They're at it already!

Click for detail!

Behold!

Yes those would definitely be mating scars!

This is way, way early - but then again, this has been a very warm year likely leading to strong fetal development and a very early pupping season, too! To wit, Fold, Tip and Bum are already back from the nurseries all gaunt and ravenous, and busy bulking up after more than a month of fasting!

Long story short, the Running of the Bulls may be upon us very shortly indeed!

So, what are you waiting for! :)

Very early mating - El Niño?

Who knows - but it is definitely happening!

The whole thing, at least for me, is rather puzzling. 

Contrary to what you may have assumed, the current severe El Niño has brought us way colder, not warmer water - and with the Bulls being poikilothermic, this appears to have delayed fetal development insofar as all of the pregnant females are still sticking around for a bit longer instead of having already absconded to give birth in the river nurseries.

And the mating?

I would have thought that it would be triggered by some environmental factor - but compared to a "normal" year, the water is definitely still on the cool side, and precipitation is also sub par = I would have thought that mating, too, would have started later.

But then again, who am I to say!

This is where the males are trying to latch on with their teeth - click for detail.

Anyway, all very interesting!

And with Bull Shark numbers already climbing back to several dozen, the proper Running of the Bulls may be only a few weeks away!

So, what are you waiting for!

 

Shark Reef - Transition Time!

Unknown pregnant Bull.

Cool dive!

Looks like this year, everything is happening at the same time!

Normally, the pregnant Bulls leave for pupping in mid-November and come back in mid-December, after which everybody else disappears for some hanky panky, likely to the deeper reaches of the Beqa Passage. Then in January, we got the Running of the Bulls where  we witness plenty of mating scars and ever increasing numbers of Bull Sharks that are particularly ravenous and also appear to be re-establishinging rank, meaning that during January, the action is hot hot hot!

Not this time!

I wasn't here but the staff tell me that instead of the usual 3 to 5, numbers were never below 20. And on yesterday's dive, I witnessed a very late pregnant mama, see at top, whereas the ever toothy Blunt who had been enormously pregnant has obviously given birth and whilst still being impressive, is but a shadow of her former self, see below.

Blunt pregnant, July 2014

Blunt yesterday.

And guess who's already partying like there's no tomorrow!

Whilst being her usual greedy feisty self!

To be continued!

More mating Scars!

This is a new Shark we've named Steps

Thank you Daniel!

Daniel is the lucky winner of the 1m draw.

He had already booked his trip so this came as an unexpected relief to his budget, something I'm sure is highly welcome as he is slated to be on the road for several more months. He has just sent me this link to his travelogue where he states some real nice things about BAD (thanks!) and where he has also posted a selection from his deluge of pics, among which some Bulls with mating scars. The images are yet to be edited, so I've taken the liberty to slightly sharpen and watermark the two above - click for detail!

More pictures here.

And btw I was wrong.

Daniel is not Swiss but German - and still, we had a great time!
So lemme set the record straight on the whispering campaign by some cretin out there. I'm the son of a German, incidentally Aryan-Protestant mother and an Austrian Jewish father, speak impeccable German and used to be a member of the executive board of Deutsche Bank in Switzerland. 

I got nothing against "the Germans". 

Aber ich bin allergisch gegen besserwisserische Nörgler und Querulanten, und das ganz speziell wennse zudem noch senile Trottel sind!

Alles klar?

They're at it!

Click for detail!

It's that time of the year again.

The Bulls are running, and the action is hot hot hot!

The males are mostly staying away, probably staying deeper in the Beqa Passage where they are likely performing the dirty deed - but we've got plenty of really large females, many of which sport the characteristic fresh mating scars, see above.

Sighted so far: Granma, Tip, Monica, Naughtylus, Pecker, Hook, Lefty, Nick, Curly, Blunt, Nani, Fold, Crush, Valerie, Saddle plus Sharkbite who's obviously still too young - plus very emaciated, and thus revenous Topsail and Gape that have obviously just returned from the nursery and will thus only mate next year!

And for once, the weather is great!

So, what are you waiting for!

Running Bulls!

Click for detail!

From today's dive.
Gates SWP44 Fathom Imaging Wide Angle Port, 119°.

Need I say more.
So, what are you waiting for!

Good Viz!

110-degree lens - these would be 2.5m+ Bull Sharks! Click for detail!

As promised - need I say more!

Oh yes they are running!

Click for detail!

Sorry for the lousy quality!

It's because of Evan.

We've had a lot of crap being swept down the rivers and the viz is just starting to recover - not quite there yet but at least we did see some blue water trying to creep over to Shark Reef from the open ocean. The way I see it, things should be back to normal in 1-2 days and if so I'll post something better, promise!

But boy what a dive!

They're big, they're hungry and they are definitely back!

Whilst the males are still lurking further off and likely fully engrossed in doing the dirty mating deed, the big females have turned up in big numbers. I don't see many mating scars quite yet, meaning that these are likely to be those females who have given birth and won't mate for another year, and maybe some that are not quite ready for sex - but they sure were ready to come and get a meal, and this uncomfortably assertively and close! For those of you in the know, we were not able to hand feed at all on the first dive and on the second, back in 15m, Rusi barely managed to hand out three Tuna heads before having to retreat behind the wall!

