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| Pilot whales |
| 1 July 2011, 10:21 |
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The waters off Cape Point are extremely nutrient rich and not only support the sharks and birds but also a large amount of cetacean species. On May 15th we did not have any guests booked and as the weather forecast was so good we decided to head offshore with just the Apex crew to enjoy a good day’s sharking together!
On the way out one of our new crew members, Amy, was asking me about what whales or dolphins we could possibly see. Not 30 minutes later, we came across a school of about 100 Dusky Dolphins. We had not seen this species of dolphin for nearly 3 years so it was really exciting to get close to them again.
Once out in the “deep” we had 4/5 blue sharks up at the boat. The guys were enjoying a great dive with these beautiful sharks but this was suddenly interrupted.
About 100 meters away Chris spotted a large disturbance in the water. After a closer look it appeared that a herd of wild horses was galloping towards us, such was the velocity with which this pod of pilot whales was travelling.
Chris, still struggling with his case of “orcalitis” , thought they may have been killer whales but as they raced past we identified them as pilot whales, most likely short-finned.
After a quick decision we decided to leave the blue sharks and pursue the pilot whales. Easy choice as this was only the 5th time we have seen them!
We estimated there to be about 60 animals in this pod, a mixture of adults of juveniles. They were completely unfazed by the boat but we were careful to only stop ahead of them and wait until they came across us. We then turned the engines off and just listened and watched as they cruised at about 8 knots past us. The noise of rushing water was spectacular!
A number of them were pretty curious with the boat and would dive beneath us for a really good look.
We also tracked alongside them for a while and just really enjoyed & appreciated getting such a great look at these animals.
They really are strange looking animals with a huge bulbous head. This is most likely due to the fact that they rely heavily on using sonar for navigation and feeding. They feed mostly on squid so they also need at times to dive to great depths. (Between 200 and 500 meters).
They have a parrot-like beak mouth, tiny compared to the rest of the animal and a very small eye. It was a little difficult to get a really good view of their eyes and mouth as these are only exposed very quickly while they breathe at the surface. Chris took some good photos and in some of them you can have a good look.
Their dorsal fins also vary from one animal to another. Some are really wide and thick and others are a little smaller.
There are 2 species of pilot whales, long-finned and short-finned and both occur in our waters. It is very difficult to tell the two apart but having done some reading on both species I suspect that in the 5 sightings we have had, we have seen both species.
I am still not quite sure what species we saw on Sunday but I suspect it was short-finned.
Some interesting info about them is that males live up to 40 years and females amazingly up to 63 years. Scientists do not currently know why the males die at a younger age. Males generally leave their natal school while females remain in theirs for life. Another interesting fact is that some females can nurse their calves for up to 15 years.
From reading all of this there seems to be a very strong bond between the animals in each school.
This is a species that is known to strand on a fairly regular basis and it is said, although not proven, that a single member of the school “pilots” or leads the group and that all members will follow this leader without question, even if it is to its death.
This was our fifth sighting of Pilot Whales and goes to show they we all need to keep our eyes open on the seas for these special wildlife sightings.
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| Treknets and inshore sharks |
| 18 June 2011, 08:07 |
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Dear Shark Lovers,
We have not spent a lot of time at sea this past month but the days that we have been out there have certainly been interesting and exciting whilst we have spent time with the Great white sharks inshore of the Gansbaai area.
With the onset of summer we have also been frequenting the beach seine net fishing area and have been able to release a number of large bronze whaler sharks due to the responsible fishing practices that two of these fishermen currently practice.
Finally, see below for Apex Christmas Specials for 2010.
GREAT WHITES INSHORE
Over the last 20 years of working with sharks not only our knowledge but the knowledge of Great whites in general has indeed come a long way. Since Chris began working at Seal Island back in 1996 it was apparent even then that around September each year the sharks were leaving Seal Island only to return again in early autumn. Chris had always suggested that the Great whites were patrolling the inshore waters of False Bay over this period as his own as well as anecdotal evidence suggested this. This was evident from his work with the treknet fishermen whereby not only had they caught and released a number of Great white sharks in their nets but also the amount of available food in terms of various species of fish, other species of smaller sharks and rays was apparent. Also on occasion other sharks or large fish had bite scars from what in all likelihood were Great Whites.
For years Great whites have also been spotted close to shore over our summer months in various ways. For example by passing helicopters, fishing boats close to shore and sometimes by water users such as surfers. In fact in Dec/Jan 1987 the Muizenberg beach was cleared of bathers for 6 weekends in a row ( the helicopters only patrolled on weekends and holidays in those days) due to sharks spotted by the John Rolfe rescue helicopter.
