Tag: Great white shark

Watch: Great white shark hunts seal just feet from beachgoers

Graphic video footage captured Thursday off Provincetown, Mass., serves as a vivid reminder that great white sharks will swim into very shallow water in pursuit of prey.

Graphic video footage captured Thursday off Provincetown, Mass., is a vivid reminder that great white sharks will swim into very shallow water in pursuit of prey.

The footage, captured by Corey Nunes and shared to Facebook by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, shows a white shark devouring a seal just feet from shore at Race Point Beach. (Viewers are cautioned that blood appears briefly in the footage.)

“This is another good reminder that white sharks hunt in shallow waters off [Cape Cod] and, based on tagging data, we know that October is a peak season month for white shark activity off the Cape,” the Conservancy wrote in its description.

https://www.facebook.com/atlanticwhiteshark/posts/3426123937468897

The first video shows the shark herding the seal almost against the shore as onlookers react with laughter and awe. “I’m outta here! I’m outta here!” one of them says jokingly, apparently because the action is so close.

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The second video is more of the same, with the predation resuming a bit farther from shore.

Great white sharks congregate off Cape Cod seasonally to prey on seals. Tagging-based research by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, in partnership with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, began in mid-June.

However, peak activity is late summer through early fall. Last year, scientists tagged a record 50 great white sharks, beginning with the tagging of 15 sharks in July and ending with the tagging of seven sharks in November.

–Generic white shark fin image is courtesy of ©Pete Thomas

Surfer’s brush with great white shark caught on video

Matt Wilkinson heard a nearby splash as he paddled his surfboard Wednesday, but could not see the shark.

Matt Wilkinson heard a nearby splash as he paddled his surfboard Wednesday, but could not see the great white shark.

The former pro surfer also heard a drone whirring overhead, and its recorded message urging him to hurry ashore.

Wilkinson paddled safely to shore at Sharpes Beach in New South Wales, Australia, sensing that he had just been involved in a close call with an apex predator.

“I got to the shore feeling a bit weird and the lifeguards showed me the footage and I realized how close it came without knowing it was there,” Wilkinson told Surf Life Saving New South Wales. “It looks like it’s going for my leg and it changed its mind.”

The footage, captured via an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operated by Surf Life Saving NSW, shows a small white shark in front of Wilkinson and circling to approach from behind.

The shark is only inches from Wilkinson’s feet before it quickly veers, perhaps spooked by the large drone.

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It was not the first close shark encounter for Wilkinson, who was in the lineup at J-Bay in South Africa when fellow World Surf League competitor Mick Fanning was harassed by a larger white shark in 2015.

“I feel grateful and pretty weird at the same time but happy it decided not to go me,” Wilkinson told Surf Life Saving NSW. “When I saw the footage I saw the similarities, like I had a yellow leg rope on and Mick’s board was yellow is what I was thinking about when I came in.

“I called my wife because I didn’t want her to see the footage before I saw it. She doesn’t want me surfing for a couple of days now.”

The government-funded UAV program, designed to detect the presence of sharks and other threats, is operated by Surf Life Saving NSW and used at 34 locations.

Said UAV operator Beau Monks of Wilkinson’s encounter: “[The shark] sort of came out of nowhere, then went right up to Matt. It moved pretty fast. I was tracking it and notified the lifeguards and used the speaker on the drone to get everyone out of the water. Within 10 seconds it was at the surfer and five seconds later it was gone.”

Sharpes Beach was ordered closed until Thursday.

–Image courtesy of Surf Life Saving NSW

 

Spine of large shark discovered by lifeguards on cleanup duty

Lifeguards performing a beach cleanup in Wellfleet, Mass., on Thursday collected the backbone of what’s believed to be a large great white shark.

Lifeguards performing a beach cleanup in Wellfleet, Mass., on Thursday collected the backbone of what’s believed to be a large great white shark.

The rare discovery of a remarkably intact vertebrae was made on Newcomb Hollow Beach by Ethan Craven, Lydia Bicknell and Bri Griffin of Wellfleet Lifeguards, as they gathered debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Teddy.

“We think the animal was buried on the beach at some point and preserved; the storm uncovered this part of the skeleton,” Suzy Blake, co-head lifeguard, told For The Win Outdoors. “During storms like Teddy our beaches shift quite a bit. We get many things washed ashore from the waves, but also many things uncovered by wave action and the wind.”

Several comments beneath Friday’s Facebook announcement pertained to the seemingly immaculate condition of vertebrae, considering that sharks are cartilaginous and do not have bones.

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Greg Skomal, senior fisheries scientist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, explained to For The Win Outdoors: “Although primarily cartilage, shark backbones have high amounts of calcium, which allows them to preserve well.”

Blake said the spine measured five feet and the largest vertebra measured 3.5 inches in diameter. Skomal did not speculate how long the shark might have been.

