Washington Life Magazine
Washington Life Magazine

HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OUTFITS THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL FILMMAKERS
BY CHRIS PALMER
Wildlife filmmaker Randy Wimberg was with his dive team at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific, filming shipwrecks and the wildlife around them. They were focused on a particular area of the atoll known as Shark Pass that has a large congregation of aggressive reef sharks, so they built a shark cage to protect the cameraman. A panel of the cage was removed so that the camera would have an unobstructed view. It measured 20 inches vertically and extended around the circumference of the cage. The plan was for Wimberg to be in the cage while someone in the nearby boat threw chum (an oily mix of fi sh bait and blood) into the water to attract sharks. Wimberg climbed into the cage and was eased out on a line about 15 feet from the boat. When the deck hand started throwing in chum and bait, the sharks began showing up in large numbers. There were at least 30 reef sharks competing for food that was either stuck to the cage or drifting through it. Suddenly a shark shot right through the gap and exited through the other side of the cage, grazing Wimberg as it passed. Then the inevitable happened. A shark shot through the gap but didn’t pass smoothly out the other side. Instead it dove for the bottom of the cage. Scared, it frantically tried to get out of the confi ned space. Wimberg’s fi rst reaction was to curl up in the bottom of the cage to escape the thrashing of the frightened animal. But the shark was diving down as well, trying to get out. At the bottom of the small cage, Wimberg desperatel y tried to use his camera to push the animal up towards the exit but that didn’t work.

 

 



Home  |   Where To Find Us  |   Advertising  |   Privacy Policy  |   Site Map  |   Purchase Photos  |   About Us

Click here to go to the NEW Washington Life Magazine