Today’s New York Times features a story about moving through the ocean blue with the sharks, as a shark. Tired of studying great whites under artificial circumstances––through a cage, tossing chum (live shark kibble)––Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques, decided to get under their skin, literally, so he could observe them without altering their behavior.

He got the idea for the 14-foot, one-person shark submarine from a childhood book, Tin Tin’s Rackham le Rouge, he told the Times. In an interview on the diving site DeeperBlue.net, Cousteau explained that its ribbed steel structure is covered with “skin flex,” a rubbery material used for aliens and dinosaurs in films. The mini sub is also filled with water and can cruise at up to five knots; Cousteau wears a wetsuit inside of it for several hours at a time, according to the NYT story. And its name is Troy, “for another animal-shaped vehicle with invaders inside.” (NYT)

In the process of making a shark’s-eye-view documentary, Cousteau is also studying “the differences between Mexican great white sharks and those found off Australia,” writes Divester.com. Apparently the Aussie sharks “accept Troy as one of their own, and they defer to it as they would to a dominant female,” says Divester.

For those looking to see (or avoid) great whites for themselves, the creatures travel throughout the world’s temperate oceans, but are most concentrated off the coasts of Australia and South Africa. If you dare, plenty of outfitters in those spots will let you climb into a shark cage and watch up close. Maybe it’s a matter of time before we can all slide into a 1000-pound shark suit-sub and have intimate, non-verbal chats with our new, less-scary great white friends. Or not.

Photo by Mike Hoover, from NYT.com.