Why Great Whites Sometimes Veer Away From Swimmers (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: So I was right about here, nearing the end of my swim, turned to breathe and saw the fin just coming straight at me. I kind of gave it to my fate. And then the last second, the fin dipped. The shark swam underneath me and away. Why did that shark not bite?

[00:00:16] Speaker 2: That's a question we've been trying to figure out. As shark populations come back and more people are in the water doing the things that you're doing, they're going to have that experience more often.

[00:00:26] Speaker 3: So Carlos Gaona just texted me. He is probably the best great white photographer on Earth. He's spotted a great white.

[00:00:35] Speaker 4: Oh my god, and how far offshore is this? I would say 70 yards, maybe.

[00:00:39] Speaker 3: And we've got a bunch of people on the beach. Yeah, yeah. And you don't need to warn them? No. Look at all these people. Yes, I know. They have no idea what you're looking at right now. No idea. You can see his eye. Yeah.

[00:00:52] Speaker 4: I mean, you swam this morning. I swam in this bay this morning. The juveniles tend to be a little feisty sometimes. They'll get really close. I think that that whole area is just a highway for sharks of all sizes.

[00:01:04] Speaker 3: Because we use these beaches all year, the seals, who don't really like humans, they go elsewhere. So unlike some other places, you don't have seals, sharks, and humans all swimming together. The sharks can't mistake us for lunch.

[00:01:19] Speaker 4: This shark is super curious.

[00:01:22] Speaker 3: So it's not this just sort of mindless eating machine charging at everything?

[00:01:26] Speaker 4: Definitely not. Definitely not. More inquisitive, calculated. Oh, look at that.

[00:01:30] Speaker 2: Oh, oh, oh. The per capita bite rate has been going down. And that, to me as a biologist, clearly indicates that we are not on the menu. Accidents happen, but we're not on the menu.

[00:01:41] Speaker 1: Apparently, they're here all the time. They could be circling us right now. I'm fine with that.

[00:01:49] Speaker 3: Me too.