Ever enquire what a shark see when it ’s on the hunt ? Well , now you may see it for yourself ( you ’ll have to furnish your ownJawstheme tune though ) .
Scientists have capturedgreat white sharkshunting in kelp for the first metre – something they ( and possibly Navy SEAL ) had n’t thought they did – and the footage is amazing .
It ’s the first clock time this behavior has been observed in great tweed and help answer some long - sought - after doubtfulness .
Compared to animals on land , getting up tightlipped and personal with creatures of the inscrutable ( particularly toothy one ) can be quite hard . But PhD student Oliver Jewell of Murdoch University , Australia and colleagues grapple to attach cameras to sharks to take how they hunt Cape pelt sealing wax off the coast of South Africa .
South Africa ’s south - western coast is noted for its“flying ” large whites , shark that hunt seals with a ardor seldom experience anywhere else , bybreachingout of the piss to cop their prey . Past research has evidence the sharks usually do their nabbing at the surface at fall , when the seals are prompt between land and sea . As you could imagine , this is pretty trying for the seals .
Intriguingly , at the Dyer Island Marine Reserve , on the southerly tip of the cape , shark are observed tight to the seal Colony throughout the twenty-four hour period , not just dusk , but predatory surface behavior is rare . The seals here also demonstrate low levels of cortisol ( stress hormones ) . So , why are the stamp here not as strain as those up near Seal Island ?
old Assumption had been that the abundant kelp woods off Dyer Island provide a refuge from the sharks , which do n’t introduce . This had never been tested before though .
The researchers carry off to track eight shark ’ dorsal fins with cameras designed to pop off and be adrift to the Earth’s surface after a few hours , and collected the data later . The results , 28 hours of incredible footage that revealed new behaviors for the first clock time , have been release inBiology varsity letter .
The footage , amazingly , designate sharks charging through the kelp fronds , navigate tight channel , run for their prey . The seal , for their part , displayed vulture evasion technique , like blowing bubble at the sharks .
“ The motion-picture show we collected afford us a new perspective on this species . We can see how they interact with their milieu in real time , and they are capable to make some passably spectacular 180 - grade change state in the kelp forest , ” Mr Jewell said in astatement .
“ In the past tense we would have to guess . Being able to see what these Pisces do in this home ground help to bring another stratum of understanding to the behavior of these sea giants . ”
Admittedly , none of the footage enamor actually shows a shark catch a stamp , which may support the hypothesis the kelp works in the sealing wax ’ favor . Jewell also suggests further survey , perhaps on the sharks in the kelp timber off California and Australia , would need to be carry out to confirm this behaviour . But every little number we memorise about these amazing puppet help us make informed decisions to secure their species ' survival of the fittest .
