June 6, 2010 9:12 PM
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Great Whites: Diving With the Sharkman
The sharks leap straight out of the water, stunning the seals, before devouring them. Seals are mammals, they're quick, agile, and smart, but as Rutzen has learned, they are no match for the power, speed, and intelligence of the great whites.
"And they have to outsmart the seal," Cooper remarked.
"If they weren't as smart or smarter than the seal, they wouldn't have eaten them," Rutzen explained.
Watching great whites hunt has become a big business in this part of South Africa. Each year, tens of thousands of tourists flock to the town of Gansbaai, where they are offered a close encounter with great whites from the safety of an underwater cage.
Rutzen started his own dive operation 15 years ago. It began as a business, but has become a mission, an effort to learn about great whites, and dispel the myths surrounding them.
"I think humans like to fear these animals, and not understand these animals," Rutzen said.
Each year as many as 70 million sharks are slaughtered to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asia. There's undercover footage that shows how fins are cut off while the sharks are still alive, and their bodies are thrown back into the sea.
"If people can just see these animals for what they really are, I'll be happy because then they'll have a chance of survival," Rutzen said.
By diving without a cage with the sharks himself, Rutzen is trying to show that they are a lot more complex animals than previously thought. After each dive Rutzen spends hours reviewing his material, trying to make sense of how they interact with him.
"The smaller you make your body, the less a threat you are. And then the animals should come closer. The bigger you are, the more threatening you are," Rutzen said, explaining what he does with his body when being approached by a shark.
Rutzen believes that the great white is extremely selective about what it eats and insists he is not on their menu as long as he stays calm and shows the shark that he has no fear.
"The most important thing is don't chase the animals. Don't run away from the animals. Stand your ground and keep eye contact with the animal," he said. "Make eye contact. It's not like a primate. If you're looking at it, it's already lost the element of surprise."
Speaking of the great white's eye, Rutzen told Cooper, "Well, people like to think it's this evil, black eye of the great whites. Their eyes are actually the color of the bluest sea. It's like this turquoise blue, the retina. Beautiful. You like blue eyes blonds? There's a blue eye that you can't match."
"I hope you've never complimented a woman by telling her she had eyes as pretty as a great white shark," Cooper joked.
"No. Not yet," Rutzen replied, laughing.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. "And they have to outsmart the seal," Cooper remarked.
"If they weren't as smart or smarter than the seal, they wouldn't have eaten them," Rutzen explained.
Watching great whites hunt has become a big business in this part of South Africa. Each year, tens of thousands of tourists flock to the town of Gansbaai, where they are offered a close encounter with great whites from the safety of an underwater cage.
Rutzen started his own dive operation 15 years ago. It began as a business, but has become a mission, an effort to learn about great whites, and dispel the myths surrounding them.
"I think humans like to fear these animals, and not understand these animals," Rutzen said.
Each year as many as 70 million sharks are slaughtered to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asia. There's undercover footage that shows how fins are cut off while the sharks are still alive, and their bodies are thrown back into the sea.
"If people can just see these animals for what they really are, I'll be happy because then they'll have a chance of survival," Rutzen said.
By diving without a cage with the sharks himself, Rutzen is trying to show that they are a lot more complex animals than previously thought. After each dive Rutzen spends hours reviewing his material, trying to make sense of how they interact with him.
"The smaller you make your body, the less a threat you are. And then the animals should come closer. The bigger you are, the more threatening you are," Rutzen said, explaining what he does with his body when being approached by a shark.
Rutzen believes that the great white is extremely selective about what it eats and insists he is not on their menu as long as he stays calm and shows the shark that he has no fear.
"The most important thing is don't chase the animals. Don't run away from the animals. Stand your ground and keep eye contact with the animal," he said. "Make eye contact. It's not like a primate. If you're looking at it, it's already lost the element of surprise."
Speaking of the great white's eye, Rutzen told Cooper, "Well, people like to think it's this evil, black eye of the great whites. Their eyes are actually the color of the bluest sea. It's like this turquoise blue, the retina. Beautiful. You like blue eyes blonds? There's a blue eye that you can't match."
"I hope you've never complimented a woman by telling her she had eyes as pretty as a great white shark," Cooper joked.
"No. Not yet," Rutzen replied, laughing.
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