking out.
46:34That's fantastic.
46:35It's going to give us a really good signal.
46:38Check it out right now.
46:39Yes, I think this is where he's going to be at.
46:44She's running low, she's running in, so I think she's coming back for another feed.
46:49Yeah.
46:50She's very loud, very close.
46:51We might hang here for a moment, Shane, until she makes up her mind as to where she wants
46:54to go.
46:55Ah, that's close.
46:56We have to hang about, otherwise we'll just start zipping around in circles and making
47:03her nervous.
47:05The signal was so loud that I lost my direction.
47:08I was just everywhere.
47:09I've seen her in the bottom of this, yes?
47:10Just directly below the boat.
47:11Hang on.
47:12Shane is taking a calculated risk.
47:20He knows the shark is happily gorging on all those fish carcasses and presumably has its
47:25mouth full.
47:26Come on in.
47:28Come on in.
47:35Let's have a look at it.
47:42Come on in.
47:47Woo.
47:48Benjamin is too caught up in the excitement to give it a second thought.
47:57Oh, God, she's beautiful, isn't she?
48:14See, she's just so incredibly good.
48:17I don't think I've got enough.
48:19Thick, just incredibly thick.
48:20She's solid.
48:21Solid, isn't it?
48:22Very solid.
48:23She doesn't know what we are.
48:24She just looks and goes, like, mm-mm.
48:36She's getting a bit faint, Shane, and fairly variable.
48:37I think we'd better get the anchor up and start checking the tiger shark.
48:38Yeah, I think it's a good idea to push it.
48:39It's too far away so we can keep a good track on it.
48:40Shane, can you cut the line?
49:00Shane, can you cut the engines for a moment?
49:11I want to get a fix on the shark again.
49:12Hey, Kate, no worries.
49:13All right.
49:14Here we go.
49:15Let's have a listen.
49:16Yep, there it is.
49:1790 degrees.
49:18Just straight out there.
49:19Can you give me a bearing on that?
49:20Yeah, that's a bearing about 180 degrees.
49:21Just about due south.
49:22All right.
49:23What I'll do is I'll just grab the GPS and put a fix in at the same time and see where
49:35we are.
49:36Okay.
49:37There we go.
49:47We've learned most of the tigers that come in to feed are females.
49:51They're very productive creatures, producing up to 80 pups at a time.
49:58Okay, Benjamin, when you're ready.
50:09Tiger's right over there, Shane.
50:11Exactly this way.
50:12What direction is that?
50:13About 275, almost due west.
50:14Do you know where we are?
50:15Wouldn't have the fog.
50:16You're somewhere on that reef.
50:21Just got another GPS fix, Shane.
50:30I'll just put it in the chart and see where we are.
50:37That's it.
50:38Right on the northern end of that reef.
50:39Hey, guys.
50:40How'd it go?
50:41Ah, great.
50:42Really good.
50:43Tracked her all throughout the night.
50:44Yeah, all throughout the night.
50:45How are you guys doing?
50:46We lost her in the middle of the night because we were so close to the bottom of this very
50:53shallow reef area.
50:54We just had to save the boat, really.
50:55We hit the reef once.
50:56We didn't get the motor off.
50:57We tried to do a bit more on speed.
50:58We tried to find her later on.
50:59We looked for about an hour or so.
51:00We tried all over the place.
51:01We just couldn't find her anywhere.
51:02Are you going to go out again?
51:03I think we need to go out again.
51:04I think we need to go out again.
51:05I think we need to go out again.
51:06I think we need to go out again.
51:07I think we need to go out again.
51:08I think we need to go out again.
51:09I think we need to go out again.
51:10I think we need to go out again.
51:11I think we need to go out again.
51:12We just couldn't find her anywhere.
51:13Are you going to go out again?
51:14I think we need to have a coffee first before we go.
51:15Well, why don't you come and have breakfast?
51:16That's better.
51:17We have seen the Tiger Sharks' changing moods.
51:18A slow-moving, seemingly passive creature,
51:19who knows it is lord of the sea.
51:30A slow-moving, seemingly passive creature,
51:34who knows it is lord of the sea.
51:40becomes a calculating, relentless feeding machine
51:44that does not stop until all is consumed.