Premiering Sunday, October 6 at 8:00 p.m., Discovery Channel’s annual SHARK WEEK special returns bigger and better with SHARK MONTH, a must-see spotlight on one of the planet’s most magnificent, mysterious and misunderstood creatures – the mighty shark. Witness as the ocean’s apex predator takes over Discovery Channel with a host of jaw-dropping specials that uncover their true nature, feature some of the greatest up close and personal encounters, incredible gut-wrenching footage and never-before-told stories.
Kicking off the month is the first of four specials – I ESCAPED JAWS unveils chilling first-hand accounts of people who have come face-to-face with a shark and were lucky enough to live to tell the tale. Through actual astonishing footage caught on surveillance and home video cameras, I ESCAPED JAWS features previously untold chronicles of these unnerving occurrences – unearthed blow by blow in such agonising detail – including a surfer who faced three Great White sharks throughout his lifetime, a nurse who lost her arm in an attack while vacationing in Mexico but saved her own life by instructing those on the beach on how to treat her wounds, and an Australian Navy diver who relied on his professional experience to survive after a shark bit off both his arm and leg. How did they keep it together to defy the odds?
In GREAT WHITE SERIAL KILLER (October 13), Discovery Channel’s Emmy®-nominated natural history producer Jeff Kurr (ULTIMATE AIR JAWS and AIR JAWS APOCALYPSE) investigates a shark “murder mystery”. In this special, he examines two fatal shark attacks – on Lucas Ransom and Francisco Javier Solorio, Jr. – that took place at California’s Surf Beach on Vanderberg Air Force base. Interestingly, both occurred two years apart but on virtually the same day, and in nearly the same place, turning this once idyllic spot into a haunted beach. Is there a serial killing Great White shark stalking this once popular stretch or is it simply a bizarre coincidence? The key to determining if the same shark is responsible for deaths is a crime scene investigation-style forensic study, focusing on bite patterns left behind and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sampling of tooth fragments found in the victims. It will also involve a harrowing, near fatal encounter with possibly the largest Great White (5.5 metres) ever caught on camera.
A lesser-known shark “hot spot” is explored in VOODOO SHARKS (October 20), where there have been rumours of a legendary shark lurking in the rivers and bayous of Louisiana. It is said to be over 6 metres long and extremely aggressive – attacking livestock, pets and even people. Is this phantom the stuff of Cajun legend, or do these waters hold a brand new species? A team of local fishermen has set out on a mission to prove its existence is more than just a story passed down through generations. They head into the waters in question, from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up the Mississippi, to find it. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mississippi, a shark researcher from the University of New Orleans is looking into the phenomenon of bull sharks living in a freshwater lake, on the edge of the city. Nicknamed voodoo sharks by local shrimp fishermen, these bull sharks have the extraordinary ability to live in both salt and fresh water environments. He plans to catch one and implant a telemetry unit to find out where these sharks are going and how much of their lives are spent in fresh water.
And finally, in HOW SHARKS HUNT (October 27), join Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin of DUAL SURVIVAL fame as they dive into the deep end to find out why no two species of sharks attack in the same manner. Sharks have been swimming the world’s oceans for over 400 million years, which has given them plenty of time to evolve into some of the most effective marine predators. There are hundreds of species of sharks, and yet each one has its own preferred prey and unique way of hunting. Through a series of groundbreaking tests and innovative high-tech camera technologies, Dave and Cody will uncover what really makes sharks so deadly and get intimate with two of the world’s deadliest species to discover how these powerful creatures hunt their prey.
SHARK MONTH encores every Monday at midnight.