The Dorsal Fin

Disney Nature’s Oceans hits theaters today (April 22, 2010). Disney Nature will donate a portion of ticket sales (U.S. and Canada) during opening week (April 22-28) to The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef program. This is a great opportunity to catch a film with what appears to be some ground-breaking underwater footage and support a worthy cause at the same time!

DiscoveryNetworks' Featured Videos on YouTube appear to focus on shark attacks on humans.

It seems that Discovery Networks’ fixation on promoting shark attack footage has stretched beyond their annual Shark Week. Today while browsing through YouTube for recent shark-related videos, I was presented with “Featured Videos” ads from DiscoveryNetworks‘ YouTube channel. I guess it shouldn’t really come as any surprise that Discovery is continuing to push shark attack footage on YouTube. Their promotion of Shark Week 2009 was centered around over-the-top fictionalized shark on human violence, including cheesy videos of fake shark attacks, which appeared on YouTube.

It should be noted that these shark attack ads for showed up while searching on the term “shark” (not “shark attack”) using the “upload date” filter, despite the fact that the videos are listed as being uploaded “1 year ago.” Of course, I realize this all part of YouTube’s marketing of “Featured Videos,” but Discovery Networks certainly has a hand in which videos are promoted. Two shark attack videos certainly seem like odd choices for a company that claims to be conservation-minded.

A “monster shark” is in the news again. Much like the previous “monster” shark reports, this one can apparently change size at will (or at the will of whatever particular media outlet is reporting the story). Unfortunately, this shark was killed by fishermen. Even more unfortunate is that Vic Hislop has purchased the shark’s carcass.

The supposed “monster” this time around is a hammerhead (presumably a great hammerhead, based on its size), which is being reported at various lengths. The Daily Mail reports that the hammerhead shark weighs “one and a quarter tonnes” and is “20ft long.” Most other outlets are reporting the shark to weigh 1,200 kg and measure 5m (approximately 16′) in length. Researchers estimate the shark to be forty years old.
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Kids, don’t try this at home (or while vacationing in Mexico)…

National Geographic recently posted the video above to their YouTube channel which features cameraman Nick Caloyianis being charged and bitten by a bull shark, after researchers attempted to attach one of National Geographic’s Crittercams to the animal. Upon being stuck with a barb, the bull shark escaped the Crittercam crew and began to swim away, when a fisherman attempted to hook it in the mouth. The shark appears to have previously sustained some serious injuries to the side of its jaw (there appear to be two hooks visible in the shark’s flesh in one of the close-up shots) that the fisherman was attempting to hook. Upon being hooked, the shark turned around and swam toward Caloyianis, biting his leg and eventually his hand. Fortunately, Caloyianis made a full-recovery from his injuries.
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YouTube user MsJbieberfan has posted the video below along with a description claiming that SeaWorld Australia reportedly has a young great white shark in captivity. I have not been able to find any legitimate news source to support the claim, and the video certainly does nothing to validate it, considering that the shark in the video is not a great white.

Personally, I’m thinking the story seems like “bull.”