Over the years people’s awareness of Great whites close to shore has increased tremendously and with people actively looking for them the sharks are sighted on a very regular basis from September to March each year. These sharks have however always been patrolling these areas and it is only now with increased interest and vigilance that they are been seen inshore.
There are a number of theories why the Great whites are patrolling these areas but no concrete information. Our feeling is that they must be moving with the large biomass of prey items that move just beyond the backline, especially after days of onshore conditions. Some areas in False Bay are littered by broken reef systems and the white sharks could actively be feeding here as the biomass of larger bony fish often congregate here.
Surrounding the broken reefs are large patches of sandy areas close to shore and it seems as though once the sharks have fed they spend time slowly cruising these areas in a relaxed manner. Perhaps being close to the surf, the water is highly oxygenated and is often warm after days of onshore wind. Both of these attributes would help aid digestion and the conservation of energy.
There are of course other things happening that we do not understand yet. We have spent some time filming the treknet fishermen this month and on one good weather day we were filming them from sea so that we could film the back of the net coming onto the beach. After some successful shots we were headed back to Simonstown when we heard over the radio that a large Great white had been sighted in Fish Hoek. We were only 5 minutes away so we made a quick turn here. In such flat conditions the shark stood out like a sore thumb and we approached for a closer look to see if we could identify the animal. It was quite a sight. The beach had already been cleared by Shark Spotters and the shark was now cruising along Jaggers Walk on the western side of Fish Hoek Bay. People who were walking along Jaggers walk could clearly see the shark and from our point of view we had shark, people and then houses directly above.
It really drives home the fact that we need to be able to co-exist with sharks in our waters.
The Shark Spotting program is a very proactive way of doing this. Basically there are spotters who sit on the mountain above Fish Hoek and Muizenberg to keep watch for sharks. Fish Hoek and Muizenberg are two areas that the sharks are patrolling frequently so people really need to be aware of this at this time of year. There was an especially high rate of sightings in Fish Hoek over November. A simple flag system on the beach lets beachgoers know the situation and if a shark should be spotted close to bathing areas the water will be cleared by use of a siren.
HERE’S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING
In recent times people working in other Great white shark hotspots in South Africa have found the same movement patterns.
So, each summer the Great whites are leaving the seal colonies in Mossel Bay and Dyer Island and are also moving inshore. Both inshore areas have these broken reef systems, similar to that of False Bay, that provide a great alternative of fish and elasmobranch species for the Great whites to feed on.
That may leave you wondering why the sharks would change their diets when they could be feeding on seal pups that are born around November and December each year.
This is something that is really surprising. When the seal pups are born there are thousands of easy meals floating and bobbing mindlessly away whilst they attempt to swim. Surely this must be the easiest of all meals for the sharks? Again this is all theory but we assume that the new born seal pups do not contain enough body fat to make a good meal, they are pretty much skin and bone. (Things are quite different 6 months down the line having fed off their mother’s milk). Also the large adult male seals that could easily pose a threat to the white sharks are present at Seal Island this time of the year for annual mating.
At places such as Guadalupe you clearly see large adult seals harassing the great whites as we witnessed in September.
Another idea is that the kabeljou, elf and yellow tail (fish species) and the smooth hound, soupfin and bronze whaler sharks inshore may be proving other nutritional value that the white shark needs in its diet.
Chris was able to spend some time with Alison Towner, a marine biologist from Marine Dynamics in Gansbaai this month. Alison is in the very beginning stages of a study of the Great whites in the inshore area off Dyer Island. She is trying to understand how the sharks are using this inshore area as well as the triggers that stimulate them to go inshore.
They got extremely lucky with perfect conditions of clear skies, great visibility, and no swell with pancake flat sea conditions. Under these conditions they could take the boat right into the shallows and extremely close to the beach as they followed a number of sharks that were already in the area. Always keeping a respectful distance they were able to very easily observe the sharks without changing their course or movement.
Amongst others, they came across a large 4 meter (13 foot) female. As they observed her, she went so close to the beach that her belly was scraping the sandy bottom as her dorsal fin and tail fin protruded out the water. The back drop of beautiful sand dunes and a turquoise sky set the scene for this dramatic encounter.
Alison is really passionate about her work and we wish her and the rest of her team the best of luck with their study. Of course we are also really interested in what she will find out too!
OK, NOW IT GETS EVEN MORE INTERESTING.
I do not know a lot about the following situations but there is information that not only are the “South African” sharks coming close to shore but Great whites in California, Mexico and Australia are showing the same movements and I would assume for the same reasons. Sadly however in Mexico these sharks are being caught in large numbers and one fishing camp alone is said to catch over 50 juvenile great whites per year which are turned into mercury and neuro toxin laden taco’s, bon appetite!