But of course I'm not complaining.

Great that so many old timers (Crook - 10 years now!) have made it back, and even better to see a whole new generation of youngsters who have likely followed the females out of the rivers and will now have to learn the etiquette!

So, what are you waiting for! :)

Shark!

Nice pic!

Found it on the Fiji Tourism FB page, with a link to here.

Matthew dove with us last week and appears to be a real interesting dude. You can read about his global adventures here and I look forward to his description of the dive - and of course, of Evan!

And the lonely Bull?

It's that time of the year where they are skittish - but having said this, at least one pregnant female, Curly, has returned from the nursery, and we're witnessing the first mating scars - meaning that the Running of the Bulls is imminent!

Keep watching this space!

Evan - thar he goes!

Woke up to a gentle breeze & sunshine.

We're now getting northerlies, meaning that we're being sheltered by the mountains - but the Navua has flooded meaning that some of the staff may be in trouble - as well as those in Galoa that is on the ocean and where I'm sure matters have been grim.

The sucker is gone, see here.

Now it's time for a clean up - not much damage at the dive shop but considering that the ocean is brown and covered in debris, we're likely to be back diving as of Friday.
Official updates here - I must say, great job by Government, really!

Mating scars!

Shredded - click for detail!

They're at it again!

The first ladies are turning up with mating scars, meaning that they're currently doing it down deep in Beqa Channel. Consequently, most of the Bulls that pop up are very small young subadults that have very likely not yet reached sexual maturity. 

This one is on the brink as she's rather small.

The scars will heal within the shortest time, at most 10 days - and then the bets are on as to who will get pregnant. And whilst the big Sharks are away, we're being literally swamped by Greys, Black- and Whitetips and even a couple of the elusive Silvertips!

It's really a great time of the year.

The weather is not yet stifling hot, the water already warmer and there's plenty cool stuff happening within the Reserve. And very soon there will be the Running of the Bulls where the big females and the males will swarm the feeding site and things will start to get really, really interesting.

So, what are you waiting for! :)

At it!

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics.

The viz has been horrible and that's the best I've been able to come up with.

Anyway, I wanted to share that the Bulls are running!
The big females have left early to give birth in the rivers and are already back - and the others are mating down in Beqa Channel, meaning that we (obviously...) see no males and that many of the females are featuring mating scars, like Lee below who appears to have gotten herself into quite a bit of trouble*. Viz permitting, we're already counting up to 35 individuals, which is unprecedented for early January - and with at least already 4 identifiably new individuals, 2012 already promises to be a spectacular year!

So what are you waiting for!

Lee - roughing it! Click for detail.

* Yes Juerg, we're keeping tabs - don't worry! :)

Bulls-Eye!

Awesome pic - click on it!
May we deduce that Sam must have been pretty close to that Shark?
We may indeed! :)

Yes the Bulls are running fast and furious!
We're currently hosting some of the usual suspects who have flocked in to witness the spectacle, and the inevitable socializing schedule has been keeping me away from the blogosphere - so here's a brief re-cap before I mosey over to the next event.

Sasha has come and gone (and yes, Aleksey and Olga did make it out of Moscow in time!) and I very much look forward to a massive dose of Russian heroism once he gets home! Suffice to say that some of his dives have been, for lack of a better word: quite spicy, and that he could write whole dissertations about the electric signature of a particular brand of underwater strobes!
Meaning that I also expect him to post a whole new crop of terrific sharky pics!

Ozzie Sam is still here - and about to get rained in as always! :)
But not to worry: as witnessed above, he's already gotten the shot! Plus, the man lives just a stone's throw away and I have no doubt that he shall be back for more (Sharks and rain!) very very soon indeed!

Which cannot be said of Juerg!
Viewed from Fiji, Switzerland is about as antipodean as it gets and ever since becoming a pater familias (yes, Marlen may beg to differ!), his visits have alas become a rare treat. This is to be savored, the more as like always, he has come bearing gifts - and not in the Greek way!
The goodies: heaps of inegschmuggleti Mettwuerscht vom Bell!

But I'm digressing.
As always, we got plans - and as always, ah aint telling you quite yet!
Suffice to say that we're about to start something new and that Juerg is profiting from the unequaled (!) Fijian tranquility to put the final touches on a whole array of new papers - so as always, keep watching this space!

Time to go - talk soon!

Bulla!

Click on it - and there's more in the link below!

No, not a typo!
Sasha has posted this gallery of toothy Bull Shark smiles and once again (this is getting boring...), all I can say is Wow!

A couple of caveats though!
First and foremost: dear customer, before you run off to pack your super duper wide angle rig & book a trip to Fiji, read this!
By dishing out copious amounts of Vodka to the staff and patiently listening to the ramblings of one of the owners, Sasha has earned himself superstar status and is being granted special privileges, notably the right to take up residence in the infamous pit. It's a symbiotic relationship: we let him do rather stupid things - he publishes stellar pics and reviews!
And no, we do not usually do this - this is strictly a one-off!

