Swimming with Sharks
By Carlson Wakefield
June 6, 2023
Before Gibbs Kuguru ’12 was on Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” studying the genetics of black tipped reef sharks in the Maldives, he was a college freshman at John Brown University, on the path to becoming a doctor.
“I was in the pre-med program at JBU just going through the regular course work and realizing that, while it was interesting, it didn’t grab my attention or spark my creativity,” Kuguru said. “I was studying for the tests and doing the homework, but it was still just not clicking,” Kuguru said.
But when Kuguru’s program advisor Dr. Wakefield, professor of biology, suggested he explore marine biology, things started to click. In 2011, Kuguru took the marine biology course at JBU and found his passion.
“I loved it,” he said. “I loved the integration of knowledge and physical skill within the discipline; also diving with really cool marine animals didn’t hurt.”
But even after finishing the course, Kuguru still had questions.
“It all was really fun and interesting, but I didn’t know how I would apply it in the real world,” he said, “until Dr. Wakefield sent me a flyer for a shark diving internship in South Africa.”
At first, Kuguru was intimidated not only about working with such a formidable predator, but also by the physical demands of the internship.
“It was really scary. I didn’t know if it was going to be safe. I didn’t know if I could handle the physical component of working with great whites,” he said. “But I thought maybe this is the final lesson that I needed to be taught.”
Kuguru ended up living in South Africa for six years, working with a shark diving company and doing great white research in Mossel Bay.
Since then, Kuguru has traveled the globe, studying genetics in different species of sharks in the Maldives, South Africa, and currently The Netherlands where he is studying genomics at Wageningen University and Research.
His career path has been anything but easy, experiencing a “career low” when traveling to the Maldives for black tipped reef shark research in 2019. Kuguru had been tasked to film a segment for Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” a segment that garners over 20 million viewers over the seven-day period.
Even with a decade of shark research under his belt, Kuguru had never set up a research program by himself. “It took me a while to organize everything, and the show starts filming,” he said. “I’m there with my gear ready to go, I’m waist deep in water with all of these sharks swimming around me. I throw my hook in the water and the sharks aren’t biting.”
Kuguru said that was one of the hardest moments of his life, because he had been studying sharks for 10 years and thought he knew the animals, but then they responded completely differently than he expected.
Kuguru called on his adaptability and resourcefulness and called in a friend who helped him change strategies.
“We had to change our method of fishing, and we were able to catch these sharks and really understand their conservation needs in an area that has been overfished for decades,” he said.
In 2022, Kuguru was recognized by National Geographic for excellence in his field. He was featured as one of 15 National Geographic Wayfinder Award recipients, an award that recognizes and elevates individuals who are leading a new age of exploration through science, education, conservation, technology and storytelling.
“I sort of see the Wayfinder Award as a recognition of time spent,” Kuguru said. “Everyone in my cohort that I met has spent 10 to 15 years honing their skills. The award is an injection of support so that we can continue to do what we’re already doing in a better way.”
Kuguru has been instrumental in his field, earning a master’s degree in genetics research on hammerheads at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and conducting first-of-their-kind experiments with great whites.
“To me, what’s important is telling the stories about these sharks,” Kuguru said. “They’re not one-dimensional man eaters, they’ve got personalities, they have preferences. It’s a whole array of things that we can learn about them. It almost feels limitless.”
While Kuguru has traveled all across the globe, he still carries memories and lessons he learned while in school at JBU.
“There’s this air on campus that your behavior and your actions — they really matter,” he said. “There’s this preparation for you to be the best kind of person you can be. My time at JBU taught me to be courteous and kind and considerate and prepared my character to survive in cultures that are incredibly varied.”
With over a decade of shark research, a Wayfinder Award and multiple appearances on national television, Kuguru says it’s still only the beginning.
“Nat Geo has just elevated my work,” he said. “But I see this as more of a starting point for me. It’s definitely not where the credits roll, more like the beginning of a chapter.”
