caughtoncameramsnbc.com. i'm contessa brewer, that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." a hungry eel. an aggressive octopus. >> i turned over the look and next thing i know he's got this thing pancaked to his face. >> killer whales stalking their prey. >> there they go. look at this. three of them. >> oh, god. oh, no! >> from the depths of the ocean, some of nature's most vicious predators on the attack. >> i just thought that the fish stabbed him in the face, and i was like, oh, my god, my brother's dead. oh, my god. oh, my god. >> rare and terrifying encounters under the sea. >> this great white grabbed me. >> nowhere to run. >> i mean you've got a couple tons of whale tail coming at you

that fast, and it's barnacle and bone. it would have been like getting hit with a baseball bat the size of a tree. >> nowhere to hide. >> shark snapped the whole front of the cage off, came right inside with us. >> surfers, day trippers, and professional divers, make no mistake, this is their turf. >> there's always a danger when you are out with wild animals. anything can happen at any moment. ♪ >> welcome to "caught on camera: into the deep." >> welcome to "caught on camera." in this hour, we'll take you to the high seas where you'll meet some of the world's most mysterious creatures and witness encounters with shocking results. it's all caught on camera. divers, surfers, and tourists discover what lies beneath the surface of the deep.

>> somilan islands, thailand. two divers take off for a day of diving and a bit of fun in the sun. their dive spot is called east of the eden, but a hungry eel named emma turns this tropical paradise into a living hell. we want to warn you, what you are about to see is dangerous. don't attempt to duplicate this or any of the situations you're about to see. a giant moray eel mistakes diver matt butcher's thumb for a piece of sausage. >> when she fist held onto my thumb, i didn't think it was too serious. i thought, okay, she'll let go in a second. after a couple seconds, i realize, wow, i could have a big problem here. >> matt is out that day with his friend to see one of the most dramatic reefs in the world and to meet a moray eel known as emma. matt's a british ex-pat, who's been leading dive tours in thailand for a decade. he knows this territory like the back of his hand.

>> it's always a buzz. an adrenaline rush because you know you're going to see this big, ferocious animal and she's going to come out and interact with you. you can play with her, stroke her, and, of course, feed her. >> after all, emma is known for her hearty appetite. in fact, she's adored throughout the dive community in thailand, and tour groups flock to see emma in her beautiful feeding grounds. >> all the dive guides, we used to take down food for her, sausage, bacon, leftovers from breakfast. we've fed the moray many, many times, maybe become a little bit complaisant. she was more like a friendly dog than a ferocious animal to us. >> matt plays her, teasing emma with his bag of sausages and breakfast food. the moray eel seems to enjoy the games. here she nuzzles against matt's hands and passes back and forth like a playful pet. matt's friend captures the whole thing on camera. >> when we would approach them, she would swim out and you could have a little play. she would nestle under your arm and you could stroke her.

and of course when she started losing interest, that's when the food would come out, just to tempt her for a little longer playing with the moray eel. >> 20 minutes into the dive, the playful emma becomes agitated, swimming more quickly and becoming more aggressive about getting fed. >> this is when the moray eel swam around the back of me, she could smell the food, saw my thumb and thought it was some sausage or food and she latched only my thumb. and i guess five or six seconds is and it came clean off. >> like all moray eels, emma has really bad eyesight. matt thinks she simply can't tell the difference between his thumb and lunch. but moray eels have another, more deadly weapon than just a fine set of choppers. emma bites down with her first set of jaws and then the second jaw buried deep in her throat severs his thumb. matt's thumb doesn't have a chance. >> once they bite, it's very difficult to -- well, in my case, it was impossible to get

my thumb out of the moray's mouth. with my other hand i stuck my fingers in her mouth trying to pry her mouth open, but i couldn't. it was no good. i was in shock. it was surreal. and before i really knew what was happening, i was looking at the bare knuckle and she swam away with my thumb. there was nothing i could do. >> matt looks on in horror as blood spurts from the fresh wound. emma holds on tight. at last a terrible sound that matt's dive partner hears even at 45 feet beneath the surface. emma's powerful teeth rip off his thumb like a twig. surprisingly, matt feels very little except shock and confusion. >> when it first came off, i didn't feel any pain at all. i was just shock, disbelief, horror. i saw my thumb is missing. i thought, wow, this can't be good. off she swam with it. there was no chance of getting my thumb back and reattaching it.

