Video still of great white attacking seal in San Francisco Bay off of Alcatraz Island.
Alcatraz Cruises, YouTube
Close Encounter With a Great White Shark: Photos
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Great white sharks are the biggest predatory fish in the world. And despite their mass, they can travel at ridiculous speeds, at over 35 miles per hour, to track their prey. Marine biologist Joe Butler traveled with two friends off Hans Bay, South Africa, in hopes of seeing some great whites. Which they did. See more of Butler's story on a new episode of This Happened Here on the Seeker Network. Shark Files: Shark Bite Risk Down 91 Percent Since 1950
Joe Butler
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"In order to bring them in closer, to give everyone a good look, the crew would employ a tuna head on the end of a long rope and drag it out of the way before the shark had a chance to grab it," Butler said. Shark Files: Great White Shark Photobombs Friend
Joe Butler
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This amazing photo, taken from inside the cage, shows the shark grabbing the bait before anyone had a chance to react. "There's actually quite a sobering moment when you realize that proverbially you're the fish out of water, this is their home, and you’re not actually supposed to be there," Butler said. Shark 'Highways' Crisscross The World: Photos
Joe Butler
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"I think a lot people have this image in their head of them being sort of an idealistic predator, but in reality these animals are still quite vulnerable. However, seeing them in their natural environment is something I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat." Above, Butler (left), prepares to cage dive with his two classmates. Shark Files: Scary Footage Shows 15-Ft Great White In Mass.
Joe Butler
New video shows more of the great white shark attack of a seal in San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, where the remnants of an infamous former federal penitentiary still stand.
The event is the first known such great white shark attack in San Francisco Bay to have been recorded on video. A surveillance camera belonging to Alcatraz Cruises shot this footage, according to local station KTVU:
It shows the shark leaping out of the water with the prey in its mouth. A bright red pool of blood quickly forms over a portion of the bay’s surface.
Another video capturing the same event went viral earlier this week. A young onlooker made it all the more compelling as he exclaimed: “It’s right under us…It’s Jaws. It’s Jaws. It’s Jaws…That’s the best thing I have ever seen in my life!”
Alcatraz Cruises guest supervisor Tony Bermudez was equally stunned.
“It was almost like surreal,” he told KTVU. “I mean, I’ve seen movies, sharks, other things going on. But to see it in front of you is just amazing. For this to happen is like a maybe once in a lifetime, right from Alcatraz.”
David McGuire, Director of the San Francisco-based shark conservation group Shark Stewards and a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences confirmed the event’s importance.
“This is the first recorded predation event by a white shark I’m aware of in the San Francisco Bay,” he said in an articleon the organization’s website. “It is definitely a white shark, about 8–10 feet, based on the video sent to us. The tourists were very excited.”
As for the shark’s victim, McGuire believes that it was either a California sea lion or a harbor seal.
Now many are wondering if it is safe for people to swim in San Francisco Bay, especially since the attack happened so close to shore.
McGuire isn’t too worried, though.
“For me its pretty exciting and a sign that the health is returning to the San Francisco Bay ecosystem,” he said. “We swim in the Bay every day at the Dolphin Club without a shark encounter. It’s why we call this month Sharktober.”
“The risk of shark attack is extremely low. Over eighty swimmers from the Dolphin Club and South End Rowing Club swam from Alactraz last week, and another race is scheduled for next weekend. It is up to the leadership what to do, but I suspect this shark is well fed and long gone.”