Some brave divers have a close encounter with a massive great white shark around the waters off of Isla de Guadalupe. Photo information via National Geographic’s Photography Contest:
Photo and caption by David Litchfield
Cage divers confront a great white shark
Location: Isla de Guadalupe
On television, from our sofas, predators can seem fascinating, and in reality, predators such as great white sharks, cougars, and bears are intriguing creatures. However, fear ensues when these animals are reported injuring or killing people. Consequently, retribution or retaliation may occur, but these large predators are often unfairly targeted and misunderstood.
Many conflicts with large predatory animals can be avoided by keeping alert and making your presence known when visiting their environment, or by traveling in groups, or visiting certain areas (or swimming in certain waters) during particular times of the day when these animals are less active. Some hikers use bear bells [1] or pepper spray to deter aggressive animals. Also, not feeding wild animals or properly storing food will prevent food conditioning—another problem that results in human-wildlife conflicts.
Furthermore, as habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation increases, conflicts with some animals will undoubtedly increase. Most recently, “a man was attacked by a large black bear . . . in his Aspen home in the latest in a string of violent encounters with the animals this summer in the mountain community.” In Washington, after several eyewitnesses reported seeing a cougar in Seattle’s Discovery Park, the Park was closed. After several days of pursuit, the animal was captured and released in “a remote site in the Cascade foothills of Snohomish County.”
On the east coast, several sightings of great white sharks prompted several beach closings. These sightings are probably the result of an abundant food supply in the area. According to Dr. Greg Skomal, a marine biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, it’s the seals: “[T]he most motivating factor is the presence of a fairly sizable grey seal colony that has recently rebounded over the last decade in this area. Sharks are finally catching on that there’s a viable and readily available – a food resource for them.”
1BACK TO POST: Some hikers will use bear bells, though, some folks claim bear bells are merely dinner bells, since they may attract curious animals.
Videos via KOMO News and YouTube
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Image by Greg Skomal via Flickr and Dot Earth Blog
Two great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) were recently tagged off the Massachusetts coast by Division of Marine Fisheries biologist Greg Skomal and fisherman Bill Chaprales. In the western Atlantic Ocean, great white sharks are found from “Newfoundland, Canada to Argentina,” so finding great white sharks in Massachusetts’s waters isn’t unusual.
Furthermore, dramatic sightings of great white sharks aren’t unknown to the Bay State. In 2004, a female great white was found swimming in a shallow salt pond on Naushon Island (see images and videos of the magnificent beast below).
Great white sharks are a cosmopolitan species, so they’re not restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. For instance, a female great white that was tagged in South Africa “completed the first known transoceanic trip for an individual shark, traveling farther than any other shark known, more than 12,400 miles (more than 20,000 kilometers) to the coast of Australia and back again . . . in just under nine months, the fastest return migration of any swimming marine organism known.” Consequently, despite being well known in popular culture, there are still a lot of unknowns associated with great white sharks, so tagging these sharks is important to yield much needed data on the species.
The recent Massachusetts shark sightings has “prompted a swimming ban for the rest of the Labor Day weekend at some oceanside beaches in Massachusetts.” Earlier in August, “two kayakers reported that they saw what they believe was a great white shark attacking a seal off Chatham over the weekend, saying they observed a large black fin slicing through the water near a seal in distress.” More on the most recent great white shark sightings from the Boston Globe:
A local harpooner working with a state biologist placed electronic tags on two great white sharks today off the coast of Chatham.
“He did it in one shot,” said state biologist Greg Skomal, referring to harpooner Bill Chaprales, a fisherman from Marstons Mills who tagged the sharks. “We don’t swing the bat unless it’s a strike.”
The tags, which will use satellite-based technology to record the sharks’ travels, should give scientists information to help them better understand their migratory patterns.
Skomal and his team set out to identify the species of five sharks reported off the waters of Monomy Island Thursday and determined that at least one was a great white shark then. Today, they identified two more great white sharks.
Skomal, who heads the Division of Marine Fisheries shark research program, said Chaprales tagged the first great white around 9 a.m. near the southern tip of Monomoy Island and the second about a mile north of there at about 3:30 p.m. Chaprales estimated that the sharks weighed about 1,000 pounds apiece.
White sharks are not uncommon off the Massachusetts coasts, state officials said, and they urged swimmers and boaters to use caution.
In other news mentioning the great white shark, the Monterey Bay Aquarium recently supplemented its collection of marine creatures with a great white shark—the fifth since 2004, according to the Los Angeles Times:
It’s a female measuring only 5 feet 3 and weighing just 80 pounds, but she boasts the classic great white look and manner.
She was obtained off Malibu with the help of a spotter plane and commercial purse seiners and it’s hoped those who visit the aquarium to view the shark will come away with a greater appreciation for the embattled species.
The four previous white sharks, which were viewed by an estimated 2 million people, were tagged and released after stays of various length. Scientists tracked them as part of an ongoing monitoring project that also involves other white sharks that were tagged and released without spending time in captivity.
