Do some sharks hunt in packs? This was the question acclaimed marine scientist and underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta asked himself after observing a ferocious underwater feeding frenzy in 2014.
Ballesta was studying the annual breeding behaviours of camouflaged groupers on the southern pass of the Fakarava atoll in French Polynesia last summer when he observed what appeared to be an unusual nocturnal pack-hunting strategy in a group of grey reef sharks.
With the assistance of luxury Swiss brand Blancpain, he returned to the atoll this year to try to find out more. If the strategy was confirmed, it would challenge marine scientists' existing understanding of these fast-swimming, agile predators.
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See The Week Portfolio's exclusive preview of Ballesta's forthcoming film from the project, Gombessa IV Genesis, below.
The mission was supported by funds raised from the sale of the most recent Blancpain Ocean Commitment watch. For each of the 250 limited-edition timepieces sold, Blancpain donated €1,000 to Ballesta's expedition.
The release of Ballesta's film coincides with the arrival of Blancpain's latest watch, the Tribute to the Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec, a reinterpretation of one of the brand's most innovative watches of the 1950s.
For more, visit www.blancpain.com
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