she was gone. >> matt has the presence of mind to swim to the surface, board his boat, and ask for help. in a few hours he's in a hospital in phuket, the nearest city. as he recovers from his trauma under the sea, the doctor gives matt some good news. a new procedure could give him a new thumb. >> when the doctor said there's a possibility that you can take a toe off and put it on your hand, i said i want an operation, please. >> six months after the accident, a team of surgeons remove his second toe and sew it into his hand. today matt uses and feels his new thumb as if the old one never went away. despite his bloody battle with the giant eel, matt still dives and leads expeditions to what he calls the most beautiful place on earth. but now he's just a little more careful about feeding the animals. >> i think if i felt anything, i just feel silly that i've let this happen to me. i was just careless. >> looking back at the entire

odd mishap, matt is grateful for one thing. >> i like diving without a wet suit because it makes me feel more streamlined in the water. one of my concerns after the accident, i wasn't wearing a wet suit and i was only wearing a pair of board shorts, and i was concerned that it could have been a lot worse if she had swum up under the legs of one of my shorts. >> now that would hurt. coming up -- >> it actually stuck to my mask and my mask was coming off. >> a giant pacific octopus tries to crush a diver. >> i thought it was coming straight for him. >> a 600-pound marlin spears a young fisherman. >> oh, my, god. oh, my god. >> this shark four meters ten grabbed me. >> a surfer battles two great whites. when "caught on camera: into the deep" continues. we're all set to bundle your home and auto insurance together. i'll just press this, and you'll save on both. [bell dings] ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, llllet's get ready

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a diver's trapped in a

deadly wrestling match with a giant octopus 80 feet beneath the surface. his diving partner catches the whole grisly struggle on camera. >> just that fast, that octopus was on my face. and it was really quite startling. i was shocked. >> doug pemberton and danny morrow are veteran deep-sea divers, fearless adventurers under the high seas. there's not much they haven't seen, and there's almost nothing they're afraid of. but a dive in the cold waters of british columbia would put that fearlessness to the test. it begins as routine as any other dive. >> there was a relatively uneventful dive. there wasn't anything spectacular about it. but we stumbled on a couple of octopus and things got really interesting. >> danny and doug were in an area teeming with fish when they stumble upon an octopus den. >> i looked down and i thought, great, let's go down and see if there's somebody home. >> doug's eager to get up close

and personal with the normally shy but intensely curious sea animal. >> so i took my hand and put it at the entrance to the den, and sure enough one of the arms came up and started feeling up my hand. i put my other hand down and another arm came up and started feeling up my hand. and i thought, this is going to be good. >> doug, having experience with these guys, knew instinctively to put his hand out in front of the den, and sure enough that animal stuck its tentacle out and started going up its arm. >> that animal is not just any sea creature but the giant pacific octopus, the largest species of octopus in the world, weighing up to 110 pounds with tentacles reaching up to 16 feet. though it can be playful, the giant pacific octopus is also a carnivore, and sometimes it doesn't take kindly to strangers. >> he'll actually come out and interact with you. if they don't want to interact with you, then they'll just leave you alone. they're just gone.

but occasionally they'll come out and you can have a very memorable experience with them. >> but this octopus is curious. it wants to reach out touch someone. and that means danger for the diver. >> i turned over the look at doug and next thing i know he's got this thing pancaked to his face. >> in just seconds, the octopus has doug caught in an eight-tentacle vice grip. >> when the octopus first came out, there was quite an impact on my face, and i thought what is going on now? this is like nothing i ever felt before. i thought at first the octopus was just trying to get out and get past my head. >> the tentacles are latched to doug's face, mask, and regulator, threatening to cut off doug's air supply. >> it wanted his regulator really bad, almost as bad as it wanted the mask. i don't know if it was curiosity or anger. i don't know what it was. but this animal really wanted his air source. >> it's toward the end of the dive and doug is already low on air.

