At the southern apex of Africa, Cape Town’s False Bay is home to one of the
planet’s largest gatherings of big marine predators. What brings them all here?
- TEXT AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS & MONIQUE FALLOWS -
LOCATION
South Africa’s False Bay was named by early mariners
who had expected to sail into Table Bay on the other side
of the Cape Peninsula but instead found themselves further south. The 1,000 square kilometre inlet straddles
the cool Benguela and warmer Agulhas currents, resulting in water temperatures that fluctuate between 12 and
23°C, one of the widest ranges known to occur globally.
Powerful winds and upwellings churn nutrients in the water, feeding seasonal algal blooms, which sustain huge
populations of bait fish (such as sardines, anchovies,
mullet and maasbankers). These lure game fish, such
as kabeljou, elf, leervis and yellowtail, which in turn attract the large top predators that the Bay is famous for.
This elite ‘Bite Club’ include a impressive variety of sharks
- including the infamous great white - as well as orcas,
fur seals and several species of dolphins and whales.
PHOTOGRAPHY
In addition to being one of the
leading authorities on Great
White shark behaviour, Chris
Fallows is a professional wildlife
photographer. His book ‘Great
White, The Majesty of Sharks’,
chronicles his journey from a
penniless shark enthusiast to
his discovery of “flying” great
whites in 1996.
False Bay truly is South Africa’s Serengeti,
where the ocean’s greatest predators still rule
the waters and the abundant shoals of prey
live their precarious lives beneath the waves.
GREAT WHITE SHARK
Carcharodon carcharias
WEIGHT (grown): 2,500 kg
LENGTH: more than 6 m
TOP SPEED: 50 km/h
GREAT WHITE FLIGHT
In 1996, Chris Fallows was the first to document
Great White Shark breaching behaviour and to
date the apex Shark Expeditions team have recorded over 9350 predatory events in the area.
This remarkable predatory onslaught takes
place primarily during the South African winter
months from May to August, and the regularity of
these spectacular bursts of piscine athleticism
are unique to Seal Island, False Bay.
Why do they only do this here? ‘The clue is in the
name’, says Chris. ‘The sharks are patrolling Seal
Island in search of inexperienced seal pups, re-
cently weaned and returning from their first fishing
trips.
Over the course of four months, the island’s waters
become a staging ground for an epic showdown
between predator and prey, hosting between 600
and 800 predation events per season, a figure unparalleled anywhere else on earth.
‘No matter how many times you witness it, the sight
of the ocean’s most talked about super predator
leaping, sometimes 10 foot clear of the water,
leaves you buzzing with excitement and admiration’, says Chris.
SHARK VS. SEAL
Great white sharks are built for brute force and
speed, being eight times as heavy, twice as long
and twice as fast as a Cape fur seal. But whilst
it appears sharks should have the edge in these
deadly dances, the seals are in fact equipped with
some pretty spectacular anti predatory senses of
their own. Their agility outstrips the shark’s, enabling them to outmanoeuvre their adversary.
For a long while Fallows wondered how the seals
knew to leap out of the water that split second before the shark breached behind them, even when
the water was dirty or it was near dark, thereby
taking away any chance that the seal had seen the
shark.
Then an interesting find came to light and the answer was obvious. Research showed that seals
can detect the vortices left by the swimming
stroke of a small bait fish 30 seconds after it has
passed. Likewise, whenever a great white charges
upwards at a seal, it displaces a huge amount
of water. This ‘bubble’ of water, similar in hydrodynamics to what a submarine pushes around
its bow, triggers an instinctive reflex in seals to
quickly change direction, out of the way of the approaching juggernaut.
This split-second early warning system is often the
difference between life and death, where survival
is decided by the narrowest of margins.
The use of chum, (basically ground up fish), in the
process of attracting sharks has been a hot topic
for a long while. Those against the use of chum argue that it causes the sharks to associate humans
with food and also conditioned sharks to being
fed.
“Whilst I cannot comment on all operations”, says
Chris, “I can comment on most in South Africa and
certainly on our own shark diving business in False
Bay. During the course of the roughly 200-220
trips we run each year we use roughly 1000kg of
tuna as bait to attract sharks. This equates to an
average of 5kg of bait per trip. Most of this tuna is
not used as we have a very vigilant crew that have
become experts in spotting sharks!”