Wellfleet Lifeguards’ Facebook post included this description: “Yesterday, our guards made an amazing find during their morning beach sweep: a full spine of a marine animal.  Upon further investigation (aka googling) and consultation with a few friends of ours (aka marine scientists) who know a thing or two about sharks, it’s likely this is the spinal column of a White Shark, and a pretty large one at that. ⁣⁣

“We’re sorry this guy had to perish, but happy that he (or she) left a little something behind as a message from the past about his (or her) visit to the Wellfleet beaches.”

–Images courtesy of Wellfleet Lifeguards

Huge great white shark swims close by; ‘Don’t go in the water!’

Cape Cod is known for great white shark sightings as a colony of seals in the region makes for an enticing menu for the apex predator. Video shows the latest sighting.

Cape Cod is known for great white shark sightings as a colony of seals in the region makes for an enticing menu for the apex predator.

Some sightings are spectacular. Some are simply amazing because of the proximity of the sighting, such as the one on Labor Day near Race Point Beach in Provincetown.

The huge dorsal fin of a great white shark was spotted as it swam back and forth for about 10 minutes, and as close as 10 feet from shore, according to Tamzen Tortolani McKenzie, who captured video of the sighting. It was shared by MassLive on YouTube.

“The morning started calm, quiet and overcast,” McKenzie wrote on Facebook. “Often the seals hang by the shore, but today was different. The dogs and screaming kids couldn’t spook them off. A good friend Peter said, ‘They are not moving because there’s a shark out there.’”

Sure enough, an hour later a great white shark made its presence known to beach-goers, its dorsal fin rising above the water line.

In the video you can hear a girl’s voice shout, “Don’t go in the water!”

“Pretty amazing!” McKenzie wrote. “And no injuries! It was quite a sight to see!”

She thought the shark was up to 14-feet long and upwards of 4-feet wide. Whatever the measurements, it’s safe to say that the dorsal fin indicated it was huge, and there was good reason the seals were hiding out near shore.

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Apparently, great white shark sightings have been constant in the region.

MassLive reported that “the shark season on Cape Cod this summer has been a busy one, with great white sharks seen regularly off shore near Orleans, Plymouth, Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet and elsewhere.”

Stay out of the water, indeed.

Photos of seals along shoreline and the great white shark swimming close by courtesy of Tamzen Tortolani McKenzie.

Baby great white shark grabs spotlight on whale-watching trip

Whale watchers out of Newport Beach last week enjoyed a bonus sighting in the form of a newborn great white shark that swam near the boat.

Whale watchers out of Newport Beach last Tuesday enjoyed a bonus sighting in the form of a newborn great white shark that swam alongside the vessel for several minutes.

The accompanying video footage and still images were captured from aboard the Newport Legacy by Delaney Trowbridge for Davey’s Locker Sportfishing and Whale Watching.

Trowbridge told For The Win Outdoors that the encounter with the 3- to 4-foot shark occurred one mile off Crystal Cove State Park in Laguna Beach.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4BOEjlEaK4]

“It was an unbelievably lucky moment,” she said. “We almost never see sharks at the surface, and when we do the conditions are usually not nice enough to get a clear view of the animal. You usually just see a few inches or less of the dorsal fin.”

RELATED: Anglers in awe as ‘ginormous’ great white shark circles boat

Also, small white sharks spook easily, but Trowbridge added, “This shark was very relaxed with us.”

Asked to confirm the ID, Chris Lowe, Director of the Shark Lab at California State University – Long Beach, told FTW Outdoors: “Looks like a white shark to me and based on its swimming pattern and body shape, I would say relatively newborn.

Lowe added, “There is a lot of shark activity along the coast right now, all juveniles and a lot of young-of-the-year (born this spring).”

Adult white sharks, which can measure to about 20 feet, typically prey on seals and sea lions near island rookeries. It’s not known precisely where they give birth.

Juvenile white sharks, which are on their own since birth, spend a lot of time in shallow coastal waters, where they feed on rays and other bottom fishes.

These are the sharks most commonly featured in video footage captured by drone operators.

However, sightings of newborn white sharks are rare, especially from aboard whale-watching boats, which typically operate well beyond the surf zone.

Said Trowbridge: “This one just calmly cruised beside us and everyone on board was completely amazed by just how well you could see this animal.

“Eventually we had to keep moving, though, and left it behind us. But within a half-hour we had come across over 1,000 common dolphins, two humpback whales, and thousands of birds.”

–Images and video courtesy of ©Delaney Trowbridge/Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching 

Anglers in awe as ‘ginormous’ great white shark circles boat

A great white shark encounter Monday off of Ocean City, Md., rendered members of a fishing charter delirious for the three-plus minutes.