We feel the next few years are going to be very interesting as people around the white shark world start to understand what is happening in this fascinating situation. So, watch this space…
With the advent of new water users (such as ocean kayaks, kite boarding, Stand up paddle boarding etc) and also the number of people using the ocean increasing all the time human interactions with sharks will logically continually increase. To add fuel to the fire the prey source of the white sharks in decreasing all the time with over fishing and for us the biggest potential problem in the shark and human conflict situation is being ignored in favour of arguments such as chumming and population explosions which have been clearly proven scientifically to be unsubstantiated.
It is likely and logical that the Great whites now have to work harder to look for food and it also may stimulate them to patrol new areas in their search for food.
This will ultimately have an impact on shark/human interactions and we all need to be aware and comfortable with this if we decide to use the water.
Over the past year Chris has kayaked with over 30 different great whites, free dived with multiple sharks at a time of over 14ft and stand up paddle boarded with several of them. He has done this for various documentaries to show that these sharks will not simply rush up and attack you, no matter what form of recreation you pursue.
At no stage have any acted aggressively towards him and this clearly shows that under most circumstances these very capable predators pose relatively little threat.
Before others are tempted to try it must be remembered that Chris has been doing this for a very long time and obviously has a good idea of the right conditions to do this under.
Ironically the inshore habits of the great white place it in far more danger from us than we are from them and in South Africa there is a group of beach fishermen who actually target these protected sharks in the Mossel Bay and False Bay area and the rumour is that it is happening in Gansbaai as well. To catch, kill or disturb a great white shark without a permit is illegal and carries a huge fine, however irrespective of this the fact that these animals are a threatened species you would hope anyone with one iota of conscience would steer away from potentially harming them.
Whilst most sharks are released in varying states of health many of these carry hooks and traces and we have seen an alarming increase in the number of these hooked sharks that appear to have lost body condition and carry open wounds, the only likely reason being catch trauma and associated injury.
From a water users perspective we have many risk free options and common sense goes a long way to being safe.
Always look carefully at the conditions and if anything makes you uncomfortable about a particular day, choose not to use the water. We have this choice, sharks don’t.
SHARKS IN THE TREKNETS
I have mentioned that we have been frequenting the trek nets this month. The strong South Easterly winds that have been blowing have produced ideal conditions for bringing sharks such as bronze whalers, smooth hound and ragged tooth sharks into concentrated fish areas close to shore. Unfortunately these sharks are caught as by catch by the local treknet fishermen. But, the good news is that two of these fishing crews off Muizenberg beach are fantastic with releasing sharks and rays and Chris has worked closely with them over the last 20 years to do this.
This month we released a number of sharks and rays including a large bronze whaler that was just less than 3 meters in length.(9 foot). It was quite a handful but exhilarating and extremely rewarding for Chris to jump in the net to retrieve and release it.
PELAGIC SHARKS
We have had a tough month with Pelagic shark trips due to very windy conditions meaning we had to cancel all but one trip. It was the first trip of the season and we had 1 blue shark up at the boat amongst seeing various other marine animals. We can’t wait to get into December as we know there will be plenty sharks from where those come from!
CHRISTMAS SPECIALS FROM APEX PREDATORS
If you are like me, the idea of braving busy shopping malls during the Festive Season is not a good way to spend time!
We have just released a number of Christmas Specials online that cuts out mingling with the masses.
A 20% discount is now available on selected photographic prints from the 2010 shark season as well as a selection of beautiful Black&White images that we have not sold before..
So, save yourself a trip to the mall and purchase the perfect gift for shark and nature lovers here or even that unused wall in your home or office!
We have also just released the dates for our Premium Trip for 2011 Great white sharks at Seal Island. This 10 day trip, hosted by Chris & I, focuses on the unique natural predation events and is limited to 8 people only. Right now there are just 4 spots left so visit us at www.apexpredators.com for all the details.
Until next month…
Best wishes
Monique Fallows
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| Gaudalupe and the Masai Mara |
| 5 November 2010, 11:41 |
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Dear Shark Lovers,
I had a tremendous response from September Shark Bytes so I guess you all really enjoyed hearing about the whale carcass feeding event!
This month I am going to write about our recent trip to Isla Guadalupe and will also briefly chat about our trip to the Masai Mara in Kenya…it’s not sharky but I think you will still enjoy it.
ISLE GAUDALUPE
For shark lovers it is not just about seeing and diving with sharks but for some of the lucky few who have the opportunities it is also about seeing all the shark hot spots of the world. In the world of the white sharks there are only a few spots where one can have a realistic chance of seeing them and each spot has its own special highlights.
Our home spot, Seal Island gives us an opportunity to see high numbers of sharks and spectacular behaviour. But, the water visibility can be poor and takes on a green tinge. Don’t get me wrong, we do get great visibility days but is does not quite compare to the inky blue pelagic water off Isla Guadalupe which is famous for its 120 foot gin clear water.