“5kg of bait per day certainly is not going to be
enough to keep several 500-1000+kg sharks well
fed and make them conditioned to our vessel. In
fact quite the contrary, because the baits are purposefully pulled away from the sharks, in many
cases they lose interest in our vessel or leave to do
more productive activities. If anything, the sharks
are becoming negatively conditioned.”
“The idea of great white sharks associating humans with a food is, once again, a big stretch. To
think that the shark, who sees a piece of fish on
a float, cognitively links this piece of fish with a
human standing on the boat or divers in a cage is
a big ask. Even if it did, does that mean it would
go and attack a human every time it saw them?
Logically then, every time a shark steals fish from
a fisherman the same assumption should hold
true.”
“Quite simply, chumming or baiting takes many
forms in the ocean. You might say that trawlers
dumping fish in the ocean and cleaning fish in
harbours is no different than chumming carried
out by cage-diving boats or a shark research vessels. Of course, the commercial fishing operations
that attract sharks do very little to show people
the beauty of the great white, nor do they place
an emphasis on educating guests about these su-
per predators. The days of a fishing boat taking a
bunch of tourists out and throwing the shark pieces of horse and dumping blood in the water are
long gone. Today for the most part, competition
and an ever more educated tourist, have dictated
that shark tourism boats up their game and provide a service that matches the magnificence of
the animals they are showcasing.”
“Quite simply, in South Africa, it is the shark cage
diving industry that keeps the sharks alive. Without commercial cage dive operators watching for
poaching and adding to the growing wave of proshark supporters by exposing tourists to what the
animal behind the myth is really about, the sharks
would have no chance.”
“As people don’t choose just any doctor to do an
operation nor should they choose just any operator to show you an animal as magnificent as the
great white shark. Do your homework and find the
operator that best fits your needs and conservation ethic.”
INSHORE SHARKS
In spring, great whites move inshore, looking for
smaller sharks and fish. This may be due to the
warmer, highly oxygenated water trapped inshore,
helping them digest food and save energy.
Whatever the reason, and despite their proximity
to the beach, the sharks are certainly not scouting for human prey. Nevertheless, it must be considered that rampant fishing by long liners and
line fishermen may be pushing great whites to
widen their search for prey, thus increasing their
chances of coming into contact with humans. It’s
a trend that is likely to continue unless measures
are taken to reduce fishing pressure on their prey
species.
With the number of people using the ocean increasing all the time, human interactions with
sharks will logically increase.
“Chris has kayaked and paddle-boarded with
many different great whites and free dived with
multiple sharks at a time”, says Monique. “Sharks
will not simply rush up and attack you, no matter
what form of recreation you pursue. At no stage
have any acted aggressively towards him, which
clearly shows that they pose relatively little threat.
Nevertheless, before others are tempted to try this
it must be remembered that Chris is very expereienced and has a good idea of the right conditions
to do this under.”
SHARK SPOTTING
“One summer we heard over our boat’s radio that a large Great white had been sighted in Fish Hoek”, says Monique. “We were
only 5 minutes away so we made our way
quickly to the scene. In such flat conditions
the shark stood out like a sore thumb and
we approached for a closer look to see if
we could identify the animal. It was quite a
sight. The beach had already been cleared
by Shark Spotters and the shark was now
cruising along Jaggers Walk on the western side of Fish Hoek Bay. People who were
walking along Jaggers Walk could clearly
see the shark. Watching it gliding along
with houses directly above really drove
home the fact that we need to be able to
co-exist with sharks in our waters.”
“The Shark Spotting program is a very proactive way of doing this. There are spotters
who sit on the mountain above Fish Hoek
and Muizenberg, two areas that sharks patrol frequently. A simple flag system on the
beach lets beachgoers know the situation
and if a shark should be spotted close to
bathing areas, the water is cleared by the
use of a siren.”
3
SHARK SIZE
When measured relative to a human lifespan,
Seals Island’s great whites are still generally
‘teenagers’. The largest are on average 3.5m or
12ft. This means that they are at or near their most
athletic, both in design and in energy efficiency. In
a nutshell, these are sharks bristling with speed
and energy. Young great whites generally feed on
fish and larger adults appear to supplement the
odd seal with a lot of cetacean scavenging. So
Seal Island attracts the right size class of shark.
Fallows believes that it is a combination of
these factors that dictates the spectacular high
speed athletic breach behavior seen around
False Bay’s seal Island.
Why is shark breaching seen so often
at Seal Island but so rarely elsewhere?
