On television, we’re use to seeing land predators such as lions take down their prey in parts of the world like Africa. However, NOAA officials had a rare opportunity to photograph several tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) attack a sick humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calf back in November 2006 off the Kailua-Kona area of Big Island, Hawaii. The scenes are dramatic, because they offer an extraordinary glimpse into the life and death struggle occurring underneath the ocean waves. From NOAA:
They also noted that little could have been done to save the animal. “Shark attacks are part of the natural world in which these animals live,” said Viezbicke. “To them an ailing marine mammal is a meal and what happened was a natural process within the marine world.”
Following the year-old mammal’s death, its carcass was towed and tied to a fish buoy approximately three miles off shore. Officials returned the next day to find the remains gone.
PHOTO CREDIT: KOSTA STAMOULIS, NOAA NMFS PERMIT # 932-1489-08.
Images found here and here. See more Shark Week on The Conservation Report
Shark attacks are increasing at a rapid pace. A shark injured a 35 -year-old British surfer sunday off the Pacific coast of Mexico. A day earlier, a surfer was killed by a shark off a nearby beach. The two attacks came a month after a shark killed a San Francisco man surfing in the same area.
It’s time to wipe out these godless killing machines!
Awesome reply to the sharks eating the whale. They are godless killing machines, that’s why the ocean isn’t a stagnant pool of filth. Stick to your area of expertise:
Republicanism and uninformed opinions. Shark fin soup anyone?
Its time for a ‘culling’ of the human race. selfish, arrogant, corrupt, greedy race of filthy parasites- we as a race are the most un-natural on the planet. If you look at it another way- sharks live in water. It is their domain. If you swim or surf in the sea you cannot be so arrogant as to get pissed off if you get eaten, stung or bitten by anything that lives there. Just the same as if you were in the jungle- if you get eaten or killed by something that lives there then that is just your tough luck. Don’t bitch about it. Your not supposed to be there. If you were, then you would have the intelligence to respect the natural world and have the initiative to survive. I get sick of all these hill billies kicking up a fuss when some dumb-ass surfer is attacked when surfing or swimming in the sea (especially in Australia) then everyone in the village goes out on a killing spree – murdering every fish in sight. FFS we don’t even do that to paedophiles and murderers who at least have the CHOICE to act differently.
We have the CHOICE to respect nature and we don’t. If you fuck with nature then you will get fucked yourself.
Nature is a beautiful thing, however cruel. We (Human race) are a cancer upon the earth and soon t here will be nothing left. We aren’t smart enough to realise that the death of everything else, the planet, spells the death of us.
FTW
‘Culling’ of the human race?
Ok why don’t we start with you?
@Sithinabout……. I agree with your views ! Unfortunately we will always have ignorant chops that think we(humans) are some sort of god!
sharks are an amazing part of the natural world…. you are commenting on some thing that you dont even understand out of stupidity and fear sanchez.. do a little research and learn something before opening your mouth, try opening your mind instead…. its the same as a snake killing a mouse.. all natural and with out it the world would have a different problem… lets focus on our worlds state instead of what we have no control over nor ever will..
this is so fake
shitinabout your just as stupid as sanchez. Good luck with your culling and stereotyping.
Shark attacks happen but its not the sharks fault, its your stupidity and lack of knowing what risks you take while in the water. I love sharks, always have, always will, even if i get bit by one, Ive raised fish they bite me when i clean the tank but you dont see me killing them, its part of freaking nature, senceless killing of sharks is stupid and will throw off the balance of the world, when there all gone fish will over populate, itll get so bad that theyll start to die,, it could cause a chain of events to take place, I respect the earth and everything on it, yeah im 18 so what, at least i know better, than to kill for fun or just because they attack people. your more likely to get stuck by lightning than to get bit by a shark anyways things people say just piss me off
shitinabout Says: “We (Human race) are a cancer upon the earth and soon t here will be nothing left. We aren’t smart enough to realise that the death of everything else, the planet, spells the death of us.” Another self-loathing Liberal speaks his useless mind, this is the same kind of self deprecating moron that voted for nobama because he felt guilty for something that occured 100 years ago. If you have to live that way, truthfully, why live at all?
you Repubs do a purty good job of living a lie. Your death would be a benefit to all.
wow, dudes, very interesting responses for these pics… for one thing there’s no need for the stupid comments about killing sharks, especially if the reason you say this is because they are trying to kill a whale. We kill more animals on the planet then all the animal species put together, especially whales… which although, i’m not speaking with proof, i think is a fair comment. really you should just look at these pics in awe at the brutal beauty of nature, and accept that we humans are really just a bunch of meat bags lol. i agree with the guys defending the sharks, its thoughtless, fearful comments like the ones displayed above, that get us into the stupid situations mankind keeps getting itself into, although we probably don’t need to go as far as culling the human race…. i just hope one day, we will truly learn to adapt and accept nature and our cultural surroundings and unite the world together, without prejudice and stereotyping… you know?
peace.
anyways, thats my 2 cents
This ist natural life.
Sharks aren’t killing machines, they are normal predators like lion or bear. The biggest murderer of nature is human.