A great white shark mesmerized anglers for several minutes Monday off Ocean City, Md., as the enormous predator slowly circled the boat.

“That is massive,” one man states in the accompanying footage.

“That thing is absolutely ginormous,” another chimes in.

The footage, captured by Steven White from aboard the Fish Finder with Capt. Mark Sampson, shows the adult white shark appear alongside the boat, rendering the anglers and crew somewhat delirious.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl8KK1scViA&w=560&h=315]

“I’m zoomed all the way out and I can’t get him in the whole camera lens,” White says.

“She has got to be pregnant,” another man observes, prompting agreement from another: “If she’s that big there’s no way she’s not pregnant.”

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Another man, perhaps the captain, says the shark is “the biggest one I’ve ever seen.”

Click Orlando reported that experts who watched the video estimated the shark to measure 15 feet and weigh 2,000 pounds.

White, who charted the boat with friends, said the shark was attracted by the scent of fish, and at 3:13 the shark bares its teeth as it moves in for a carcass dangling on a hook.

Great white shark sightings off Maryland are not unheard of, but it’s rare for anglers to capture lengthy encounters on video.

–Image courtesy of Steven White

Great white shark chased by prey in odd encounter

In an extraordinary sight rarely captured in video, a school of tuna is seen following a meandering great white shark with a goal in mind.

In an extraordinary sight rarely captured in video, a school of tuna is seen following a meandering great white shark with the apparent goal of using the shark as a scratching post.

Erik Jones, who shares aerial footage on social media via Dronsey, shot the video showing the tuna lined up behind the shark. You can see at least two sharks—one vividly—rubbing against the tail end of the shark. All that action comes within the first 16 seconds, after which the shark keeps swimming and the tuna eventually disperse.

“It was pretty interesting to see the prey chasing the predator in this footage from Baja Mexico,” Jones said in his post. “The tuna was following behind as the large white shark meandered through the water. Sometimes the tuna would rub against the shark’s caudal fin and dart back into the school of fish. It was amazing to witness and did leave me wondering what exactly what was going on down there.”

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Dr. Chris Lowe, professor and director of the California State University, Long Beach Shark Lab, told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors that he’s heard of lots of different species rubbing on sharks and across a range of shark species.

“My guess is, that footage is from Guadalupe Island,” Lowe told For The Win Outdoors. “I’ve heard of yellowtail, pilot fish and remora rubbing on white sharks [like] that at Guadalupe Island as well.

“I guess if you’ve got ectoparasites that make you itch, there is no better scratching post than the sandpaper skin of a shark,” Lowe told For The Win Outdoors. “Probably not wise to scratch on the front end, though.

“I particularly like how these fish are rubbing on the tail – those tunas have clearly been around the block a time or two.”

Lowe told us he’s only seen video of this a few times, adding, “I’ve had a few hardcore Guadalupe divers say they’ve seen it but didn’t get it on camera.”

Photos courtesy of Erik Jones.

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Kayak fisherman’s ill-advised move invites shark attack

A kayak fisherman fought off a great white shark that chomped down on his boat 30 seconds after unintentionally prompting the attack.

A kayak fisherman off Northern California fought off a great white shark that chomped down on his boat moments after he bled out a fish he had just caught, evidently unintentionally inviting the shark attack by doing so.

Michael Thallheimer Jr. of Eureka was camping in Shelter Cove in Southern Humboldt County when he decided to go fishing by himself Monday morning around 6:15, according to the North Coast Journal and Lost Coast Outpost.

“I had caught two small ling cod and then caught a large one about 36 inches or so,” Thallheimer told North Coast Journal. “I put it on my fish clip. I cut through the gills and it pumps all the blood out. As soon as I did that, it wasn’t 30 seconds after, that [the shark] attacked.

“All of a sudden, it was attached to the side of my kayak.”

He described it as a 16- to 18-foot great white shark.

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“I saw a nose and an eyeball with no soul,” he told the Journal. “That animal doesn’t give a [darn] … [The shark bit] right in the middle of the kayak directly next to my knee and thigh, about 6 inches away.

“I slapped the thing as hard as I could on the end of its nose.”

It was enough to prompt the shark to let go. It then whipped its tail hard, hitting the kayak.

“It gave me a good thump, [but] it didn’t damage the kayak. I think he was pretty scared. He turned and split as fast as it could.”

Thallheimer immediately headed for shore, pedaling with his feet. Then he suddenly realized “the paddle was not there.” He told the Journal the shark had bitten through the rope that held the paddle to the kayak, so he circled around to retrieve his paddle and headed in.

Halfway back to the harbor, Thallheimer realized his kayak was filling with water; the Journal reported the shark had bitten a hole in the side of the kayak. He phoned 911 but as he was talking, a wave rolled the kayak, sending him into the water and his phone and keys to the bottom of the ocean.

