I'M LUKE TIPPLE, AND THIS IS YOUR "DAILY BITE."

ON THIS EPISODE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

THE FASTEST SHARK IN THE OCEAN, THE SHORTFIN MAKO,

AND ITS RACE AGAINST EXTINCTION.

THE SHORTFIN MAKO SHARK POPULATION

HAS SUFFERED A 60% DECLINE OVER THE LAST 75 YEARS.

JUST LAST YEAR, THE INTERNATIONAL UNION

FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE, KNOWN AS THE I.U.C.N.,

RECLASSIFIED BOTH THE SHORTFIN MAKO

AND ITS LESSER-KNOWN COUSIN, THE LONGFIN MAKO,

FROM VULNERABLE TO AN ENDANGERED SPECIES,

WHICH MEANS THAT THEY FACE

A VERY HIGH RISK OF EXTINCTION IN THE WILD.

BUT WHY DO MAKO SHARKS HAVE A TARGET PAINTED ON THEIR BACKS?

WELL, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE MEAT AND FINS OF THIS SPECIES

ARE PARTICULARLY VALUABLE.

IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES, THEY HUNT DOWN AND IMPORT MAKOS

FOR A DELICACY KNOWN AS SHARK FIN SOUP.

AND THESE FINNING PRACTICES ARE PRETTY TERRIFYING.

OFTEN, SHARKS ARE CAUGHT, THEIR FINS ARE CAUGHT OFF,

AND THEIR BODIES DISCARDED TO SINK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN

ALL WHILE THE SHARK IS STILL ALIVE.

MAKOS AREN'T ONLY FISHED FOR THEIR FINS, THOUGH.

THE MEAT OF THESE SHARKS

REMAINS A POPULAR MENU ITEM ACROSS THE GLOBE,

AND IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE A MAKO SHARK

IN THE BUTCHER WINDOWS AT YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET.

AND THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF RECIPES ONLINE.

I CHECKED.

UNFORTUNATELY,

THERE ARE NO INTERNATIONAL FISHING REGULATIONS

TO PROTECT THE SPECIES FROM BEING OVERFISHED.

NOW, MAKOS ARE EXTRAORDINARY SHARKS.

THEY'RE THE FASTEST KNOWN SPECIES,

CLOCKING SPEEDS OF UP TO 60 MILES AN HOUR.

MY FRIEND AND "SHARK WEEK" CINEMATOGRAPHER JOE ROMEIRO

HAS SPENT COUNTLESS OF HOURS IN THE OCEAN

WITH THESE FINNED BULLETS.

MAKO SHARKS ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SHARKS,

AND THEY'RE MY FAVORITE SHARKS TO WORK WITH.

I'VE BEEN STUDYING THEM AND WORKING WITH THEM

FOR OVER 10 YEARS,

AND EVEN NOW, EVERY TIME I SEE A MAKO SHARK,

IT FEELS LIKE IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER SEEN ONE.

EVERY TIME THAT YOU WATCH SHARKS ON TV, YOU KNOW THOSE FACES.

YOU'VE SEEN THOSE ANIMALS A MILLION TIMES.

AND YOU HAVE THE TIME TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND

AND CONNECT WITH THAT ANIMAL BEFORE YOU EVEN SEE IT.

BUT THE FIRST FEW TIMES YOU START HAVING

ONE OF THOSE ANIMALS REALLY LOOK AT YOU

AND YOU BOTH ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR INTENTIONS ARE,

THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T GET

FROM TV, BOOKS, MOVIES, ANYTHING.

I THINK WHAT MAKES MAKOS SO INCREDIBLE IS THAT

THEY'RE REALLY ENGINEERED TO BE THIS PERFECT SHARK.

IT'S UNLIKE ANY OTHER SHARK.

IT HAS THESE HUGE GILLS TO ALLOW A LOT OF AIR INTAKE

BECAUSE THE ANIMAL TRAVELS FASTER THAN ANY OTHER SHARK.

IT HAS THESE SILVERY SIDES AND COUNTERSHADING

THAT I HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN IN ANY OTHER SHARK.

THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A SKIN STRUCTURE THAT'S STUDIED

BY THE MILITARY AND ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT BOATING SPECIALISTS

AND COMPANIES THAT WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS.

AND WHAT IT REALLY IS, IS THIS TEXTURE CALLED DERMAL DENTICLES.

AND BASICALLY THEY'RE ALL JUST VERY, VERY TINY TEETH

THAT THE WATER CAN PASS THROUGH.

BUT THE ACTUAL SHAPE OF THESE DENTICLES

ON THIS PARTICULAR SHARK

FLUTE AND KIND OF PUSH THE WATER THROUGH IT.

SO, RIGHT NOW, SCIENTISTS AND ESPECIALLY THE MILITARY

ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE SKINS

THAT MATCH THE MAKO SHARK TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THINGS

TRAVEL THROUGH THE WATER WITH MORE EFFICIENCY.

WHAT YOU SEE WITH MAKOS GENERALLY ARE SMALLER ANIMALS,

AND THAT'S NOT BECAUSE THIS ANIMAL DOESN'T HAVE

THE POTENTIAL TO GROW LARGE.

IT'S JUST BECAUSE THE LARGER ONES EITHER KNOW HOW TO HIDE,

KNOW HOW TO AVOID HUMANS, OR JUST MAY NOT BE THERE.

BUT IT'S A VERY RARE AND HARD ANIMAL TO SEE AS AN ADULT MAKO.

AND I'M NOT SAYING JUST AN AVERAGE ADULT MAKO.

I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG.

AND THIS YEAR FOR "SHARK WEEK," I WAS ABLE TO HAVE

THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG AGAIN.

SO, WE CAME BACK WITH "MONSTER MAKO 3,"

AND IN THIS EPISODE, WE HAPPEN TO CATCH SOMETHING

I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S EVER SEEN BEFORE --

OR AT LEAST NOT IN THE WATER.

ALL THE BIRDS LEFT IT!

-MAKO! MAKO! RIGHT THERE! -RIGHT THERE! YEAH! YEAH!

♪♪

LOOK HOW BIG THAT SHARK IS!

DEFINITELY ONE OF THE RAREST SHARKS

YOU WILL EVER SEE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.

NOW, THAT IS SERIOUSLY COOL.

THE TIME THAT I'VE SPENT WITH MAKOS HAS BEEN SOME

OF MY MORE THRILLING EXPERIENCES IN THE OCEAN.

THEY'RE SMART. THEY'RE FAST. AND THEY'RE BOLD.

AND YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL

WHEN YOU'RE SWIMMING WITH THESE INCREDIBLE SHARKS.

THE OCEANS REALLY JUST WOULDN'T BE THE SAME

WITHOUT THESE PERFECT PREDATORS.

AND WITHOUT A CHANGE IN PROTECTION STATUS,

WE STAND TO LOSE THIS CHARISMATIC SPECIES FOREVER.

ONE STEP THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP SAVE SHARKS

IS TO TEXT "SHARK" TO 707070

AND DONATE TO OCEANA AND THEIR EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE OCEAN.

STICK WITH US ALL "SHARK WEEK" LONG

AS WE CONTINUE TO BRING YOU THE BIGGEST DISCOVERIES IN SHARK.

IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE "DAILY BITE,"

WE'RE ENTERING THE TOTALLY WEIRD WORLD OF BABY SHARKS.

AND I'M TALKING IN-UTERO, SIBLING CANNIBALISM.

THAT'S RIGHT. CANNIBALISM.

♪♪