• Blog
  • See Sharks
    • Shark Internship
  • About
    • Monsters - Project Overview
    • WSV in the Media
    • Contact
  • Education
    • Presentations
    • White Shark Cafe
    • Bookings
    • Feedback
    • Past Events >
      • Surfrider Foundation (San Mateo Chapter)
      • Night Life 2013 "Killer Personalities"
      • 7 Teepees
      • Great White Lies San Francisco Premiere
      • SF March Against the Cull
      • Great White Night 2012
      • Night Life 2011
      • Gentlemen's Club
      • Scuba Squad Divers
      • Sharks and Beer
      • Launch Party / Fundraiser
      • Of Whale and Man
  • Store
  • Video
    • Interviews >
      • WalterBernardis
    • SharkMinutes
    • Kid Friendly
    • Feature Films >
      • Monsters
      • Great White Lies >
        • GWL Private
        • Film Festivals >
          • Dropbox Links Great White Lies
    • Short Films >
      • Shark Affection
      • Elasmo
      • Shark Rescue
      • Balance
      • Purpose
      • To Touch a Killer
      • White Shark Behavior: Part 1
      • Swimming In Shark Alley
      • Connection
      • Farallon Islands
      • Fear
      • Sustainable
    • Sharky Product Reviews
    • Quick Bites >
      • Nurse Shark Barbels in Slow Motion
      • Do Sharks Get Cancer?
      • Sydney Harbor Video of White Shark is Fake
      • White Shark Swallows Tuna in One Bite
      • Gentle Biting and Ram Ventilation
      • Hammerhead Love
      • Seal Swims Leisurely Around White Sharks
      • Great White High Five
      • Petting a Nurse Shark
      • White Shark Tail Narrowly Misses Woman
      • Shark Shart ( Great White takes a shit )
      • WSV Preview
    • Elasmo >
      • Elasmo 0
      • Elasmo 1 and 2
      • Elasmo 3
      • Elasmo 3 Short Version
      • Elasmo 4 (Blue Sharks)
      • Elasmo 5 - Great hammerheads
      • White Dream (short)
    • Surf >
      • Surfing With Sharks - Wayne Lynch
      • California >
        • Jetty, Half Moon Bay, 2/16/14
    • The Price of Existence >
      • Criminalizing Natural Behavior
      • Price of Existence Excerpts with Chris Fallows
      • Dr. Neil Hammerschlag Explains Responsible Drum Lining
      • Price of Existence Trailer
      • Global Opposition to the Cull
      • Daniel Wolfe Interview Exerpt
    • Outtakes >
      • Surfer Interview Outtake
      • Avoiding Gansbaai
      • The Bag Boy
    • Samples
    • Videos from Others >
      • Good Vids >
        • White Shark Research in New Zealand
        • The Shark Man (60 Minutes)
        • Baby White Shark Caught
      • Bad Vids >
        • All that is wrong with Discovery wrapped up in one vid
  • Footage Licensing
  • Get Involved
    • Recurring Donation
    • Donations
    • Join the Team
    • News Letter Sign Up
  • Shark Photos
  White Shark Video

Anderson Cooper and Feeding Frenzies

1/14/2009

1 Comment

 

Ever since Anderson Cooper went free diving with Great Whites people have been sending me the link and asking what I think about it.  Looks like he did it in ‘Shark Alley’, the same place I did it 2004.  I snorkeled and dove on SCUBA, but no sharks came to visit me.  Looks like he was fortunate enough to actually have a shark or two around and I have to give him credit for doing such a brave thing.

Of course, the news anchors had to damage the story by saying things like, “It was an all out feeding frenzy!” and unwittingly referring to the ‘chumming’ controversy.   Let’s clarify:

First of all, no one, not even Andre Hartman or the guys from ‘Jackass’ are gonna get in the water during a feeding frenzy.  Next, a feeding frenzy refers to a large gathering of animals competing for food in a ravenous manner, sometimes even attacking and eating each other in the process.  I can assure you that cage dive operators put one piece of bait in the water at a time, most often attracting only one shark at a time.  If another white shark does appear, the smaller one usually goes away.  Sharks of similar size seem to take turns making passes at the bait in a very ‘civilized’ manner.  The operators do not feed the sharks and actually do their best to pull the bait just out of the shark’s reach.  The few seconds of teeth and gaping jaws shown on TV is the result of editing hours of footage mostly consisting of slow moving, disinterested sharks.

The film ‘Air Jaws’ captured a mass feeding of Great White sharks when the camera crew was fortunate enough to come across a floating whale carcass.  They estimated 15 to 20 large great whites shared the area at the same time, often touching and overlapping fins.  They took turns ripping large chunks of flesh off the whale and never once showed signs of violence toward each other, the camera crew, or the boat.

