Great White Sharks: The hunter and the hunted - video
In 2013, a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution took a specially equipped REMUS "SharkCam" underwater vehicle to Guadalupe Island in Mexico to film great white sharks in the wild. They captured more than they bargained for.
Comments
Fascinating.
But at the same time, chilling.
Frightening stuff isn't it?
I'm quite obsessed with understanding shark behaviour these days. Back in June I had a shark come straight at me at Red Rocks beach (next to Point Addis - Victoria) on a super murcky day (couldn't see my feet when sitting on my board). All I heard was a loud sloshing sound and I looked around to see a bit of fin and tail fins wiggling straight towards me. I went into auto-pilot and for some reason hopped off my board (great panic logic here - somehow in that moment my board seemed like a useful shield). The shark was just 5-7m away from me at this point but it turned away. There was a wave coming right at this moment (coincidence?) and I made sure I got on it and got the heck out of there. I literally rode it into the sand. I don't know if I was on the menu and the shark changed its mind when I hopped off my board, or whether it was only ever browsing. Either way I am thankful nothing came of the encounter. I'm not too sure how big it was as the water was so murcky but judging by the distance (1m) between what seemed to be the dorsal and tail fins, it could have been 6ft/2m. No idea of species either of course either. I did resume my surf elsewhere that day as the waves were just too good! Suffice to say we should all think twice about surfing in quiet murky waters. Just you and the sharks with poor sight....
Hey there Heisenberg,
I've quite often thought exactly about your reactions when fronted with that shark you experienced, ie jumping off the board and stabbing it with the fins, or something similar, whilst shitting me pants ;) If that is what you intended to do. Luckily that situation has never arrived for myself.
As for murky waters, across the ditch, the waters are always murky green, after 20 years surfing over there I only saw one shark in a remote spot with me and a mate. The fact was that I never saw it, just felt my leggy get tugged which I thought was weird, then looked up a minute later to see my mate 100m meters away sitting on his board feet up and circle by quite a large one.
Sometimes I think its best not to know whats down there, I'm sure after all my surfing years across the ditch, who knows how many sharks were that close.....?
Haha yes I think my "cojones" were left behind. As for NZ, I grew up there and studied down south in Dunedin which I'm sure you know is a pretty sharky place with the seal colonies and all. Never thought twice about it there and never saw a shark, only seals and sea lions which will come and hassle people in the water from time to time. For some reason I get more spooked in Oz because of the numbers (200+ fatalities since 1790 or something, whereas I think there are only 9 recorded deaths in NZ since records began). That said I don't let it keep me from good waves. The reality is that if there were as many people in the water in NZ as Oz the numbers wouldn't be as contrasting, although I don't think NZ has Bull or Tiger Sharks? Has Great Whites obviously and Makos (the latter I think are only a concern for divers as they are a deeper water species). Any marine biologists care to weigh in here?
Lived in Wanaka for 10 years and surfed Duno's and the Catlins as well as the West coast regularly.
Great uncrowded cold waves, loved it;)
Poor bloody sharks.
Biting non-yielding things is never pleasant.
The speed, power and ruthlessness in which they attack is scary. Wouldn't ever see or get an early warning that it's coming. Amazing.
Check 2:03 you can see the sharks tooth falling out.
Well spotted Craig.
I guess losing teeth is par for the course when you run into things mouth first.
At 1:42 you see the shark work its jaw as it swims away.
If there was audio we would undoubtedly have heard it say 'OW'.
Check the eyes rolling back at 3.05. They only seem to fully conceal at the bite moment. Still think I would prefer to go for a thumb to the eye than reach down for the gills,, assuming anything other than an expedited poop is possible in the moment.
Yeah crazy ay, the protective cover only comes over on each bite.
They are so fast when attacking!
You will never see it coming and when it does your dead. It would be safe to say seeing one and keeping sight of it would give you piece of mind. But if it disappeared from sight we all should move very quickly and Get the fuck out of here!!!!!! I am totally mesmerised by these guys, I caught site of one a number of years ago down the south coast of N.S.W. It was BIG!! The dorsal fin was at least a metre above the water surface, guessing it could have been at least 5 metres long. I watched it for about 3 minutes just cruising about a 100m off the reef. then the Fin disappeared and so did I!! I would have made the Jamaican World Sprint Champion Usain Bolt shudder with fear! HAHAHAHA!!
