Great White more threatened than tigers!!

Great White Shark, taken off Gansbaai, SouthAfrica. Amazing shot! I am hoping to do a cage dive soon. Will let you know how it went of course. Damn! I am looking forward to it. 
The one thing that really scares me is not the multiple rows of around 3000 teeth. Not at all. The thing that really terrifies me is the fact that these apex predators from the ocean are more threatened than tigers! Yup, you read that correctly. More threatened than tigers!
Like tigers, great whites are a top predator and, like tigers, they have suffered in recent years from habitat destruction and hunting. But unlike tigers, great white sharks get little public sympathy, said Dr Ronald O’Dor, senior scientist at the Census of Marine Life, a 10-year study into ocean wildlife.
An article in The Guardian mentions that the number of Great White sharks has dropped to an alarming 3500. This is really frightening, especially when one considers that the demand for shark fin soup has risen steeply over the last few years. Popular movies, such as Peter Benchley’s “Jaws” where these creatures are portrayed as villains don’t help one iota. 
We need to take drastic action. Seriously. Boycott all restaurants selling shark-fin soup. The damn dish has no nutritional value at all and is not doing the environment any good.
On a more positive note, the USA have taken a step in the right direction, and are now at the forefront of shark conservation. The US Senate recently passed the Shark Conservation Act, which bolsters the prohibition of shark-finning in US waters. If you would like to know more about this you can click HERE 

A tribute to Sea Shepherd

I made this last night for Sea Shepherd SA. Very moving, I hope you like it. No copy right infringement intended. Backing track is Sarah McLachlan. I do not own the rights to the pics, they were taken off the web. I do not make money out of this.

Do Captive Dolphins Die of Boredom??

In September 1982 the Seaquarium’s performing dolphin named Poncho died of intestinal failure. His intestines literally exploded. Now we know why. 
This photo was presumably taken by Miami Seaquairum Vet. Greg Bossart. In Poncho’s stomach were found:
• 2 Deflated Footballs
• 31 Coins
• 21 Stones
• 1 Trainers Whistle
• 1 Ten Penny Nail
• 2 Screws
• 1 Metal Tag
• 1 Piece of Wire
• 1 Metal Staple
• Several Other Unidentifiable Objects


“They get bored in captivity,” says former dolphin trainer Russ Rector, “They pop the footballs and swallow them whole.”

According to marine biologists dolphins living and dying in the wild rarely have anything other than fish in there stomachs but in captivity this is a common occurance.

“People seem to think the dolpin tanks are wishing wells and throw coins in. The dolpins snatch them up and swallow them,” says Rector, “At Ocean World (now closed) one of our dolpins died of zinc poisoning from swallowing too many pennies.”