he struggles to free himself as hundreds of suction cups of pure muscle are pulling on him. each cup forms an almost unbreakable seal on doug's head and mask. once the sucker fastens on, it's almost impossible to pry off. my mask was coming off. my regulator was coming out and the fight was on. i'm at a great disadvantage when i'm under water, because this is the octopus' territory. that's where the octopus lives. i don't live there. the octopus doesn't need air to breathe. i do. the octopus has eight arms. i only have two. you're at the octopus' mercy. >> the regulator is slipping out of his mouth. it's do or die. >> i'm trying with one hand to put my regulator back on my mouth and trying with one hand to put my mask back on and with anything that's remaining i'm trying to peel the arms of the octopus off my mask. >> one by one, he peels off every vacuum-like sucker and each overpowering tentacle. >> it was all of doug's strength just to get one arm off, and he had three or four of them all over his head. >> i'd peel one arm off and two more arms would stick to me. i'd peel those off and two more

would stick over on this side. it was -- it was a bit of a fight. >> after a couple terrifying minutes, the octopus finally lets go. remarkably, danny morrow catches the whole thing on camera. >> people ask, why didn't you help him get the tentacles off his face? first of all, doug's a really experienced diver and he's been around a lot of these animals. i kind of suspected that he knew what he was doing. frankly, i don't think i could have helped. i think most divers, myself included, would have panicked. you've got to hand it to him for keeping his composure and not panicking. >> doug's still an avid diver, and he loves and respects the underwater world despite his close call with the octopus. >> i knew that the octopus was not trying to hurt him. there was some miscommunication. either i had infringed on its territorial boundaries or had interrupted some premating behavior between it and maybe an octopus that was outside of the den. i take great care not to hurt the animals around me. i wanted the animal off me but i

certainly didn't want to hurt it at all. >> doug comes away from his undersea struggle with a renewed appreciation for the creatures. >> that's probably the most shocking moment i've had diving in 37 years along this coast, for sure. it's shocking, but it's also interesting to see another side of an animal that you thought you knew really well, and you come to expect the unexpected when you're diving in these waters. coming up -- a 40-ton whale takes a swipe at a 200-pound man. >> i think that tail probably weighed a few tons, and it's solid bone and barnacles, and it came at him fast and hard. >> a nurse shark doesn't like to kiss on the first date.

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an idyllic day filming humpback whales off the coast of

the dominican republic suddenly turns to horror. >> that one whale came up right underneath me. i'm looking, and, oh, my god, he's going to hit me. >> i mean, you got a couple tons of whale tail coming at you that fast. it's barnacle and bone. it would have been like getting hit with a baseball bat the size of a tree. >> the day starts out calmly for two experienced divers, danny morrow and jim cosmic. morrow's had his share of close encounters. as we just witnessed, a massive octopus puts the squeeze on his good friend, doug pemberton. that close call turned out okay and doug clawed his way to freedom at the last second. morrow has been around the world and back again, filming the wonders of the world's oceans. his goal on this expedition is to videotape mating humpback

whales in the waters of the silver banks whale sanctuary. >> literally on the last day of the trip we stumbled onto a young male and a young female and they were courting, and they were oblivious to us. they just let us do what we wanted. they weren't full-grown adults. they were, i guess for lack of a better analogy, they were teenagers, and they were amorous teenagers, and they were cavorting like teenagers do. >> but, remember, these aren't like your typical adolescents. humpback whales are one of the largest species on the planet. they grow up to 50 feet in length and weigh almost 79,000 pounds. normally humpbacks stay clear of humans, but come too close, and the results can be deadly. a swat of that gargantuan tail can turn a grown man into fish food with one direct hit. >> i think they started to think of us as mosquitoes. >> as cameraman jim cosmic moves closer, the whale appears to swim away.