A 1metre dorsal fin Kerry, cmon on ol boy that's more than the height of the average benchtop.
Ben Linden attacked , killed and eaten at Wedge Island WA by Great White. Crystal clear water 5m deep apparently. His mate said they saw it approach and it circled slowly beneath them before attacking.
I think I would rather not see it.
Ben Linden attacked , killed and eaten at Wedge Island WA by Great White. Crystal clear water 5m deep apparently. His mate said they saw it approach and it circled slowly beneath them before attacking.
I think I would rather not see it.
I saw a really big one at Freshwater Beach, about 50 metres out. Calm clear conditions, 6:15am.
I think it was one of these two. http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/giant-sharks-shock-for-water-pol...
I saw this article the day after I saw the shark. I think I saw the big one (I only saw one). I actually thought it was a whale until it righted itself before swimming back down.
I felt blessed to see such a beautiful fish.
Glad to learn they like to interact with their prey.
As my nana always said, nice manners are important.
Wrong colour stripes maybe..........SurfSafe strap one of your devices to this for a test.
Air Jaws ring of death : Vimeo
1.14 mins what a scary position to be in.
This:
jesus fucking christ.
Couldn't help but notice the device is "Yummy Yellow"
That REMUS footage is fucking AWESOME - missed it the first time, glad I've now seen it
I'm still questioning my knowledge about sharks, and how they attack, what I would / should do - that's a topic I would love to hear about. What should we do if a we encounter a shark?
Here is a basic guide on what to do when attacked by various animals.
And for a threatening water-buffalo, throw out a shaka right between it's eyes and tilt your head slightly with a dopey look on your face- a la Crocodile Dundee.
Shark mauls underwater glider: ABC online
I think there's a show on tonight on SBS Insight ?!? 830 !?!?
Anyone watch Insight ?
bugger, I thought it was on tonight not yesterday.
Yes. The accounts of the guy who helped Tadashi out of the water and the guy attacked at Evans were horrific stories. Scares the be-geezus out of ya.
Interesting discussion on the best "shark shield" device too.
SBS- on demand.
That Insight program was a crock of shit. The key issue was preventing attacks yet no-one addressed the elephant in the room - get rid of the big fuckers hanging around Ballina, Lennox, etc. Bullshit opinions about migration and juvenile GWS behaviour don't stop attacks - bullets do, though nothing said about this. What sort of idiots are we to allow GWS to attack us without any fear of retribution? We deserve to get bitten/killed if current shark-hugging attitudes prevail.
I'm not sure GWs have the mental capacity to comprehend "fear of retribution"
Fuck tween ,you sound like a seppo , get your gun and just start shooting. so conserving GWS numbers , we deserve to get eaten ?? So lets just start shooting anything and everything that you feel is a threat. I feel more threatened by right wing conservatives who don't accept climate change than sharks ,fucken shootem!!
Idiots who don't dish out retribution , should be eaten . educating ourselves on how and why is not in your philosophy , and wheres your proof its only the big ones that have a nibble......fuck get real will you!
Sharkman, you are obviously a shiny arse officeboy who has probably never been in the ocean.
Last week they put down a magpie in NSW for pecking 2 kids , but a shark kills a person and there is no response but let's study them.
That's the most insane logic I've ever heard.
just because you have a little willie and probably tiny gonads , and I have spent more time in the ocean than you have been on the planet, grew up with GWS's here in WA , still see one at least every mth in the water.
whats your solution , how the fuck do you find a guilty shark??
Or just kill the lot?
Correct.
The only good shark is a dead shark.
So you have been in the ocean for over 55 years hey. Goose.
so Correct, no gonads, little willie, a 55 year old feral fuckwit who obviously has spent little time in the water, get back on your malfunction , go find a wave pool as you will be safe moron!
Ha Ha Ha
You make Mundine look like an introvert.
If I see someone claiming a 1ft wave I will come over and say hi.
That is if you ever get out from under the bosses desk.
ah free little willie , as least your upfront about "size" , looks like you hang around 1 ' waves waiting for someone to make a claim
back to the sharks ever seen one near you in the water ,I mean sea water and not the aquarium!
I've only seen 2 up close and that was 2 too many.
You seem to know a lot about gonads , dicks, aquariums, and office stationary . Maybe you should stick to what you know.
This video categorically debunks the theory (espoused by sharkboy and similar of his ilk) that 'GWS only take an exploratory bite of a non-common food source then move on'.
