Do Sharks really bite?

Wonderful article from 1931 issue of Popular Science.

“Is It Possible to Learn the Truth About the Habits of Alleged Man-Eaters in the Semitropic Water? Here Is the Report of a Study Made for Popular Science Monthly by One Who Now Fears the Swift Monsters…”

SOME years ago, I heard a celebrated naturalist state unequivocally that sharks would not attack men. As proof of his statement, he cited his own experience in shark-infested waters. Clad only in a bathing suit and a diving helmet, he had descended to the sea bottom, staying there for considerable periods while sharks and other fish swam negligently about, merely evincing a mild curiosity in his presence.

Further, this naturalist said that, though he had tried in various parts of the world to run down instances in which men had been attacked by sharks, he had failed to discover a single authenticated case. He gave it as his opinion that attacks hitherto attributed to sharks had in reality been perpetrated by that other killer of the sea, the barracuda.

Not being a naturalist, I do not propose to set up my own opinions in controversion of an expert. Nevertheless, I have gleaned a few items of information that do not gee with the theory that the shark is as harmless as a dove.

From Modernmechanix: Read more

Cheers for the tip Limbic

Basking sharks tracked from UK to Canada

Britain’s biggest shark species has been tracked for the first time for thousands of miles from waters southwest of the Isle of Man to Canada.

Until now little was known about endangered basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) when they moved outside British waters, but scientists have confirmed that the animals travel huge distances and plunder deep waters for food. The discoveries were made with the help of two sharks, known as A and B, who were tagged last year.

The detailed pattern of movements will now enable scientists to identify new ways to protect sharks from harm in British waters. There is still a risk of hunting in other waters, however, because of the shark’s highly valued fins, which are a delicacy in some countries.

From the Times: Read more

Mexico: a perfect beach saved from developers

Picture a perfect beach. From an expanse of flawless white sand, implausibly turquoise water shelves out over a stoneless seabed to a clear horizon. Overhead, pelicans wheel lazily in search of fish. One suddenly folds its wings, like a prehistoric umbrella, and hurtles downward. The splashdown is the first sound you can remember hearing for several minutes.

Now imagine a whacking great hotel plonked on all this; plus a golf course and a few jetskis, of course, just to keep the decibel levels up. This is the fate that has befallen so many of the world’s idyllic places that there seems something almost inevitable about it. Thanks to a determined and organised grassroots campaign, however, it won’t be happening on this particular, Mexican strand.

Balandra beach, outside the city of La Paz, state capital of Baja California Sur, has been spared from future development after residents, civil society groups and environmentalists organised themselves into a collective, amassing a petition of 18,440 signatures calling on the regional authorities to protect the area. On March 25, after a protracted struggle by the Colectivo Balandra, state officials finally designated a total of 2,131 hectares of land and sea a Natural Protected Area, in a move that could signal a shift in Mexico’s approach to tourism and conservation.

From The Guardian: Read more

Hot life found a mile under seafloor

Life-forms have been found thriving a mile (1.6 kilometers) beneath the seafloor in hot sediments, a new study says.

The finding doubles the maximum known depth for organisms under the ocean bottom—and may be an encouraging sign for the search for life on other planets.

At 140 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit (60 to 100 degrees Celsius), the microscopic life forms are probably also the hottest life-forms yet found in seafloor sediments, according to study co-author R. John Parkes, a microbiologist at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.

The scientists examined core samples of sediments in the North Atlantic Ocean and found microbes known as prokaryotes.

“There are [nonbiological] sources that can produce methane [and related chemicals], therefore there might be a biosphere on other planets that may not require the ability to harness sunlight on a planet’s surface for energy”.

From National Geographic - Read more

Humpback whales are making a comeback

Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpback whales have made a dramatic comeback in the North Pacific Ocean over the past four decades, a new study says.

The study released Thursday by SPLASH, an international organization of more than 400 whale watchers, estimates there were between 18,000 and 20,000 of the majestic mammals in the North Pacific in 2004-2006.

Their population had dwindled to less than 1,500 before hunting of humpbacks was banned worldwide in 1966.

“It’s not a complete success, but it’s definitely very encouraging in terms of the recovery of the species,” said Jeff Walters, co-manager of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

From Discovery News: Read more

Next Page »