the divers follow. >> you can't get a good shot of a big animal unless you get close to it. and we were trying to get as close as we can, and maybe we pushed it a bit too far this particular day. >> this time with dangerous consequences. >> i think it's easy to get lulled into a false sense of security when you're filming big animals. we were right in their face for the better part of three hours. and towards the end of it, i think they just got fed up. >> as morrow's partner swims in for a better shot, the 40-ton monster with a flick of his massive tail delivers an incredible blow. >> this particular male was probably 40 feet long, maybe 50 feet long, which means he was probably in the neighborhood of 40 or 50 tons. i think that tail probably weighed a few ton, and it's solid bone and barnacles. and it came at him fast and hard. he really got hit. i asked him if he was okay, and he pulled his hand away from his head and it had blood on it. the whale tail had cut his head

wide open. >> jim cosmic is stunned. >> i don't think he registered immediately exactly what had actually happened, but i knew he was in trouble because he went straight to the surface and he was holding the top of his head. >> morrow thinks the whale intentionally took aim at his partner. >> whales and dolphins, their tales go like this. and for him to suddenly go like this, it's a clear deliberate motion that he was trying to get rid of this pesky person, or probably in his eyes it was like a fly. we were bugging these animals because we were trying to get good close-up footage. >> weak, bleeding, cosmic swims to the surface and falls into the waiting boat. >> the tail. he just whacked me. >> morrow and the crew try to make sense of what happened. to this day, it's one of the scariest things morrow has ever seen. >> think if that whale tail had been two or three inches lower it would have hit him in the

temple. he'd probably be killed. it nearly knocked him out. it was a nasty incident. it could have gone really south quite quickly. >> luckily, jim cosmic is okay. the gash on his head heals without stitches, and he's back doing what he loves just weeks later. >> he said that was the most intense experience he'd ever had in terms of a physical altercation. i mean, he's a tough s.o.b., jim cosmic, but he got smacked by that whale and i think it humbled him a bit. and i think he's a little more cautious now when he goes in the water with big animals. >> cosmic is not the only one. the team tries to stay away from close-up shots after their teammate's close encounter with the back end of a 40-ton whale. >> after that incident we backed off a little bit and focused on the wide shots because i think we were getting a little too close. coming up -- a black marlin skewers an angler. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. i honestly thought he was dead. >> and jaws takes the bait and comes back for the main course.

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seven american service members have died in attacks in afghanistan today. five were killed by a roadside bomb in southern afghanistan, two more service members were killed when an afghan national army soldier opened fire on nato troops in western afghanistan. a southern california wildfire continues to threaten homes in ventura county. 15 homes have been damaged so far. firefighters are hoping rain in the weekend forecast will battle that blaze. more news later. now back to "caught on camera." welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. the most ambitious fishermen are always pushing the limits, trying to reel in that big one,

scouring the oceans for the most exotic and elusive sea creatures. in our next story, a young angler battles a giant black marlin. and what happens next is no fish tale. 30 miles off the coast of panama, a family fishing vacation turns into a desperate fight for life. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> i didn't really think it was happening. i thought it was a dream. and then when i woke up, i was on the ground, being pulled into the corner of the boat, spitting up blood. so then it became real. >> 17-year-old steven schultz, his dad, bob, and his sister allison are on a fishing trip in the deep blue tropical waters near panama. it's one last summer trip before both kids go off to school. >> my brother was leaving for college, so we were going to be going separate ways again, and i was excited. >> spirits are high.

