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>> don't try to grab a bite and run away. >> the water is filled with chum, fish parts and blood. a number of sharks are already circling the boat. so it's time to go. to get to the bottom, i climb into a cage which is lowered about 20 feet to the ocean floor. mike's already there scouring for any sharks. then he signals for me to swim out. almost immediately, my weight belt falls off. struggling with that is the last thing you want to do around great whites. the current is really strong and mike has me hold on to a rock to stay in place. visibility is low. but then, suddenly the sharks come i...

It's hard to believe you're about to actually do this. the second reaction is a surge of adrenaline. it definitely gets your heart beating. mike ruddson knows that better than anyone. he's dived with great whites without a cage hundreds of times. he once even caught a ride on a great white's dorsal fin. he insists these animals might be top predators but they're not the man-eating machines so often portrayed in movies. we decided to take him up on his offer to dive with sharks without a cage to see the great whites in their natural state. what do i need to know before going down? >> whatever y...

When great white sharks start to circle your boat, the feeling is unsettling. 15 feet long, thousands of pounds, these are the animals of so many nightmares. >> this is a famous shark, ely. >> we've come to dive with the great whites to get an up-close look at them and the battle that's being waged around them. >> please do not go down unless we tell you to. >> mike takes tourists cage diving with great white sharks off the coast of south africa. >> and then you can lean back and be comfortable. >> it's become a big business but it's also, he says, a conservation effort. he thinks if people ca...

>> mike ruddson's so sure we're not on the shark's menu, he stakes his life on it. he's one of the few people in the world willing to swim with great white sharks without a cage. he's been doing it now for ten years. he believes to understand the true nature of great whites, you have to do it without a cage. you have to meet the animal on its own terms. so we decided to join ruddson under water so we, too, can come face to face with this most feared predator of the sea without a cage. it gets your heart beating. it doesn't take much; an everyday moment can turn romantic at a moment's notice. a...

They're keeping their distance, gliding by slowly, gracefully. it's remarkable to see them like this, to be so exposed to an animal that's so feared. mike warned me they don't like the sound of air bubbles and told me to hold my breath when they got near. truth is, my heart's pounding so fast, holding my breath is almost impossible. at one point, there were four different sharks swimming around us. it's important to stay alert. but after a while, i'm also able to appreciate the beauty, the power of these animals. widely hunted, universally despised, capable of such destruction. and, yet, when ...