Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea

“It was shaping up to be a bad night dive when my mask broke and I was forced to come up early. The others continued diving and I was becoming a bit bored at the surface when I suddenly spotted some grey reef sharks hunting in the light of our ship. I to
(Tobias Friedrich/Nature's Best Photography)

Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at night. They are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List due to fishing and the loss of their coral reef habitat. The sinister animal, with its sleek body, can be quite aggressive when directly threatened. 

“It was shaping up to be a bad night dive when my mask broke and I was forced to come up early. The others continued diving and I was becoming a bit bored at the surface when I suddenly spotted some grey reef sharks hunting in the light of our ship. I took the opportunity and grabbed my camera to take some night shots as they came very close to check out me and our lights.” -- Nature's Best Photographer, Tobias Friedrich