s it's the threesome's first deep sea fishing adventure together, and it's a chance for bob to share his love of the sport with his children. >> yeah. it was going to be some good dad time. this was a good place to go to try to chase some big fish and get an opportunity to really enjoy the outside and just really get to know each other again. >> after a few days of catching small fish, the schultzes are on the hunt for the massive black marlin, a fish so fierce even experienced anglers fear their power. they're immensely strong and can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. >> whooo! >> well, black marlin is an apex predator like the blue marlin is, but they are extremely great fighters. they're tremendous jumpers. they do jump a lot. very exciting fish. >> the marlin's most dangerous feature is its two- to

three-foot-long bill resembling a sword. that weapon, combined with the marlin's violent thrashing, can maim or even kill a fisherman if it gets too close to the boat. for the first few hours, the fishing trip is peaceful and quiet. >> we kind of went on a really long boat ride and then we caught like a turtle, which was fun, and i played with it for a little while. >> but then steven feels something big tugging at the end of his line. the teenager hooks the beast, and the family gets ready to reel it in. >> then when the big marlin struck, my dad got all excited and all ready to go. he was, like, steven, get in the chair. >> the marlin is snagged, and steven settles in for a long fight. the marlin appears briefly and dives deep, trying to shake the line. >> the big black marlin. >> the scaly giant jumps a second time, and the crew gets a closer look. the boat's longtime captain estimates the fish is more than 600 pounds. >> now the fish actually came

straight out of the water with its bill, and then it started to jump, and as it was jumping it was twisting. >> tension is high. allison keeps filming the scene unaware of the danger. >> did you get a picture of it, dad? >> yeah. >> i felt safe because i was about five feet away from the edge of the boat anyway. >> the monstrous marlin makes a horrifying leap. >> i was just going to get in the way. the last second it just lost its momentum, actually the last few tenths of a second, and the edge of its body hit the edge of the boat and it turned its bill towards steven. >> i see the bill breach the water and then the rest of the fish starts coming up. and i'm just reeling. it keeps coming and keeps coming. i just froze. i thought it's not going to come to the boat, it's not going to come to the boat, and it ends up right at my face. >> the black marlin's sharp bill is aimed squarely at steven. >> and it struck his open mouth. i thought it was cutting

straight through him. >> steven's dad is stunned. helpless, he watches as the missile-like fish spears the young man, a direct hit to the mouth. >> and i didn't think it was normal, but i didn't understand what was happening, and it happened so fast. and then i just started screaming because there was blood everywhere. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> the marlin thrashes furiously, tearing up steven's mouth. his sister is so frightened she stops filming. >> stuck into the back of the throat and cut the inside of his cheek really badly, broke four bones in his face, and he -- he violently went backwards and then he went forwards because he was still hooked to the fish. he was on the floor and bleeding a lot. >> i just thought that the fish stabbed him through the face and i was, like, oh my god, my brother's dead. i just, like, ran over the him and started shaking him, which probably wasn't the best thing to do. i started hugging him and trying to, like, be with him before he died because i honestly thought he was dead. >> when i looked at steven when he was on the ground, he was screaming and in a lot of pain.

i didn't know if the bill had ripped his face open. i didn't know if it had damaged his eyes or -- you know, i didn't know exactly where it hit him. it was so fast. >> luckily, the wound looks worse than it is. the crew's able to quickly stop the bleeding. but the trip to the hospital is painful. after a long boat ride and an hour plane trip, steven finally reaches the hospital in panama city. the young fisherman does survive the ordeal, though he's hurt badly. the giant marlin did serious damage. >> the bill hit me in the back of the throat, and i have a couple lacerations back there, and then it went up here and broke my nasal cavity and cut this area of my cheek up, and then it cut the corner of my lip. >> steven knows he's lucky to have escaped with his life and amazingly one can hardly tell by looking at him that he battled one of the fiercest fish in the sea.

>> i can't feel my front three teeth, these three teeth. that's the only lasting effect of it. there might be some scars in my mouth, but no one's looking there. >> i thought about this every day of my life since it's happened at least once. i think it would be a solid person, a good citizen in the future. i think he's got a lot to offer the world. and he's going to go fishing with me again. >> and the very next year, steven does just that. he hits the high seas once again in search of the elusive predator. coming up -- killer whales make seal soup. >> here they go. look at this. three of them. >> oh, god. oh, no. >> and a great white gets up close and personal. >> huge mouth, big, sharp, white teeth. the shark snapped the whole front of the cage off and came right inside with us. >> when "caught on camera: into the deep" continues.