Based on his observations from great white shark
hot spots worldwide, Fallows thinks there are a
number of factors at play.
1
THE TOPOGRAPHY
The southern terminus on Seal Island is a shallow
reef, which the seals use to leave and return to
the island. Beyond the reef is deep water where
sharks can lurk undetected. The reef structure
rises quickly as it approaches the island, so the
sharks are forced upwards, racing to the surface
in an attempt to ambush their prey before they are
seen. Most attacks take place within 500m of the
island, with the shark often pursuing a seal all the
way to the surface, where its momentum propels
it out of the water.
PREY SIZE
2
Young Cape Fur Seals weigh up to around 40lbs
during the peak predation months and sharks can
comfortably strike them at full speed without risk
of injury. In the Guadalupe, or the Farallon Islands
off the coast of California, elephant seals can
weigh hundreds of pounds even when they are
young. Hitting one of these seals at speed would
probably harm the shark. Also, different seal species employ different feeding and hunting strategies and many do not porpoise (leap clear of the
water) with such regularity as the Cape fur seals,
which necessitates different hunting strategies
for sharks.
COMPETITION
4
By mid June, great white shark numbers at Seal
Island are peaking. Lots of sharks hanging around
optimal hunting areas means lots of competition.
So when they see a seal they launch an attack ,
not necessarily waiting for the perfect time. This
means attacks are hit-and-miss, with sharks moving from one seal to another, until they get a lucky
strike.
What is interesting is that larger sharks generally
hunt further away from the island, avoiding the increased competition in the core hunting area. The
success of these sharks is also higher. It appears
therefore that the larger sharks probably follow
their prey for longer and wait for the perfect time
to strike, rather than launch suboptimal strikes
simply because of the pressure to catch a seal before another shark does.
Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster film JAWS,
based on the novel by Peter Benchley, elicited a
more emotive response towards the Great white
than any other film has done before or since for
any animal.
Quite simply this iconic shark became public enemy number one. In the same breath though the
super shark was elevated to an unparalleled status amongst other wildlife, with everyone having
an opinion one way or another. With the anti-shark
lobby there also emerged a pro-shark lobby, comprised of those who wanted to educate themselves
and learn more about the creature in flesh, rather
than simply believe in the behaviour of the robotic
creature portrayed on the big screen.
Sharks became so popular that Discovery Channel in 1987 launched an entire week of shows
dedicated to sharks which continues with ever
growing popularity to this day.
To meet the growing interest, film crews flocked
to many of the world’s famous great white shark
haunts but undoubtedly none more so than False
Bay’s Seal Island.
On a winter morning in 1996 I towed a small lifejacket behind my motorised 11ft rubber dinghy
and lo and behold a great white shark launched
into the air, lifejacket clenched between it’s pearly
whites.
That was my introduction to the Flying great white
sharks that patrol Seal Island.
It wasn’t rocket science that we had discovered
something very special and when my first images
of the sharks breaching made the public domain
the response was incredible.
Front page stories on some of the world’s biggest
newspapers carried the images which many questioned as being fake. Soon thereafter film crews
started joining our shark viewing company to see
these sharks in action. All the time we learnt more
about the complex and intertwined ecosystem
of Seal Island and how we needed to respect not
only the shark but also their prey, as both dueled
for survival in spectacular aerial contests.
Discovery Channel’s ‘Air Jaws’ series of shows
really catapulted the flying sharks into the stratosphere as breach after breach launched into living
rooms everywhere.
Then came BBC’s landmark ‘Planet Earth’ series,
with its super high speed cameras and slow motion footage that visually enticed us with every
water droplet cascading down the shark’s back in
high definition.
The Great white was no longer a villain, it was now
a super athletic predator that people flocked to
try and see. Today more than 70,000 people cage
dive with great white sharks each year in South Africa and operations in Guadalupe, Australia and
New Zealand have all grown in popularity.
Today I still try to get “The Shot”. With less than a
second and no warning, shooting a breach is not
for those with slow reflexes. The real challenge
though, and one I focus most attention on, is photographing a natural predation. This is what the
true essence of Seal Island is all about. If I can
showcase this behavior to those people who do
not have the means to see it for themselves and at
the same time pay homage to both predator and
prey I hope in some way to have paid back my debt
of gratitude for the privilege of spending time with
Seal Island’s amazing wildlife.
Recent research shows that not only do sharks
specialise in different hunting techniques in different areas but individual sharks within those areas may also specialise.
