A 4.5 meter great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) scavenges a whale carcass in False Bay, South Africa.PLOS ONE: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060797Has the Discovery Channel officially jumped the shark? Many critics are asking if the programmer is eschewing the role of educational science programmer for the allure of reality TV after the start of the annual “Shark Week.” And bona fide shark researchers are claiming that Discovery producers flat out lied to them about how their interviews would be used for programs that appeared during the weeklong shark programming bonanza.
On Sunday night (August 10), Discovery kicked off this year’s “Shark Week” by showing a fictitious shark story, “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine,” that was dressed up to look like a serious documentary. Although it contained brief on-screen warning about events depicted in the show being “dramatized,” the program failed to mention that the story, about a mythical 35-foot-long great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that attacked humans off the coast of South Africa, was completely fabricated. Zoologist Michelle Wcisel, based in South Africa, told the Epoch Times that “Shark of Darkness” is a “fake-umentary.”
“Everyone who has worked on white sharks has seen their version of the ‘Submarine,’ but it does not actually exist. Think Loch Ness,” she said. “I am a zoologist specialized ...