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all right. here they go. look at this. three of them. >> oh, god. oh, no. >> ship sails in antarctica just off the coast of argentina in the famed passage. today the passengers, ecotourists, will see a rare feeding ritual up close. >> these orca are going to attack this seal. >> orcas, or killer whales, stalk a lone seal on an ice floe. >> five of them.

>> tom merritt, a retired engineer, knows he's witnessing something so unique few people have ever seen it, let alone captured it on camera. >> they're twisting the ice. >> oh, god. no, no. >> must be something very important where they're all going. maybe a meeting has been called. >> merritt loves nature and loves to videotape the things he finds there. that's why it made sense for him and his wife, sharon, to make the long trek to the end of the earth for vacation. >> it was after supper, and suddenly there was an announcement over the loud speaker system that they'd seen orca. we hadn't seen orca yet on this trip, so we were pretty excited and we wanted to go see. >> so tom grabbed his camera and his wife and headed above deck. it's 10:30 p.m., but it's still daylight this time of year. tom keeps his camera rolling. he and his wife are riveted by what they see next. the killer whales work their way around the ice floe. every few seconds one whale, then another, pokes its head up to get a better look. >> here they come.

two of them. look. underneath. you can see them underneath. >> circling, stalking, teasing their helpless prey. the curious orcas seem to have a plan. >> it became apparent the orca were trying to catch the seal, probably for dinner. those orca are going to attack this seal on the ice. we noticed that they were moving the ice a little bit, and one of them started to swim under the ice. it created a wave, which washed the seal some distance but not enough to get it off the ice floe. >> first one approaches, then another. sometimes two or three orcas delaying the kill. then swimming at full speed to create a powerful wave, rocking the ice floe, rolling the seal one step closer to being a main course. >> here they come. they made a big wave. look at that. big wave. >> everyone was so excited and just thoroughly engrossed in watching what would happen next.

>> tom's fellow travelers gasp at the fate of the seal. >> oh, no! >> it was evident that we were witnessing something that happens regularly. >> some of the people near me were distraught, worried about the seal. >> tom baits his fellow travelers. >> if you can't watch the bullfight, you better leave. >> sometimes nature's not for the fainthearted or lily livered. >> when one of the ladies happened to say, oh, my goodness, you know, she was worried about that seal, because we knew what was going to happen, it reminded me of a bullfight. and of course you really know what the outcome is. this animal is going to be eaten. >> tom's reaction was being rather pragmatic and maybe a bit snide. >> experts say orcas are highly intelligent and coordinate their attacks. oftentimes like a cat with a wounded mouse, killer whales will toy with their prey. >> it seemed that there must be some way they communicated with each other. we didn't know that animals that large would be collaborating so intimately.

>> apparently tired of their game, the orcas ready for the kill. >> here they go. look at this. three of them. >> oh, god. oh, no! oh, god! >> it's all over. four of the orca got close to each other and swam very aggressively just beneath the surface so that when the wave that they generated crashed up against the ice floe, the seal was rolled over several times it seemed like and right to the edge of the ice. and one of the orca then on the other side of the ice floe just reached up and grabbed him. it's all over. >> seal soup, the end of the hunt. >> three of them got together, created that tremendous wave, flipped him off, and we assume it's all over. except the chewing. >> what happens next shocks even thick-skinned tom. seconds later, a miracle. >> the seal has reappeared over here. we're not sure whether the

killer whale had put him up there or he somehow escaped their clutches. perhaps they're training the young, the young orca. who knows. >> amazingly, the seal reappears unharmed and very much alive. >> i couldn't believe the seal was going to escape. watching these animals, though, really is magnificent. >> chalk one up for the underdog. coming up -- a 15-year-old surfer battles not one but two great whites. >> lucky it didn't bite my head off. >> a cage is no match for this two-ton killer shark. a nurse shark sends a man to the emergency room. when "caught on camera: into the deep" continues. you have the potential to do more in business. by earning a degree from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make an impact in your company