Young great whites, 5-8ft in size specialize in
feeding primarily on fish, smaller sharks and rays.
As they start growing their long, narrow teeth become wider and more suited to cutting their prey,
rather than grasping it. This reflects a shift in their
diet towards more mammalian prey.
At Seal Island the highly athletic teenage sharks
in the 10-14 ft range feed almost exclusively on
young, recently-weaned Cape fur seals, which
proaching adulthood in the 14-15ft range, they
once again seem to have a diet shift. Chasing agile seals becomes less rewarding and start to rely
more on higher-energy species, such as elephant
seals and whale carcasses.
Interestingly, at Seal Island only 10% of all sharks
are 4.0m or more in length and adults of 5m or
more are rare. When a whale carcass drifts into
the 1,000 square kilometer False Bay, large
adults are suddenly seen. It appears, therefore,
that whilst these animals are rare to Seal Island,
they are still present and prefer to feed on these
high energy, all-you-can-eat blubber buffets.
have a healthy layer of blubber but a disproportionate amount of experience when it comes to
recognising predators. On cloud free days, the
sharks feed mostly just before sunrise until about
an hour after sunrise, but will feed longer when
light levels are lower. By using a full speed surface attack they are able to catch and kill seals
on 48% of all attacks observed at Seal Island and
90% of these are on pups less than a year old.
Sharks very seldom share seal kills and predation
events last typically 30 seconds to a few minutes.
As the sharks grow even further and start ap-
In areas such as Guadalupe and the Farallon Islands off the North American west coast, larger
adult great whites often target elephant seals
of varying ages and size. They attack underwater, trying to bite the seal with a devastating first
strike and then waiting until their prey has bled
out before feeding. Often, several sharks will feed
on a single large seal and events can last upwards
of 20 minutes.
At Guadalupe, off Mexico, in addition to seals,
the great white sharks in this area also scavenge
yellowfin tuna from under sport fishing boats.
A predilection for Sashimi is also seen in Mediterranean great white shark diets where large
adult great whites have often been caught in
the matanza, the harvesting of Bluefin tuna, in
a series of nets leading ultimately to a death
chamber, where sadly great whites sometimes
also end up. Great whites caught in this area
have in also been found with dolphins (mostly
bottlenose) in their stomachs.
Moving down South to Australia and New Zea-
land, little predation has been witnessed, but
as the great whites concentrate around seal
colonies, mostly New Zealand fur seals, it is
likely that they are the primary prey. With the
water generally much clearer than in South Africa it is possible that the sharks are feeding
at night when the advantage of sight would be
taken away from the seals and the sharks can
use their highly acute ability to detect sound
and vibration to give them the upper hand.
‘Just as each human being has a personality, so
do great white sharks’, says Fallows.
‘Undoubtedly the greatest long term highlight
of working with them has been getting to know
the individuals themselves. It’s like seeing
an old friend when they return each year. And
it’s sad when they don’t come back. Whilst all
sharks are special there are those that make
that much more of an impression.’
‘Between 1997 and 2006 we got to know Rasta, the super relaxed and lovable shark we
watched for 8 years. Rasta grew close to 15ft
and would put her head out of the water and
gaze at our boat. On one occasion, she gently put her head on our dive step, which was a
foot clear of the water, looking curiously at all
who watched her. If ever there was shark who
got into the hearts of all who saw her, it was the
gentle giant, Rasta.’
‘We also had February , a super confident
female who we watched over the course of a
decade grow from 10ft into a 16ft magnificent
adult, dominating her kind and our boat alike.’
‘Currently we have Shy Guy, a 12ft reserved
male who is a super efficient hunter but never comes to the boat. He really is a shark that
dispels the notion that great whites are conditioned to expect handouts from boats.
Then there’s Cruella, an assertive 12ft female
whose high-speed lunges at our decoy and bait
managed to chase away a BBC film crew who
just wanted to film a relaxed, slow-swimming
shark.’
‘Undoubtedly these, and many other great
whites we have come to know so well, have really taught us that each animal out there deserves
to be treated as an individual, with respect and
with compassion.’
WHALE BUFFET
“Five times over the last 13 years we have had
the privilege of witnessing the truly phenomenal
event of Great white sharks feeding on a whale
carcass”, says Monique.
“ In September 2010, when we disovered a dead
12-meter Brydes whale, it was the beginning of
a 9-day clean up job like no other.”
