Gansbaai, South Africa
Suddenly a corking white shark barreled towards me alongside dark zombie eyes as well as razor abrupt teeth alone inches away from my face. Would this go my final adventure?
Luckily the cage stopped it. I was shark cage diving inward South Africa as well as adrenaline was coursing through my body. Great white sharks are the ocean’s most lethal predators — coming together them upwardly closed is pretty intense.
The fact that these sharks are responsible for the greatest position out of fatal attacks on humans added to my excitement. I grew upwardly watching Shark Week on Discovery, at nowadays I was living it!
Shark Alley is a unique surface area off the coast of Gansbaai where sharks come upwardly to hunt seals. It has i of the highest concentrations of corking white sharks inward the world.
Great White Sharks
Arguably the most feared creature nether the sea, corking white sharks receive got a notorious reputation. Growing upwardly to vii meters long as well as weighing over 3,000 kg, these pre-historic monsters tin easily rip prey apart using powerful jaws armed alongside hundreds of serrated teeth.
Great white sharks are ambush predators, silently sneaking upwardly on their victims from below at speeds upwardly to 35 mph. They tin fifty-fifty breach out of the water, soaring into the sky.
These sharks feast on tuna, rays, dolphins, seals, whales, sea turtles, as well as fifty-fifty birds. Along alongside an fantabulous feel of smell, they receive got a especial sixth feel that tin respect an animal’s electromagnetic field.
However the corking white’s history of human attacks is what gives many people nightmares — or galeophobia, fearfulness of sharks.
Cage Diving South Africa
After breakfast as well as a security briefing alongside our tour operator Marine Dynamics, nosotros boarded Slash Fin, a custom-designed boat used for underwater shark watching excursions. It took almost xxx minutes to motor into prime number shark territory.
The shark cage was lowered into the H2O as well as strapped to the side of the boat equally nosotros pulled on thick wetsuits as well as weight belts. I was inward the kickoff group, as well as climbed downwards into the cage. That H2O is cold!
The cage is alone partially submerged, alongside mitt as well as pes rails inside. No snorkels are used, alone masks. You function along your caput to a higher identify H2O until the shark spotters scream “DOWN”, at which betoken you lot accept a deep breath as well as force your feet nether the bottom rail, belongings yourself underwater to sentinel the action.
What form of action? The form that makes your pump race…
Underwater Adventure
We watched xvi dissimilar corking white sharks, some equally large equally v meters (15 feet) long, swim past times us over as well as over again. The crew uses a few dissimilar methods to attract sharks.
First they “chum” the water, dumping a soup of fish blood & guts into the bounding main that sharks tin aroma from a mile away. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 draw of piece of occupation attached alongside fish heads is thrown in, addition a 2d draw of piece of occupation alongside a plywood seal decoy.
The bait lines are alone used to depict sharks closer to the cage, giving you lot an amazing up-close view. In fact, sometimes the sharks volition slam correct into the cage! But non because they desire to swallow you…
When attacking prey (or a plywood seal), corking white sharks volition gyre their eyes into the dorsum of their heads for protection. This is why they sometimes swim into or seize alongside teeth the cage. They only can’t see!
Watch a shark ram into my photographic telly camera inward the video below.
Shark Attack Statistics
A friend of mine latterly made an fantabulous comparing almost shark attacks. Think of sharks equally the bears of the ocean. Do bears kill people? Yes. Does that hateful you’ll go attacked past times a acquit if you lot acquire hiking? No.
Let’s await at some difficult statistics, shall we?
These things are to a greater extent than probable to give than a shark attack:
- You volition give-up the ghost from a Canis familiaris attack.
- You volition give-up the ghost from a lightning strike.
- You volition acquire killed past times bees or wasps.
- You volition go executed for a crime.
- You volition go bitten past times a human.
- You volition give-up the ghost falling downwards inward your home.
- You volition acquire shot on a hunting trip.
Here’s the deal. People are ridiculously afraid of sharks.
When there’s a abrupt increase inward attacks, politicians are forced to act. It’s really similar to airline safety. There is no proof banning boom clippers genuinely makes us safer from terrorists.
It happens because it makes us FEEL safer.
Culling (aka killing) corking white sharks is non the answer. They’re already on their agency to becoming an endangered species because some Asian countries bask eating rare & exotic animals, similar shark fin soup.
Over twoscore i chiliad m sharks are killed past times fishermen each year.
Shark Feeding Controversy
Chum is non nutrient for the sharks, it’s only a scent. The bounding main is total of fish guts already. The crew doesn’t genuinely permit sharks swallow those fish heads on the draw of piece of occupation either (although sometimes it happens). They force it away from them.
Even inward situations where sharks are fed directly, similar during my cage-less Bull Shark diving adventure inward Fiji, there’s no bear witness proving that it leads to attacks on people. That item fellowship has been feeding bull & tiger sharks for 10 years alongside no increase inward attacks around the island.
Most shark cage diving tours practise goodness these magnificent creatures past times contributing coin to interrogation as well as conservation programs, that frankly wouldn’t acquire funded otherwise.
No i is going to donate coin to relieve JAWS from extinction unless it’s disguised equally a crazy adventure go experience!
Our cage diving trip included a marine biologist who was recording information on the sharks nosotros encountered for interrogation purposes. They’ve constitute that the position out (and size) of corking whites returning to Shark Alley has been declining chop-chop over the years, a disturbing trend.
See For Yourself
The best agency to overcome your unrealistic fearfulness of sharks? Get inward the H2O alongside them! Once you lot regard these amazing animals upwardly closed spell learning almost their habits from actual scientists who written report them every day, you’ll regard there’s goose egg to fear.
Like Tracey Morgan says, “live every calendar week similar it’s Shark Week”.
But don’t permit media coverage as well as hollywood hype distort the truth.
Shark cage diving alongside corking whites inward South Africa is both exciting as well as educational. We demand to protect these incredible bounding main creatures earlier they’re gone forever. ★
Watch Video: Great White Shark Cage Dive
(Click to sentinel Great White Sharks – Cage Diving on YouTube)
Location: Gansbaai, South Africa [Map]
Accommodation: The Backpack
Company: Marine Dynamics
Cost: R1500 (about $140 USD)
Packing Guide
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Book Accommodation
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Protect Your Trip
Don’t forget go insurance! I’m a large fan of World Nomads for short-term trips. Protect yourself from possible injury & theft abroad. Read to a greater extent than almost why you lot should ever ship go insurance.
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Are you lot afraid of sharks? Would you lot sweat cage diving? Drop me a message inward the comments below!
Disclaimer: My trip was made possible inward partnership alongside iAmbassador as well as South Africa Tourism.
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