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three shark attacks caught on camera in exotic locations across the globe. nahoon reef, south africa. a young surfer catches a wave and not one but two great whites try to make a meal out of him. key largo, florida. a diver steals a kiss from a nurse shark and almost loses his lip. in guadelupe island, mexico, a great white devours a chunk of bait. not content with this appetizer, the 15-foot, two-ton shark then plows into the diver's cage for dinner. it's july 17th, 2000. a 15-year-old avid surfer named shannon ainsley hits the waves off the coast of south africa on the reef where the waves are some of the biggest and best in the world. normally all the surfers worry about here is another beach bum stealing a wave. and that's exactly what a

tourist is capturing on his video camera. >> what i was filming was two surfers paddling for the same wave. >> but in just seconds, the tourist would record something rarely seen on video -- two great whites in a vicious attack on the young surfer. it all happens in a flash. the first shark rips a massive chunk out of shannon's board and sends him plummeting into the water. the great white gets a piece of his hand as the shark's dorsal fin flops in the surf. the second shark, seen here beneath the waves, swims alongside, perhaps looking for leftovers. shannon's friends see the horror from shore and scramble to save him. he's severely wounded. blood spills from his freshly mangled hand. but within a minute, shannon is safe on the beach. this time he's lucky, but he knows it could have been much worse. >> this great white shark about

four meters ten grabbed me and i was underneath the water looking at the shark face to face. >> despite his rendezvous with death, shannon still surfs. a rubber glove protects his fragile hand, a constant reminder of how fierce and fast these ocean creatures can be. >> quite scared to go out there. i just feel very lucky to be alive right now. >> elbow reef, key largo, florida. a nurse shark gets cozy with a diver and sends him to the hospital. >> instantaneously it hurt. it was almost like a firecracker going off in my mouth. >> for more than a decade, diver dave marcel has been leading scuba tours for curious thrill seekers.

>> working with wild animals in their natural habitat is something that most people only could dream of. >> the reef is teeming with life. fish of all shapes and sizes, beautiful coral, a rare chance to interact with some of the planet's most interesting characters. >> we had numerous animals. we had nurse sharks, barracudas and goliath groupers and green moray eels. these are my pets. most people have cats and dogs. i have animals under water. >> the sea pro gives his clients a little something extra, physical encounters with sea creatures that strike fear into the saltiest seafarer, like the 300-pound nurse shark. dave feels the key to the carnivores' trust is physical affection. >> whenever you hold a nurse shark, they typically just go to sleep. they're one of the most docile

animals that you will find in the wild. they want to be hugged. they want to be scratched. they want you to pet them. if you feed them and hold them, they will just relax in your arms. the customers of course think it's a bit on the crazy side to kiss a shark. >> the sharks seem to enjoy the attention while the divers look on in amazement. this shark whisperer is so comfortable with his skill, he invites a kid to cuddle the shark. but the real show comes when dave smooches the shark right on the kisser. >> clients and tourists would absolutely love it whenever we would hold the sharks and i would actually kiss the sharks. >> he's pulled this stunt with hundreds of nurse sharks over the years, but today he'll know the pain of unrequited love. trouble comes when dave tries something new, turning the fish

on its back. the shark's eyes are on the top of its head. it can't possibly see dave as he plants his tender kiss on its open mouth. >> he couldn't see me. he smelled fish in the water and he felt something on his face. he did what any shark would do, and that reaction is to bite something that he thinks is food. it's just an instant of mistaken identity. >> thinking dave is a tasty treat, the shark sinks 500 razor-sharp teeth into his puckered lips. the pain is excruciating. for some reason, the sea creature lets go. dave's lip dangles like a worm from his face. >> sharks don't like people. sharks done like the way people taste. sharks like fish. i'm not a fish. >> incredibly, dave keeps his lip, but the shark does so much damage the doctor has to sew 285 stitches. >> instantaneously it hurt. what actually hurt the most were

