Shark Week 2023 obtained off to an exhilarating begin with the “Stomach of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy” particular, and the aquatic motion continued with “Alien Sharks: Unusual New Worlds.” Marine biologist Forrest Galante visited the waters off South Africa in quest of among the stranger sharks than simply the nice whites famed for looking within the space. He and his workforce encountered much more than simply sharks throughout their investigation, nonetheless, as they discovered none aside from Port and Starboard, a.okay.a. the orcas well-known for looking nice whites. Galante spoke with CinemaBlend about why making an attempt to movie the killer whales appeared like a horrible concept!
Forrest Galante is a well-recognized face for Shark Week followers, and his seek for “alien sharks” resulted in some fascinating finds like footage of pyjama sharks mating, sevengills thriving in an surprising place, and even sharks that glowed. The workforce additionally visited the waters off of Seal Island, which longtime Shark Week viewers know as a spot for locating nice whites breaching in Air Jaws specials. Longtime viewers additionally discovered final yr that orcas have been decimating the inhabitants of white sharks within the space, with two named Port and Starboard as the principle culprits.
After I spoke with Forrest Galante throughout Discovery’s latest Shark Week press junket, he confirmed that it “was very surprising” after they encountered Port and Starboard whereas looking for alien sharks. Actually, in accordance with the marine biologist, even the thought of making an attempt to showcase these two orcas initially appeared like a waste of time. He defined:
Effectively, you recognize, what’s humorous goes into the present, Laura, my producer Mitchell says to me, like, ‘Oh, would not or not it’s nice to type of actually lean into Port and Starboard and inform their story?’ And I used to be like, ‘That is a horrible concept. We’re by no means going to seek out actually two particular person orcas in all the ocean. The chances are slim to none. We might want months to trace them down.’ After which certain sufficient, right here we’re diving, and the world’s two most well-known orcas go swimming proper by the boat.
The waters off of South Africa have been so significantly impacted by Port and Starboard and different orcas that Shark Week 2023 started with the “Stomach of the Beast” particular pushed by the consequences of killer whales on nice whites after Discovery obtained slightly gory with the 2 species in 2022, however that does not imply that it is simple to seek out two particular orcas in a really giant ocean!
It was extraordinarily unlikely that the “Alien Sharks” crew would discover them, whether or not or not they had been wanting… after which, there Port and Starboard had been! Forrest Galante went on to clarify how discovering the orcas shifted their dive:
It was very fortuitous, so we modified plan and we obtained their little cameo. They did not precisely give us a ton of time, however we obtained them within the present as a lot as they’d enable us and that helped inform the story and the plight of the sevengill and what is going on on with Port and Starboard looking them and consuming their livers and pushing their inhabitants down. It was nice that that each one labored out the way in which that it did.
Port and Starboard making this cameo on “Alien Sharks” fairly than in a particular specializing in nice whites throughout Shark Week 2023 (hosted by Aquaman star Jason Momoa) might help to boost consciousness that essentially the most well-known species of shark is not the one one being focused en masse by orcas. The killer whales are a risk to sevengills in addition to nice whites, and what number of followers realized that earlier than “Alien Sharks” shone the highlight?
The Shark Week motion continues on Tuesday, July 25 with “Mako Mania: Battle for California” at 8 p.m. ET, “Raiders of the Misplaced Shark” at 9 p.m., and “Monster Hammerheads: Killer Intuition” at 10 p.m. ET, all on Discovery. These specials and extra may also be accessible for followers with a Max subscription.