We had the privilege of spending some time here in 2004 but we were still super excited about visiting what we consider a very spectacular setting for Great white sharks. There is nothing quite like the site of a jagged volcanic island appearing through the mist on a pacific ocean morning after a 20 hour boat crossing!
SPECIAL SHARK/SEAL INTERACTIONS
We were filming a new show for Discovery Channel’s 2011 Shark Week so we were even more lucky to have the opportunity of the private use of the boat for our goals. The lead diver and guide on board was Antonio, who is equally passionate about sharks and a superb diver. We had already spent many hours talking about his Guadalupe shark experiences which helped wile away the long boat ride out there. Something that we found really exciting was the amount of shark/seal interactions he spoke about observing while underwater.
The Island is dotted with small seal colonies of various species including Northern elephant seals, California seal lions and Guadalupe fur seals. There does seem to be white shark predation on the elephant seals in November/December each year but other than this there have not been many predatory events recorded on the other seal species. It seems to be the general opinion that the sharks are feeding on various gamefish such as yellowfin tuna that are present in prolific numbers.
Over our 6 day stay we were to find out that the shark/seal interactions were not really a good thing for our work!
Once we had anchored our first shark arrived within 15 minutes. What a special sight…a medium sized male in beautiful blue water with the backdrop of a volcanic Island! But, by the end of the afternoon we realised that we were going to have a battle on our hands.
When the first California seal lion arrived we had 2 great whites interacting with us. This first sight was really exciting as the sea lion swam down to have a closer look at the shark. In fact it wasn’t a closer look, it was plain harassment! Over the years the seals have learnt that the bait used to attract the sharks also makes an easy meal for them and as such they spend a lot of time at the shark boats.
Because the water visibility is so good the chances of the shark catching the seal is virtually nil. The prey sees the predator and the game is up.
This continual harassment keeps the sharks circling lower down and ultimately they leave the area giving way to great views of the seals from the cage, but no sharks…
Chris & I found this fascinating and demonstrates how completely different topography, water conditions and seal behaviour can dictate what the sharks do in each location.
Needless to say our film shoot was at the mercy of the seals and the battle to film sharks before the seals arrived. It got so bad that we had one day with no sharks and a second day with 1 brief visitor.
The good news is that we had a couple 3 hour periods of awesome activity that enabled us to capture all the footage we needed.
A MALE DOMINATED VISIT
Another comparison we were able to make was how gender specific certain time periods seem to be at Guadalupe. During our stay (and the early to middle part of the season) nearly 90% of the sharks were medium to large males.
Early October seems to herald the arrival of the famous large females (4 meters plus).
At Seal Island there seems to be no pattern at all with regards to shark gender although we do occasionally see spikes in either males or female numbers. The sharks at Seal Island are there primarily to feed on seals and I guess male or female, the sharks have to eat.
I am not sure why there is this situation at Guadalupe. Perhaps the big females are moving according to pupping routes and time periods. Hopefully the numerous studies taking place at Guadalupe, many of which are high impact with sharks being hooked, lifted out of the water and tags drilled through their fins, will shed some light on this. If not it seems a risky business to put so much stress on a rare and endangered animal.
We also noted that in terms of numbers we were generally seeing the same sharks over the 6 day stay and there was not a high turn over of new individuals.
We had the privilege of spending time with a very special 4.1 meter male. The crew know him as “Bruce” and I gather that he is very well known in these parts. In fact we even saw him on a documentary the other day! In our case he was the active ingredient whenever the activity was good. He would stay around the boat for up to a couple of hours at a time and his attitude was very relaxed but at the same time confident. At 4.1 meters he would be somewhere around 12 years old. He obviously has had a couple run-ins with other sharks in his life and has some great battle scars. The Guadalupe crew have on a number of occasions seen sharks biting each other in hierarchy displays and many of the sharks we saw display these wounds. Whilst we do see great whites with bites at Seal Island we do not see nearly the same proportion with bites.
GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS
I suppose a strange comment for me to make is that the white sharks here actually look different compared to the Seal Island sharks.
I guess this is mostly to do with the water clarity making the black and white contrast a lot easier to define but also very few have the white pigment marks on their dorsal fins that so many of the South African sharks have.
There have been genetic studies of recent times that have had interesting results.
Although they are the same species there appears to be no genetic relationships between the white shark populations of the northern and southern hemisphere.
It has been said that the female great whites of South Africa and Australia do have some sort of relationship which ties with information that the sharks are moving between these two continents.
