WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:03.800 BEN (off-screen): It was like a scene out of Jaws. 3 00:00:03.880 --> 00:00:07.000 There was blood coming down the stairs trickling back into the water. 4 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:10.440 NARRATOR: When a vacation hot spot is rocked by 6 00:00:10.520 --> 00:00:12.320 a series of shark attacks, 7 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:14.080 chaos reigns. 8 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:19.320 JUSTINE (off-screen): When I looked down at the injury, 9 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:21.440 half of my leg was missing. 10 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:23.320 NARRATOR: All the victims are attacked in 11 00:00:23.400 --> 00:00:26.240 the same small patch of ocean, 12 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:28.600 no larger than four football fields. 13 00:00:29.520 --> 00:00:31.440 ADAM (off-screen): We really need to get to the bottom of it and 14 00:00:31.520 --> 00:00:33.400 we need to get to the bottom of it fast. 15 00:00:33.480 --> 00:00:36.600 NARRATOR: Is a rogue serial killer on the loose? 16 00:00:37.480 --> 00:00:39.120 Or is something new drawing sharks and 17 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.040 humans into conflict? 18 00:00:48.480 --> 00:00:51.080 NARRATOR: September 19th 2018. 19 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.240 Justine Barwick is on a yachting vacation with 20 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:55.800 her husband and friends in 21 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.720 Australia's remote Whitsunday Islands. 22 00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:01.400 JUSTINE (off-screen): It was the sixth year running that we had been. 23 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:03.920 The water's beautiful, the beaches are lovely, 24 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:05.760 the hikes are great. 25 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.240 We just love it there. 26 00:01:08.800 --> 00:01:10.520 NARRATOR: The Whitsundays lie at the heart of 27 00:01:10.600 --> 00:01:14.240 the world-famous Great Barrier Reef. 28 00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:18.040 One of Australia's most popular vacation destinations. 29 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.320 Over half a million tourists flock here every year 30 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:23.880 chartering yachts for the trip of a life time. 31 00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:26.600 (laughter) 32 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:30.480 But beneath the waves something is about 33 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:32.880 to shatter the peace. 34 00:01:39.440 --> 00:01:42.760 JUSTINE (off-screen): The conditions on that day had been really good. 35 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:44.440 But the weather was meant to be rough for 36 00:01:44.520 --> 00:01:45.880 the following two or three days. 37 00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:49.720 So, we made the decision that we would wait that weather out 38 00:01:49.800 --> 00:01:51.840 at Cid Harbour, which is such a good place to do it. 39 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:53.360 It's so sheltered. 40 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:03.480 NARRATOR: Justine swam in Cid Harbour on countless occasions. 41 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.800 JUSTINE: Before I dive into the water I do sometimes think 42 00:02:07.880 --> 00:02:11.560 of the sea being home to, you know, creatures that, 43 00:02:11.640 --> 00:02:13.440 that might sting or bite. 44 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.400 But I didn't have those thoughts that day. 45 00:02:17.480 --> 00:02:20.920 NARRATOR: There's good reason to feel safe. 46 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.320 While the Great Barrier Reef is home to bulls, 47 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:29.240 tigers and hammerhead sharks, the sheltered waters of 48 00:02:29.320 --> 00:02:33.160 the Whitsundays are considered some of the safest in Australia. 49 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:37.760 ADAM (off-screen): In the last 20 years there's been like one shark bite 50 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.600 at Whitsundays and the Whitsundays is one of the most 51 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.720 visited areas in the whole of the Great Barrier Reef. 52 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:46.680 So, you, you can imagine per year there's like thousands 53 00:02:46.760 --> 00:02:49.000 upon thousands of people in the water down there. 54 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:55.040 NARRATOR: At 5:00 pm, 55 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:58.320 Justine's world is about to change. 56 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.560 JUSTINE: I dived into the water and then as I came back 57 00:03:04.640 --> 00:03:09.280 up that's the moment that the shark bit my leg. 58 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:24.760 Years later I still struggle to describe the force with 59 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.520 which the shark made impact with me. 60 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:33.960 I turned and attempted to push the shark away from me and 61 00:03:34.040 --> 00:03:36.960 then I knew I had to get out of the water. 62 00:03:38.480 --> 00:03:40.480 NARRATOR: Justine has a life-threatening bite to 63 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:43.920 her upper thigh, the size of a dinner plate. 64 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.920 Her femoral artery is severed, she's bleeding out. 65 00:03:48.160 --> 00:03:49.640 JUSTINE (off-screen): Swimming back to the boat, 66 00:03:49.720 --> 00:03:55.000 my right leg wasn't working as I would expect it to. 67 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:58.040 But it wasn't until I tried to get up the swing ladder that 68 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.160 I, I became really confused as to why 69 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:02.920 my right leg wouldn't work. 70 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:07.480 NARRATOR: In shock, Justine is dragged aboard by her husband. 71 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.800 (whimpering) 72 00:04:10.880 --> 00:04:13.760 JUSTINE (off-screen): When I looked down at the injury, 73 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:15.720 half of my leg was missing. 74 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:19.080 (whimpering) 75 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:22.400 And I, I knew I was in really big trouble at that point. 76 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.440 (whimpering) 77 00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:28.520 I, I said those words, "I think I might die." 78 00:04:32.760 --> 00:04:35.600 I thought my kids would be sad but they're, 79 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:40.200 they're grown and they would be okay and that my husband, 80 00:04:40.280 --> 00:04:44.280 he could go on and, and still be happy, maybe. 81 00:04:48.520 --> 00:04:50.400 NARRATOR: Justine's friends desperately try to stem 82 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:54.640 the bleeding using towels to compress the wound. 83 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:56.680 Their quick-thinking help save her life. 84 00:04:57.640 --> 00:05:02.480 MAN: Any vessels in the vicinity or able to get to Cid Harbour? 85 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.320 Patient has a shark attack bite 86 00:05:07.760 --> 00:05:09.680 NARRATOR: Within minutes a doctor vacationing on a 87 00:05:09.760 --> 00:05:11.840 nearby yacht responds. 88 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:14.040 JOHN: And I thought, well if anybody could help 89 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:15.880 I probably could help. 90 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:20.760 Uh, I'm an emergency doctor. 91 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:26.200 The cockpit floor was slick with blood and Justine was so 92 00:05:26.280 --> 00:05:31.640 unwell but she unbelievably was surviving, um, 93 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.680 really because of the, uh, the first aid. 94 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.120 NARRATOR: On the mainland, medics mobilize. 95 00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:48.720 BEN (off-screen): This is a first shark attack for the entire crew. 96 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.400 Adrenalin's running, tensions are high. 97 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:54.720 There's a lot of discussion and planning about what are 98 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:56.320 we going to do when we get there? 