The Dorsal Fin

YouTube user bqnbarb13 recently uploaded the video above which, according to the video description, features two humpback whales surfacing in close proximity to a surfer and a couple of kayakers. The video was shot by Barb Roettger off of Santa Cruz, California. While the video title “Surfer Almost Swallowed by Whale” is a bit over-the-top, it’s still some impressive footage.

Next Media Animation News Direct recently posted a computer generated re-enactment of a story that’s been making headlines recently involving Oregon surfer Doug Niblack “riding” on the back of what Niblack reports was a 10-12′ great white shark. Take the re-enactment for what you will.

ABC News reports that there was no physical evidence to back the report up in terms of bite marks on the board nor photographic evidence which could identify the species involved. However, they did interview Niblack and another surfer who witnessed the encounter.

Hawaii’s KHON2 reports that a surfer had a close encounter with a shark off Hawaii’s Nimitz Beach. Moses Filipe was surfing with his son when he felt a crunching sensation on his board, when he looked down he saw the head the shark biting down on his surfboard. After being knocked off the board Filipe and his son paddled safely to shore.

Filipe was physically unscathed by the encounter, but the shark left teeth marks in his board. Based on the bite marks, Navy authorities determined that the shark responsible for the bite was a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) estimated at 7′-8′ in length. Filipe told KHON2 that is was going to “take some time” before he gets back in the water.

Australia’s Ten News reports that a 21-year-old man was fatally attacked by a shark on Sunday while body-boarding in Bunker Bay. The victim’s friends were able to get him to the beach after the attack, but his injuries proved to be too severe too resuscitate him. Friends described the victim as having a passion for the ocean.

The beach has been closed and spotter planes are being used to search for the shark involved, which is believed to be either a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) or a bronze whaler (Carcharhinus brachyurus). Ten News reports that some are calling for the shark responsible to be killed, but they went on to say that authorities are not likely to kill the animal.

Friends of the victim made a make-shift memorial to him on the beach using a piece of surfboard.

A photo taken off Encinitas, California has been making news as of late. San Diego’s CBS 8 reports that the photo was taken off Swamis beach, and that a “local shark expert who confirmed that the shark in the photo is a 10 to 12 foot great white.”

While the CBS 8 report seems to take the stance that the image does, in fact, show a large shark, Encinitas Lifeguard Sgt. Robert Veria told CBS 8 that he believes the image is that of a surfer performing a duck dive and that the “fin” seen in the picture is merely the bent leg of the surfer. Additionally, none of the surfers in the water, many of whom appear to be in close proximity to the shape that is being referred to as a shark, reported seeing a shark.

A report on the photo also appeared on The Early Show which airs nationwide on CBS.

Is this an image of a white shark’s caudal fin or just a surfer’s leg? Feel free to sound off in the comments, if you have an opinion on the photo.