the snappers that were coming in to take a bite of my lip that was hanging. >> but just three days later, dave resumes his kissing hijinks. >> it's just a hazard of the job. one shark bite is not going to deter me from doing what i love. guadalupe island, mexico, december, 2008. a fearless pair takes to the ocean in search of jaws. a massive 15-foot great white chomps down on a bloody chunk of bait. what happens next is caught on camera. a terrifying attack and a desperate escape. patrick walsh and paul campo have a couple dozen years'

experience swimming with sharks. >> definitely an adrenaline junkie and really enjoy the outdoors. scuba diving is a new passion for me. always wanted to be in the water. >> i've been diving for about 28 years. as soon as i break the surface of that water, all those problems that are going on in everyday life just disappear and i'm just alone with myself and the creatures in the ocean. >> always seeking new adventure, the two head south, where the big boys play. >> this site is off the island of guadalupe. it's about -- i think about 160 miles off the coast of baja, california. >> i had a little bit of apprehension on the way out about being that close to the top predator in the ocean. >> it takes them a full 24 hours to reach their destination, but the payoff is spectacular. >> because you've got really

warm water and tons of sharks. yeah, on the first day we definitely had an exciting moment. we had a shark actually -- a big female come in and she grabbed hold of one of the baits. >> and right at the bottom where i was filming out of the bottom of the cage. >> you could hear the noise. you could feel the impact. >> knocked my camera back, bruised my hand a little bit and swam right off. >> it was a thrilling experience, and, you know, i felt safe. it definitely put a little bit of perspective to the whole thing. >> the next day, that thrilling feeling turns to terror as the king of the ocean returns with a vengeance. >> the second day we would see this one shark coming way from the deep. >> she breached the water, took the bait in with one bite, and when she came back in, she just came straight at us. >> this two-ton monster wants more than a snack. she's on the prowl for an underwater manwich.

>> right away, you know, i knew that, you know, probably my life was in jeopardy. a lot of things can happen. >> when she hit, it was like a car accident. >> all i was seeing that the eyes and nose of that fish. >> the shark snapped the whole front of this cage off and came right inside with us. >> at that point it was stuck in the cage. >> paul is a sitting duck in the cage that is meant to protect him. >> i thought paul had been bit and i was next. i knew i had to get out of the cage. this was a 16-foot shark in an eight-foot cage. couldn't see a scenario where i was going to get out of this unharmed. >> i could not see. and you knew it was right there. you could feel it right on your

back. >> this is the great white's territory, its turf. seemingly trapped, the divers are terrified. >> i moved to the side where i knew that there was a trap door and slid that open. i basically sprung out of the water. >> within seconds, the divers turn almost certain death into a dramatic escape. >> the shark was able to shake loose the cage. the dive masters were able to just pull me completely right out of the water. >> i was out of the water on the swim step, and i just remember distinctly, whooo! >> a moment like that happens, time really slows down. it was like it happened for ten minutes instead of 15 seconds. >> the divers feel it just wasn't their day to die.

but they know that things may not always turn out so lucky for those who dare to trespass. >> there's always a danger when you are out with wild animals. anything can happen at any moment. >> for both of us to come out of it unscathed is amazing. just completely amazing. i was happy to make it out alive. >> 15-foot sharks, moray eels, giant whales and marlins. the sea is home to a world of fascinating and peculiar creatures. next time you set sail on the high seas, don't forget the camera. the video may be all the proof you have when the big one gets away. if you have a video, logon to our website, caughtoncamera.msnbc.com. i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of "caught on camera."

the most memorable -- >> one shot, pow right across the chops. >> most dramatic. >> someone just drops. >> most explosive stories ever seen through a lens. >> you can actually see that split second between life and death. >> it's our 100th episode and we're counting down "caught on camera's" classic clips with help from our internet gurus, real-life heroes, dare devils and more. >> when the car meets the bridge, bridge wins. >> i would say that has to hurt.