Searching for Great White Sharks: A Shark Diver's Quest for Mr. Big

By Daniel Nunn

Most people avoid great white sharks, but shark divers go looking for them! Diver and photographer Jeff Rotman goes to extremes to find and photograph great whites in their natural habitats. It takes a shark cage, a blood and fish recipe, patience, and courage to get up close photos of these powerful hunters. Discover the secrets of the great white, and what it’s like to meet one face to face.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Dec 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9780756554668

Daniel Nunn

Daniel Nunn has written numerous books for young readers on a variety of topics, specializing in early years and elementary education. Like Eddie the Elephant, he enjoys playing hide and seek with his two young children. His favorite hiding place is behind the curtains in the living room!

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Cover

A LIFE UNDERWATER

When people learn that Jeff Rotman is an underwater photographer, they always ask, How do you keep the sharks away? Jeff jokes, The best way to scare a shark away is to jump into the water with a camera!

A better question for Jeff might be, how do you get the sharks to come to you? He knows from experience that most sharks are timid. Jeff has traveled more than 800,000 miles (1.3 million kilometers) to find and photograph more than 100 different kinds of sharks and rays.

In 40 years of diving, Jeff has found his own ways of coaxing sharks to come to him:

Learn their habits—their migration patterns, where they hunt, and how deep they live.

Wait—sometimes for a very … long … time.

Offer treats. (Their favorite foods are fish heads and squashed sardines.)

Being a good diver is the number one requirement for being a shark photographer. Even so, don’t get so comfortable underwater that you forget where you are, Jeff warns. Never underestimate the shark or overestimate your diving ability.

A diver feeds sharks to get them to pose for photos.

MR. BIG

If you asked Jeff to name his favorite shark, he wouldn’t hesitate: a great white. There is no other shark that can match a great white shark in size, personality, and power, he said. It’s the only shark I’ve ever seen that sticks its head out of the water and looks right at you. Scientists believe