Handfeeding A Great White Shark

This weeks Balls Of Steel award goes to the one and only Valerie Taylor. If you arent familiar with shark expert Valerie Taylor, she and her husband are the first people to film great white sharks without the protection of a cage!

via Moldy Chum

Expedition Great White

I meant to post this on the weekend, but as usual I’m a day late and a buck short! National Geographic is at it again with some more incredible programming, this time in the form of great white sharks! Join exhibition leader and fisherman Chris Fischer and his crew as they hunt down great white sharks to catch and release in the name of science!

Great White facts:

* They are streamlined, torpedo-shaped swimmers with powerful tails that can propel them through the water at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour.
* Highly adapted predators, their mouths are lined with up to 300 serrated, triangular teeth arranged in several rows.
* They have an exceptional sense of smell to detect prey and have organs that can sense the tiny electromagnetic fields generated by animals.
* Main prey items include sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, and even sea turtles and carrion.
* The great white population is decreasing precipitously due to overfishing and accidental catching in gill nets, among other factors.

With new episodes airing Sunday nights, and repeats thought the week, you have several opportunities to catch this new show!

For details on Expedition Great White, check out NationalGegraphic.com

Awesome Shark Tattoos!

It’s not often that I see shark tattoos with this level of detail. Even in black and white, these shark tattoos look awesome!

Tattoos by Mike @ Art Tattoo Studio, France

via TattooArtisits.org

Bruce The Shark

If you have ever wondered what the name of the mechanical shark from Jaws is, its Bruce (a name later used in Finding Nemo). He was undeniable the star of the movie and apparently Bruce was actually three sharks! Each mechanical Bruce was used for a different purpose. Once moved up and down, when left to right, and the other was used for for underwater shots only.

If you think about it, Bruce was really a technological marvel for the early 1970s. It even took 13 technicians to operate him!

“Bruce was fairly programmed for mishap. In order to use him, a twelve-ton steel platform, to which the mechanical shark was attached by a 100-ft.-long umbilical cable, had to be sunk to the ocean floor. The controls on the platform were operated by 13 technicians wearing scuba equipment.”

via Gizmodo

Up Close And Personal With Jaws!

I’ve been fascinated by sharks for as long as I can remember. When I was 13 I fished for salmon with my uncle in BC and there were plenty of sharks around. I tried deliberately to catch them, even though everyone else was trying to get salmon. I’ve got several since then and have always felt pretty comfortable with them. I’ve even had a couple of encounters while snorkeling in the British Virgin Islands. Granted they were all small sharks, much smaller then myself. As much as I love sharks, I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to be face to face with a great white in the open sea. I’ve really got to hand it to the people behind this awesome photo.

via National Geographic Photography