Pete Thomas Outdoors

Great white shark attacks smaller white shark: rare footage

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

A passenger on a shark-diving expedition off South Australia has captured rare footage of a large great white shark attacking a smaller white shark.

It remains unclear, however, whether that was the larger shark’s intention, at least initially, or whether it had merely been going after the bait when the smaller shark, after making a pass at the bait, got in its way. (See video atop this post.)

The fate of the smaller shark also remains unclear. Adam Malski, 33, was back on the boat at the time of the dramatic clash, which he captured on video.

The rare event also was witnessed by the captain and dive master near Neptune Island, 50 miles at sea.

The bait, presumably a large fish, had been tied to a rope and and set beyond the stern.

Cages are beneath the surface behind the stern, allowing divers to get up-close views of sharks as they're  lured in by the scent of the bait.

Malski told the U.K. Mirror: “The day where the shark attacked the other was surreal. I asked the dive master and skipper of the boat what would happen if a smaller shark got in the way of a larger shark. The skipper responded: ‘The big shark would take the smaller one down.’

“Literally six seconds later, that amazing scene was witnessed by me, the skipper and the dive master. They had never seen anything like it before.”

Images are video screen grabs

The footage was making the rounds Tuesday on Facebook, and shark experts were chiming in.

The Marine Science Conservation Institute, run by Michael Domeier, commented: “Very interesting white shark vs. white shark moment caught on film. We have seen violent aggression between adult white sharks at Guadalupe Island... not so sure this is what's happening in this clip. It looks like both shark were going for the same bait and ended up mouth-to-mouth. Didn't end so well for the little guy!”

Mexico’s Guadalupe Island is one of the world’s premier shark-diving destinations, in part because of the amazing water clarity.

I’ve been on two dives there and observed from topside larger sharks asserting their dominance as they and other sharks maneuver around the stern, investigating the area close to the bait.

Martin Graf of the company Shark Diver added: “From my observations, it is unusual for a much bigger shark to bite a much smaller one. Typically those bites happen between sharks of similar size. Most sharks under about 9ft. at Guadalupe are pretty clean (free of scars). The biggest number of bites (aside from mating bites) are on males from about 11-14 ft. long.”

Passengers on most shark-diving expeditions, wherever the location, typically emerge with an enhanced appreciation of the apex predators, after being able to see them up close and watch how gracefully, yet cautiously, they maneuver through their realm.

Said Malski: “I spent many hours observing them in their territory and up close and saw 18 magnificent creatures in total. All of which were inquisitive but not aggressive. "Even when one bumped my hand and camera when I was 20 meters underwater, there was no aggression–just inquisitiveness.”

Most adult white sharks have unique markings, or scars, and outfitters often give them names.

The large shark that attacked the smaller shark is named Gilbert.

Sea lion enters shark-diving cage; needs help with exit (video)

Perhaps the sea lion was merely trying to locate a safe haven, but more likely it swam into the shark-diving cage by mistake.

The accompanying video, uploaded last week to YouTube, shows a sea lion (not a seal, as described) swimming into a metal cage through a wide viewing portal. The mammal then became stuck while trying to exit through the metal bars.

 
Fortunately, one of the divers inside the cage used his foot to help the pinniped escape.

Unfortunately, at least one large great white shark (seen at the beginning of the footage) was lurking nearby.

The YouTube user, Craig Paisley, did not mention the location of this shark dive.

Florida diver uses speargun to fend off great white shark

 

*Note: This post was updated Tuesday morning to include input from the diver, Jimmy Roseman

The water was murky and the situation tense. Jimmy Roseman was tucked amid Florida reefs using his speargun to repeatedly fend off a great white shark.

The 12- to 14-foot predator first announced its presence as Roseman approached the bottom, about 80 feet beneath the surface, off Bethel Shoals. His two dive mates, Brian Brumaster and Craig Goodwin, had remained on the boat.

Moments after Roseman switched on his GoPro camera he felt something shove him from behind, and could hear a pinging noise that “must have been the shark’s teeth hitting the tank.”

This was the beginning of a harrowing dive, last Tuesday, that Roseman will never forget. “The shark then shot out in front of me and swam away,” he recalled.

“Right away I got up against the reef and circled with it, keeping my eye and speargun on it,” he said. “As it circled it was only about seven feet away. When it would come in closer, I would poke it with my gun, but it didn’t seem to bother it to much.

“This is when I started to worry about how I could get it away because it seemed to be getting more aggressive . I poked it three or four times, then it turned and came straight at me.”

Roseman considered shooting the shark, as a last resort, but realized that his spear would not do much harm to a predator he estimated to weigh nearly 2,000 pounds.

