BajaNomad

Cabo Pulmo shark attack?

pangamadness - 5-9-2017 at 10:38 PM

Anyone have info about a shark attack at Cabo Pulmo?

willardguy - 5-9-2017 at 10:46 PM

TB reporting it was a drowning.....first

Cancamo - 5-10-2017 at 06:52 AM

Recovered the body, drowning. He was planning to swim out to the sea lion colony, leaving from Arbolitos. Long way, stiff currents, steep, slippery boulders on the shore.
RIP

pangamadness - 5-10-2017 at 09:02 AM

Somthing on talk Baja mentioned somthing about dangerous marine animals sounding like a shark attack.

Cancamo - 5-10-2017 at 09:15 AM

According to Colectivo Pericu today, the 33 year old deceased was found in 3 meters of water. The local director of Civil Protection denies the person was a victim of a shark attack, contrary to social media entries since Sunday. The article goes on to say that indeed body parts were recovered and would be consistent with a shark attack, go figure.

A forensic investigation is pending.

Cancamo - 5-10-2017 at 09:26 AM

El Sudcaliforniano through it's headline says in fact it was a shark attack, although no further information was given from the Pericu report other than the deceased was from Mexico City.

Well documented large congregation of more than one species of sharks in the shallow water of Pulmo Bay this spring. A month ago you could see them clearly from the bluffs.

BajaBlanca - 5-10-2017 at 09:30 AM

I had no idea there were sharks off the shore of Pulmo, now I am thankful that I snorkeled close to shore!

RIP

elgatoloco - 5-10-2017 at 10:16 AM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
TB reporting it was a drowning.....first

So if a shark chows down on a drowned corpse, is that an "attack"?


There are no shark ATTACKS, only shark accidents.

I like crab and lobster but if you sit on the bottom long enough they would eat you too. :saint:

AKgringo - 5-10-2017 at 10:19 AM

Three years ago, I found a nice place to park, out of the wind on the rocky point that marks the north boundary of the Cabo Pulmo preserve. The plan was to do some snorkeling around the rocks in the morning.

I awoke to the sound of a couple of fishermen passing by my Kia on their way to fish from those same rocks, so I got up to watch the action. It wasn't too long before one of them hooked up with a huge rooster fish!

The other fisherman reeled in his line and was preparing to help land the fish, which was stripping line rapidly straight out to deeper water. About the time I told the would be helper that I was betting on the rooster, a shark took the back half of the fish off right behind the dorsal fin!

I did not dive there that day!

woody with a view - 5-10-2017 at 10:19 AM

Yeah, being the slow swimmer in a group of seals sounds like a bad idea!

Cancamo - 5-10-2017 at 10:44 AM

El Peninsular Digital in covering the story has no mention of shark involvement.
I'd wait for the forensic study to come back before blaming los tiburones.

The species commonly found in the area are not known as being man eaters.

sancho - 5-10-2017 at 01:03 PM

Unrelated, but here in So. Cal, last couple weeks, has been news
driven over concern about tiburones, copters, drones, looking off the surf in LA for sharks, in relation to an actual
incident, a couple weeks back, took place just to the no. of the popular San Onofre surfing spot,
6 mi. of so. San Clemente, a female lost a certain amount off back
of a leg. An extremely rare occurrence, probably that doesn't
factor in, if it happens to you

Boulder bob222 - 5-10-2017 at 01:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by sancho  
Unrelated, but here in So. Cal, last couple weeks, has been news
driven over concern about tiburones, copters, drones, looking off the surf in LA for sharks, in relation to an actual
incident, a couple weeks back, took place just to the no. of the popular San Onofre surfing spot,
6 mi. of so. San Clemente, a female lost a certain amount off back
of a leg. An extremely rare occurrence, probably that doesn't
factor in, if it happens to you
What does this have to do with Mexico. THERE ARE NO SHARKS IN MEXICO.

bajabuddha - 5-10-2017 at 01:39 PM

Hate to break the news, but there are several species of sharks in the SOC. I caught a sand shark half way down Bahia Concepcion about 8 years back. Hammerhead diving is popular in the La Paz area.

AKgringo - 5-10-2017 at 01:59 PM

Buddha, he was referring to land sharks, and except for a few timeshare salesmen, they are not in Mexico.

Now if you go into the salt water bordering Mexico, expect sharks!

CatCrazyJulie - 5-10-2017 at 02:16 PM

We have been in Pulmo for the past 2 months (just leaving today - longstanding plans). The local word is that cause of death is still uncertain. There had been predation on the body, but it's unclear whether a shark attack was cause of death, or if the ocean's occupants went to work on the body after death, during the 48 hours the body was in the water.

There are indeed a lot of sharks at Pulmo, including many bull sharks. Shark population has recovered along with the rest of the fishery since Pulmo was made a marine reserve.

