Flora Graham, deputy editor, newscientist.com
(Image: Dana Allen/Caters news)
Despite its spectacular leap, this great white shark is going home with an empty stomach. The seal that it has crushed in its jaws is a rubber decoy, created by the photographer, Dana Allen, to tempt it out of the sea.
The shark was pictured in False Bay, off Cape Town in South Africa. It's common for great whites to leap out of the water in this area, but it took three days of dangling his decoy for Allen to capture this perfect moment on film.
"We were getting ourselves settled, preparing for a long wait and then whoosh! In an instant the 4-metre great white shark was up and out of the water, right in front of our eyes," said Allen. "It almost seemed like slow motion and I remember seeing the eyes and the teeth as the shark leaped up."
Some shark chasers get far closer to their prey. Last year, Dorien Schröder's shark study took a twist when a 3-metre great white jumped into her boat.
"I heard a splash behind me and turned around to see a great white hovering in the air," said Schröder of her close shark shave. Happily, despite an hour out of the water, Schröder's shark survived after being craned back into the water.
Neither close encounter of the shark kind happened by chance. Like Allen, Schröder was also attracting sharks to her boat - with fish oils. She was documenting their distinctive dorsal fins - which unfortunately make them the target of a bloody worldwide market in shark fins.
If you'd rather keep Jaws and its kin away, there are chemical shark repellents that may do the trick - although not dragging a rubber seal behind you while spreading fish oil is a good place to start. You can also read our handy guide to shark body language to ensure you appear as un-delicious as possible.
Leaping shark scores big air, but no dinner
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Leaping shark scores big air, but no dinner
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Leaping shark scores big air, but no dinner