“The whale had either been hit by a large boat
or had died in a trawl net. There were already
a number of white shark bites as well as what
we presumed were blue shark and mako shark
bites.”
“Judging by the prevailing weather conditions
and current drift the carcass would have washed
up onto a tricky bit of coast line making the clean
up job a very difficult one. We made a decision
to tow the whale some 9 miles further into False
Bay to Seal Island in the hope that the Great
whites could dispose of the carcass naturally.
The towing mission was extremely slow going.
With the oily slick of chum following in our wake
we were astounded that no sharks came to investigate, even after we arrived at Seal Island
and waited for several hours.”
“When we returned the following day it was evident that the sharks must have found the car-
cass in the early hours of the morning. Large chunks
of blubber had already been removed and one male
was busy gorging himself as we attempted to secure our boat onto the anchored whale. Great white
sharks have high energy demands and the thick layer of blubber on this whale was the ultimate energy
source.”
“It was interesting to see just how selective the
sharks were. We watched as they would bite into
the whale’s flesh and then move on as soon as they
could taste it was not the energy rich blubber they
were after. This was not the feeding frenzy that some
people wrongly believe is typical of a great white.
In one horrific moment a shark bit through the womb
of the whale and out popped its already dead calf.
We felt sad at this terrible waste of life, but at least
the sharks were able to benefit from it.”
“More than 30 different sharks attended the banquet at different times, more than I ever thought
would be present in False Bay during September.
Great whites rarely tolerate each other’s presence
but their behaviour seemed more relaxed around
the whale as there was little competition for the
gigantic cracass. At one point, we saw four feeding together, though some were sporting fresh bite
marks”
“This was an extremely rare event that we were privileged to see. I don’t know if we will ever have the
chance again.”
‘Whilst it is a privilege every time you see a
great white shark move effortlessly through
its watery world there are some moments
that stand out and remain with you forever’,
says Chris. ‘The single event that was most
memorable for me had to be watching 28
great white devour a whale carcass in July
2000. We had the sharks, some of which
were 16ft or more, feeding belly up next
to each other. Up to eight sharks at a time
would lift half their bodies clear of the water, clamping onto the energy-rich blubber
and hanging there like piglets sucking from
a sow. The hiss of air exploding from each
gulp, along with the thrashing and tearing of
fatty chunks, was mesmerizing. Coupled with
the acrid smell and fatty mist that lingered
above the rotting carcass, this was a sensory
onslaught; truly the nirvana for shark lovers.’
‘In just 18 hours the sharks had devoured
two thirds of the 12m long Brydes whale.’
‘Another highlight has to be the times when
we have witnessed in excess of 45 predatory events in a single morning, most taking
place in just a few hours, sometimes simultaneously. Our guests all shout and scream
with excitement. It’s a seal’s worst nightmare, with sharks launching wave after wave
of spectacular aerial assaults. You don’t
know where to look or which event to follow!
The same is true for the gulls, which usually
flock above such events, waiting for a breach
or splash and then swooping down to search
for seal entrails. On mornings such as these,
gulls will proactively follow the seals instead,
because attacks are that likely.’
‘To put this into perspective, the Farralon
islands off San Francisco, which records
roughly 40-50 events in a whole year is said
to be the second best place to see natural
predatory behaviour of great whites.’
COMMON DOLPHIN
Delphinus delphis
WEIGHT (grown): 150 kg
LENGTH: 1.7 - 2.5 m
TOP SPEED: 40 km/h
MOVEABLE FEAST
In Autumn, the movement of bait fish into the middle of the bay attracts huge schools of common
dolphins - sometimes as many as 1,000 in a single
“megapod” but schools of 20-200 are more common. Working as a team, they herd the fish into a
‘bait ball’ firing bursts of sonar to disorientate their
prey.
These beautifully patterned dolphins are especially
common in False Bay in April but can be seen year
round. They grow to around 2.5m, live close to 40
years and will actively race up to boats and try to
ride the bow wave.
The yellowish figure of eight pattern on the flanks of
this dolphin is a key identification feature.
In South African waters common dolphins are often associated with
flocks of Cape gannets, which follow the pod and wait for them to herd
fish into a bait ball. Then they attack from the air, plummeting into the
water at speeds exceeding 120 kilometres per hour and plunging to
depths of 20 metres or more.
When underwater they can “fly” after their prey with remarkably keen
eyesight. The strike of the gannets as they hit the water makes a very
clearly audible thud, even to the human ear. No doubt the sound of
the gannets hitting the water en masse is the calling card for a whole
host of predators such as sharks and Brydes whales which also join
the dolphins at the feast.
