Video: Great White Shark Breaks Into Diver’s Cage

by Adam Hodge on

Last week in Gansbaai, South Africa, a man almost became an afternoon snack for a great white shark when the predator forced its way into a protective shark diving cage. A video uploaded by YouTube user Bryan Plummer shows a large shark ignoring the bait put out by tour operators and instead going straight for the main course: diver. After jamming its head into the cage through the viewing portal, the shark thrashed around and then swam away. A few nervous seconds later the divers in the cage popped back up, apparently no worse for wear. The man closest to the action, known only as Roger, had reportedly gotten married the day prior.

Tour operators do not know why the shark would have attacked the cage. Perhaps the shark just wanted to wrestle. One thing is certain: this is a story that Roger will be telling his future kids.

Diving With Great White Sharks In South Australia

by Jessica Festa on

In honor of the upcoming Shark Week beginning on August 12, we’re bringing you some unique big fish fare. One prime destination for shark diving is in South Australia’s Neptune Islands, where divers can have a very out of the ordinary experience.

Most often, divers can see the sharks from the surface; however, to get up close you’ll need to actually get in the water. On the Neptune Islands, divers will throw on a wetsuit and put themselves in a rock-solid cage to be submerged into the ocean with great white sharks.

There are two main touring operators to do the dive with. The first is Calypso Star Charters, the area’s only Advanced Eco Certified one-day charter operator with a license to use chum to attract the sharks. While chumming is a tried and true method of getting sharks to come near a dive boat, the other operator, Adventure Bay Charters, uses a more unique approach. The company has discovered that great whites can be lured using low frequency, hard rock music. Therefore, your captain will blast AC/DC tunes like “If You Want Blood” and “Shook Me All Night Long” because they are so compatible with the very sensitive hearing of sharks.

“I’ve seen the sharks rub their faces on the cage where the sound is coming from as if to feel it,” explains tour operator Matt Waller.

For a more visual experience of shark diving in South Australia, check out the gallery below.

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[Above image via Pterantula; Gallery images via South Australia Tourism]