Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce

Do Whales Eat Sharks? Yes, & it’s Pretty Amazing.

Whale watching is a big deal in Kaikoura. You can see whales from a boat, helicopter, or small plane. I’ve done flights with Wings Over Whales a couple of times. They’re absolutely brilliant; it’s how I got the photo above. Chatting before a trip, one of the pilots also mentioned that he’d watched a sperm whale hunt down a blue shark.

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Conservation, Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce Conservation, Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce

Whale Shark Facts: The Awesome Stats On Earth’s Largest Fish

Every whale shark is identifiable based on their unique spot pattern. Over 8,000 tourists and researchers have submitted photos to a global sighting database (www.whaleshark.org), identifying over 10,000 individual whale sharks. Most of those have been juvenile males, however. Even the largest feeding areas are home to less than 2,000 sharks – and some popular tourist destinations, such as Tanzania and Honduras, seem to have less than 200.

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Travel, Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce Travel, Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce

The Thresher Sharks of Malapascua Island, Philippines

Frame-by-frame video analysis reveals the sharks’ strategy. They lunge forward, then use their big wide pectoral fins to hit the brakes. This stalls their whole body, allowing them to deliver an overhead tail-slap at measured speeds of over 20 meters per second (45 miles per hour). That’s so fast that the tip of the tail literally causes water to bubble.

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Galapagos, Travel, Underwater Simon J Pierce Galapagos, Travel, Underwater Simon J Pierce

Scuba Diving Galapagos on the Humboldt Explorer

After a few days on Isabela Island on a wildlife-watching trip (photos to come), we flew over to San Cristobal on a small plane. We wandered down to the “Hammerhead Pier” early the next afternoon and were met by one of the dive guides from the Humboldt Explorer and transferred out to the boat. It was great to see a few familiar faces from past trips, and lots of new ones!

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Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce Science, Underwater Simon J Pierce

Shark Tsunamis: Are They Possible?

So I got this email: Hello! My name is Brianna and I’m from Colorado. I’m going to try to get straight to the point so that I don’t waste your time, Mr. Pierce. A coupe of months ago, I was in my first period Geography class when somehow the girl who sits next to me and I got into a discussion about Shark Tsunamis. Please, don’t close this email I realize how completely dumb this sounds.

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