Shark Week 2020 | 'Air Jaws 2020': 20 years of unseen footage gives an extraordinary look into the giants' lives
For the last 20 years, 'Air Jaws' has captivated the world with its never-seen-before documentation of the majestic Great White Shark. These up-close encounters were no easy feat as Jeff Kurr and Chris Fallows made the use of cutting edge camera tech and sometimes even (dangerously) experimental crafts all with just one mission — discovery.
This year, following two decades worth of hard work, we follow the duo's determination and passion as they take us down memory lane through some of the most shocking stories behind the planet's most iconic marine creatures, the Great White Sharks, in 'Air Jaws 2020'. Including highlights and never-before-seen footage, the duo returns for showcasing some of the best of the 20 years.
Filmmaker Jeff Kurr and 'Air Jaws' photographer and naturalist Chris Fallows are far from ordinary men. They have repeatedly put themselves in the face of danger to capture the Great White Shark for the last two decades. Their aim is to not only make their project 'Air Jaws' synonymous with entertainment but also to spread awareness about the oft-misjudged creatures.
The Great White Sharks are often thought as "slow, lumbering, methodical, and mindless predators" who kill anything and anyone in sight. But since Fallows first made the discovery in 1999, a lot has changed. He was working near Seal Island in Africa towing a seal decoy behind his boat when he recorded the first-ever images of a killer shark, who was later known as Air Jaws. And so ensued decades-long adventures to explore this creature.
On these adventures, the duo witnessed the sharks in their element. A key highlight was whale feeding frenzy which was captured in the first air jaws. A 35-foot whale happened to die mysteriously and was put back into the ocean by authorities. This was an invitation to at least 28-40 Great White Sharks to feed on the flesh of a whale carcass that weighed 12 tonnes. Kurr and Fallows had a field day capturing this feast.
'Air Jaws 2020' also looks into the dangers that Kurr, Fallows and several other of their associates willingly put themselves into in order to advance their findings. On one such instance, Fallows had put himself on a seal sledge (that is suspended to the main boat on one end and tows a seal on the other) to capture the Great White Shark hunting.
One of most important takeaways from their own adventures that the team behind 'Air Jaws' wants to convey is that the animals have very little interest in humans — that Great White Sharks aren't mindless "killing machines". They paddle around with the shark, put their lives in jeopardy and swim in seal sledges, even use rudimentary techniques to lure them out, but the sharks don't simply go about causing blood spill.
An important, noteworthy discovery that Kurr and Fallows reminisce about in 'Air Jaws 2020' is that of Colossus. First captured in 'Air Jaws Apocalypse 2012', Colossus is the "greatest of Great Whites". Kurr recalls his closest encounter when he rode on the seal sledge towing a seal decoy with the 15-foot giant barely 10 feet away from him. The special also features never before seen footage of the 3000 pounds giant who also happened to mysteriously disappear from Seal Island. And then follows the search into the creature.
Around 2017, Air Jaws wasn't South Africa's biggest killer. A new one moved in — the killer whales or orcas. The first victim was discovered on February 9, 2017, a young female 9 feet long great white was found on the beach in False Bay. The second victim was reported on May 3, 2017, a 16 feet and 2400 pounds massive animal that literally needed seven people to push it and eventually a military vehicle was brought in to get her for a necropsy. It was found out that the liver was completely absent, it was removed with almost surgical precision.
Even more exclusive footage delves deeper into the sharks and their behaviors. Two decades later, Fallows and Kurr both continue to tell stories of the "raw beauty and magnificence" of the Great White Sharks hoping that their work will save these animals for future generations. They hope their shows prove how magnificent the creatures are.
'Air Jaws 2020' aired on August 13, 2020, at 8 pm ET/ PT on Discovery Channel.