Baby Lemon vs Barracuda!

Source.

 

Wow - watch.

 
 

I guess one could say, such is life out there in the wild.

But I'm particularly happy that the little Lemon made it out alive!

 

Anyway, enjoy!

 

Tiger Shark vs Loggerhead Turtle!

Source. 

Watch.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kai Survance (@kaiowenfishinginc)

 

I must say that I really like it.

 

Yes, in theory, one should generally not interfere with Nature.

But in practice, we always do, and this overwhelmingly in negative ways - so the small act of kindness for that little terrified turtle was nice to see.

And trust me, that Tiger will find another meal.

Well done guys!

GTs vs Sharksuckers - Paper!

 

Remember this post?

 

That was not the only observation by far.

This never before described novel hunting technique probably started as an attempt by a single innovative Giant Trevally, only to be quickly adopted by the the whole gang of miscreants. At its apex in late 2011, the 15m Take-out had become a veritable gauntlet, with dozens of GTs targeting the Sharksuckers whenever a Bull would come in for a feed. The Trevallies would wait in front of the feeder and then follow the Shark throughout the feeding area, only to then return to the starting point in order to intercept the next approaching Bull.

Of interest, not all caught Sharksuckers would perish as some would manage to latch on to the attacker,  only to then jump back onto a passing Bull Shark - click on the the pic at the top.

 

It however all ended at year end.

When the Bulls get ready for pupping and mating and are less interested in our bait, we relocate the feed to 25m where the topography is completely different and the trajectory of the feeding Bulls is much less predictable. And then most of the Bulls leave for 4-5 weeks, and the few who remain feed way less, thus further greatly reducing the predation opportunities of the GTs.

Whether it was the above and the Trevallies lost interest, or whether the individual Sharksucker-hunting GTs moved away or were fished: the fact is that we've never witnessed that behavior again.

But we had plenty of footage.

Here's a quick-&-dirty little iMovie edit of some memorable moments. Yeah I know the slo-mo kinda sucks - but you get the gist and I promise that I'll post something better later on.

And now Juerg has also written the paper - finally!

On top of the above story, it also describes other really interesting observations of Sharksuckers at Shark Reef and other Shark provisioning sites in Fiji.

Press release here, additional clips here.

Enjoy Juerg's paper!  

GWS vs Humpback - Video!

Watch.

Pretty awesome ain't it.

Story here - enjoy!

GHH vs Blacktips - Video!

Same-same but different: this is a huge GHH nailing a Grey Reefie in French Polynesia - source. Remember the paper? Click for detail!

Check this out, amazing.

But, the predation at the end?

Why is that Blacktip so lethargic - maybe because that shoot is staged = because that Shark had been caught and was being used as bait, which would also explain why the drone operator was able to conveniently zoom in before the action unfolded?

Honi qui mal y pense!

Anyway.

Incidentally, note how the Blacktips use the shallow water to escape - paper here, synopsis here.

Enjoy!

Mobulas and Humpback Whale - Video!

Source.

Behold!

Beautiful isn't it.

As to the behavior of that Humpback, who knows.

It sure is very active, and it also appears to be somehow using its pecs - and with Northern Hemisphere Humpbacks having been shown to use their fins to scoop up Sardines, there may be more to this than meets the eye.

Anyway - enjoy!

Pyjama Shark vs Octopus!

Behold!

Yeah I know it's a tad old.
But many have not yet seen it, so there.
Story here - enjoy!

Fur Seals vs. Great White Sharks!

Source.

Wow - watch.

Orca vs Turtle!

Source.

Oldie but goodie.
Enjoy - story here!

Shark Attack in the Red Sea!

Remember?

This is bad - watch in HD.

As to what exactly happened.

Apparently there was no bait *- and for once I tend to believe that. 

One very knowledgeable friend speculates that the victim may have gotten in the way of the OWT who was targeting the dude in the shorts, and that the OWT did bite him in order to chase away a perceived competitor in what would be a case of agonistic behavior.

I beg to differ: to me this looks like a quintessential predatory attack. 

What strikes me is how small that Shark is, meaning that it may be a subadult who is still experimenting, or not a very good hunter and thus particularly famished, or just a particularly bold individual - but of course we will never know as per this unforgotten brilliant post by Rick.

Story here.

If there is some lesson to be learned from all of this, it escapes me ** - maybe with the exception of the fact that playing possum when faced with a pesky predator may not be the best strategy!

Anyway.
Let's go Shark diving!

* or maybe there was?
** or maybe not = read the rather shocking comments in the above link!
  

Hammerhead vs Eagle Ray!

Source.

Probably a GHH, probably Guam.
Source - enjoy!



H/T: MarineCSI!
 

GWS vs Seal!

Not a good day to be a Seal!
Story here.

This is one of the wildest things I’ve ever filmed!!! White shark eats a seal 500 feet off the coast of Nauset Beach in Orleans, Massachusetts. Watch to the end to see the blood and the seal cut clean in half. #nationalsharkawarenessday #natgeowild — PRESS INQUIRIES/LICENSING please email chris@cpalermo.com.

A post shared by Chris Palermo (@chris.palermo) on Jul 13, 2018 at 6:21am PDT

700 Requins dans la Nuit - awesome!

Source - click for detail! 

Behold!

Yeah that would once again be Laurent in Tetamanu.

All I can say is, epic - and there is also this ridiculously awesome photo essay and also, this book with his best pictures that I can only highly recommend.

Enjoy!

Bull Shark vs hooked Shark!

Yes Bull Sharks got big sharp teeth - great pic by Sasha! Click for detail!

Behold!

Story here.

Not at all sure about the first Shark - but the big one is unmistakably a Bull = a species that will most definitely prey on other Sharks.

Enjoy!
 

Cormorant vs Remoras!

Source.

This is just amazing!

Source here - and a big H/T to Daniel of Shark Business for finding it!

Enjoy!

PS - and here's the long version - that's one helluva persistent bird lemme tell 'ya!

Bird-eating GTs - Video!

Source.

This is beyond awesome.

Latest since that paper, I knew that those GTs are totally badass - but seeing this, along with the unbelievably spectacular footage and the awesome editing simply leaves me in total awe!

And yes this would obviously be the BBC - who else!

H/T Serena - enjoy!

GWS Predation - Video!

Source.

Way cool - except if you're a Seal!
Story here - enjoy!

Gombessa IV - The Science!

Source.

Remember?

So here is Johann's post.
Like I said, totally, utterly and ridiculously amazing!
And Yannis most certainly agrees.



Enjoy!
 

Gaping Tiger Shark - Awesome!

How cool is this!

Tim is absolutely correct.

He is disturbing a predation event, and this is agonistic behavior = the Tiger is likely seeing him as a potential competitor and clearly telling him to piss off.
Amazing defensive behavior by the Turtle, too! :)
 

Story here.

 

Sharks vs Humpback Whale!

Wow.

Remember this paper about Bulls killing a Whale?

Now, some Bull Sharks (and possibly Tigers and OWTs?) appear to have attacked and killed a Humpback calf in Haapai, Tonga. Very interesting - and big kudos to the good folks at Whale Discoveries for their impassioned and respectful report.