An ultra-athlete goes head-to-head with the world’s most formidable sharks

Extremely-athlete Ross Edgley is not any stranger to pushing his physique to extremes. He as soon as ran a marathon whereas pulling a one-ton automobile; ran a triathlon whereas carrying a 100-pound tree; and climbed a 65-foot rope over and over till he’d climbed the equal of Mt. Everest—all for charity. In 2016, he set the world report for the world’s longest staged sea swim across the shoreline of Nice Britain: 1780 miles over 157 days.

At one level throughout that swim, a basking shark appeared and swam alongside Edgley for a day and a half. That have ignited his curiosity about sharks and ultimately led to his new Nationwide Geographic documentary, Shark vs. Ross Edgley—a part of 4 full weeks of 2024 SHARKFEST programming. Edgley matches his athletic prowess in opposition to 4 completely different species of shark. He tries to leap out of the water (polaris) like a nice white shark; stand up to the G forces produced by a hammerhead shark‘s quick, speedy turns; mimic the acute fasting and feasting routine of a migrating tiger shark; and match the swimming pace of a mako shark.

“I like this concept of getting a aim after which reverse engineering and deconstructing it,” Edgley informed Ars. “[Sharks are] the last word ocean athletes. We simply had this concept: what should you’re loopy sufficient to attempt to observe within the footsteps of 4 superb sharks? It is an unattainable job. You are going to fail, you are going to be humbled. However within the course of, we might use it as a sports activities/shark science experiment, nearly like a Computer virus to carry science and ocean conservation to a brand new viewers.”

And who higher than Edgley to tackle that unattainable problem? “The passion he brings to all the things is basically infectious,” marine biologist and shark professional Mike Heithaus of Florida Worldwide College informed Ars. “He is sport to strive something. He’d by no means been within the water with sharks and we’re throwing him straight in with huge tiger sharks and hammerheads. He is loving the entire thing and simply devoured all the knowledge.”

That Edgley physique does not preserve itself, so the athlete was up at 4 AM swimming laps and understanding each morning earlier than the remainder of the crew had their espresso. “I am doing bicep curls with my espresso cup and he is doing bicep curls with the 60-pound underwater digicam,” Heithaus recalled. “For the report, I obtained one rep in and I am very pleased with that.” Rating one for the shark professional.

(Spoilers beneath for the assorted shark challenges.)

Ross vs. the good white shark

For the primary problem, Edgley took on the good white shark, a creature he describes as a “submarine with tooth.” These sharks are ambush hunters, able to propelling their large our bodies absolutely out of the water in an arching leap. That maneuver is known as a polaris, and it is important to the good white shark’s survival. It helps that the shark has 65 % muscle mass, notably concentrated within the tail, in addition to a light-weight skeleton and a big liver that serves as buoyancy system.

Edgley, by comparability, is roughly 45 % muscle mass—a lot larger than the typical human however falling wanting the good white shark. To assist him attempt to match the good white’s highly effective polaris maneuver, Edgley sought recommendations on biomechanics from the Aquabatix synchronized swim crew, since synchronized swimmers should steadily launch their our bodies absolutely out of the water throughout routines. They usually get a lift from their teammates to take action.

The crew did handle to spice up Edgley out of the water, however sharks do not want a lift. Edgley opted to work with a monofin, steadily utilized in underwater sports activities like free diving or finswimming, to see what he might obtain on his personal energy. After a little bit of follow, he succeeded in launching 75 % of his physique (in comparison with the shark’s 100%) out of the water. Verdict: Edgley is 75 % nice white shark.

Ross vs. the hammerhead shark

Subsequent up: Edgley pitted himself in opposition to the outstanding underwater agility of a hammerhead shark. Hammerheads are identified for with the ability to swim quick and activate a dime, due to a versatile skeleton that permits them to bend and contort their our bodies almost in half. They’re capable of stand up to some spectacular G forces (as much as 3 G’s) within the course of. In line with Heithaus, these sharks feed on different rays and different sharks, in order that they must be constructed for pace and agility—therefore their capability to speed up and switch quickly.

