About three weeks ago, during my South Africa great white shark expedition, I had the privilege of filming what is likely the world's most infamous pair of orcas: Port and Starboard in False Bay. For decades, South Africa's Western Cape was considered the great white shark capital of the world. That began to change with the arrival of these two predators. While much of the media attention focuses on 2017, Port and Starboard were documented around key shark aggregation sites such as Seal Island and Dyer Island years earlier. First identified in 2009, the pair initially targeted sevengill sharks, triggering a documented flight response in that species. Similar patterns would later be observed in tagged white sharks. There is no question that illegal fishing and poorly managed fisheries have contributed to shark declines in South Africa. But in the Western Cape, a perfect ecological storm appears to be unfolding, driven by both human impacts and natural predation. The result is a region where great white sharks have become increasingly scarce. During my time there, despite limited weather windows, I was only able to locate a handful of white sharks. The contrast with what researchers and operators experienced just five years ago is striking. In the Eastern Cape, however, sharks were still relatively easy to find near shore. Whether Western Cape sharks have shifted eastward or whether overall numbers have declined remains an active area of research. What we do know is that great white sharks still exist in South Africa. But decades of fishing pressure, combined with the documented flight response associated with Port and Starboard, have dramatically altered where sharks are found and in what numbers. The question I can't stop thinking about is this: Where did Port and Starboard come from?

White sharks continue to appear surprisingly close to shore here in Southern California. In this episode, I follow several different great white sharks cruising just behind the waves near surfers, swimmers, and kayakers in crystal clear water. One shark in particular stood out immediately because of the bright white scars across its face and gills, likely left behind from encounters with seals or sea lions offshore. Using both drone and underwater footage, this video documents how white sharks move through crowded stretches of coastline, often without causing any reaction at all from the people nearby. A group of kayakers became more focused on the drone flying overhead than the sharks moving quietly beneath the surface beside them, creating one of the strangest encounters I’ve filmed all year. If you enjoy real wildlife filmmaking, shark behavior, and non-AI nature content filmed in the wild, please consider subscribing to the channel. It genuinely helps support future filming and allows me to continue documenting these animals along the California coastline. Filmed in Southern California. 📸 Follow My Journey: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/themalibuartist Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/TheMalibuArtist Website → https://www.themalibuartist.com 🎵 Music licensed through Soundstripe MERCH STORE: Check out my latest designs. https://www.youtube.com/@TheMalibuArtist/store ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your support is greatly appreciated on this channel. Please visit my Patreon page to support more videos like this. Or join my YouTube Crew or Explorer Membership. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all footage licensing inquiries please reach out directly to me via the contact form on my website. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🌊 About The Malibu Artist I’m Carlos Gauna, wildlife cinematographer and storyteller. My goal is to explore how we see the ocean’s most misunderstood predators — and to show the wild, unfiltered moments that happen just beyond the surf. DISCLAIMER: I'm NOT a marine biologist. As with all YouTube content, I encourage independent verification of facts via official scientific and trustworthy sources. I will strive to post citations for any information I discuss here whenever possible. My goal is to use photography and drones to bring awareness to wildlife and the nature around us. I welcome collaborations with scientists to bring cinematic elements to the educational presentation. If my drone work can assist in the study of these animals, please reach out to me.

This week, I'm on the kayak again in search of great white sharks. When a shark bites my camera, I get a view of the shark's mouth I never thought I'd see. This is part one of two of this amazing day. Filmed alongside my friend Eric Dronesey. Go check out his channel. Please follow my friend Dronesey. Who makes many videos like this possible. https://www.youtube.com/@UCwVVZMJogMoV39efAwHFxew 📸 Follow My Journey: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/themalibuartist Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/TheMalibuArtist Website → https://www.themalibuartist.com 🎵 Music licensed through Soundstripe MERCH STORE: Check out my latest designs. https://www.youtube.com/@TheMalibuArtist/store ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your support is greatly appreciated on this channel. Please visit my Patreon page to support more videos like this. Or join my YouTube Crew or Explorer Membership. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all footage licensing inquiries please reach out directly to me via the contact form on my website. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🌊 About The Malibu Artist I’m Carlos Gauna, wildlife cinematographer and storyteller. My goal is to explore how we see the ocean’s most misunderstood predators — and to show the wild, unfiltered moments that happen just beyond the surf. DISCLAIMER: I'm NOT a marine biologist. As with all YouTube content, I encourage independent verification of facts via official scientific and trustworthy sources. I will strive to post citations for any information I discuss here whenever possible. My goal is to use photography and drones to bring awareness to wildlife and the nature around us. I welcome collaborations with scientists to bring cinematic elements to the educational presentation. If my drone work can assist in the study of these animals, please reach out to me.

A great white shark passes close to a scuba diver… and they never even know it’s there. In this episode, I document a real encounter off the Southern California coast where a large great white shark moves through a kelp bed near a kayak and a lone diver below. What stands out isn’t just how close the shark gets—but how normal its behavior actually is. After spotting the shark from above, I return to the same area with my friend Eric (“Dronesey”) to try and identify it. Using drone footage and underwater cameras, we’re able to confirm a key feature—a drooping dorsal fin—and determine that this is a female great white shark. We also capture rare, close-range footage from both above and below the water as the shark passes our setup and surfaces next to the kayak. Along the way, you’ll also see the environment these sharks are moving through—kelp forests full of life, including garibaldi and other reef fish—highlighting just how much biodiversity exists in the same waters where these encounters happen. Moments like this raise an important question: how often are people this close to great white sharks… without ever realizing it? 📍 Filmed in Southern California 🦈 Species featured: Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) 🎥 Aerial drone + underwater camera footage 📸 Follow My Journey: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/themalibuartist Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/TheMalibuArtist Website → https://www.themalibuartist.com 🎵 Music licensed through Soundstripe MERCH STORE: Check out my latest designs. https://www.youtube.com/@TheMalibuArtist/store ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your support is greatly appreciated on this channel. Please visit my Patreon page to support more videos like this. Or join my YouTube Crew or Explorer Membership. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all footage licensing inquiries please reach out directly to me via the contact form on my website. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🌊 About The Malibu Artist I’m Carlos Gauna, wildlife cinematographer and storyteller. My goal is to explore how we see the ocean’s most misunderstood predators — and to show the wild, unfiltered moments that happen just beyond the surf. DISCLAIMER: I'm NOT a marine biologist. As with all YouTube content, I encourage independent verification of facts via official scientific and trustworthy sources. I will strive to post citations for any information I discuss here whenever possible. My goal is to use photography and drones to bring awareness to wildlife and the nature around us. I welcome collaborations with scientists to bring cinematic elements to the educational presentation. If my drone work can assist in the study of these animals, please reach out to me.