Bronze whaler sharks attack a
baitball herded by dolphins
Gannets dive below the
waves to join the feast
Common dolphins are by far the most regularly seen species of dolphin in False Bay.
Around February each year, pods containing
hundreds of dolphins may expand to mega
pods, numbering in excess of a thousand individuals.
One of the most interesting aspects of dolphin feeding in False Bay is the seldom-seen
‘gyre feeding’ pattern that the mega pods
employ. The dolphins swim as one in huge
circular orbits, creating a swirling mass of
water. Inside this mass, the hapless bait fish
appear confused and the dolphins are able to
pick them off with consummate ease.
Common dolphins , like many other species,
are highly protective of their young and the
new born or young dolphins swim tightly at
their mother’s flanks, generally right in the
middle of the school.
As the huge shoals of sardines leave False
Bay so do the massive dolphin schools. Only
small pods seem to stay in the bay and surrounding area year-round.
The dolphins do appear to encounter great
whites and it is not uncommon to see dolphin schools fleeing an area, suddenly taking
off as one at high speed. Whilst Fallows has
never seen an actual strike, an Apex Shark
Expeditions crew did once see a huge pool of
blood within a school of dolphins and a shark
feeding on the surface. No dolphin carcass
was actually seen but it appears highly likely
that a great white shark had caught a common dolphin and thus the threat that great
white sharks pose to young, weak or less vigilant dolphins cannot be ignored.
KILLER WHALE
Orcinus orca
WEIGHT (male): up to 9,000 kg
LENGTH (male): up to 9.8 m
TOP SPEED: 56 km/h
“When I first described the
breaching sharks of Seal Island
back in 1996, I thought nothing
could top the sight of an airborne
great white in pursuit of a seal”,
says Chris. “But thirteen years
later I witnessed something that
was at least as incredible. It was
a beautiful autumn day and my
crew and I had anchored off Seal
Island to wait for sharks when
we saw several spouts in the
distance, followed by two large
dorsal fins breaking the surface.
Orcas! It was the first time we’d
seen them in the bay. All thoughts
of sharks were forgotten”.
“2009 was an epic marine watching season, surpassing many
before it, because an increased
density of common dolphins and
Cape gannets had invaded False
Bay in pursuit of the huge shoals
of baitfish. I strongly suspect that
it was the commotion of the daily
feeding orgy involving more than
1,000 dolphins, 5,000 gannets,
hundreds of penguins, Bryde’s
whales and even massive pods
of seals that attracted the orcas
in the first place”.
We followed the killer whales towards a school of dolphins that
was tearing into a shoal of bait-
fish. We watched as the orcas
swam to within 200 metres of
the boiling mass and then dived.
For 30 peaceful seconds everything appeared normal, then all
hell broke loose. As the entire
pod fled in a cascade of spray,
one of the orcas launched her
3,000-kilogram body out of the
water into the melee. It seemed
inconceivable that the ocean’s
two greatest predators would use
the same spectacular breaching
technique in the same area to
catch their prey. False Bay is the
only place in the world where orcas and great whites do this.
‘By 2014 we had watched the orcas hunt
23 times and had seen 5 different pods’,
says Fallows. ‘The most commonly seen pod
is still the group of four but another pod of
12 has also been seen four times. Within
this second pod are two adult males, one
of whom is very active during hunting. More
fascinating though, was watching a female
teach her calf how to hunt the dolphins.
We observed her stun and slow down a sub
adult dolphin to the point where the dolphin could only move at about three quarter
pace. She and her calf then followed behind
the injured dolphin for almost fifteen minutes until, on some unknown cue, the calf
rushed ahead and delivered the coup de
grace to the dolphin. Whilst sad for the dolphin, it was incredible to see how the whole
hunting process is passed from generation
to generation.’
‘Orcas are seen off the South African coast
on a regular basis, scavenging tuna and
swordfish off longlines. But they only appear
to come inshore when the massive dolphin
schools are feeding in the area. What is also
very clear is how each orca has a unique
personality. In the group of four, all of which
have been named, there is the main huntress Cleopatra, who uses spectacular high
speed upward rushes into her prey to incapacitate them. There are two smaller orcas
called Bonnie and Clyde who appear to simply run down their prey and then finally there
is the very social Mannemerak, who always
brings up the rear and is like the sweeper in
a football game.’