99 00:05:56.400 --> 00:05:57.920 What are we going to be faced with? 100 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:01.960 PILOT: This is rescue 412 helicopter 101 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:03.760 Do yo have a visual on the helicopter? 102 00:06:03.840 --> 00:06:04.920 And do you have any audio? 103 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:06.560 Can you hear the helicopter approach? 104 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:13.600 NARRATOR: Help arrives at Cid Harbour in ten minutes. 105 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.560 But with no easy way to reach Justine, 106 00:06:16.640 --> 00:06:18.920 and her condition deteriorating, 107 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:21.200 Ben makes the decision to swim for it. 108 00:06:27.960 --> 00:06:31.000 JUSTINE: I think Ben's decision to jump into 109 00:06:31.080 --> 00:06:34.720 the water where I'd just been bitten by a shark very, 110 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:40.400 very, um, recently, it's, it's nothing short of amazing. 111 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:43.600 BEN: I get asked a lot like, 112 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:45.200 "Oh, were you thinking about the sharks? 113 00:06:45.280 --> 00:06:46.080 Worried about the sharks?" 114 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.160 And then not really, because I'm too busy thinking about 115 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:50.640 all the stuff I've got to do. 116 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:52.480 NARRATOR: Two hours after the bite, 117 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.440 Justine is finally winched into the helicopter. 118 00:06:59.080 --> 00:07:03.160 JOHN: I felt a great sense of, uh, despondency because I thought 119 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:07.240 Justine wouldn't be alive at the top of the wire. 120 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:11.680 NARRATOR: On the rescue helicopter, 121 00:07:11.760 --> 00:07:14.240 the medical team realizes just how serious 122 00:07:14.320 --> 00:07:16.760 Justine's wound is. 123 00:07:16.840 --> 00:07:18.640 BEN: There's an arterial bleed, um, 124 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:20.840 quite significant, a lot of blood loss. 125 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:25.920 NARRATOR: By the time they reach the mainland, 126 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.920 Justine is unconscious and close to death. 127 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.400 BEN: The thought did run through our minds where 128 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.520 we're like there's every chance that she won't come out of this. 129 00:07:41.200 --> 00:07:43.680 NARRATOR: But after a long night of intensive surgery, 130 00:07:43.760 --> 00:07:45.760 her severed artery is repaired and 131 00:07:45.840 --> 00:07:47.760 surgeons work to save her leg. 132 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.160 But what had actually attacked Justine? 133 00:08:07.400 --> 00:08:09.840 JUSTINE: I didn't see it before the incident or 134 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.280 after the incident. 135 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:15.080 I've got a memory of my hands on the shark. 136 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:16.600 I can remember what it felt like, 137 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:18.720 the force back through my arms. 138 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.880 Um, it was incredibly solid. 139 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:24.960 NARRATOR: The Cid Harbour mystery begins. 140 00:08:27.520 --> 00:08:30.120 Australian shark expert, Richard Fitzpatrick hears 141 00:08:30.200 --> 00:08:33.360 the news within hours of the attack. 142 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.720 RICHARD: I was very curious, you know, 143 00:08:35.800 --> 00:08:37.640 shark attacks on the Great Barrier Reef are 144 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:39.240 extremely rare events. 145 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:41.080 And we were starting to get phone calls in from 146 00:08:41.160 --> 00:08:42.880 concerned tourism operators and 147 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.480 everyone just wanted to know what was it? 148 00:08:45.560 --> 00:08:47.840 Will it happen again? 149 00:08:47.920 --> 00:08:50.720 NARRATOR: Little does he know, these questions would dominate 150 00:08:50.800 --> 00:08:53.440 the next two years of his life. 151 00:08:57.160 --> 00:09:00.520 At Florida's world-famous international shark attack file, 152 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.400 Dr. Gavin Naylor keeps a meticulous record of 153 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:06.440 every single shark attack recorded around the world. 154 00:09:08.640 --> 00:09:13.000 GAVIN: This is an x-ray image of Justine Barwick's injury. 155 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.040 And you can see it's a fairly clean bite and 156 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:18.160 a semi-circular bite. 157 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:21.760 There's no doubt in my mind that, uh, this is from a shark. 158 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:26.280 This is a very, very explosively powerful bite. 159 00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:31.040 White sharks are always the thing that we jump to 160 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.800 when there's been a shark attack in Australia. 161 00:09:33.880 --> 00:09:35.720 Over the past 20 years, 162 00:09:35.800 --> 00:09:40.520 there have been 91 bites attributed to white sharks. 163 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:42.480 But in this instance, 164 00:09:42.560 --> 00:09:45.000 we don't think there's white shark involvement. 165 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:51.120 White sharks in general prefer cooler waters and the bites in 166 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:53.760 the Whitsundays are outside of this range. 167 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.240 So, it's more likely to be a tropical shark. 168 00:09:59.280 --> 00:10:02.160 NARRATOR: But before anyone can investigate further, 169 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.880 just hours later, news of a second attack 170 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:08.160 rocks the Whitsundays. 171 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.080 NARRATOR: 2018 and a shark attack victim, 172 00:10:17.160 --> 00:10:20.680 Justine Barwick, lies unconscious in the hospital. 173 00:10:20.760 --> 00:10:23.640 Australia is rocked by more bad news. 174 00:10:25.880 --> 00:10:27.480 REPORTER (over TV): There's been another savage shark attack 175 00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:28.800 in the Whitsundays. 176 00:10:28.880 --> 00:10:31.720 The two maulings, less than 24 hours apart, 177 00:10:31.800 --> 00:10:32.960 at the same beach. 178 00:10:33.040 --> 00:10:34.800 TIM (over TV): This is now a fight for life for the 179 00:10:34.880 --> 00:10:37.680 12-year-old girl who remains in a critical condition 180 00:10:37.760 --> 00:10:39.400 inside Mackay Hospital where 181 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:42.200 she's currently undergoing emergency surgery. 182 00:10:46.560 --> 00:10:48.360 BEN (off-screen): When the second call came in I was actually just 183 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.840 leaving work to head home for the night. 184 00:10:50.920 --> 00:10:54.160 And I got to the end of the runway and my phone rung again 185 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:55.880 and it was the helicopter phone saying, 186 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:56.760 "Oh, you need to get back there's been 187 00:10:56.840 --> 00:10:58.440 another shark attack at Cid Harbour." 188 00:11:00.560 --> 00:11:02.320 It's, it's a bit unbelievable at first and, 189 00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:03.480 you, you kind of think it was like, 190 00:11:03.560 --> 00:11:08.240 "Oh, has someone made a mistake because it's, uh, it's exactly the same thing." 191 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:10.480 NARRATOR: Racing to the scene, 192 00:11:10.560 --> 00:11:11.920 the paramedic team arrives within 193 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.080 40 minutes of the attack. 194 00:11:15.160 --> 00:11:17.360 BEN: So, we met the patient on shore. 