I can’t say too much about the new show but I will give you plenty of warning time for when it will be aired next year. There should be some really beautiful footage and also some good environmental messages. We are particularly grateful to have been able to visit Guadalupe again as there seem to be some tough times coming.
The Mexican government has not taken kindly to the shark diving boats working in this area and restrictions are making it more and more difficult to work here. New laws actually include no baiting and no chumming… so pretty fruitless if you are trying to dive with sharks.
The irony is that I was told by the observer on the boat that his current study found that about 50 great white sharks are killed annually by Mexican net fishermen in one small area. It seems the government is not putting any effort into stopping this but are rather focusing on the soft target of the shark diving industry that is promoting and protecting a living animal.
BACK HOME IN AFRICA, THE MASAI MARA.
Chris & I were given the opportunity of visiting the Masai Mara in Kenya a couple of weeks ago. This area is famous for the Great Migration of Wildebeest and Zebra herds from the Serengeti Plains to the Masai Mara. These herds, said to number in the region of 1.5 million animals, have to migrate in search of new grazing area which is dictated by rainfall.
During this migration small to enormous sized herds need to cross the mighty Mara River where they can fall prey to crocodiles as well as being stampeded by their own kind.
People often confuse the Migration as being the same as the crossing. This is not so and in fact many crossings will take place often multiple times by the same herds as they constantly move in search of new pastures.
HERDS AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE
Just before our arrival most of the herds had already left the area close to our camp but as luck would have it a day of rain brought them all back again! Throughout our week long stay we could not stop being overwhelmed by the sheer number of wildebeest that were present on the African plains that stretched for miles and miles. As far as the eye could see the plains were dotted with wildebeest knit so closely that they looked like thick bush. It was actually a heart-warming sight to see Africa in such a plentiful state. We were visiting at the tail end of the season so only about a third of what can be seen was present. It was quite simply astounding and utterly breath taking.
THE CROSSING
Now that we had seen the “migration” we were hoping that we would have a small chance to see a crossing. This is a strange game. There are many regular “entry” and “exit” points along the river. Almost daily herds of wildebeest varying from small to large would gather on the bank. We would naturally expect them to cross, but it is a serious waiting game. The animals will walk a little closer and then run off at galloping speed. Then 30 minutes later they would slowly wander to the top of the bank, have a good look for another 45 minutes and then decide that this was not quite right for them. Our guide told us that there are no guarantees but sometimes pressure from the herd will force the first animals to cross and then the rest follow. Some crossings can take as long as 6 hours with herds 80,000 strong or perhaps only 5 minutes for a smaller herd.
Our camp was located on the Mara River and right in front is a crossing point. The wildebeest had been gathering for 2 days without anything happening so on day 3 we did not really expect anything to happen.
But as we were sitting down having lunch our camp manageress starting shouting and then we heard the great rumble as the wildebeest starting hurtling down the river bank. I don’t think 14 people have vacated a lunch table as quickly as we did. We were so fortunate that this was happening right at our camp as we could run down to the approaching side of the bank and watch and photograph at eye level as the wildebeest came straight towards us.
It was a chaotic and yet astounding event. The dust and noise levels were unbelievable but I have to say that this was not one of the nicest things to see. I personally do not like to see any animals in pain or in fear… and this is just one extremely stressful situation for these poor animals. Many of them die from being trampled, drown or are caught by crocs. There were no crocs on this crossing and only one wildebeest drowned so I think it was as mild as it could be.
6 CHEETAH CUBS
Not only was the plains game amazing but the predator density just remarkable in the Mara. On every drive, both morning and afternoon, we would see both cheetah and lion and we also had 2 great leopard sightings and a caracal mom and kitten.
The highlight was a lot of time spent with a remarkable cheetah mom who was raising 6 cubs. There are very few records of a cheetah female raising this many and she had already got them to the age of 3 months. It was very special to watch these 6 little mites play and misbehave together.
But, there is quite a background story to this. Cheetahs as a species are in a very bad way and numbers are dropping all over Africa. In the Mara the female is said to have a home range 400km2. When a female is raising cubs she needs to be able to move great distances in order to avoid other cats such as lions and also hyena that are responsible for the high cub mortality rate. Although the Mara is large is still not big enough to support this and as such very few cheetah cubs are being successfully raised.
CHEETAH GUARD
From when she was first found with the cubs the Park organised a 24 hour guard against other predators for a one month period. Although this is no longer the case she is still carefully monitored and if there is any danger she is protected. During the week we were there we saw her harassed by a hyena (which she successfully fended off herself) but then on two other occasions disaster was prevented when a lion and another hyena were chased away.
The big question is… when is it right to interfere? Our feeling is that she cannot travel the distances she needs due to human encroachment surrounding the park. So cheetahs are no longer successful due to our human impact. Amongst some very heavy discussion in our group the point was raised that she could be sacrificing herself with the energy she is spending raising so many cubs and perhaps other predators are needed in reducing the number of cubs in order to ensure the success of some.
