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  • Great whites grow up to 20 feet long, and can pack over 5,000 pounds of muscle.

  • Yet, despite their size, they often go unnoticed.

  • A type of camouflage, known as countershading gives these sharks the predatory edge.

  • They're dark on top, but pale underneath.

  • So underwater, they blend into the background, whether seen from above or below.

  • But all that changes from the air.

  • ANDY: All right.

  • Here we go, tethered drone. Taking off.

  • From high in the sky, a shark's camouflage can't hide them, and their cover will be blown.

  • ANDY: Let's try to find some sharks here.

  • The best view of what's below the surface comes from high above.

  • Andy's drone scans from the sky.

  • And while down at water level, it looks like every other day at the beach,

  • the view from above--

  • Woah, woah, right there.

  • reveals a very different story.

  • A drone's eye view detects an unmistakable silhouette.

  • Now you see it, now you don't.

  • ANDY: It's pretty incredible.

  • There's sharks everywhere, literally, right under the boards of these people,

  • right under their noses, and they don't even see it.

  • Down at water level, glare and reflections can easily distract, hiding what looks obvious from high above.

  • ANDY: I got a lot of sharks in the area.

  • This is incredible.

  • It looks too close for comfort.

  • But are people in danger?

  • Despite Santa Barbara's increase in shark sightings, there hasn't been a fatal shark bite here, in almost a decade,

  • a stat that today's survey will help unpack.

  • ANDY: Synchronize watches.

  • All right, great white stakeout, here we go.

  • All right, and 3, 2, 1, here we go.

Great whites grow up to 20 feet long, and can pack over 5,000 pounds of muscle.

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