Another one who just loves sharks here, especially the Great White. I was lucky enough to dive alongside one once on Protea Banks off KwaZulu-Natal. Stunning creature. Wasn't a huge one, no bigger than two and half metres not counting the tail. Definitely a Great White though. No denying that shape, and the long gills etc.

What us humans are doing to sharks right now is a good indicator of what we're doing to the entire planet. We're plundering and not giving a toss about the consequences. 100 million shark deaths a year globally. Shameful. As Greenpeace NZ said recently in an ad, who's the real monster?

All I've managed was swimming with dolphins on Florida Keys and they were in captivity.
It was bloody wonderful all the same!

There are two apex predators in the ocean in my opinion.

Despite the endless bullshit on Youtube about the one recorded example of two adult Orcas using tonic immobility on a very young white shark, a fully mature adult has nothing to fear from anything.

But I agree that Orcas are simply magnificent and possibly the most intelligent animal on the planet - they are another real favourite of mine.

And as for Megalodon, that was the largest and most powerful predator that has ever lived on this planet.

Even more formidable than Livyatan, or any of the giant Pliosaurs or Mosasaurs.

At a maximum length of 20 metres and over 100 tons this creature's existence belongs in science fiction rather than the incredible reality.

We are.

And all for f*****g soup which gets all of it's flavour from the herbs and spices they put into it anyway.

Cartilage is tasteless.

I've loved sharks (& dinosaurs) for as long as I can remember, in fact it's on my bucket list to cage dive with great whites at some point.

Try and do it without the cage if possible. Cage diving is pretty gross. You bob around in water that a load of fish guts have been thrown into. The boat stinks, the water stinks, your wetsuit stinks, you stink...and when you're in the water itself you have the luxury of all that rancid oil being all round your face. You will vomit at some point on the trip, probably repeatedly. Much better to just dive the places where Great Whites are known to frequent and hope for a sighting.

I am exactly the same. A huge Dinosaur nut and I think sharks are simply magnificent.

If I ever had the chance to I would also dive with Great Whites.

Rodney Fox runs a wonderful diving company which regularly has some real monsters turning up, several in the 5.5 - 6 metre range (off the Neptune Islands).

His Facebook page is excellent.

Guadalupe Island, and especially the Farallon Islands near California are also known for the massive Great Whites that patrol the ocean there.

As incredible as the BIB sounds I don't think I have the guts to do it without the cage. So I guess if I'm ever lucky enough to get the chance i'll be taking a peck to put on my nose, a couple of sick bags and be buying a lot of soap

I hope you realise your ambition one day.

I think all the discomfort would be well worth it to see such a magnificent animal.

dive without a cage and it'll be your own guts bobbing around

Ocean Ramsey would beg to differ, ann_666 has already posted this wonderful video.

We are far too small and bony to really interest a two ton super-predator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-1xU0VfJ-g

But it might have been a different matter entirely had she been on the blob.

I've dived with reef sharks, hammerheads, raggies, and one Great White and never felt threatened. I also still have all my limbs. Sharks mostly attack what's on the surface. Under the water with them is the safest place to be, providing you're not spear fishing or doing anything else that will give you a smell of fish blood of course.

Sharks are not vicious animals, they're just hunters. You can get much closer to them without worry than you could a bear on land.

They are fascinating creatures. Wouldn't like to come face to face with one while going for a swim though!

It certainly is. Thanks for making me aware of it yesterday.

I posted it but would never dare do it. Would you? When I was in a pool with gentle dolphins I wasn't 100% relaxed. They seemed like giants but it was the most wonderful experience. I did question my morality supporting such beautiful creatures being used in that way in captivity and still do.

I really envy you.

I respect them as the magnificent predators that they are and I certainly think takes a very competent diver who is an expert in their behaviour to swim safely with any of the larger sharks (and only a handful of people in the world are experienced enough free dive with a Great White).

The point you made about approaching a bear is a good one. Would people walk about on the African plain without protection from Lions, Leopards Hyenas etc?

Yet the Media often seems astonished when the (very, very rare) odd mistaken attack occurs.

You are very welcome.

Even if I was an experienced diver I would not be arrogant enough to think I could ever do so.

As I have stated above that is a thing only a handful of people (with an in depth knowledge of Great White behaviour learned over many years) should even attempt such a feat Ann.

Orcas are larger, stronger, more intelligent and hunt in packs.
A fully mature great white very much has something to fear, if its unfortunate enough to meet a shark hunting orca pod.
Orcas pods have been known to take sperm whales, a great white isn't going to be much of a problem.

A pod of Orcas are of course capable of killing anything in the sea but they don't seem to attack mature White sharks.

Apart from that one incident with the juvenile (which interestingly showed no fear of them) there are no reliable accounts of the apex predators of the sea interacting at all. They seem to avoid each other.

I agree with you about Orcas being larger and more intelligent.

Those are undeniable facts.

Nonetheless at size parity odontocetes seem to come off worse with regard to sharks.

Many species of shark prey on dolphins, porpoises etc.

And Livyatan seems to have come off second best with regards to Megalodon as well.

Predator X on Quest.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/boaters-caught-...oast-1.1740822

Awesome.

They really are majestic Ann, and those were Steller's Sea Lions I believe - the largest sea lions in the world capable of growing to well over a ton and massive carnivores in their own right.

But they do have a few predators, one is of course the Orca but have a guess what the only other one is?

Yes that is Pliosaurus funkei.

The various species of Pliosaurus genus were often huge, P. kevani is another one (AKA 'The Dorset Pliosaur') and P. macromerus was possibly the biggest of the lot and may have reached around 18 metres in length!