Killer whale devours great white shark

by Elizabeth Seward on

As if to show the world which ocean predator is actually in charge, a killer whale annihilated a great white shark–in front of a boat-load of people. Just off the coast of San Francisco, the surprise killing caught whale-watchers off guard. According to National Geographic, the whale came to the water’s surface with a great white shark hanging from its mouth.

The interesting part? The whale is said to have held the shark in its mouth for about 15 minutes. And, to thicken the already unlikely plot, biologist Peter Pyle was in the area and able to get underwater footage, which revealed two whales feeding on the shark.

This unbelievable twist of nature was dubbed ‘The Whale That Ate Jaws’ by National Geographic and the footage was aired on the National Geographic channel for the Nature Untamed series. Check out the original story here.




[Thanks, National Geographic ‘Nature Untamed’]

The world’s most dangerous destinations (according to the Los Angeles Times)

by Kraig Becker on

The Los Angeles Times recently compiled a list of their picks for the world’s most dangerous places, with some popular tourist destinations earning amongst their ranks. Unlike other lists of this kind however, they automatically omitted places like Baghdad or Afghanistan, which are not travel friendly to begin with. Instead, this list points out the the very real dangers that a tourist might face while visiting one of these places.

For example, Gansbaai, South Africa earns a spot amongst the world’s most dangerous destinations because of the shark infested waters that surround the city. The region has an abundance of seals and penguins, which attract hordes of great white sharks, making it a popular place for visitors who want to see those predators up close. Thrill seekers can take a dip in those dangerous waters inside a shark cage, while most will look on from the safety of their boat.

Other dangerous destinations include Mt. Everest in Nepal for the extreme conditions and high altitude. The entire country of Australia gets the nod thanks to all the dangerous snakes and spiders that live there, and Memphis, Tennessee is a surprise entry for its proclivity for earthquakes. The city sits on a major fault line that could make it a major disaster waiting to happen.

There are a number of other popular destinations on the list, each with a unique threat to those that visit there. The list is a good reminder that we don’t have to visit a war torn nation to face real dangers on our next trip.

Great White Shark. San Diego coast. Not good.

by Iva Skoch on

Until this morning, it had apparently been some 14 years since the last great white shark attack off the coast of San Diego.

This morning, a 66-year-old swimmer in triathlon training was killed by a shark about 150 yards off Solana Beach, near San Diego, LA Times reports. Other swimmers apparently saw him actually being lifted out of the water and drug under and whey went to his aid and dragged him onto the beach. He was pronounced dead almost immediately.

Shark expert Richard H. Rosentblatt from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that based on descriptions of the attack and the wounds inflicted “this almost certainly was a great white shark.” A large one, too. 15-17 feet.

San Diego beaches will probably be not-so-popular for a while.

Ride on a Great White

by Erik Olsen on

Sorry, just saw this over at Jason’s blog and had to post it here for diving fans…wait, forget that. Anyone and everyone is going to love this, a video showing Jean-Michel Cousteau not just in the water with, but RIDING a great White Shark.

Cool FX Shark Video

by Erik Olsen on

Sister site Divester blogged about this a while back, but I figured it was worth posting here for
diving fans and, well, pretty much anyone who likes to see cool FX. This one features a rather large Great White shark that goes mano a
mano against a helicopter. I was wondering if it was a take-off on that fake Nat Geo picture that circulated a while
back and that was quickly debunked on Snopes. But dunno.
Either way, it’s cool.