A Netflix crew escaped with their lives after 15-foot Tiger sharks attacked their blow-up boats.
According to the New York Post, the film crew was collecting footage of a Laysan albatross’s maiden flight for Sir David Attenborough’s Our Planet II. crew members were trying to get underwater shots when a shark attacked their boat.
🦈🎥 David Attenborough's Crew Attacked by Sharks in Terrifying Encounter That Was 'Something out of Jaws' 🎥🦈
When it comes to capturing breathtaking wildlife footage, the risks can be as thrilling as the final shots. In a heart-stopping incident, the crew behind Our Planet II… pic.twitter.com/csDuMJ65Gp
— Suzie Sante (@SanteSuzie) June 15, 2023
“This ’v’ of water came streaming towards us and this tiger shark leaped at the boat and bit huge holes in it. The whole boat exploded,” Producer/director Toby Nowlan said while discussing the shark attack with Radio Times. “We were trying to get it away and it wasn’t having any of it. It was horrific. That was the second shark that day to attack us.”
Nowlan, who described the sharks’ behavior as “extremely unusual,” added that the sharks were hungry due to a lack of natural food.
“They were just trying anything they came across in the water,” Nowlan said.
According to Radio Times, the crew sailed five days to the seas of Laysan —located 1,000km from the main Hawaiian Islands— to shoot the first and third episodes of Our Planet II. The Seas of Laysan is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where no crew has filmed before.
Series producer Huw Cordey told The Sun that the attack was something out of Jaws.
'It was like something out of Jaws': Sir David Attenborough's film crew are attacked by tiger sharks in terrifying ordeal while filming for Our Planet II, director reveals
via https://t.co/XoxEcXA3ux https://t.co/YrxBz619qE— Smudgy smith (@Samsmit64727750) June 15, 2023
“The original idea was to do an underwater shoot with the tiger sharks waiting in the shallows at Laysan. But the first day the tiger sharks were around, the crew got into these inflatable boats – and two sharks attacked them,” Cordey said.
Cordey revealed that the crew eventually left without getting any underwater shots.
Fortunately, Nowlan and crew members were about a half mile from land and were able to reach the shores and avoid a scene straight out of the popular movie franchise Jaw. Nowlan revealed that a small rubber dinghy was sent out to the location. However,
Giant trevallies —a fish that can weigh up to 132 pounds— attacked the boat and knocked its motor out.