At the end of the day it is a very sensitive topic but I do think efforts need to be made to ensure that even just one cub makes it, but not to the detriment of the mother. We were very impressed with how the driver/guides behaved around her. They were very mindful to not push her too much or come too close and even left the area when they felt they needed too. We all need to play our part in realising when eco tourism needs to be done in a responsible manner.
Chris & I would like to say a very big thank you to C4 Images for organising this trip. They work with the best camp and the best guides! If anyone is thinking of doing a combination of peak shark viewing and a safari add on this is a great option and feel free to ask us how to plan and organise a trip with this fantastic outfit.
NOVEMBER
During November we will be doing some inshore Great white shark work in Gansbaai so I am really looking forward to spending some time here for the first time. For Chris it will be going back to where he first started way back in 1991 and spent 4 wonderful years with The White Shark Research Institute where they were for the most part the only boat in the Dyer Island Channel.
It is also at the very start of our pelagic shark season so we are all looking forward to seeing the magnificent mako and blue sharks again and from late November will be getting into full swing.
For a closer view of all our October images from Isla Guadalupe and the Masai Mara please check out Photos of the Month.
Until next month,
Best wishes
Monique Fallows
www.apexpredators.com
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| On sharks and whales |
| 16 September 2010, 17:56 |
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Dear Shark Lovers,
Compared to August 2009, this year we have had a really surprisingly great month of sharking.
In July I reported that our observation of natural predation events were way down. I am relieved to report that the activity has on the whole been great in August and we have had a late spurt of activity late in the month and thus late in the season.
PREDATION ACTIVITY
Every season at Seal Island is different but as a general rule we would expect shark sightings to start declining as we get to around mid August, but it was very different this year.
We had a number of small low pressure systems descend on Cape Town and I think this had a role to play in increased numbers of predatory events.
We have noted this pattern over the years and assume that the bad weather means that more seals will return to Seal Island to take shelter and thus gives more opportunities for the sharks to hunt.
Even though there were a lot of incoming single seals returning to the Island we did record a lot more hunting attempts on large out going seal groups. The sharks are far less successful on these groups but they are often very spectacular…seals leap dramatically out of the way as a Great white comes exploding out of the water. One of the most spectacular events we have seen this season was a 4 meter (13 foot) male breach out of the water while arching its back upside down in hot pursuit of a seal mid air. Incredible…! Chris managed to take some images and even though they are fantastic he will forever wonder what the images would have been like if we had been on the other side of the seal group!
There have been a number of other very spectacular events this month. This activity has surprised us as normally our peak predation observations are mid to end of July, making 2010 nearly a month late with predation activity.
During this very busy period we were scanning the high predation area when a white flash caught the corner of my eye. As I turned I witnessed one of the most amazing sights in my 11 years at Seal Island. A 4 meter plus Great white doing a full blooded breach so high I could have walked underneath it, white belly facing towards us and twisting in an S shape after a seal…some pretty wild language flew out of my mouth!! The funny thing was the only other person to see it on the boat was Chris, so I guess it was a lucky sighting for us.
There have also been quite a few dramatic chases on the surface. If the shark misses the seal on the first attempt the seal will try to get behind the head or tail of the shark where it uses agility to escape. The chasing on the surface can sometimes be as long as 5 to 8 minutes and are heartbreakingly spectacular. I have to say that I am a softy and always shout for the seals.
We still have about 2 weeks left of the season but I am curious to see what the overall success rate of the sharks has been. In past years the figure has always been just under 50% but I have a feeling 2010 is going to be quite a bit down from that.
OLD FRIENDS RETURN
As mentioned shark activity normally starts to slow down from mid August onwards, particularly with the amount of sharks that come up to the boat. Even though the sharks are at the Island hunting they seem to lose interest in coming up to the boat. Again, 2010 has been different and we have had some of our best shark encounters from the middle to the end of the month. Just a few days ago we had a total of 8 different sharks which must be the record for this time of the season.
I try to go on as many trips as possible but unfortunately I do need to spend some time in the office (!). I guess I am a bit of a pain as I am always phoning Chris at sea to find out what is happening! On the 15th I received the most awesome news that one of our very favourite sharks, Amber had just come up to the boat. This is now the 5th season in a row that we have seen her and her normal routine is to return to Seal Island in May each year. As we got into August we really thought that she was not going to arrive so it was very very exciting news. She is normally a great shark for staying around the boat and being interactive and I can tell you that nothing has changed. We have noted that she seems to have had a growth spurt since 2009 and not only has she grown in length but the amount of girth she has put on is impressive. I was a little worried that this may be her only sighting of the season so I was over the moon when I got to see her the next day. In fact we have seen her about 10 times now this month and each time has been fabulous.
