The Dorsal Fin

The Dyers Island Conservation Trust has recently released this video documenting the healing progress of a male great white shark in the vicinity of Dyers Island. In late 2008, the shark sustained a relatively large injury along the vetebral column near the front of the primary dorsal fin. The video suggests that the injury was likely caused by a boat propeller.

The video documents the sharks’ healing progression over a 2-month period while the shark remained in the region. When the shark returned to the region in November, 2009, the wound appeared to have healed up amazingly, at least from a visual standpoint, and the shark did not seem to be suffering any permanent effects as a result of the injury.

The rather whimsical video below was posted today at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s OFS YouTube Channel and features an encounter between a great white shark and an African penguin (sometimes referred to as a jackass penguin, due to the donkey-like noises they can emit). So exactly what happens when an African penguin and a white shark go toe-to-toe (or jaw to beak, as the case may be), check the video out and see for yourself!