The last captive shark was released from the aquarium after only 11 days and tracked to the Channel Islands area. The previous shark, released after a five-month stay, was followed for an extended period as it swam to and past Cabo San Lucas, then up into the Sea of Cortez off Baja California, where it remained for weeks before its tag life expired.
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The image shows a male great white (Carcharodon carcharias) leaping out of the ocean. Apparently, these large great whites prefer the high fat content of mammalian prey found around Seal Island.
Purchase this image, which captures an amazing display of great white behavior here.
On the Net: Eric Cheng’s Home
See more Shark Week on The Conservation Report
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A commercial fisher, netting in shallow Tuggerah Lake, Australia, claims to have netted a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), which may have been around 21-feet in length. To estimate the size of the great white, the commercial fisher used his 18-foot boat as a reference, and he claimed that the shark was larger than his boat. The fisher reported taking the shark in nets “he had cast off Canton Beach, at the northern end of the lake.” Despite the fisher’s account, some shark experts strongly doubt the encounter.
However, great white sharks have been recorded swimming in shallow saltwater lagoons before. In 2004, a “1,700-pound female shark” was found swimming in a saltwater lagoon on Naushon Island, which is located near Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The 14-foot female great white shark “swam in circles in a shallow area filled with smaller fish,” but the shark was eventually coaxed into deeper water. Additionally, Tuggerah Lake has been visited by great white sharks in the past. From The Central Coast Express Advocate:
It is the second great white found in Tuggerah Lake since 2005. It comes on top of three other shark sightings in the lakes system in as many years. Experts fear the great white may be trapped in the lake unable to reach the sea because The Entrance channel is too shallow.
But the channel has been open to the ocean since last year’s June long weekend storms and after recent king tides others, including senior NSW Fisheries staff, believe large sharks could come and go as they pleased.
Most agreed it would have entered the lake chasing schools of fish, probably mullet which were in abundance until recently.The commercial fisherman, understood to have been a 20-year veteran, was in hiding from the media yesterday.
But his story prompted Tuggerah Lakes police to issue a public warning to lake users.
Chief-Insp Tim Winmill said the fisherman was known to NSW Fisheries as a “reliable witness” and regarded the tale of his encounter as believable.
Chief-Insp Winmill said the fisherman reported the shark was caught in his net off Canton Beach.
He said the fisherman dragged the shark’s head out of the water in front of his 5.5m boat and looked back to see the tail extend well past the back of the boat.
He estimated it at 7m long.
Tuggerah Lakes Volunteer Coast Guard commander Grahame Bissaker spoke to the fisherman.
“He said he was very frightened and he had to cut his nets to let it free, there was nothing else he could do. He said the shark bumped his boat and he thought it was going to roll it.”
“Everyone needs to know there is a shark in Tuggerah Lakes and to stay out of the water,” Mr Bissaker said. “Even if you are in a canoe or kayak if the shark hit those, you’d be gone.”
It follows a shark sighting in the same area in January 2006 when people saw a large fin in the water about 200m offshore.
This was not far from where a baby 2m great white shark was found tangled in nets in September 2005.
Furthermore, in spite of the title from the TIME magazine article: “Attack of the Freshwater Shark?,” which highlights the recent Tuggerah Lake encounter, Tuggerah Lake is brackish, because both freshwater and saltwater flow into the coastal lagoon. Furthermore, it has been reported that the fluctuations of salinity influences the species composition of the lake. Freshwater shark attacks are most likely to occur from encounters with bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), because their physiology allows them to enter freshwater for long periods of time. More via TIME:
It was around 4 degrees Celsius on the lake at 5.30 am on Wednesday, making it the coldest morning of the year in these parts. Wrapped in several layers of clothing, the fisherman was startled by splashing noises coming from underneath his craft, then alarmed by a recurring thudding sound, as though something were striking it. Having rushed to one side of the boat, he peered down to see a gigantic fish trapped in a net….
“He said it was bigger than his boat,” reported local Chief Inspector Tim Winmill. “He’s got an 18-ft. boat and he said it would have been 21 ft. (6.5 m.).” Winmill said police had no reason to doubt the fisherman’s story: he was known to local authorities as a responsible member of the industry. As a result, police have issued a warning to anyone using Tuggerah and two smaller, connected lakes to take extreme care. Though the water at this time of year is numbingly cold, it’s school holidays in New South Wales until the end of next week and some children won’t necessarily be deterred from swimming or other activities.
How would the ocean-going monster have gotten into a freshwater lagoon? Tuggerah Lake is connected to the Pacific Ocean through a tidal channel called The Entrance. It is 12 km long and 4 km. wide, with an average depth of 6-7 m, roughly 20 feet. “It’s not a big lake,” said Chief Inspector Winmill, “but it’s a bloody big shark — if it’s true.”
Some images from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries of the 14-foot female great white shark found in a Cape Cod salt pond during 2004:
More images, videos, and press releases can be found at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and you can read more of The Conservation Report’s Shark Week here.