Poenas and our crew did an afternoon trip on the day Amber first arrived and while we were at home we got another very exciting call from Poenas to say that the infamous Roundfin was back! This is a very feisty 3.0 meter male and he always keeps us on our toes when handling the bait and decoy. He was apparently up to his usual tricks and was in fine form. We have not seen him since then but it is a great comfort to know that he is still a round.
CETECEANS
August has been great for sightings of common dolphin and we have come across schools of between 200 and 800 on a number of occasions, often with very good sea conditions. One of my favourite things to do is lay flat on the bow of the boat and look down below as the dolphins ride with us at the front of the boat. The noise as they expel their breath is fantastic and if one listens closely it is also possible to hear their sonar sounds. There have also been a number of schools with very small dolphin calves which has been great to see.
With the dolphin around we are always keeping our eyes wide open for the Killer whales. There were 2 unconfirmed reports this month…so we are hoping that we bump into them again.
The Southern Right Whales have also started arriving in False Bay in larger numbers. They spend the Southern Hemisphere summer months feeding in Antarctica and then migrate to our coast to give birth and mate in the sheltered bays.
So, Chris was very surprised to come across a Southern Right feeding in the bay, this is something that is not observed very often. He managed take some good pics where you can clearly see the whale’s baleen plates which they use to sift the plankton. I don’t think you will be able to see this online but when enlarging the image onto the whale’s callosities (patches of dry skin) we can see hundreds, if not thousands of whale lice present. Shame…it doesn’t look very pleasant.
The whales should be here until early November so we need to keep a close lookout when heading to the Island in the early morning.
SHARK WEEK 2010
I have heard that Shark Week was watched by nearly 40 million viewers this year making it the most successful Shark Week of all time. Ultimate Air Jaws, the lead show for this year was hosted by Chris and facilitated by Apex received rave reviews. In fact when the ratings came in it showed Ultimate Air Jaws was the second most successful shark show on Discovery ever, so the small team that put this together with producer Jeff Kurr were all very proud. Also, thanks to all of you for all the great feedback you gave us.
In 2 weeks time Chris & I will be in Guadalupe Island filming for a new show next year...we can’t wait to be back at this spectacular White shark location and to see Great whites in clear water!
I will be sure to keep you all updated as to the last part of the season at Seal Island.
So, until September…
For regular updates check us out on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simonstown/APEX-SHARK-EXPEDITIONS/218467680137
Best wishes
Monique Fallows
www.apexpredators.com
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| Shark Bytes |
| 12 August 2010, 14:43 |
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The more time I spend with the shark the more I realise how difficult it is to understand these magnificent creatures!
We have had a great month at Seal Island but it has just been a little different from previous seasons.
We normally observe and record our most intense predator/prey interactions from the start of July to about mid August but this month has been different. We have noticed that the numbers of predatory events are down by at least 60% which is obviously a significant decrease.
One of the glaringly obvious reasons is that there have been little to none of the young of the year seals returning from the feeding grounds to Seal Island in the early hours of dawn. This means that there has been very little opportunity for the sharks to attempt to hunt. Remembering that the young of the year seal is the first choice for the sharks 85% of the time this has probably caused a problem.
That said this year has seen up to 11 boats at Seal island looking for predations on some weekends that no doubt limit the sharks ability to detect incoming and outgoing seals. The boats also often block the seals as they are not experienced in working in the area. There has also once again been a large amount of decoy towing at Seal Island and on the mornings where the decoys are being towed before sunrise we have seen a noticeable decrease in predation. It is for this reason that we try to avoid towing decoys during active feeding periods.
The sharks are still going after the large groups of seals that depart the Island but the success rate has been minimal and only every few days are we seeing even one successful feeding event. Historically we have noted that the sharks are far less successful on these large groups, probably because there is no single target the shark can lock on and also because there are many eyes watching out for an approaching Great white shark.
An interesting study was recently published showing that a seal was able to detect the vortices of their prey (fish) with their whiskers which greatly enhanced their ability to hunt. We have documented countless times seals springing out of the water before the shark comes hurtling through the group and for nearly five years now Chris has hypothesized that the seals are detecting the approaching bow wave of pressure ahead of the shark as a early warning of an impending attack. In Ultimate Air Jaws this was actually what he was trying to see but the action happens so fast it is invisible to the naked eye. So, these observations has made us think that the seals can most likely detect the pressure wave of water as the Great white propels itself into the middle of a group. This split second warning may make a huge difference between life and death.
Many of the attempted predatory events this July have just been a rush from below and we have not even seen the shark…but we know from the boil on the surface and the behaviour of the seals that a shark has been on the prowl.