I’ll talk about the ‘chumming and cage diving controversy’ in the next blog.

1 Comment
Cheap Air jordan link
3/9/2011 09:51:36 am

When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'

Reply



Leave a Reply.







    Picture














    Picture






    Oh, the glory days of drenching the bay with the blood of majestic animals.


    Site of the Richmond whaling station closed in the early 70s






    Chopping the bait down to a smaller size.  The bait used on this boat is skip jack tuna.













    Bait is pulled out of the shark's reach, but brings it close enough to the cage for the divers to get a close look.
      Not only are the tour operators prohibited from intentionally feeding the sharks, but they avoid it for the purpose of not continuously buying more bait.


    Sometimes the shark will launch itself from the deep in such a stealthy manner that the bait handler does not pull away on time.  A small snack for the shark, but hardly a reason to stop eating its normal diet of large, fat rich seals.

















    First of all, no one, not even Andre Hartman or the guys from ‘Jackass’ are gonna get in the water during a feeding frenzy














    The photographer managed to snap this photo just before the turtle ripped him to pieces.  Witnesses say the turtle was actually 'smiling' as it tore through the poor diver's flesh.














    A herd of rare, 2-legged elephant seals await their chance to swim with the sharks.


    Archives

    October 2011
    May 2011
    March 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    September 2008

    Categories

    All
    Devils Teeth
    Huckberry
    Skyler Thomas

    RSS Feed







White Shark Video.  Turning research into film, because let's face it, you're not going to read research papers
Picture
site by white shark visuals
  • Blog
  • See Sharks
    • Shark Internship
  • About
    • Monsters - Project Overview
    • WSV in the Media
    • Contact
  • Education
    • Presentations
    • White Shark Cafe
    • Bookings
    • Feedback
    • Past Events >
      • Surfrider Foundation (San Mateo Chapter)
      • Night Life 2013 "Killer Personalities"
      • 7 Teepees
      • Great White Lies San Francisco Premiere
      • SF March Against the Cull
      • Great White Night 2012
      • Night Life 2011
      • Gentlemen's Club
      • Scuba Squad Divers
      • Sharks and Beer
      • Launch Party / Fundraiser
      • Of Whale and Man
  • Store
  • Video
    • Interviews >
      • WalterBernardis
    • SharkMinutes
    • Kid Friendly
    • Feature Films >
      • Monsters
      • Great White Lies >
        • GWL Private
        • Film Festivals >
          • Dropbox Links Great White Lies
    • Short Films >
      • Shark Affection
      • Elasmo
      • Shark Rescue
      • Balance
      • Purpose
      • To Touch a Killer
      • White Shark Behavior: Part 1
      • Swimming In Shark Alley
      • Connection
      • Farallon Islands
      • Fear
      • Sustainable
    • Sharky Product Reviews
    • Quick Bites >
      • Nurse Shark Barbels in Slow Motion
      • Do Sharks Get Cancer?
      • Sydney Harbor Video of White Shark is Fake
      • White Shark Swallows Tuna in One Bite
      • Gentle Biting and Ram Ventilation
      • Hammerhead Love
      • Seal Swims Leisurely Around White Sharks
      • Great White High Five
      • Petting a Nurse Shark
      • White Shark Tail Narrowly Misses Woman
      • Shark Shart ( Great White takes a shit )
      • WSV Preview
    • Elasmo >
      • Elasmo 0
      • Elasmo 1 and 2
      • Elasmo 3
      • Elasmo 3 Short Version
      • Elasmo 4 (Blue Sharks)
      • Elasmo 5 - Great hammerheads
      • White Dream (short)
    • Surf >
      • Surfing With Sharks - Wayne Lynch
      • California >
        • Jetty, Half Moon Bay, 2/16/14
    • The Price of Existence >
      • Criminalizing Natural Behavior
      • Price of Existence Excerpts with Chris Fallows
      • Dr. Neil Hammerschlag Explains Responsible Drum Lining
      • Price of Existence Trailer
      • Global Opposition to the Cull
      • Daniel Wolfe Interview Exerpt
    • Outtakes >
      • Surfer Interview Outtake
      • Avoiding Gansbaai
      • The Bag Boy
    • Samples
    • Videos from Others >
      • Good Vids >
        • White Shark Research in New Zealand
        • The Shark Man (60 Minutes)
        • Baby White Shark Caught
      • Bad Vids >
        • All that is wrong with Discovery wrapped up in one vid
  • Footage Licensing
  • Get Involved
    • Recurring Donation
    • Donations
    • Join the Team
    • News Letter Sign Up
  • Shark Photos
✕