195 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:20.560 We were worried about it because she is a young girl. 196 00:11:20.640 --> 00:11:24.320 Just a lot of blood missing, a major impact wound to the leg. 197 00:11:31.640 --> 00:11:36.640 NARRATOR: Hannah Papps is struck just before 2:00 pm. 198 00:11:36.880 --> 00:11:38.760 Just like the first victim, 199 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:41.040 she jumps into the water for a swim. 200 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:52.440 And just like Justine, within seconds she's attacked. 201 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.720 (screaming) 202 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:11.720 BEN: We could tell that it was definitely 203 00:12:11.800 --> 00:12:14.320 a smaller bite wound than Justine. 204 00:12:14.400 --> 00:12:17.520 But being such a young girl with such a major bite there 205 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:19.720 was every chance that she was not going to make it. 206 00:12:21.400 --> 00:12:24.200 NARRATOR: Just two hours after the alarm was raised, 207 00:12:24.280 --> 00:12:27.160 Hannah arrives at Mackay Hospital where 208 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:29.640 surgeons battle to save her life. 209 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.000 They stop the blood loss, 210 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:36.840 but sadly Hannah's left leg has to be amputated. 211 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:42.840 BEN: It's always hard to hear that a child has lost a limb. 212 00:12:42.920 --> 00:12:45.440 It's a lot sadder to hear when your patient doesn't make it. 213 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:49.280 So we were still, still pretty stoked that she, um, got out of there. 214 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:55.480 NARRATOR: What had attacked the two Cid Harbour swimmers? 215 00:12:55.560 --> 00:12:59.240 Like Justine, Hannah is bitten in the afternoon on 216 00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:01.160 the inside of her leg, 217 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:05.120 shortly after entering the water. 218 00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:09.520 And most worrying of all, it happens within yards 219 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.000 of the first attack site. 220 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.160 Coincide? 221 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:17.360 Or is a serial attacker on the loose? 222 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.000 The scientific community is baffled. 223 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.160 RICHARD: To have lightning strike twice in one spot within 24 hours, 224 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:25.240 it's the first time it's happened on 225 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:26.760 the Great Barrier Reef. 226 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:28.280 ADAM: These people are just hitting the water and 227 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:31.080 getting bitten, you know, something odd is going on. 228 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.760 GAVIN: Individual shark attacks are incredibly rare events. 229 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:40.040 Clusters of shark attacks are even rarer. 230 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:41.960 They're like hen's teeth. 231 00:13:42.040 --> 00:13:47.480 In the 6,000 plus records of shark bite incidents we have 232 00:13:47.560 --> 00:13:50.840 in the shark attack files, there's no more than a handful 233 00:13:50.920 --> 00:13:54.400 of them that are associated with these cluster attacks. 234 00:13:55.680 --> 00:13:57.680 NARRATOR: The most famous cluster incident was the 235 00:13:57.760 --> 00:14:01.160 New Jersey attacks of 1916 that likely 236 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.360 inspired the movie Jaws. 237 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:08.480 Over 12 days, four people were killed and one injured. 238 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:11.200 As shark struck swimmers at seaside resorts along 239 00:14:11.280 --> 00:14:13.200 the Jersey shore. 240 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:18.680 More recently, in 2010, oceanic white tipped sharks 241 00:14:18.760 --> 00:14:22.200 were blamed for a similar spate of attacks on tourists 242 00:14:22.280 --> 00:14:25.240 in Egypt's famous Sharm el-Sheik resort. 243 00:14:29.880 --> 00:14:33.120 GAVIN: We don't know what triggers cluster attacks at all. 244 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:37.080 And it's very likely that the triggers for one species in 245 00:14:37.160 --> 00:14:39.800 one part of the world are quite different than 246 00:14:39.880 --> 00:14:41.760 the triggers in another part of the world. 247 00:14:43.880 --> 00:14:46.320 NARRATOR: Back in Australia, with lives on the line and a 248 00:14:46.400 --> 00:14:49.480 multibillion tourism industry under threat, 249 00:14:49.560 --> 00:14:51.720 the state government takes swift action. 250 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:54.040 REPORTER (over TV): The tropical holiday coast has 251 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.840 been rocked by the attacks. 252 00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.680 Baited drum lines sit today in a bid to catch the shark. 253 00:14:59.760 --> 00:15:02.000 NARRATOR: Police patrols are initiated, 254 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:06.200 warning signs erected and baited hooks set to cross Cid Harbour. 255 00:15:06.880 --> 00:15:10.400 Within 48 hours, four sharks are caught and shot. 256 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.160 All tigers. 257 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.320 The largest over three meters in size. 258 00:15:16.400 --> 00:15:20.760 Has the suspect or suspects been caught? 259 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:22.960 Shark experts have their doubts. 260 00:15:23.880 --> 00:15:26.600 GAVIN (off-screen): There's only been six confirmed, 261 00:15:26.680 --> 00:15:29.560 unprovoked bites by tiger sharks in Australian waters in 262 00:15:29.640 --> 00:15:34.120 the past 20 years and only two of those have been fatal. 263 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.760 So, in a country where there are so many bites, 264 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:42.880 the fraction that are due to tiger sharks is 265 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:44.920 actually quite small. 266 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:46.960 They'll feed on birds, they feed on turtles, 267 00:15:47.040 --> 00:15:49.080 they feed on marine mammals. 268 00:15:49.160 --> 00:15:51.400 So, they're not really specialist feeders. 269 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:55.520 And so, this plays into the idea that tiger sharks could 270 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:59.560 be opportunistically biting people. 271 00:15:59.640 --> 00:16:02.520 Certainly, the first bite was of a large animal. 272 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:05.920 But the intent and the severity of the bite and 273 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.080 the speed that it must have occurred is not typically 274 00:16:09.160 --> 00:16:11.320 characteristic of a tiger shark. 275 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.800 NARRATOR: One week later, with no further attacks and 276 00:16:20.880 --> 00:16:23.520 the busy holiday season coming to an end, 277 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:27.680 state officials decide to remove the drum lines and 278 00:16:27.760 --> 00:16:30.720 curtail the police patrols at Cid Harbour. 279 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.920 Just a month later medical researcher Daniel Christidis 280 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.720 anchors his rental yacht in Cid Harbour. 281 00:16:40.800 --> 00:16:43.760 On a five-day vacation with a group of fellow medics, 282 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:47.040 they choose Cid Harbour as their first night's anchorage. 283 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.280 At 5:30 pm, Daniel and a colleague decide to take 284 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.120 the paddle board out. 285 00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:59.080 Taking turns to swim and paddle across the bay. 286 00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:11.960 Minutes later, Daniel jumps in. 287 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:18.080 Within seconds Cid Harbour has another victim. 288 00:17:19.280 --> 00:17:23.160 (splashing) 289 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:34.960 ♪ ♪ 290 00:17:37.760 --> 00:17:39.720 BEN: When the third shark attack came in, 291 00:17:39.800 --> 00:17:42.400 once again it was sort of coming on dusk and 292 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:46.640 then the phone rings, the siren goes through the hanger, 293 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.240 it's another shark attack. 