Unique Experiences

Item Description

Meet Chris & Monique Fallows — Wildlife Photographers - in Simonstown, South Africa.

If you’ve seen AIR JAWS episodes on Discovery Channel, Planet Earth, BBC, Jaws
25-year Anniversary on National Geographic, or 60 Minutes, then you’ve
seen Chris and Monique Fallows and the giant white sharks of as they
hurtle above the surface in False Bay, South Africa.

Chris Fallows grew up on a game reserve in South Africa, but at age 12 when his family moved to the coast he became fascinated with the ocean and sharks. He was only 16 when, together with local fishermen, he co-ordinated a study of 15,000 sharks and rays.

In 1992, he initiated white shark tours at Dyer Island off Gansbaai, moving to False Bay four years later. It was there in False Bay that he discovered the breaching behaviour of white sharks, made famous by the AIR JAWS films.

For the past 20 years, Chris and his wife, Monique, have observed and documented thousands of these predatory events, making their database the largest of its kind in the world. They photograph the massive white sharks soaring through the air from the depths to catch seals near the surface. The action is best seen near Seal Island, a crowded Cape fur seal colony near Cape Town, South Africa. When seals cross deep water to approach or leave their island sanctuary, the sharks, swimming at depth, rocket toward the animals at the surface. The momentum of the ascent often results in both predator and prey exploding out of the ocean like a cork from a champagne bottle.

Chris has co-authored 10 scientific papers on the breaching behavior of white sharks. He also authored a book, ‘Great White and The Majesty of Sharks’ which has sold over 25,000 copies. He worked with David Attenborough on the "Shallow Seas" episode of the Planet Earth series, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and helped produce the AIR JAWS series for Shark Week.

South Africa is one of the world's premier white shark destinations where tourists are virtually guaranteed to observe white sharks on cage-diving trips. But last year five full grown white sharks washed up dead at Gansbaai, not far from Simonstown. The necropsy revealed they were eaten alive. What is the only massive sea predator that has the ability to capture, kill and devour a group of 15-foot, 3,000-pound white sharks? Orcas.

Even before the orca activity‚ white shark expert Chris reported he had been seeing fewer and fewer white sharks in False Bay. "Regulars are not coming back and we are finding a huge inconsistency in their arrivals and departures‚ which were like clockwork over more than 15 years‚" he said at the time.  AIR JAWS: The Hunted, airing on 2018 Discovery Channel's Shark Week, focuses on the orca killers, and the slow return of the white sharks.

In addition to the ground-breaking work observing and cage diving with white sharks, Chris and Monique  also lead expeditions to study mako, blue and many other shark species in South African waters.

www.apexpredators.com

Item Special Note

The objective of this auction is to spotlight individuals and organizations working effectively for ocean conservation, and raise funds for field research, conservation and outreach projects.

Being auctioned is a dinner or lunch with one of the world's foremost shark experts or celebrities. This is a unique opportunity to "talk shark" face-to-face, one-on-one, with a real authority on sharks.

 How this auction works

1. Bid on a celebrity you would like to get to know personally (shark scientist, educator, explorer filmmaker, shark photographer, television host, conservationist) who works or lives nearby, unless you are willing to drive or fly to meet them in their area.

2. We will introduce the winning bidder to the celebrity. The two of you then set a mutually agreeable date, time and place to meet within one year of the close of the auction.

3. The winning bidder pays for lunch or dinner and may bring guests.

NOTE: The winning bid is 100% deductible from US Federal 2018 income taxes as a Charitable Donation. A tax receipt will be issued to the winning bidder.