‘When we have been lucky enough to spend
time with these amazing four we have al-
ways stayed a respectful distance away
from the pod and steered the same course
as that which they are following from about
200 metres away. Without fail, Mannemerak always swims over to our vessel and
rides directly next to us at our stern. She will
sometimes do this for over five minutes and
guests who are aboard our boat are left giddy with excitement as she frequently inverts
onto her back and swims upside down right
next to them.
It is quite unbelievable how intelligent these
animals are and just how much personality
each one has.’
BLUE SHARK
Prionace glauca
WEIGHT (grown): up to 240 kg
LENGTH: up to 3.8 m
TOP SPEED: 39 km/h
and other-worldly
Blue sharks are masters of the open
ocean, gliding on large wing-like pectoral fins and a flattened belly.
They are easily identified by the deep
indigo-blue across their back and flank,
paling to white underneath.
Blue sharks are probably the most widespread and abundant of all shark species, occurring in temperate and tropical waters from 50°N to 40°S around
the globe. However, this species is one
of the most heavily fished sharks in the
world, with an estimated 10 to 20 million individuals caught and killed each
year, mostly to supply the international
shark fin trade.
Although typically an offshore species,
the blue shark may venture inshore, especially at night.
The high season for pelagic sharks
around False Bay is November-June,
with the better weather months being
between February-June.
“The open ocean is an environment that
few ever experience”, says Chris. “Diving
with pelagic (open water) sharks such as
blues and makos, is a unique and otherworldly experience. They favour very
deep water, up to 1,000m or more, and
they are often found alongside huge yellowfin tuna and pelagic birds, such as
albatrosses.
‘The average size blue shark is about five feet in
length with seven to nine footers being rare’, says
Fallows. ‘As true open ocean nomads I always
wonder just where they have come from and if
they know where they are going.’
‘Diving way out to sea off the South West Tip
of Africa in over 1000m of water is about as
adventurous you can be in today’s high tech
world’, says Chris. ‘You know with almost certainty that the sharks and wildlife you are encountering have never seen a human in their
world before. They are as curious of us as
we are of them and blue sharks in particular
will swim right up to you, even giving the odd
bump to assess your status as prey, predator
or otherwise. By being bold and meeting them
head on, never taking your eyes off them, I’ve
found that you are far less vulnerable. This
way, the sharks may approach close to you
but after a while they simply swim around you
and treat you as another predator in their environment.’
WHAT LIES BENEATH
A group of shy albatrosses rest on the
sea, unconcerned about the blue sharks
cruising below them. These long-distance ocean nomads nest thousands
of kilometres away, on three islands off
Tasmania, visiting South African waters
during non-breeding season to feed.
“In January 2013 we were lucky
enough to witness the almost unbelievable sight of about 40 blue sharks
feeding on a bait ball of anchovies”,
says Monique. “In 15 years of working
off Cape Point this is the first time we
have come across this amazing situation.”
“The water was clear blue, 15 to 20
meters visibility, and warm - perfect
for diving. The bait ball was just below
the surface which meant that it was
easy to snorkel.”
“The bait ball pitched and swelled as
the sharks made their entrances. And
then, as if a curtain was opening, the
fish would part and the emerge again
with a mouthful of anchovy. It was
mesmerizing.”
“The sharks were larger than the average size that we see, between 1.5 and
2 metres in length. At no time did I feel
threatened by the sharks in any way,
they simply ignored us and were only
focused on the bait ball. Some would
curiously approach us but there was
seldom a situation where we needed
to push them away. This amazed me
that they could be so non-threatening in a natural feeding situation, just
showing again how most times sharks
are just interested in getting on with
what they are supposed to do. They
held the fish together for three hours,
allowing Chris an incredible photo opportunity. We are not aware of any other images of blue sharks feeding on a
fish bait ball.”
CAPE FUR SEAL
Arctocephalus pusillus
WEIGHT (grown): 300 kg
LENGTH: 3 m
TOP SPEED: 25 km/h
Seal Island is home to 60,000 cape fur
seals, South Africa’s largest island-bound
seal colony. Ironically, despite being the
largest of all fur seals, they were originally
described from a pup and given the scientific name Arctocephalus pusillus (pusillus
means small).
‘The seals on Seal Island appear to haul
out in almost exactly the same spot each
day, as if each seal has his or her tiny piece
of real estate’, says Chris. ‘What we suspect is that there is a social connection
between the seals in a general area. Depending on family ties or age, the seals
seem to form well established groupings.