294 00:17:48.320 --> 00:17:50.680 Cid Harbour all over again, the same thing. 295 00:17:51.520 --> 00:17:53.680 We were just sitting there going this is unbelievable. 296 00:17:55.040 --> 00:17:56.680 We received another phone call on the way out saying that 297 00:17:56.760 --> 00:17:58.760 the CPR was in progress. 298 00:17:58.840 --> 00:18:02.520 Obviously the patient's quite unwell. 299 00:18:02.600 --> 00:18:04.600 It's quite a confronting scene to rock up to. 300 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:05.840 There's a lot going on. 301 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:06.720 It's dark. 302 00:18:06.800 --> 00:18:08.520 There was blood coming down the stairs, 303 00:18:08.600 --> 00:18:10.680 trickling back into the water. 304 00:18:10.760 --> 00:18:14.280 There was more than one major bite wound. 305 00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:16.320 So, the body's going into shock, 306 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:17.560 it's starting to shut down. 307 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:18.640 The heart's not beating properly, 308 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.000 there's not enough blood going around. 309 00:18:21.080 --> 00:18:24.680 So there's a, there's a lot needed to be done to stabilize 310 00:18:24.760 --> 00:18:27.320 the patient before we could actually move him. 311 00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:38.080 NARRATOR: Shortly after arriving at the hospital, 312 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.160 Daniel is pronounced dead. 313 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:42.360 BEN: I mean it's probably right up there as probably 314 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.600 one of the worst days I've had. 315 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.480 I don't know, you know that the work that you did do is 316 00:18:49.560 --> 00:18:53.040 all that you can really do and you provide them with 317 00:18:53.120 --> 00:18:57.080 the best that you can do, um. 318 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:58.080 Sometimes it's not enough. 319 00:18:58.160 --> 00:18:59.680 Sometimes it is. 320 00:19:01.560 --> 00:19:04.200 GAVIN (off-screen): The third victim had extensive wounds on 321 00:19:04.280 --> 00:19:07.600 his legs and also on his wrists. 322 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:11.360 And it's clear from the pattern of bite marks that 323 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:15.640 this third victim was attacked by a large shark. 324 00:19:20.520 --> 00:19:26.200 NARRATOR: Has a lone rogue shark struck again? 325 00:19:26.280 --> 00:19:28.560 With lives on the line, the government calls in 326 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:30.320 the help of shark experts. 327 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.800 RICHARD: So that's the channel. 328 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.200 NARRATOR: Richard Fitzpatrick and Adam Barnett have been 329 00:19:35.280 --> 00:19:39.240 studying Australia's sharks for over 20 years. 330 00:19:39.320 --> 00:19:42.320 ADAM: So, that's the area across there were the, 331 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:45.480 the shark bites occurred. 332 00:19:45.560 --> 00:19:47.520 NARRATOR: If anyone can discover what's attacking 333 00:19:47.600 --> 00:19:52.760 people in Cid Harbour and why, it's them. 334 00:19:52.840 --> 00:19:55.120 ADAM: Something strange is going on here in this bay. 335 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:59.000 I mean it's unusual to get three bites in such a short time, 336 00:19:59.080 --> 00:20:01.080 but also in such a small area. 337 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:03.200 We really need to get to the bottom of it and 338 00:20:03.280 --> 00:20:05.920 we need to get to the bottom of it fast. 339 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:08.320 RICHARD: This area is essentially a black hole of 340 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.200 information for us on, on shark biology. 341 00:20:11.280 --> 00:20:13.520 A lot of work's been done to the north and south. 342 00:20:13.600 --> 00:20:15.520 But here we know very little. 343 00:20:15.600 --> 00:20:18.000 NARRATOR: They need to find out what sharks live here and 344 00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:21.360 why these previously safe waters have transformed 345 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.360 into a killing zone. 346 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:24.720 ADAM: We're throwing everything we can, 347 00:20:24.800 --> 00:20:27.040 every bit of technology available to us. 348 00:20:27.120 --> 00:20:28.360 We're going to throw it at this and 349 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:30.440 see what we can find out. 350 00:20:30.520 --> 00:20:32.800 RICHARD: We know nothing at the moment. 351 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:37.160 RICHARD (over radio): Adam, Adam do you copy? 352 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:38.680 ADAM: Go ahead skipper. 353 00:20:41.120 --> 00:20:43.800 NARRATOR: Adam and Richard review the details of each attack. 354 00:20:46.760 --> 00:20:48.360 RICHARD: So, there are some distinct patterns that have 355 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:50.640 happened with the bites in Cid Harbour. 356 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.440 First is the time of day. 357 00:20:52.520 --> 00:20:54.480 They were all in the afternoon. 358 00:20:54.560 --> 00:20:56.560 The other really interesting one is that they've all 359 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:00.560 occurred in an area about the size of a football field. 360 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.920 That is really unusual. 361 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:07.000 The other thing is that the bites have happened almost 362 00:21:07.080 --> 00:21:09.800 instantaneously after the victims have jumped in 363 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:11.640 the water and splashed. 364 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:15.600 NARRATOR: Like Gavin, Richard thinks the evidence points 365 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:17.840 away from tiger sharks. 366 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:20.360 RICHARD (off-screen): Whatever has done it has reacted straight away. 367 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:23.400 That's not tiger behavior. 368 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:26.120 They're a bit cautious in how they approach things. 369 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:30.360 They tend to be a bit slower in how they react to baits and pray. 370 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:33.040 So, this leads us to think it's possibly something else. 371 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.920 NARRATOR: But if a tiger isn't responsible, 372 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:45.800 what did attack the Cid Harbour swimmers? 373 00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:52.440 To find out the team set a series of baited lines and 374 00:21:52.520 --> 00:21:55.040 within hours they hook their first shark. 375 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:58.160 MAN: Uh, looks like we've got a bit of action on the, uh, set lines. 376 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.040 ADAM: Okay mate, uh, 377 00:21:59.120 --> 00:22:00.800 yeah, we'll just pop over and have a look at it. 378 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.720 MAN (over radio): Yeah, copy that. 379 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.160 NARRATOR: With its distinctive striped back 380 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:16.360 it can only be one shark. 381 00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:21.360 RICHARD: I can see the white snout. 382 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:22.800 ADAM: Sort of just hanging, 383 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.160 oh we've got our first tiger of the trip. 384 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.960 RICHARD: Whoa. ADAM: Hello. 385 00:22:30.040 --> 00:22:33.360 RICHARD: Hello. Hello big boy. 386 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:34.760 ADAM: Whoa, okay. 387 00:22:34.840 --> 00:22:36.920 That's Let it, let it go, let it go, let it go. 388 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:38.760 NARRATOR: Over three meters long, 389 00:22:38.840 --> 00:22:40.400 she's a mature female. 