“I was hoping it would swim away long enough for me to make a break to the surface,” he said.

The shark made another pass and Roseman tried something he hadn’t yet tried; he poked the shark much harder than before, on the side of the head, and the shark swam off.

“I waited for a few seconds and decided this was my chance to break for the surface–the part I was most worried about,” Roseman said. “But it all worked out after that last poke because I never saw the shark again.”

nce back on the boat Roseman shared his tale with Brumaster and Goodwin.

They were prepared to dive but first it was decided that a more suitable location was neeeded. They piloted the boat four miles to another system of reefs, and resumed the hunt for game fish.

“We dove the remainder of the day and did not see any more sharks,” Roseman said.

His friend, Chris Saunders, uploaded the video on Friday, inserting the sensational music “obviously as a joke to add some fun to the video.”

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

–Middle image shows Jimmy Roseman; second image is a video screen grab

Caribbean diver videotapes scary encounter with reef shark

The next time Jason Dimitri returns to the Western Caribbean to try to remove invasive lionfish, in the back of his mind will loom a recent frightening encounter with an aggressive reef shark.

Dimitri was using a GoPro camera to document his efforts to cull lionfish in Cayman Island waters. Lionfish, in the past decade, have overtaken many Caribbean reefs and threaten the balance of the marine ecosystem.

 

Suddenly, a four-foot reef shark appeared “out of nowhere” and lunged repeatedly at Dimitri, who used his spear to fend off the strikes until they ceased as he advanced toward the surface.

It’s not clear whether the shark was defending its territory or was simply inspired by the scent of lionfish blood.

Dimitri states in the video description that the encounter occurred at a depth of about 70 feet.

He adds: “I want to make it clear that I am hunting lionfish to help protect the reef from the destruction that they cause.

“The shark was acting in his natural environment. I have no ill will toward him and will get back in the water and continue to protect the reef for future generations.”

–Pete Thomas

Giant Pacific octopus tangles with diver over expensive camera in Monterey Bay

 

The giant Pacific octopus is shy and elusive, so it stands to reason that the mysterious sea creatures do not appreciate being photographed with flashing strobes.

The accompanying footage, captured recently off Carmel in Central California, shows an octopus estimated to measure 20 feet across leaving its rock and wrapping its slithery tentacles around an expensive camera unit operated by Warren Murray.

David Malvestuto, Murray’s diving companion, videotaped the brief wrestling match at a depth of 80 feet in Bluefish Cove off Point Lobos, just south of Monterey.

Murray, not wanting to lose his gear, held firmly and backed away, while continuing to shoot photographs. (The video footage shows some of the still images retrieved from Murray’s camera.)

Finally, the octopus released its grip, swam slowly toward the bottom and blended perfectly into the rocky habitat.

This extraordinary encounter involved a creature that is a master of camouflage, capable of changing colors to match its surroundings.

“My fellow divers are jealous and envious,” Murray told KSBW. “My non-diving friends asked, ‘Weren’t you scared?’ For me, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Giant Pacific octopuses can measure nearly 30 feet across and weigh to about 600 pounds. They do not possess bones, so they can squeeze into tiny crevices.

Their eight arms are lined with powerful suction cups, and their sharp beak is used for crushing the shells of prey items, such as crabs and clams.

The animals are considered to be intelligent and captive specimens can open jars and solve other puzzles used as enrichment tools.

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the giant Pacific octopus is a solitary creature that saves its energy for one chance at mating near the end of its 3-year life cycle.

As for Murray and Malvestuto, they’re just glad to have footage to back up their incredible story.

Said Murray: “In the diving community we have a mantra: If you don’t have a picture, it didn’t happen.”

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

–Photos: Top image is a video screen grab. Second image is from Warren Murray's camera, before the octopus wrapped its arms around the gear

Tiger Beach sharks featured in stunning 'bite anatomy' photos

Photojournalist Daniel Botelho has a talent for making his subjects appear larger than life—a viral Mola mola image he captured a few years ago is just one example—and the tiger sharks of the Bahamas are no exception.

During a recent expedition to Tiger Beach, a dive destination famous for close encounters with tiger sharks and reef sharks, Botelho focused on capturing a "shark bite anatomy" series involving some of Tiger Beach's most frequent visitors—notably a large shark affectionately named Emma (pictured in most images).

The accompanying images, which are protected by copyright laws, were sent by Botelho to GrindTv for single-use only. They were captured during a feeding event. These involve local dive masters who lure the sharks in and sometimes hand feed them with with whole fish.

This longstanding practice is for the benefit of scuba-diving tourists, and Emma is the most prominent and perhaps the most beloved Tiger Beach visitor. (The Bahamas two years ago banned commercial fishing for sharks, which are deemed far more important as a tourism resource.)