Secondly, this is so yesterday! :)
The challenge this season: wallpaper Bull Sharks!
Today, we had again 40+ Bulls which is pretty much unheard of at this time of the year - and despite of our best efforts, we've managed to only identify approximately half of them, meaning that many are totally new! With that in mind, and yes I may be repeating myself, we are very likely aiming at the magical number of one hundred Bull Sharks - yes on a single dive, meaning that this is just the beginning!

So far, this is the picture to beat!

The good news: for this, you do not need to be sitting in the pit!
The bad news: for this, you do not need to be sitting in the pit!
Meaning: no more haircuts! :)

And finally: yum yum yellow, dorky or not? That's a big fat нет-нет!
Yum yum yellow is the exclusive signature of one UW photographer and plagiarizing is punishable with instant excommunication from Wetpixel, Flickr and all related media! Plus, even the great man himself has had the courtesy to observe protocol!

Ceci dit: Sasha, we eagerly await your return!
The staff, with great anticipation - me, with the usual dose of apprehension! :)
See you real soon!

PS just checked out Vitaly's blog and found this.
Getting there! :)

The Bulls are running!!!

Click for detail!

30+ on Tuesday, 40+ today!
Life is good!

The Running, and not, of the Bulls!

Now THATs what I call dangerous - click to enlarge!

Pamplona is about to unleash!
A big Bula Vinaka from Fiji, and may everything go well!

As to our own Running of the Bulls, it actually happens in January.
But as the El Niño has fizzled out and may well be slowly evolving into a proper La Niña, the numbers continue to be impressive, with a constant 30 to 40 big Bull Sharks on every dive!

With one exception last May.
For a whole week, numbers were positively dismal and the few scattered animals that deigned to turn up refused to feed, as described in this post by Sasha (translate it here and yes, that's yet another stellar pic from this year's crop!). And would you believe it - at the same time, the Manta Rays disappeared from neighboring Kadavu! And, I hear, from the Yasawas!
And then, just as suddenly as it started, all was back to normal and kept getting better until reaching our all time record in June.
Go wonder!

We've been scratching our head ever since - but may this be correlated to the weather phenomena that happened in May and are described in the link? And may Richard have experienced something related when he got skunked in the Bahamas?

Just goes to show how little we know!
Which by the way, is totally part of the fun of what we do!

Swamped!

It's that time of the year again!

The Bulls are running and we're swamped in clients, in the midst of several film productions and have started with this year's series of research projects. Talking of which, after the slideshow, you can finally find Victor's fantastic term paper about our research in the rivers right here!

Oh, and I'm also busy laboring through the 132-odd pages of the user manual of my EX1 and so far, quite unhappy with the first tests! Extremely frustrating, lemme tell you!

Anyway, the Ocean is boiling with Bull Sharks!
There is big, mellow and now ravenous Bum, pictured above (click on it: fantastic!!!) when pregnant in November, who has already come back from giving birth in one of the rivers. She joins the early arrivals Hook, Marlen, Brenda, Topsail, Lee, Chica, Naughtylus, Elvira, Maite, Sickle, Topsail and about two dozen brand new Bulls, seven of which, Mi, Bling, Twostripes, Miss Jagger, Thrasher, Trophy and Snip feature unequivocal identification marks and will thus be added to the ever-expanding Shark List. Yes, I'm talking 30+ Bulls, and this in mid January!
Expect 100 named Bulls by mid-year!

Anyway, I just wanted to say that we're happily busy and just don't have the time, nor the inclination to comment on the traditional seasonal stupidities from Antarctica and Oz.
As Patric said in a great post: more action, less idle chitchat!

Which, I guess, is a good thing!

The Bulls are Running!

Pic: Sasha Safonov

Ni Sa Bula Vinaka friends!

Greetings from Shark Reef where the Bulls are running early, fast and furious!
It very much looks like the Main Season is well underway, with your average dive producing 2-3 dozen Bull Sharks of all sizes and dispositions. Whereas some of the big females are displaying the typical skin rashes from when they entered the rivers to give birth, others show deep and very fresh mating scars, a clear indication that the mating season is still in full swing. And then, there's the males: talk about being tattered, emaciated and ravenous! Clearly, Bull Shark sex is nothing for the squeamish!
And, there's a new batch of sub-adults which is always a wonderful sight to behold, as it signifies that the population is healthy and growing.
All-in-all, very exciting times for the feeders and the safety divers, as we often have to re-assert dominance and remind everybody of the procedures, like the requirement to cruise in from the left.

Needless to say, both us and the Clients are having a ball!

And there's a big newcomer, a dark and huge Giant Grouper that appears to challenge the dominance of Ratu Rua! We will obviously name him Ratu Va (Chief number four) and are looking forward to finding out who will turn out to be the ultimate Boso Man. For the time being, they are circling each other warily and engaging in a lot of posturing, with no clear results yet apparent.
To be followed!

Anyway, great stuff and a fabulous start to the 2009 season!

Happy New Year everybody!