390 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.760 ADAM: Whoa! Okay, let it go. 391 00:22:50.760 --> 00:22:52.800 Tiger sharks is a species which is copping some of 392 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:54.400 the blame for the bites. 393 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.320 So, it's going to be really interesting to get some tags 394 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:00.200 on these guys and see what their behavior is in this general area. 395 00:23:01.520 --> 00:23:04.000 NARRATOR: The team works fast to attach a tail rope and 396 00:23:04.080 --> 00:23:06.760 bring her under control. 397 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:13.400 Next, they prep a state-of-the-art acoustic tag. 398 00:23:14.600 --> 00:23:17.560 Flipped on her back, the shark enters a calm trance 399 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:22.000 like state known as tonic inability. 400 00:23:22.080 --> 00:23:23.960 Adam then inserts the tiny tag in 401 00:23:24.040 --> 00:23:28.720 the body cavity under her skin. 402 00:23:29.040 --> 00:23:30.880 Within minutes, the Whitsundays 403 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.720 first tagged shark is released. 404 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:34.920 RICHARD: Woo. 405 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:36.400 (beeping) 406 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.040 NARRATOR: The team name her Alara. 407 00:23:39.120 --> 00:23:41.200 She gives off a steady acoustic signal 408 00:23:41.280 --> 00:23:43.440 as she swims away. 409 00:23:43.520 --> 00:23:46.600 The signal will be picked up by a network of listening stations 410 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:50.240 the team plans to deploy around the Whitsundays. 411 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:53.120 But first, someone needs to set them up. 412 00:23:53.760 --> 00:23:56.320 (splashing) 413 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:58.440 Richard draws the short straw. 414 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:02.040 RICHARD (off-screen): I don't like going in water that I can't see through. 415 00:24:02.120 --> 00:24:05.000 And the things that struck me first when I came here 416 00:24:05.080 --> 00:24:07.880 was just the lack of visibility in the water. 417 00:24:19.080 --> 00:24:21.040 NARRATOR: With a safety diver watching on, 418 00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:24.200 he works fast to set up the first acoustic listening station 419 00:24:24.280 --> 00:24:27.680 outside the northern entrance to Cid Harbour. 420 00:24:27.760 --> 00:24:31.320 (beeping) 421 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:35.640 The listening stations will eavesdrop on the islands 24-7. 422 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.680 If tiger Alara or any tag shark comes within 423 00:24:38.760 --> 00:24:41.000 30 meters of a station it's date, 424 00:24:41.080 --> 00:24:43.560 time and position will be logged. 425 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:47.640 It should give the team the first detailed picture of 426 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:51.800 whether any sharks are hanging around the attack site. 427 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:54.960 It could lead them straight to the prime suspect. 428 00:24:59.120 --> 00:25:02.080 ♪ ♪ 429 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:04.360 NARRATOR: Across the Whitsundays hundreds of baited 430 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:08.840 cameras are deployed and listening stations fixed as 431 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:11.200 scientists race to understand why these 432 00:25:11.280 --> 00:25:14.400 previously safe waters have turned deadly. 433 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:19.600 And as the footage comes in one big clue emerges. 434 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:21.480 The poor visibility. 435 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:25.880 ADAM: What we have here is a satellite image of 436 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:29.320 the actual water clarity of the Whitsundays area. 437 00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:31.200 It's showing the turbid waters versus the clearer waters. 438 00:25:31.280 --> 00:25:33.840 And as you can see, most of the Whitsundays region 439 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:35.120 itself is quite turbid. 440 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:36.840 Including Cid Harbour in here. 441 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:39.000 You don't get the bluer waters until you move off shore. 442 00:25:40.520 --> 00:25:42.480 These turbid waters are probably driven by the 443 00:25:42.560 --> 00:25:44.600 actual sediments coming off the land and 444 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:46.360 out of these river systems. 445 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:48.800 Now the interesting thing about these river systems is 446 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.240 that these are pretty key habitats for bull sharks. 447 00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:56.760 NARRATOR: In the last 20 years bull sharks have been responsible 448 00:25:56.840 --> 00:25:59.560 for five attacks in Australian waters. 449 00:26:02.760 --> 00:26:05.920 Armed with an incredible sense of smell and a sixth sense 450 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:09.200 that allows them to detect vibrations in the water, 451 00:26:09.280 --> 00:26:13.520 they're perfectly adapted for hunting in murky conditions. 452 00:26:13.600 --> 00:26:16.440 But without vision, they can make mistakes. 453 00:26:17.320 --> 00:26:21.240 GAVIN (off-screen): Most shark bites are cases of mistaken identity. 454 00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:25.200 If you live in an environment where you can't see very well 455 00:26:25.280 --> 00:26:29.040 you have to be very, very quick and very decisive. 456 00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:33.400 So, they'll bite quickly and sort of ask questions later. 457 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:37.640 So, this is consistent with at least 458 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:40.480 the first bite in Cid Harbour. 459 00:26:41.120 --> 00:26:44.520 This is one bite that's removed a chunk of flesh 460 00:26:44.600 --> 00:26:46.440 in, in one fowl swoop. 461 00:26:46.520 --> 00:26:49.880 If I was a betting person I would lean towards this being 462 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:51.840 inflicted by a bull shark. 463 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.720 NARRATOR: On the Australian mainland, 464 00:26:57.800 --> 00:26:59.320 Richard and Adam's colleague, 465 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:03.200 Andrew Chin is following a different line of enquiry. 466 00:27:03.280 --> 00:27:07.080 He's trying to discover why these previously safe waters 467 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:09.160 might have turned so deadly. 468 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:14.360 ANDREW: And what we were looking for is the perceptions 469 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:17.400 of people who had been to the Whitsundays over the years 470 00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:19.960 understand what sort of things had they seen? 471 00:27:20.040 --> 00:27:22.560 What did they think was happening in some of 472 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:25.360 these different anchorages like Cid Harbour? 473 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:28.680 Was there anything that people were doing that could explain 474 00:27:28.760 --> 00:27:31.960 what might have just happened. 475 00:27:33.080 --> 00:27:34.680 When we have a look at the data, 476 00:27:34.760 --> 00:27:38.280 it's obvious that Cid Harbour is a very busy place. 477 00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:40.040 There's a lot of people anchoring in there, 478 00:27:40.120 --> 00:27:41.560 there's a lot of activities going in there, 479 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:43.840 people are paddle boarding, people are swimming. 480 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:46.240 So you've got a lot of water board activity. 481 00:27:46.320 --> 00:27:49.440 You also have people discarding rubbish, 482 00:27:49.520 --> 00:27:52.080 throwing food scraps over the side, 483 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:53.480 some people are even fishing or 484 00:27:53.560 --> 00:27:57.360 baiting in these anchorages. 485 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:00.320 Those two activities don't go hand in hand. 486 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.240 Sharks are smart, they will learn. 