"I was using the fisheye lens, and it made me be very close to the action while the feeding was happening," Botelho said. "It took us only five minutes to perform all these 'shark bite anatomy' shots, as we got in the water before the guests to calm down Emma and check how safe it was to dive with all the sharks."

Pictured with the sharks is Tiger Beach veteran Vincent Canabal.

Botelho, who specializes in underwater photography and has swum alongside great white sharks, crocodiles, and swimming elephants, described this as one of his most rewarding experiences.

"I love tiger sharks and sharks in general, so being in the water and performing such open-mouth composition blew my mind away, raced my heart, and was an experience of a lifetime," the Portuguese photographer said.

"Despite the name, Tiger Beach is a place with no land in sight: a wild place that is now protected. We were diving with five tiger sharks and dozens of lemon sharks and reef sharks all at the same time, and we all made it safely back home.

"This shows the world that sharks are predators for sure, but they are not half as dangerous as lions, crocs, and hippos. Just try to hand feed a lion and see what happens."

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv

–Images are courtesy of @Daniel Botelho and protected by copyright laws

Diver encounters jaw-snapping tiger shark that does not seem to appreciate the company (video)

Videos showing divers swimming among large sharks, without cage protection, are commonplace. In most cases the sharks look accustomed to people and do not appear threatening.

But check out the tiger shark in the accompanying footage. It looks agitated, and it's sporting  a deep and seemingly fresh wound on the left side of its head.

 

The footage was captured in murky water at Protea Banks off South Africa.

Shark Attack News points out in a website post that the shark can be heard snapping its jaws at the 14-second mark (turn up the volume). It also notes the downward-slanting pectoral fins.

Clearly, this shark did not appreciate the company, and the diver probably considers himself fortunate to have been able to swim away.

Scuba diver 'bumped by shark' at La Jolla Cove (video)

 

There have been an unusually high number of shark sightings by scuba divers at La Jolla Cove this spring, with soupfins and sevengills the most visible.

In fact, even when visibility is extremely poor, fairly large sharks can be seen.

Bethy Driscoll proved that on Wednesday when she videotaped a close encounter with a sevengill shark.

She posted a 32-second clip to her Bethy Scuba Facebook page, in which a large sevengill appears immediately beneath the veteran diver.

Driscoll titled the post "Bumped by a Shark" and explained that visibility was only three feet and that she initially thought the shark was another diver swimming too closely.

"Then I realized it was a sevengill," she wrote. "I think we both startled each other."

(It's not clear what caused the wound to the shark's tail--perhaps a cookiecutter shark?)

Earlier this spring Rod Watkins of Scuba San Diego told a local news station that he had seen more sharks at La Jolla Cove this season than during "any year in my 45 years of diving here."

Soupfin sharks are considered harmless to humans because of their small size. Sevengills, according to the International Shark Attack File, have been implicated in only five unprovoked attacks on humans since the 16th century.

--Pete Thomas

Legal to scout for abalone while scuba diving?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: Is there any regulation prohibiting a photographer with scuba gear from also scouting out large abalone for a regulation-compliant abalone diver to take? Thanks in advance, and for all you do. (Dave C.)

Answer: The photographer in scuba cannot assist the free diver in any way. The action you describe falls within the definition of "take" under the Fish and Game Code and its regulations (see Fish and Game Code, section 86 and California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 1.80). Both the abalone diver and the photographer with scuba gear may be cited for violating CCR, Title 14 section 29.15(e), which prohibits the use of scuba gear to take abalone.


Q: I noticed in the new ocean sport fishing regulations that ocean whitefish fillets are required to be a minimum length of 6½ inches long and retain the entire skin intact. However, there is no minimum size limit for the whole fish. Why is there a size limit on fillets but not on the whole fish? (Jim Martinez)

Scuba diver sucked into massive vortex off Maui (video)

 

Scuba divers who have encountered strong currents, either expected or unexpected, might appreciate what John Hoover went through recently during a dive off Maui's Nakalele Point.

The massive vortex and powerful surge appear to have been generated by strong surf, and it remains unclear whether Hoover got swept up intentionally.

Nobody was injured, according to the video description.

But the footage is generating comments on the Scuba Diving magazine Facebook page, not all of them complimentary.

"Not a good idea. Who wants to get cheese-grated along the reef?" reads one comment.

"Lucky they weren't crushed against the rocks," reads another.

Then there were these:

-- "Spectacular image but... just too crazy! It looks like the diver gets swallowed by a huge monster..."

-- "Just did this same type of dive in Mexico... site was dubbed 'the washing machine.' Insane ride!"

To be sure, it looks exciting. But it also looks treacherous.