A photographer has revealed some fantastic photos of sharks breaching. Scientists have shown that these jumps will become a rare occurrence in the future.
These incredible photos show mighty Great White Sharks soaring above the water before an at.t.ack as they target seals to catch prey.
Experts say that footage of the large animals propelling themselves from the waves may become even rarer in the near future because the number of sharks in that area keeps decreasing – partly due to the rise in orcas in the ocean.
David ‘Baz’ Jenkins, 46, from Ireland, is a wildlife photography expert who has been capturing the images for the last ten years in Cape Town, South Africa.
David said: “A flying great white shark” is one of the greatest sights to behold, an awesome show of power, speed, and agility.
“When I saw a shark breach for the first time, I was instantly hooked and knew I needed to experience it myself.”
“The most difficult part of this type of shooting is dealing with the six moving elements – ocean, shark, seals, camera, boat, and me.”
“The only near-miss I’ve ever had was when a great white shark breached next to my boat, and its head landed about twelve inches from my head.”
David has photographed various species of sharks in South Africa, Mexico, and Australia. A Planet Earth TV Series was what moved him in the first place.
He says he has never been scared of them and thinks they have misunderstood creatures.
But David said these photos might be rare sights in the future because there’s evidence that orcas hunt sharks in that area, which combined with over-fishing decreases the amount of prey for them, making the number of sharks decrease.
At age 46, he saw his first shark up close, and it wasn’t anything he’d expected or had heard about from growing up as part of the “Jaws” fearing generation.
Various sharks were curious and would swim around the tank without a hint of aggression.
They reminded me more of dolphins than sharks.
There is so much that we still don’t know about the ocean.
“It is essential that we do everything we can to protect it and the species that call its home.”