487 00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:05.080 They're not going to waste energy swimming around the 488 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:07.840 whole ocean looking for food when you can get it delivered 489 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.720 to you off the side of a boat. 490 00:28:11.520 --> 00:28:13.520 NARRATOR: Throwing food waste overboard is illegal in 491 00:28:13.600 --> 00:28:17.400 Whitsunday waters, but the team unearths evidence that 492 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:20.320 the practice continues. 493 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:23.240 Could this be triggering the attacks? 494 00:28:23.320 --> 00:28:24.960 ADAM (off-screen): It definitely was a turning point. 495 00:28:25.040 --> 00:28:26.600 You start putting two and two together of like, 496 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:28.000 okay these people are jumping off a boat 497 00:28:28.080 --> 00:28:29.640 or falling off a paddleboard and 498 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:32.640 getting bit straight away and there's reports of lots of 499 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:33.560 food going in the water. 500 00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:35.440 Lots of boats. 501 00:28:37.520 --> 00:28:39.680 RICHARD: If you imagine being a shark in that situation, 502 00:28:39.760 --> 00:28:40.840 you're cruising around, 503 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:42.360 there's food scraps thrown in the water. 504 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:44.960 Smell can drift for long, long distances as well. 505 00:28:45.040 --> 00:28:47.520 So, they could be following that up current to its source 506 00:28:47.600 --> 00:28:49.200 thinking what's happening here. 507 00:28:51.800 --> 00:28:53.640 As more scraps go in the water then they can feel the 508 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:55.600 commotion of little bait fish zipping around and 509 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:57.440 going for a feed and all that kind of stuff. 510 00:28:57.520 --> 00:29:00.360 So, there's a lot of stimulus in the water. 511 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:04.120 When they switch into feeding mode they're like a bit more 512 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:05.240 on edge and they're, you know, 513 00:29:05.320 --> 00:29:06.240 "Oh, okay where is this, 514 00:29:06.320 --> 00:29:07.360 where is this, where is this? 515 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:10.200 I'm trying to find the source, trying to find the source." 516 00:29:10.280 --> 00:29:12.120 The visibility is bad. 517 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:13.720 You can't really see around. 518 00:29:13.800 --> 00:29:15.920 There's a huge shadow above me but something's under it and 519 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.680 then splash boom, oh cool. 520 00:29:17.760 --> 00:29:19.360 I'm going to go for it. 521 00:29:25.040 --> 00:29:28.400 And unfortunately if it's a person that's jumped in at that stage, 522 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:32.560 they will come through at high speed and bite. 523 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.680 NARRATOR: The possibility that human activity could trigger 524 00:29:42.760 --> 00:29:46.600 the attacks is new and alarming. 525 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:49.400 And has implications for every bay around the world 526 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:52.160 where boats gather in large numbers. 527 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:55.640 Particularly locations in Southern Florida. 528 00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:00.840 ANDREW: The other thing that a boat does is it provides you 529 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:02.440 with a hiding spot, right? 530 00:30:02.520 --> 00:30:05.000 So you have this big thing of shade that 531 00:30:05.080 --> 00:30:07.040 hangs over you with structure. 532 00:30:07.120 --> 00:30:11.760 It's kind of like a movable ambush point for a shark. 533 00:30:11.840 --> 00:30:15.800 And it's interesting that many of the shark bite accounts 534 00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:18.240 that we have, not, not just in Cid Harbour, 535 00:30:18.320 --> 00:30:21.000 but everywhere, people have been bitten when they have 536 00:30:21.080 --> 00:30:23.040 jumped into the water with a splash and 537 00:30:23.120 --> 00:30:24.920 then they've been struck. 538 00:30:29.280 --> 00:30:32.080 NARRATOR: The likely cause of the cluster attacks now uncovered, 539 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:35.800 the team races to identify the potential culprit. 540 00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:37.720 RICHARD: What have we got here? 541 00:30:37.800 --> 00:30:39.320 Whoa! 542 00:30:42.320 --> 00:30:44.560 NARRATOR: Over the course of 12 months, 543 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:47.440 the team make five trips to the Whitsundays as 544 00:30:47.520 --> 00:30:49.880 they attempt to discover what sharks might have been 545 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:52.880 responsible for the Cid Harbour attacks. 546 00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:00.160 They only catch and tag 43 sharks, including 18 tigers, 547 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:02.840 three hammerheads and seven bulls. 548 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:07.880 A low number by Great Barrier Reef standards. 549 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:09.920 RICHARD: Oh yeah, that's a decent size. 550 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:11.800 Hello. 551 00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:13.760 One of the biggest surprises were we weren't catching a lot. 552 00:31:13.840 --> 00:31:15.760 We were putting in a lot of fishing effort. 553 00:31:15.840 --> 00:31:18.000 So, it's what we weren't getting that was probably 554 00:31:18.080 --> 00:31:19.840 the biggest surprise to us. 555 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:22.320 NARRATOR: Over 500 hours of baited camera footage 556 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:23.680 is also reviewed. 557 00:31:23.760 --> 00:31:25.840 ADAM: Oh! Hello. RICHARD: Oh hello. 558 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:28.240 Nice little female tiger shark. 559 00:31:28.320 --> 00:31:31.880 NARRATOR: And once again, shark numbers are low. 560 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:33.160 RICHARD: But she's only about, 561 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:36.480 I don't know, 1.8, two meters max. 562 00:31:36.560 --> 00:31:39.560 NARRATOR: But by far the most common sharks are spot tails 563 00:31:39.640 --> 00:31:42.120 and black tips belonging to a group known 564 00:31:42.200 --> 00:31:45.160 as the small whalers. 565 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:48.760 RICHARD: It's a very large group of, um, sharks that have 566 00:31:48.840 --> 00:31:51.760 been implicated in bites around the world. 567 00:31:51.840 --> 00:31:55.480 Mostly in association with spear fishing and fishing. 568 00:31:55.560 --> 00:31:57.840 Sometimes they can come up to boats and 569 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:58.840 particularly fishing boats and 570 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:00.680 things like that where there's scent coming off them. 571 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:04.000 NARRATOR: With their reputation for hanging around boats, 572 00:32:04.080 --> 00:32:06.360 could these smaller sharks be responsible for 573 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.160 any of the attacks? 574 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:13.200 GAVIN (off-screen): Given the size of Justine's wounds, 575 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:18.800 I think that we can discount a lot of the smaller whaler sharks like 576 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:24.120 black tip sharks because the diameter of the bite marks 577 00:32:24.680 --> 00:32:28.840 on the first victim were just simply too large. 578 00:32:29.560 --> 00:32:32.960 That said, the much smaller bite on the second victim 579 00:32:33.560 --> 00:32:36.960 could indeed have been, uh, a bite from one of 580 00:32:37.040 --> 00:32:38.200 these smaller whalers. 581 00:32:38.280 --> 00:32:42.280 Especially given that they're so abundant in Cid Harbour. 582 00:32:42.360 --> 00:32:44.560 NARRATOR: Rather than one rogue shark, 583 00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:46.880 could the attacks have been by a variety of 584 00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:49.360 different shark species. 585 00:32:54.800 --> 00:32:56.560 Before they could find out, 586 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:59.720 news of yet another attack comes in. 587 00:33:04.120 --> 00:33:05.320 REPORTER (over TV): A tragic end to an 588 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:07.720 idyllic morning of snorkeling. 