He scrambled to get back into the kayak only to have it roll again and again.

“Every time I would pull it right side up, it would flip over,” he told the Journal.

“[Eventually] I got off and held on to the side of it…I was in the water maybe 15 minutes…It never left my mind the whole time that [the shark] might be going to come back. I had a freshly killed fish dangling around my feet because it was clipped to my kayak…I kept telling myself, ‘Be calm. Panic is not going to do any good.’”

A radio attached to his lifejacket alerted him that help was on the way.

“Fishermen responded, pulled him into their boat and dragged his kayak back to the marina,” Shelter Cove Fire spokesperson Cheryl Antony told Lost Coast Outpost. “He was hypothermic but suffered no injuries.

“He said he was so scared when he realized his boat was sinking and he didn’t know where the shark was. He was thankful to be alive because it could have gone really bad to be out there all by himself. Anything could have happened.”

Photos of rescue of kayak fisherman and rope that shark bit through courtesy of Shelter Cove Fire. Generic images of kayak fisherman and great white shark courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

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Great white shark remarkably fast in 50-yard dash

Great white sharks are not speedsters, so for Matt Lemond it was surprising to see a young white shark sprint across the surface at 20 mph.

Great white sharks are not known for their speed, so for Matt Larmand it was surprising to watch a young white shark sprint across the surface at perhaps 20 mph.

“He was going at least 20 mph,” Larmand told For The Win Outdoors. “I was going full throttle on the drone trying to catch up to him.”

Larmand, an licensed drone pilot for Dana Wharf Whale Watching, captured the accompanying footage Thursday from his home on Capistrano Beach in Dana Point, Ca.

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Capo Beach, as the community is referred to by locals, sometimes attracts juvenile white sharks in late spring and summer.

The sharks, often spotted just beyond the surf zone, prey on stingrays and other bottom fishes until they become large enough – 12-plus feet – to move offshore to feed on seals and sea lions.

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Larmand launched his drone after receiving reports of recent sightings. It was his first sighting of the season and he estimated the shark to measure 8 to 10 feet.

“I’m not sure what triggered him to burst into speed like that; I’ve never seen one do that,” he said, adding that the sprint covered about 50 yards.

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Chris Lowe, Director of the Shark Lab at California State University – Long Beach, told For The Win Outdoors that he the shark appears to have been spooked by the drone’s shadow.

“Those neonates are pretty skittish,” Lowe said. “Seeing the drone shadow gave it a pretty good scare.”

Lowe added:

“I think it brings about the point of one of our hypotheses as to why young white sharks use beach habitats.  We aren’t sure where white sharks give birth, we know they do not exhibit parental care, so babies are completely on their own.  They probably hang out in shallow water near beaches because that is a safer place with very few large predators, lots of easy to capture prey (stingrays), and the water’s warmer.

“This response to the shadow of the drone supports one reason why they hang out in shallow waters. They don’t know what is a threat and the safest behavior is to flee when they experience something unknown.

“What’s also interesting is that babies will exhibit this rapid flight in one direction, while older sharks will do a loop around when scared.  This doubling back on a potential threat is a typical predator behavior to prevent a rear attack.”

Larmand spotted the same shark later Thursday, “cruising up and down the coast” at normal speed (see second video).

Mako sharks are the fastest sharks, capable of bursts in excess of 40 mph as they chase prey such as tuna, mackerel, and swordfish.

Great white sharks, which can measure to about 20 feet, become much bulkier as adults and rely on ambush to catch their prey.

Catch of 15-foot great white shark honors hit-and-run victim

A 15-foot great white shark was caught Wednesday off Hilton Head, S.C., and named after a girl who was killed in a hit-and-run accident.

A 15-foot great white shark was caught Wednesday off Hilton Head, S.C., and named after a 14-year-old girl who was killed in a 2016 hit-and-run accident.

Capt. Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing tagged and released the adult female shark – his first white shark catch of 2020 – and afterward named her Grace.

Grace Sulak in 2015. Photo courtesy of Kristen Sulak

“We’re naming her Grace after an aspiring marine biologist Grace Sulak [who] was killed in a hit-and-run May 7, 2016 on I-26,” Michalove wrote Thursday on Facebook. “The white truck that caused the accident was never found.”

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Sulak, a member of the Bluffton High School track team, was riding in a car with her best friend and her friend’s mother when their vehicle was run off the road by the driver of a white truck, who fled the scene.

Sulak was the only person killed in the accident, which remains under investigation.

Michalove, who tags white sharks that have migrated south after spending the summer off Cape Cod, is assisting in a long-term scientific project with Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and Megan Winton of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

The movements of sharks tagged by the group can be followed via its “Sharktivity” app.

–Images showing the great white shark are courtesy of Chip Michalove. Image showing Grace Sulak in 2015 is courtesy of Kristen Sulak