The NatGeo crew captured spectacular underwater footage of the hammerheads in motion, together with Edgley assembly a 14.7 hammerhead named “Queenie”—one of many largest nice hammerheads that visits Bimini within the Bahamas throughout the winter. That footage additionally consists of pictures of divers feeding fish to a few of the hammerheads by hand. “They know each shark by title and the sharks know the feeders,” mentioned Heithaus. “So you may safely get shut to those huge superb creatures.”

For years, scientists had puzzled in regards to the goal of the distinctive hammer-shaped head. It could assist them scan a bigger space of the ocean flooring whereas looking. Like all sharks, hammerheads have sensory pores referred to as ampullae of Lorenzini that enable them to detect electrical alerts and therefore attainable prey. The hammer-shaped head distributes these pores over a wider span.

However based on Heithaus, the hammer form additionally operates a bit like the massive broad flap of an airplane wing, leading to wonderful hydrodynamics. Transferring at excessive speeds, “You possibly can simply tilt the top a tiny bit and financial institution an enormous diploma,” he mentioned. “So if a ray turns 180 levels to flee, the hammerhead can monitor with it. Different species would take a wider flip and fall behind.”

The airplane wing analogy gave Edgley an thought for a way he might mimic the tight turns and excessive G forces of a hammerhead shark: take a flight in a small stunt aircraft. The catch: Edgley isn’t a fan of flying. And as he’d feared, he turned horribly airsick throughout the problem, even puking into a little bit airbag at one level. “It appears so cool within the clip,” he mentioned. “However on the time, I used to be in a world of hassle.” Pilot Mark Greenfield lastly minimize the experiment quick when he decided that Edgley was too sick to proceed. Verdict: Edgley is 0 % hammerhead shark.

Ross vs. the tiger shark

The third problem was attempting to match the fortitude of a migrating tiger shark because it makes its manner over 1000’s of miles with out meals, solely feasting at journey’s finish.  “I used to be attempting to grasp the psychology of a tiger shark as a result of there’s simply nothing for them to eat [on the journey],” mentioned Ross. And as soon as they arrive at their vacation spot, “they will chow down on total whale carcasses and eat absolutely anything. That concept of feast and famine is one thing we people used to do on a regular basis. We stay fairly comfortably now so we have misplaced contact with that.”

Step one was to determine simply what number of energy a migrating tiger shark can eat in a single chunk. Heithaus has been a part of SHARKFEST for a number of years now and recalled one throwback present, Sharks vs. Dolphins, through which he tried to find out which species of of shark had been attacking dolphins, and simply how huge these sharks is likely to be. He stumble on the concept of creating a dolphin form out of gelatin—basically the identical stuff FIU’s forensic division makes use of for ballistic checks—and requested his forensic colleagues to make one for him, for the reason that materials has the identical weight and density of dolphin blubber.

For the Edgley documentary, they made a big gelatin lollipop the identical density as whale blubber, and he and Edgley dove down and managed to get an 11-foot tiger shark to take a giant 6.2-pound chunk out of it. We all know what number of energy are in whale blubber so Heithaus was capable of deduce from that what number of energy per chunk a tiger shark consumed (6.2 kilos of whale meet is equal to about 25,000 energy).

Such area work additionally lets him collect ever mire specimens of shark bites from a variety of species for his analysis. “The wonderful thing about SHARKFEST is that you simply’re seeing new, cutting-edge science which will or might not work,” mentioned Heithaus. “However that is what science is about: attempting issues and advancing our information even when it does not work al the time, after which sharing that info and pleasure with the general public.”

Then it was time for Edgley to make like a migrating shark and embark on a fastidiously designed famine-and-feast regime. First, his weight and physique quantity had been measured in a “Bodpod”: 190.8 kilos and 140.8 pints. Then Edgley fasted and exercised nearly constantly for twenty-four hours with a mixture of weight coaching, operating, swimming, sitting within the sauna, and local weather chamber biking. (He did sleep for just a few hours.)  He dropped 14 kilos and misplaced twelve pints, ending up at a weight of 177 kilos and a quantity of 128.7 pints. As an alternative of meals, what he craved most on the finish was water. “When you’re in a totally disadvantaged state, you discover out what your physique really wants, not what it desires,” mentioned Edgley.