589 00:33:07.800 --> 00:33:11.360 28-year-old Alistair Radan had his right foot severed. 590 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:14.200 His 22-year-old friend Danny Maggs suffered 591 00:33:14.280 --> 00:33:16.240 deep cuts to his leg. 592 00:33:19.560 --> 00:33:22.240 RICHARD (off-screen): I was driving to a meeting in town when, 593 00:33:22.320 --> 00:33:24.560 you know, I got a text through that there had 594 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:27.880 been another incident. 595 00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:29.960 We heard of where the location was and 596 00:33:30.040 --> 00:33:32.200 it was just around the corner from Cid Harbour. 597 00:33:32.280 --> 00:33:35.840 And so instantly going through our mind was like, 598 00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:37.440 was it one of our animals? 599 00:33:41.560 --> 00:33:43.120 NARRATOR: The two victims are snorkeling when 600 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:45.080 they are attacked. 601 00:33:45.880 --> 00:33:49.920 (muffled yelling) 602 00:33:51.120 --> 00:33:52.800 Play fighting in the water, 603 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:55.520 the noise draws in the attention of a shark. 604 00:33:56.640 --> 00:33:59.320 (muffled yelling) 605 00:34:07.120 --> 00:34:10.800 (splashing) 606 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:23.000 (yelling) 607 00:34:25.920 --> 00:34:29.320 WOMAN (over TV): One of the male patients was attacked first, um, 608 00:34:29.400 --> 00:34:31.680 and the shark is believed to have returned and come back 609 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:33.520 and attack the second patient. 610 00:34:34.240 --> 00:34:35.880 RICHARD (off-screen): A friend of ours was working down there, 611 00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:37.560 in the Whitsundays, had been through the channel 612 00:34:37.640 --> 00:34:40.240 that morning and had commented that there was a lot 613 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:42.040 of bait fish in the water. 614 00:34:42.120 --> 00:34:43.160 Sea birds were hitting. 615 00:34:43.240 --> 00:34:46.080 So we knew it was biologically very active. 616 00:34:46.160 --> 00:34:47.760 (splashing) 617 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:49.240 (laughing) 618 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:51.440 The two guys, they were skylarking in the water, 619 00:34:51.520 --> 00:34:54.400 pushing each other down and making a lot of commotion. 620 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.040 A lot of splashing right next to where there's 621 00:34:57.120 --> 00:34:59.120 a big bait fish aggregations. 622 00:34:59.200 --> 00:35:01.800 We also got reports that there was another boat 623 00:35:01.880 --> 00:35:03.760 recreationally fishing right next to the boat 624 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:05.480 when it was snorkeling. 625 00:35:05.560 --> 00:35:09.560 Layered on top of that low visibility and it's like, 626 00:35:09.640 --> 00:35:11.600 you know, a bit of a recipe for disaster. 627 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:17.320 GAVIN: Eye witness accounts of the injuries sustained by the 628 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:22.720 two snorkelers suggests that the species involved was much smaller 629 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:27.000 than the individual that was involved in the first bite. 630 00:35:28.080 --> 00:35:30.440 Probably more consistent with a whaler shark. 631 00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:35.320 NARRATOR: Incredibly, the latest attack takes place 632 00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:38.960 just yards from one of the listening stations. 633 00:35:39.040 --> 00:35:41.880 If one or more of the tagged sharks is responsible, 634 00:35:41.960 --> 00:35:45.600 there ID, time and location will have been logged on 635 00:35:45.680 --> 00:35:48.480 the underwater recorder. 636 00:35:48.560 --> 00:35:52.400 The team could finally have proof of the attackers identities. 637 00:35:57.640 --> 00:36:00.400 NARRATOR: 18 months after a series of shark bites shakes 638 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:03.760 the remote islands of the Whitsundays, 639 00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:07.440 the acoustic listening stations are pulled from the water. 640 00:36:12.080 --> 00:36:14.200 And the team paw over the data. 641 00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:16.840 RICHARD: Comes in from the outside. 642 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:20.960 So, here's the initial cluster in Cid Harbour. 643 00:36:21.040 --> 00:36:23.400 And then 13 months later we've had this incident up 644 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:25.720 here in, uh, Hook Passage. 645 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:28.520 We actually have a receiver just around the corner. 646 00:36:28.600 --> 00:36:32.320 So, we've retrieved that to see what was around in 647 00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:35.200 the area at the time of the incident. 648 00:36:37.720 --> 00:36:40.640 ADAM: There was two detections from the same animal, uh. 649 00:36:40.720 --> 00:36:44.240 12:30 at night and 1:43 in the morning. 650 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:46.640 So, way after the incident. 651 00:36:46.720 --> 00:36:50.280 Shark number 12808, which is a bull shark. 652 00:36:51.640 --> 00:36:55.360 Prior to the bite there was a, a different animal, 653 00:36:55.440 --> 00:36:57.120 about 11:00 in the morning. 654 00:36:57.200 --> 00:36:59.040 So, it's shark number 128, 655 00:36:59.120 --> 00:37:03.040 uh, pretty sure that's a bull shark as well. 656 00:37:03.120 --> 00:37:05.040 Yeah, look, it's pretty clear from this data that our, 657 00:37:05.120 --> 00:37:08.040 one of our tagged sharks was not there at the time of the bite. 658 00:37:08.680 --> 00:37:12.000 (screaming) 659 00:37:12.080 --> 00:37:15.800 NARRATOR: The identity of the most recent attacker remains unknown. 660 00:37:18.240 --> 00:37:21.240 But as 18 months’ worth of data is analyzed, 661 00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:23.560 some surprising patterns emerge, 662 00:37:23.640 --> 00:37:27.360 shedding new light on this tragic cluster of incidents. 663 00:37:28.840 --> 00:37:31.400 By far the most common large shark showing up 664 00:37:31.480 --> 00:37:33.600 in Cid Harbour is the tiger. 665 00:37:33.680 --> 00:37:37.040 ADAM: It's recorded 18 individuals. 666 00:37:38.600 --> 00:37:40.040 NARRATOR: And their movement patterns make them 667 00:37:40.120 --> 00:37:42.640 a prime suspect once again. 668 00:37:44.160 --> 00:37:46.200 ADAM: This is, um, a shark we called Ingo. 669 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:48.960 It's a juvenile male, one of the first ones we tagged. 670 00:37:49.040 --> 00:37:50.920 Um, you can see it starts of in Cid Harbour, 671 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:53.120 moves widely over the Whitsundays, 672 00:37:53.200 --> 00:37:55.520 but you see it keeps on looping back through 673 00:37:55.600 --> 00:37:58.000 Cid Harbour out again, back again, 674 00:37:58.080 --> 00:37:59.560 coming back, coming back. 675 00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:02.880 RICHARD: So what we see of Ingo is actually not unusual. 676 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:06.000 When you zoom out wider and look at, uh, a few of the other tigers, 677 00:38:06.080 --> 00:38:07.800 we're seeing that they're doing the same thing 678 00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:11.640 of going out on these big swims out to these 679 00:38:11.720 --> 00:38:13.360 other potential feeding areas. 680 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:15.440 But you see them always looping back through 681 00:38:15.520 --> 00:38:17.760 the Cid Harbour area. 682 00:38:22.440 --> 00:38:24.840 So the question is, why are these tiger sharks 683 00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:28.280 focused on the Cid Harbour area? 684 00:38:31.960 --> 00:38:34.760 ADAM: We've seen a lot of shark prey in the bay, 685 00:38:34.840 --> 00:38:36.440 you know, there's stingrays, there's turtles, 686 00:38:36.520 --> 00:38:38.880 there's lots of other fish that smaller sharks that 687 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:39.920 the bigger sharks eat. 688 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:41.880 So, there's definitely food in the bay. 689 00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:44.200 But we're not seeing anything that you might think, 690 00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:46.520 "Oh, that's going to attract a lot of sharks in, you know." 691 00:38:46.600 --> 00:38:49.000 That's the thing, there's nothing unusual about the bay. 692 00:38:49.080 --> 00:38:51.800 The most unusual thing about the bay probably is that 693 00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:54.640 there's 100 boats in the peak season mooring there and 694 00:38:54.720 --> 00:38:56.720 throwing stuff in the water. 