However, there haven't been any reported shark attacks on people since Pulmo was made a reserve, and many many people have been snorkeling and diving there. We've done a lot of dives in which bull sharks have put in an appearance.

I hope there is a post-mortem done which will identify cause of death definitively, and that the results are made public. It's important not only for family and friends, but also for the local community whose economy relies largely on tourism for diving and snorkling.

bajabuddha - 5-10-2017 at 02:20 PM

I hear we taste like chicken. ;)

Bajazly - 5-10-2017 at 02:43 PM

Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view  
Yeah, being the slow swimmer in a group of seals sounds like a bad idea!



No need to be faster than the shark, you just need to be faster than your buddy:lol:

AKgringo - 5-10-2017 at 06:12 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajazly  
Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view  
Yeah, being the slow swimmer in a group of seals sounds like a bad idea!



No need to be faster than the shark, you just need to be faster than your buddy:lol:


Well if a buddy and I encounter a shark, if he wants to thrash around on the surface like a wounded seal I may be able to sneak quietly away. Of course the shark could probably follow the scent of me soiling my wet suit!:wow:

rzitren - 5-10-2017 at 07:45 PM

Two great white sharks, swimming in the ocean, spied a ship in distress.

"Follow me, son," the father shark said to the son shark and they swam to the ship.

"First we swim around the people in the water with just the tip of our fins showing." And they did.

"Well done, son! Now we swim around them a few more times with all of our fins showing." And they did.

"Now we eat everybody." And they did.

When they were both gorged, the son asked, "Dad, why didn't we just eat them all at first? Why did we swim around and around them? "

His wise father replied, "Because they taste better without the chit inside!"

blackwolfmt - 5-10-2017 at 07:55 PM

Good one,, Good job on postin this joke or whatever there called I always come up with some funny stuff but am cautious about postin for fear of gettin banned:o:o

pangamadness - 5-11-2017 at 03:07 PM

So one of the popular very fascinating dives in Cabo Pulmo is a 100 ft dive off Frailis Pt to see big tiger sharks. I have not done that dive but have heard about it and I would love to do it. Good chance the bites were taken after he drown but possibly not. You may not know there is a population of Great White sharks in the Sea of Cortez. Big ones.

imlost - 7-8-2017 at 08:14 PM

Has anyone seen a follow-up report on this? Wondering if he died of a shark attack, or if the injury was postmortem.

Cliffy - 7-8-2017 at 10:41 PM

What's that I hear? bump-bump-bump-bump-----------bump-bump-bump-bump-sounds like a movie lead in :-)


Actually, many decades ago, study was done on divers and wet suits. They showed that an all black wet suit "could/would" get bit but if it was black and wide white striped the beasties wouldn't bother it. Don't know what ever became of that study (maybe 50 years ago). Paint the bottom of your surf board black and white stripes!

surfhat - 7-9-2017 at 09:57 AM

Cliffy, there is a Ted Talks episode from western Australia, maybe five years ago, that showed this to be true.

They filmed a black wetsuit filled with chum being torn apart and consumed in no time.

They then filmed a black and white striped wetsuit filled with oozing chum and not one of the local species would get closer than several feet before turning away. Great whites, bulls, tigers, bronze whalers all reacted the same way.

It was mind blowing to see that none of them would come any closer to that tasty blood and guts filled suit.

This is because of the structure of sharks vision, rods and cones, that for some reason, causes them to be repelled by this black and white striped pattern.

It is fascinating to to watch. I should go back and watch it again and refresh my memory, but the impression it left upon me is enduring.

After Bethany lost her arm in Hawaii, I started seeing the bottom of surfboards with this pattern in the Islands. Little wonder. I can't hurt.

I have since thought surfers, ocean swimmers and divers could benefit from wearing striped suits of some sort. As natural a shark repellant as there is.

It would interesting to see if further studies have been done and whether the men in the gray suits have ever overcome their initial reticence to charge on in on the black and white striped chum filled suits.

Thanks to all here.

chippy - 7-9-2017 at 10:18 AM

That is very interesting. Maybe the black and white thing has to do with shark meat being on the Orca menu?

Timo1 - 7-9-2017 at 10:24 AM

The documentary I watched about the black and white thing speculated that it was the same pattern as the very venomous sea snake that sharks avoid big time.

AKgringo - 7-9-2017 at 10:32 AM

World wide, many attacks are by bull sharks that travel far upriver in fresh water that has just a couple of inches visibility.

I doubt that the black and white pattern would be much help in those rivers, even if you could convince the swimmers that they needed to wear something other than trunks!

Cliffy - 7-9-2017 at 09:38 PM

It might limit the amount of damage if the bull shark saw the strips even after clamping down.
That's interesting about the AU study. The one I remembered is at least 50 yrs old. It was back when I was surfing in my teens. Yes, that long ago :-)

willardguy - 7-9-2017 at 10:20 PM

shark blood in the water...shark B-Gone ;)