After slaking his thirst, it was time to gorge. Over the next 24 hours, Edgley consumed an eye-popping 35,103 energy in fastidiously managed servings. It is fairly the menu: Haribo combine, six liters of Lucozade, a Hulk smoothie, pizza, 5 slices of lemon blueberry cheesecake, 5 slices of chocolate mint cheesecake, fish and chips, burgers and fries, two cinnamon loaves, 4 tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, two full English breakfasts, 5 liters of custard, 4 mars bars, and 4 mass gainer shakes.

When his weight and quantity had been measured one final time within the Bodpod, Edgley had regained a whopping 22 kilos for a ultimate weight of 199 kilos. “I want I had Ross’s capability to eat that a lot and stay at 0 % physique fats,” mentioned Heithaus. Verdict: Edgley is 28 % tiger shark.

Ross vs. the mako shark

Lastly, Edgley pitted himself in opposition to the mighty mako shark. Mako sharks are the speediest sharks within the ocean, able to swimming at speeds as much as 43 MPH. Edgley is a long-distance swimmer, not a sprinter, so he threw himself into coaching at Loughborough College with British Olympians teaching him. He fell far wanting a mako shark’s high pace. The form of the human physique is just a lot much less hydrodynamic than that of a shark. He realized that regardless of his finest efforts, “I used to be making up hundredths of a second, which is large in sprinting,” he mentioned. “That could possibly be the distinction between a gold medal on the Paris Olympics and never. However I wanted to make up many kilometers per hour.”

So Edgley determined to “suppose like a shark” and make use of a shark-like technique of using the ocean currents to extend his pace. He ditched the pool and headed to the Menai Strait in Wales for some open water swimming. In the end he was capable of hit 10.24 MPH—double what an Olympic swimmer might handle in a pool, however simply 25 % of a mako shark’s high pace. And he managed with the assistance or a crew of 20-30 folks dropping him into the quickest tide attainable. “A mako shark would’ve simply gone, ‘It is a Monday morning, this is not an occasion for me, I am off,'” mentioned Edgley. Verdict: Edgley is 24 % mako shark

When the outcomes of all 4 challenges had been mixed, Edgley got here out at 32 % total, or almost one-third shark. Whereas Edgley confessed to being humbled by his limitations, “I do not suppose there’s anybody else on the market who might accomplish that as effectively throughout the board compared,” mentioned Heithaus.

The last word aim of Shark vs. Ross Edgley—and certainly the entire SHARKFEST programming—is to assist shift public perceptions of sharks. “The nice Sir David Attenborough mentioned that the issues dealing with us when it comes to conservation is as a lot a communication challenge as a scientific one,” Edgley mentioned. “The one manner we will fight that’s by educating folks.”

Shark populations have declined sharply by 70 % or extra over the past 50 years. “It is actually crucial that we defend and restore these populations,” Heithaus mentioned. Tiger sharks, as an example, eat huge grazers like turtles and sea cows, and thus defend the ocean grass. (Amongst different advantages, the ocean grass sequesters carbon dioxide.) Sharks are additionally fairly refined of their conduct. “Some have social connections with different sharks, though to not the identical extent as dolphins,” mentioned Heithaus. “They’re extra than simply loners, they usually might have personalities. We see some sharks which might be extra daring, and others which might be extra shy. There’s much more to sharks than we’d have thought.”

Individuals who hear about Edgley’s basking shark encounter invariably assume he’d been at risk. Nonetheless, “We had been mates. I am not on its menu,” Edgley mentioned. “There are such a lot of completely different species.” He likened it to being chased by a canine. Folks would possibly assume it was a rottweiler giving chase, when the truth is the basking shark is the equal of a poodle. “Hopefully what folks take away from that is transferring from a concern and misunderstanding of sharks to respect and admiration,” Edgley mentioned. “That’ll make the RAF fighter pilot aircraft price it.”

And he is sport to tackle much more shark challenges sooner or later. There are much more shark species on the market, in any case, simply ready to go head-to-head with a human ultra-athlete.

Shark vs. Ross Edgley premieres on Sunday, June 30, 2024, on Disney+.