695 00:38:57.520 --> 00:39:00.600 NARRATOR: Next, the team analyzes the data on bull sharks. 696 00:39:00.680 --> 00:39:03.600 With just seven caught, they're not as common 697 00:39:03.680 --> 00:39:05.440 in Cid Harbour as expected. 698 00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:09.040 RICHARD (off-screen): One of the first bull sharks we tagged was 699 00:39:09.120 --> 00:39:12.560 as big 3.2 meter male, that we called Bevin. 700 00:39:12.640 --> 00:39:16.240 So, he was tagged in July and he has swum over 1,500 miles 701 00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:19.400 to the very tip of Queensland and 702 00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:22.120 back in a three-month period. 703 00:39:22.200 --> 00:39:25.040 I mean that's a substantial swim. 704 00:39:25.120 --> 00:39:28.080 ADAM (off-screen): We tagged seven, seven bull sharks and 705 00:39:28.160 --> 00:39:30.600 most of them showed really large-scale movements 706 00:39:30.680 --> 00:39:32.320 up and down the coast. 707 00:39:32.400 --> 00:39:33.680 They returned to Cid Harbour but 708 00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:36.400 for very short periods, passing through. 709 00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:39.560 You probably sort of want to dismiss them based on that. 710 00:39:39.640 --> 00:39:42.680 But we had one shark, it was the last shark we tagged. 711 00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:46.240 Uh, that animal actually didn't make any large-scale movements. 712 00:39:46.320 --> 00:39:48.440 It hung around the Whitsundays area in general. 713 00:39:48.520 --> 00:39:52.120 It spent about 50% of its time moving through or 714 00:39:52.200 --> 00:39:54.720 staying in Cid Harbour. 715 00:39:54.800 --> 00:39:56.160 Out of the biggest sharks we've tagged, 716 00:39:56.240 --> 00:39:57.520 this is the only one that's really shown 717 00:39:57.600 --> 00:39:59.400 some sort of short-term residency. 718 00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:02.320 So, we'd be silly to actually rule him out as 719 00:40:02.400 --> 00:40:05.920 possibly being responsible for at least one of the bites. 720 00:40:07.680 --> 00:40:09.480 NARRATOR: Along with tigers and bulls, 721 00:40:09.560 --> 00:40:13.640 only one other group of sharks could be involved in the attacks. 722 00:40:13.720 --> 00:40:15.560 ADAM: The only other shark that actually spent quite a 723 00:40:15.640 --> 00:40:18.600 bit of time in Cid Harbour itself was a, was a... 724 00:40:18.680 --> 00:40:20.080 one of the spot-tails we tagged. 725 00:40:20.160 --> 00:40:21.960 And they spend about 50% of its time in Cid Harbour, 726 00:40:22.040 --> 00:40:24.400 but it's not getting picked up on any of these other locations 727 00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:26.280 we had receivers around the Whitsundays. 728 00:40:26.360 --> 00:40:29.880 So, it looks like it spent a lot of time in the bay. 729 00:40:29.960 --> 00:40:32.960 NARRATOR: With such a small number of sharks in the study, 730 00:40:33.040 --> 00:40:37.440 exactly who was responsible for the attacks may never be known. 731 00:40:38.680 --> 00:40:41.520 But with tigers, bulls and small whalers all spending 732 00:40:41.600 --> 00:40:46.160 time at the attack site, none can be ruled out. 733 00:40:51.120 --> 00:40:53.840 GAVIN (off-screen): Every time we see a cluster of bites, 734 00:40:54.400 --> 00:40:58.720 in the same area of the world over a short period of time, 735 00:40:58.800 --> 00:40:59.800 everybody jumps to conclusions and 736 00:41:00.160 --> 00:41:02.600 it's one individual that's responsible. 737 00:41:02.680 --> 00:41:05.880 Every time we drill down and looked into it, 738 00:41:05.960 --> 00:41:10.200 we can't find any scientific evidence to support that. 739 00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:14.520 Instead, we find increasing evidence that it's likely to 740 00:41:14.600 --> 00:41:15.960 be different individuals, 741 00:41:16.040 --> 00:41:18.400 sometimes even different species. 742 00:41:19.080 --> 00:41:22.760 I think something similar is going on in Cid Harbour. 743 00:41:24.600 --> 00:41:27.720 The medical examination suggested that the first bite 744 00:41:27.800 --> 00:41:30.120 was by a very large animal and 745 00:41:30.200 --> 00:41:32.720 the second bite was much, much smaller. 746 00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:38.720 So, clearly we're not looking at one rogue shark. 747 00:41:39.400 --> 00:41:44.080 Something in Cid Harbour is causing different sharks to 748 00:41:44.160 --> 00:41:46.080 act in this peculiar way. 749 00:41:48.600 --> 00:41:50.520 ADAM (off-screen): You know it's not the be all and end all what did it. 750 00:41:50.600 --> 00:41:52.160 It's like well, why? 751 00:41:52.240 --> 00:41:53.600 So, I think that's the more interesting question. 752 00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:55.120 Is it the perfect storm? 753 00:41:55.200 --> 00:41:58.680 Because Cid Harbour's got a lot of natural pray, 754 00:41:58.760 --> 00:42:00.920 so it makes sense that sharks are moved through there. 755 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:03.280 It's got very bad visibility. 756 00:42:03.360 --> 00:42:05.200 There's people in there like dumping scraps, 757 00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:08.840 attracting sharks for fun, you know, there's fishing, uh, 758 00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:10.680 cleaning their catch so they can eat it. 759 00:42:10.760 --> 00:42:13.200 Then you've got other people that are swimming, snorkeling, 760 00:42:13.280 --> 00:42:16.680 paddle boarding, jumping off boats and splashing. 761 00:42:16.760 --> 00:42:17.720 ANDREW (off-screen): Sharks are smart. 762 00:42:17.800 --> 00:42:19.480 They will learn. 763 00:42:19.560 --> 00:42:23.320 So, when something falls, splash into the water, 764 00:42:23.400 --> 00:42:24.920 they're going to strike at it. 765 00:42:29.080 --> 00:42:33.440 ADAM: I think the interesting thing is that it's not just Cid Harbour, 766 00:42:33.520 --> 00:42:35.120 this is happening in other places. 767 00:42:35.200 --> 00:42:37.840 There's other bays up and down the Great Barrier Reef, 768 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:39.240 and probably around the world, 769 00:42:39.320 --> 00:42:42.200 that humans are doing very similar behavior and 770 00:42:42.280 --> 00:42:44.320 some of these places are probably just 771 00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:46.800 next in line to have some sort of shark incident if 772 00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:49.160 they keep on going the way they're going. 773 00:42:49.240 --> 00:42:51.920 RICHARD: It's important that we learn from this experience, 774 00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:53.400 and we are. 775 00:42:53.480 --> 00:42:55.520 You know, there's a lot of changes happening. 776 00:42:55.600 --> 00:42:56.720 ANDREW: If you're on a boat, 777 00:42:56.800 --> 00:42:58.480 don't throw your stuff overboard, 778 00:42:58.560 --> 00:43:00.520 don't throw your waste overboard, 779 00:43:00.600 --> 00:43:02.600 don't fish where people are swimming. 780 00:43:02.680 --> 00:43:05.000 They're just not compatible activities. 781 00:43:05.080 --> 00:43:07.400 It's not worth the risk. 782 00:43:07.480 --> 00:43:09.600 RICHARD: You know, what we're talking about is common sense. 783 00:43:09.680 --> 00:43:13.960 So it's just having people think and become shark smart. 784 00:43:14.920 --> 00:43:16.880 NARRATOR: Scientific research into Cid Harbour's 785 00:43:16.960 --> 00:43:21.640 shark population is ongoing and the survivors continue their recovery. 786 00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:30.800 Justine Barwick still needs regular physiotherapy and 787 00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:33.000 walks with a cane. 788 00:43:33.080 --> 00:43:36.240 JUSTINE: My leg has been reconstructed by using a 789 00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:42.720 muscle from my tummy and also, um, skin from my tummy as well. 790 00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:47.080 Rehabilitation has been extensive and, and it even 791 00:43:47.160 --> 00:43:49.960 two years down the track it continues to 792 00:43:50.040 --> 00:43:53.360 be a, a really big commitment. 793 00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:57.600 I can't feel my leg but the physio's taught me to, 794 00:43:57.680 --> 00:44:01.400 to walk on this leg that I can't feel. 795 00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:04.120 I just feel incredibly lucky to be back at work, 796 00:44:04.200 --> 00:44:07.200 to be back with my family and really enjoying life. 797 00:44:07.400 --> 00:44:08.760 Captioned by Cotter Media Group.