Today's great white trip to seal island

We took a trip to seal island today. I haven't been on a shark trip in a while and when Rob said he was going, I was keen to come along. We also took Tamsyn, our new assistant with us as well as our 4 year old Jordan. I promised her that when she was 4 she could come and see the sharks.

The day started out with a very light wind and a bit of a cloudy sky. The swell wasn't bad at all and the run out to the island was very pleasant. We spotted penguins and a Giant Petrel.

Jordan was so thrilled to discover that seals bleat like lambs. The island is very full at the moment, and  the constant cacophony of bleating was overcome by the horrible stench of the island of guano.

We waited around for an hour before the first shark appeared. Tamsyn shouted shark, shark, shark in this voice of amazement and awe. If you have never seen a shark up close and personal the effect on a person is awesome. The shark was a female, and just under 4m. It approached from the bow and lazily moved around the the stern( which is around 4 and a bit metres to give you a picture of how big 4m is).and went to inspect the bait that Wellington was handling.

It wasn't interested in the bait and then turned around and cruised into the depths. A few minutes later Rob shouted shark again and it had taken the second bait that we have below. We didnt get to see much, except a shadow as it swam away. A dead seal was floating by and another shark decided to have it for a snack. It first played with it like a cat plays with a mouse, tossing it into the air a good few times, rather gently I might add.

Another shark around 3m came to inspect the decoy, again just lightly mouthing it before moving to the bait. It was more interested in the tapping noise I was making on the side of the boat. This tapping we have found very effective as the great white is a rather curious animal. The female came again and stayed for a good while. Rob and Wellington had seen her in 2009 shark season. You can see the white band on her dorsal fin identifying her as her "fingerprint".

We returned around 12 as the navy had issued a warning that they where about to do a shooting excercise and we didnt feel like being a target for their practice. We where escorted by one of their boats back to make sure we where returning to the harbour.

Gonna check out my beauties with the Shark spotters

Woke up this early this morning and was at the beach before 6.I felt so good no, blessed, no super blessed to alive, and living in the "deep south" of Cape town. I walked for about 20 min greeting all the old ducks that swim every morning and then headed to the gym to cycle those extra snacks away. 

Went home feeling on top of the world, singing and praising and I knew that I would have a great day.

 We are spending the morning with the shark spotters tomorrow, bring your sunglasses and water, and lets wait for the great white beauties,to wink at us....

More shark predation pics

Here is a predation. It ended in a successful kill for the great white shark.

Here is some info on anti-predatory strategies of Cape Fur Seals at Seal Island.

From direct observation and the data collected, Cape Fur Seals apparently reduce their vulnerability to Great White Sharks by:
• taking advantage of the expanded vigilance of entire groups; sub-surface vigilance while rafting is accomplished via assuming a head-down posture, with only the tail and the tip of the rear flippers showing above the surface.

• leaving Seal Island as co-ordinated groups of 8 to 12 animals; multiple groups – ranging from 2 to as many as 5 - leave the island at intervals of approximately 45 seconds

• single or small groups (2-5) of individuals executing a finely controlled zig-zaging evasive manoeuver when a Great White Shark is spotted stalking below them; this tactic is referred to as “working the shark”

• when an individual is actively pursued by a Great White Shark, riding its slipstream – usually mid-body, at the level of its dorsal fin – to remain out of reach of the shark’s jaws; this tactic is referred to as “on the shark”

• when a group is “hit” (attacked) by a White Shark, the individual seals ‘explode’ from the water in all directions, presumably serving to confuse the predator – perhaps sufficiently to allow some or all of them to escape; this tactic is relatively infrequent but highly spectacular

• when an individual or group returns to the island, swimming the last 50 metes or so underwater, presumably because this tactic reduces vulnerability to attack by White Sharks

• when any or all of the aforementioned tactics fail and a predatory attack is successful, the surviving seals become extremely vigilant - often to the point of seeming momentarily stunned - but are, in fact, hyper-alert.

In short, the Cape Fur Seals’ main anti-predatory strategies rely on vigilance and agility