Despite the low number of events we did have our best photographic opportunity this season. Chris had spotted a shark breach fairly far from the Island. En route to check it out a shark breached on a seal about 80 meters in front of us. As such we were onto the event for the second follow up from the shark. The shark breached completely out of the water with its mouth wide open but missing the lucky seal by a mile. Chris was fortunate to capture this spectacular event on camera.
It will be very interesting to see what happens in the next couple weeks. I would think that the predation activity has to kick off sometime…but who knows!
We have been mindful about towing the decoy this month. With the lack of single seals moving around the Island we had to be pretty careful that the sharks did not waste too much energy with no reward by jumping on the decoy. Even so we were still getting hits after only towing for limited periods.
Most of Cape Town has been wondering where winter is this year. There have been so many beautiful days devoid of the usual wind and rain. This has meant many calm days on anchor at Seal Island, perfect for watching Great white sharks gently cruise around the boat.
Despite the lack of predatory events we have had good numbers of sharks around the boat, averaging 8 sharks per trip and a lot of days with 10 plus sharks. The good weather has meant that the viewing from the surface has been fantastic. The notorious Cruella has visited us a number of times with her heart-stopping lunges for the bait and/or decoy.
One thing we have noticed is that there has not been a high turn around of different individual sharks, and the same ones have spent most of the month with us. Of course this could have a lot to do with the lack of feeding.
One of the sharks hanging around was a particularly pleasant 3.4 meter shark we have called Nikita. She loves the cage and almost always just circles the cage and then occasionally has a look at the decoy or boat. All the guests love her as she is such a great shark to dive with.
For the whole month we thought she was a female but then 2 days ago she inverted and we got a real good look under her pelvic fins...turns out she is a male! So much for being shark experts!
We have had fantastic guests this month. The tail end of the World Cup Football meant a lot more Spanish fans on the boat that we had a lot of fun with. We have also many of our Seal Island “locals” who return each year, so it is great to have old friends spending some sharky moments with us again as well as all the new friends we have made.
KILLER WHALES & OTHER CETACEANS
After our great sightings this year of Killer whales we are constantly on the look out for them in False Bay. Towards the end of the month we came across a school of about 250 common dolphins en route to Seal Island. After about 10 minutes with them their relaxed manner changed completely out of the blue as they turned into a writhing mass of petrified dolphins.
Of course having observed this behaviour before we knew it meant that their nemesis was around….Unfortunately we could not spend too much time with them as we needed to get to Seal Island for our Afternoon trip. When we got back to Simonstown later that afternoon we heard that the Killer whales were sighted again in Fish Hoek bay, about 5 miles from where we saw the dolphins. So, we are back on super high killer whale alert.
We have come across a high number of Brydes whales in False Bay and also the first few sightings of the Southern Right Whales that return each year. We always spend time spotting for various whales on dolphins en route to the Island so it is great to have success and our guests really enjoyed the encounters.
ULTIMATE AIR JAWS
Chris & I spent about 3 months in 2009 working on a Discovery Show with Jeff Kurr for Shark Week 2010. Ultimate Air Jaws aired as the lead show for Shark Week on Sunday night and was a massive success. We just received the rating info and the exciting news is that it is the 2nd highest rated Shark Week show of all time and was the #1 watched cable show on Sunday night in the US (3.5 million viewers). So, great PR for sharks! We are already planning the next project…
SHARK CONSERVATION NEEDS YOUR HELP
Pepsi is currently running a competition to award funds to a shark research and conservation organisation. Apex is supporting the R.J Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami. Some info on the program is below but all you need to do to vote is to click on the link. It’s that simple! http://www.refresheverything.com/savingsharks
The mission of R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University
of Miami, is to advance ocean conservation and scientific literacy by
combining cutting edge research and outreach activities. Students are
provided exciting hands-on field and virtual learning experiences. Field
and virtual expeditions will expose students and teachers from across the
globe to the importance of oceans in their daily lives.
The Program has a huge focus on sharks, with all projects aimed at
providing data to promote shark conservation management.
You can find out more at http://www.rjd.miami.edu
We are now into the last 6 weeks of the season so I look forward to checking in with you all at the end of August. Not quite sure what this month will bring but I am sure it will be interesting. For those of you wanting to come and see the sharks for yourself please be sure to check out our expedition packages the dates of which will be released soon. We will also be running two Sharks of Southern Africa programmes, the first of which is already sold out. Other exciting news is that in June next year we will be offering a breaching great white sharks and Sardine run combination trip, a first and a great opportunity to see two amazing spectacles in one trip with limited numbers
Monique Fallows
All images courtesy of Chris Fallows / www.apexpredators.com
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