This is even more amazingly demonstrated
when the seals go out to feed. Swimming
through breaking surf over very shallow
reef, they congregate at a point on the
Southern terminus of the island called the
‘launch pad’, until up to one hundred may
be present in a small area. Then, on some
unknown cue, groups of 3-30 seals leave
the launch pad at intervals of 10-15
seconds.’
‘The seals adopt a high speed criss
crossing within the groups, which must
be designed to confuse sharks with a
pattern of blending bodies, making it
hard to identify an individual target.
This is all about safety in numbers.
With more eyes in the water it makes it
that much harder for sharks to go undetected. If a seal does detect an approaching shark, the others will react to
its behaviour, and in a split second the
entire group rapidly changes direction.
Not surprisingly therefore, the sharks’
hunting success on groups of seals is
only 15%
While the famous sharks of seal Island
undoubtedly steal the limelight, not
nearly enough can be said about the
amazing anti predatory displays and
survival instinct displayed by the seals.’
TURNING THE TABLES
Some fur seals have learned to kill
sharks - mostly small species such
as catsharks, but also (seen here)
blue sharks up to 1.5m in length.
They target the oil-rich liver, removing it with a surgeon’s precision, often discarding the rest of the shark.
“This seal ate only the stomach and
liver before moving on to its next victim”, says Chris. “I saw it take five
blue sharks in the space of a couple
of hours! At that point we moved the
boat a few miles away, not wanting
to attract any more sharks within its
range!”
“I have also photographed fur seals
swimming very close to silky sharks
[top left] and mako sharks [bottom
left]”
MAKO SHARK
Isurus oxyrinchus
WEIGHT (grown): 60 - 500 kg
LENGTH: 2.6 - 4.5 m
TOP SPEED: more than 70 km/h
‘Almost everyone is familiar with the Great
White Shark yet only a fraction of the general public is aware of the great white’s faster
and arguably more beautiful closest relative,
the mako shark’, says Fallows.
‘Called “Blue Dynamite” by sport fishermen, the mako has a reputation for explosive bursts of speed when attacking its prey
(or longlines, which sadly kill millions of
sharks each year). In 1998, when we first
proposed free diving with the makos off
the tip of Cape Town’s Cape Point, the local
fishermen thought we would end up in Davy
Jones’ locker. I remember well my trepidation when I slipped into the water with a two
meter mako cruising through our chum slick.
What emerged from the boat’s bubbles was
a magnificently designed cobalt blue bullet
with large black eyes. With a flick of its tail,
the shark moved from cruising speed to a
lightning-fast blur. It could have been on top
of me in a second if it wanted.
Since 1998, we have done hundreds of free
dives with makos and never once have any
of our guests or our crew been threatened by
one. It is simply magical to be in their company.’
‘These masters of the open ocean feed principally on game fish such as tuna and occasionally even broadbill swordfish. There are
several records of makos that have been
caught with 3 foot long bills of swordfish still
impaled in their sides, testimony no doubt to
titanic open ocean battles.’
‘The mako can grow to over 4.0m in length,
with the largest ever specimen coming from
the French coast at close to 4.5m. The ones
we see off Cape Point are usually around
4-5ft in length and are still youngsters. Occasionally however, larger sharks approaching 7-9 feet glide into our wake.
It is a truly magnificent sight to watch them,
as sunlight dances along their royal blue
flanks.’
For years people have travelled to South Africa to see
the famous Big Five land
mammals - lions, leopards,
elephant, rhino and buffalo.
But False Bay plays host to
its very own Big Five.
Joining the great white, common dolphin and cape fur
seal are the southern right
whale (18-metre-long giants
that arrive in the southern
spring from Antarctica) and
the African penguin, with
more than 1,000 breeding
pairs at Boulders beach
alone.
When you add orcas, large
game fish and the 20 different species of shark that can
be seen in the area, it’s clear
to see why False Bay is often
known as the ‘Serengeti of
the Sea’.
Search www.naturepl.com for:
“Fallows False Bay”
Contact:
[email protected]
+44 (0)117 911 4675
Chris and Monique Fallows own Apex Shark Expeditions based in Simon’s Town, Cape Town.
They are wildlife naturalists and are absolutely
passionate about sharks, spending at least 150
days at sea every year working with a variety of
shark species. Find out about their shark tours
at www.apexpredators.com.