Sharkboy would also be disappointed to see that Seppos are doing this research as clearly he believes that they would prefer to shoot the sharks rather than film them.
As these sharks are no threat to surfers or other coastal water users I (reluctantly) admit I would let them live. If they are in our backyard it's a different story - Remus sharkcams aren't going to help you at Ballina or Lennox.
BTW sharkboy, can you advise on any good deals on water-proof pistols that you've come across lately?
little willie and thween ,you guys don't have a clue it seems about surfing , in the ocean where sharks live.
Amazing thween you can conclude that the film proves that GWS's take more than an explority bite , your analysis is that of a professional Sharl expert , and nice to see your God complex ,"that you would probably let them live", based on your deep knowledge and that all the scientists are wrong ,because you are SharkGod, fucken hilarious
Fear little willie , yes fear of the big bad sharks , as we are not going to able to kill all sharks, its pretty obvious that you need try another sport , lawn bowls seems pretty safe, not sure if we can graft a set of gonads?
Common sense seems to have deserted our sharkboy. Hopefully he is comfortable in his ignorance and tunnel vision that prevents him from seeing the wood for the trees.
When sharkboy single-handedly saves all sharks from we evil climate change-causing right-wing extremists all of mankind will be truly grateful.
common sense,hahahhahaha,your solution is to kill anything that scares you ,like a shark , all the scientists who no way more than you and me , search for a long term solution thru scientific facts , not your ignorant emotional knee jerk reaction.
I can only imagine if a tree fell on you or a branch ,you'd cut down all the trees!
And yes at least you admit to being a right wing extremist , and of course theres no climate change , how does it feel to be in the minority?
Sharkboy, your bigotry knows (not 'no's) no bounds. First, you attack people who have commonsense approaches to saving lives (human), then you attack minorities. Maybe you're a closet right-wing extremist after all.
common sense to saving lives by killing the sharks , even though no-one knows exactly which shark actually attacked anyone , you think that's common sense?
Common sense prevails when all the expert say culling does not work , as what happened in WA , when not one GWS was caught , but 146 sepcies other sharks were caught , does this make you feel less fearful?
Bigotry , do you even know the meaning??
If you see my commentary as attacking minorities , such as you , or little willie , because the only good shark is a dead shark , have a good look at yourself as , I am voicing a calm scientific approach to dealing with the shark problem , and not knee jerk emotional BS based on someones fear!
What gets me about all the "experts" is they say in one breath they know very little about the habits, numbers etc of GWS, then in the next breath that they definitely know that their numbers haven't increased and the attacks are due to increased ocean usage.
Um how?
The expert on the Insight program filmed at Lennox pub, was overheard telling one of the guests after the program finished filming, that there is somewhere between 700 and 7,000 GWS sharks on the East Coast!
Now forgive my ignorance, but does that seem like a wild guess or good scientific backed data collection that should be included in all the studies, papers etc being used to work out the population of GWS s on the East Coast?
Could there be in fact 10,000 or more or 600 or less? Let's ask the experts! They'd know wouldn't you think?!!! Of course not, NOBODY will ever know!
In the 2 weeks that the tagging of GWS in the Ballina/Evans area was conducted, 8 were caught. When asked about how many they actually saw, the reply was that they missed a lot more than they caught. Asked percentage wise, about 10% were tagged that they saw in 2 weeks in the Ballina/Evans area.
So if you do the Maths thats approximately 80 GWS in the Ballina/Evans area in 2 weeks that they saw. That they saw! How many didn't they see?
Yep, I agree they know S.F.A about how many GWS we have on the East Coast!
So why do we have people continuing to tell the Fishos in the area, that spend most days observing what is really happening, that they have no idea?
I'm all for a scientific approach to the problem being taken when it's proven that they have a slightly better understanding of actually what the hell they are talking about!
Until then I think I'll listen to the pro and recreational fishermen, daily surfers ,pilots and any other credible eye witnesses who actually spend time on, in or above the waters of NSW Far Nth Coast, rather than people from office buildings, universities, communes, other towns, cities or states of Australia telling us what is happening in our own back yard!
(yawn).....simply not enough deaths to get excited about IMO
carry on all.
Seal , I think that between the fisherman and ocean users combined with the scientists , that is the solution.
Still wondering about burying whales on the beach , as its been confirmed that a whale was buried on the beach 2 k from gracetown.