NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Imagine stepping into a life-sized whale carcass decoy and steering it into deep water. You're looking 鈥 yes, looking 鈥 for a group of hungry sharks to spark a feeding frenzy. To attract them, you shoot out hundreds of gallons of synthetic blood and chum. Then watch them lose it.
That's what marine biologist Liv Dixon did for one of several eye-popping moments during the 21 hours of new programing this year where scientists risk everything to understand the apex predators better.
鈥淪harks jump at every opportunity,鈥 Dixon says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 kind of the same. I鈥檓 going to jump at every opportunity I get. You feel the adrenaline running through your veins like your whole body is shaking.鈥
The week kicks off Sunday with Dixon's hour-long 鈥淏elly of the Beast: Bigger & Bloodier,鈥 in which she and veteran 鈥淪hark Week鈥 biologist try to lure a so-called Queen Boss off the New Zealand coast.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing these kind of subgroups or clans of white sharks, and we think they might be dominated by a larger female that we鈥檝e termed the Queen Boss, which I love 鈥 big female energy coming in here,鈥 says Dixon. 鈥淲e really just want to tap into the social dynamics of these sharks.鈥
The seven nights of new shows are hosted by and include scientists traveling to Australia to see why there鈥檚 been an uptick in attacks near Sydney Harbor, and to Mexico to figure out why there have been three fatal Great White shark incursions near a fishing village.
The show 鈥淏ig Shark Energy鈥 has researchers comparing some New Zealand sharks鈥 speed, hunting ability and fearlessness to determine who has the swagger to swim away with a female shark, while other scientists hope to locate the fattest Great White 鈥 is 6,000 pounds possible? 鈥 and look at their poop to figure out what they鈥檙e eating.
鈥淪hark Week鈥 has become a key part of the summer holiday TV schedule, a place where humans safe on land can see ancient apex predators effortlessly and unnervingly slip into view from the dark and snap open their jaws.
鈥淭hey just seem still oddly like a monster species from the past,鈥 says Howard Lee, the president of Discovery Networks and TLC. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always something new to learn that has not yet been discovered. There鈥檚 even breeds of sharks that we have not always captured.鈥
鈥淪hark Week鈥 highlights also include a look at whether angel sharks remain in Japan鈥檚 waters 鈥 including remarkable footage of the birth of velvet dogfish shark pups 鈥 and why a South Pacific resort has become a shark attack hotspot with bull, tiger and Great White sharks moving closer and closer to the beaches.
As always, there is a deep respect for the creatures and strong science beneath the amusing titles, dramatic music and racy titles like 鈥淭he Real Sharkano鈥 and 鈥淢onster Hammerheads: Species X.鈥
The big female energy that Dixon mentioned is apparent out of the water, too. She and researchers like Zandi Ndhlovu, Christine de Silva and Kendyl Berna are front and center, challenging the male-dominated shark waters.
鈥淚 hope more than anything it can inspire other young women and females to get involved,鈥 says Dixon. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud to represent women in this space. I really think that鈥檚 important for other women, and especially the next generation of young entrepreneurs and scientists.鈥
Ndhlovu, a South African-based freediving instructor and founder of The Black Mermaid Foundation, first appeared on 鈥淪hark Week鈥 in 2022 and returns for two episodes this season, blazing a way forward in representation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to be working with sharks and showing up in the world as a Black woman in a way that allows little kids to see that the ocean belongs to them, too 鈥 increasing that representation around who the explorers and what science means.鈥
The week also sees an investigation into a massive mako dubbed 鈥淢akozilla,鈥 accused of chomping on sea lions off the California coast. Scientists use a sea lion decoy and then drop huge slabs of tuna to try at get bite marks to match with sea lion scar attacks.
鈥淚 personally also do whale research and I鈥檓 like, 鈥業 wish there was a 鈥橶hale Week,' but no one would be like, 鈥極h, wow, these humpbacks are really peaceful and beautiful,'鈥 says Berna, an environmental scientist and wildlife filmmaker, who spent time in a shark cage luring makos.
鈥淢y hope is that it gets little kids to love sharks as well,鈥 she adds. 鈥淎nd hopefully, by the time my kids are watching things like this, we鈥檙e going further in the direction of beginning to create more protections for sharks, not just in the U.S., but really globally.鈥
Discovery鈥檚 鈥淪hark Week鈥 has a rival 鈥 its programming coincides with which also has hours of sharky content, including in his hometown of New Orleans. There's also an unconnected shark thriller in movie theaters called 鈥淭he Last Breath.鈥
鈥淪hark Week鈥 鈥 with an accompanying podcast this year 鈥 was born as a counterpoint for those who developed a fear of sharks after seeing 鈥淛aws.鈥 It has emerged as a destination for scientists eager to protect an animal older than trees.
鈥淚sn鈥檛 that one of the things that makes the ocean so incredible? And isn鈥檛 that what makes life so amazing?鈥 asks Ndhlovu. 鈥淲e know so much on land. We don鈥檛 know so much about the ocean, and there鈥檚 so much to still be discovered.鈥
___
Mark Kennedy is at
