On Wednesday 26 November a large whale carcass washed to shore at Muizenberg. The carcass was evidence that some out-of-the-ordinary feeding activities had been taking place at sea. Shark bites were evident all over the dead whale and five shark sightings were recorded by Shark Spotters that day. On inspection of the bites it showed many of them to be from white sharks.
White sharks have a diverse diet incorporating fish, sharks, rays, seals, squid, crabs and even dead whales. There is no record of white sharks attacking live large whales as whales can be aggressive and may pose a threat to the sharks. Calves may be vulnerable and from personal observation a mother Southern Right Whale will position herself in between her calf and a white shark when it gets too close for comfort.
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One of the most unique things about the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) is its direct connection to education through its sister organization, The Island School. The Island School is a semester based study abroad program for US and Bahamian high school students. One of the core aspects of The Island School curriculum is the collaborative research programs with CEI. This program allows small groups of students a chance to be involved with real life primary research. Six of this semester’s students have been out and about with the CEI shark team running baited video sets and hauling longlines, learning about the research process, sharks and shark research as they go. They have been a great team this semester…….
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Welcome to the new SOS HD productions blog. I want to use this first post to introduce myself and explain what I’ll be using this blog for.
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SOSF Researcher Alison Kock appeared on ABC’s Nightline last night discussing her work into great white sharks. ABC’s Nick Watt spent a day out with Alison and fellow Shark Angel Julie Andersen cage-diving with these amazing creatures, hopefully learning enough along the way to dispel some of negative connotations that accompanying these greatly misunderstood predators.
Find out all about his experience her
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Just a little update to say one of the research scientists we support working on whale sharks in the Seychelles, David Rowat, is featured in the BBC’s Natural World special, Whale Shark! which aired yesterday on BBC2 in the UK. The programme appears to have caught the media’s attention, with articles discussing whale shark research appearing in the Daily Telegraph, BBC News, and the Sydney Morning Herald amongst others.
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