February 23, 2015 – It has been a few days since I last blogged from Ciudad Constitucion. The weather has really cooperated for sure, no more rain only sunny skies, hot days and warm tropical breezes. Our time on Playa Tecolote was definitely memorable and busier than we had seen for some time. When we arrived there was already 20 RVs spread across the beachfront so it was a bit more challenging getting the group parked as we wanted to respect the view and space others had prior to our arrival. Some of the other RVers even came up and thanked us for our efforts, others not so much, they just wanted us to find another beach as they liked this one with less people not more. We managed to get the Paddleboard off and a couple of folks gave it a try, the Kayak stayed put as there seemed little interest. We had a great Pot Luck, again a real diversity of dishes and Date Cake from San Ignacio for dessert provided buy Gus & Peggy.
After Playa Tecolote we headed for Rancho Verde which included a stopover at El Triunfo and the brunch at the Café El Triunfo. We had made reservations the day before and was a Thursday. Our drive through La Paz was uneventful so after parking we headed directly to brunch. The place only had a few patrons and we were seated and orders taken promptly. The food came out in short order and before you knew it everyone was eating. Lots of bread, sticky buns and other goodies were also purchased. Folks had time to walk around the town and do some shopping, the new place across from the Café is coming along. About 1 PM we departed to Rancho Verde only 20 Km or 12 miles from El Triunfo. We set up and relaxed, some went for a walk, others caught up on WiFi after two days on the beach, myself I headed to the shower than a siesta.
8 am came early and it was cold, 10 C or 40 F first thing as dawn broke but it warmed up quickly. Always a nice drive down thru San Bartolo, Los Barilles to our first body break at the Tropic of Cancer. You can tell we are in the tropics now as unseasonably warm temperatures has us in the mid-80s F (30C). We then stopped for propane and shortly thereafter entered San Jose del Cabo westbound for Cabo Sab Lucas. We had our usual 1.5 hour stop at the San Lucas Plaza for groceries, banking and lunch the off to Villa Serena RV Park. An Adventure Caravan had already arrived however they were only 8 RVs and we had lots of room, Juan had saved spots for us. Our friends Mike & Kelly from Kansas were there to greet us, we had seen them on the January tour at the Hotel Serenidad, great folks and lots of fun. After setup our first excursion was Cabo San Lucas itself with a stop at the Glass Blown Factory, always popular. A cruise ship was in so the town did have some life, good to see shops open and tourists around after the Hurricane Odile devastation September 14, 2014. Most of the gang joined us for dinner at Vags, Peter and Joe were both there in fine form. The gang really enjoyed themselves and even did a bit of dancing.
Saturday morning came early and at 9 AM we departed to Artisano’s, which has Mexican made items from every state. Afterwards we returned to the RV Park and next made our way to San Jose del Cabo for lunch and a look around, the Art District is very unique and well developed offering tourists a terrific art experience. This is also the Historic District of the old town which has been here for 300 years. Cabo on the other hand was only a fishing village until it was discovered in the fifties and really did not open up until well after the Mex 1 was completed. They had just started the connector between Cabo and San Jose on our first visit 30 years ago. Late that evening some had happy hour, we headed out to try a new restaurant Mi Casa in Cabo, nice atmosphere, ambience and good food, unfortunately not much parking. We will see.
Day 3 in Los Cabos was busy, some folks came on the swim to Playa Santa Maria, other went golfing on the newly opened Tiger Woods course, others headed down to the Cabo San Lucas Marina to take a boat tour out of the harbour. Dom & Diane’s group arrived right on time and we will get together for a joint Happy Hour in La Paz. Later dropped off some people off in Cabo then later we gathered the group and headed out for our Hosted Happy Hour on Playa Medano. It was Sunday so we joined lots of Mexican families and other tourists on the beach. A great way to end the day.
Today we start our journey north with still lots of fun and adventure on the agenda.
Did you know?
Great white sharks live in almost all coastal and offshore waters which have water temperature between 12 & 24 C (54 & 75 F), with greater concentrations off Mexico (Baja California), the United States (Atlantic Northeast and California), South Africa, Japan, Oceania, Chile, and the Mediterranean. One of the densest known populations is found around Dyer Island, South Africa, where almost all of the shark research is done.
In 1758, Carolus Linnaeus gave the great white shark its first scientific name, Squalus carcharias. Later, Sir Andrew Smith gave it Carcharodon as its generic name in 1833, and also in 1873. The generic name was identified with Linnaeus’ specific name and the current scientific name, Carcharodon carcharias, was finalized. Carcharodon comes from the Greek words karcharos, which means sharp or jagged, and odous, which means tooth.
According to a recent study, California great whites have migrated to an area between Baja California and Hawaii known as the White Shark Café to spend at least 100 days before migrating back to Baja. On the journey out, they swim slowly and dive down to around 900m (3,000ft). After they arrive, they change behavior and do short dives to about 300m (1,000ft) for up to ten minutes. Another white shark that was tagged off of the South African coast swam to the southern coast of Australia and back within the year. A similar study tracked a different great white shark from South Africa swimming to Australia’s northwestern coast and back, a journey of 20,000km (12,000mi) in under nine months. These observations argue against traditional theories that white sharks are coastal territorial predators, and open up the possibility of interaction between shark populations that were previously thought to have been discrete. The reasons for their migration and what they do at their destination is still unknown. Possibilities include seasonal feeding or mating.
The great white is an epipelagic fish, observed mostly in the presence of rich game, such as fur seals (Arctocephalus), sea lions, cetaceans, other sharks, and large bony fish species. In the open ocean, it has been recorded at depths as great as 1,200m (3,900ft). These findings challenge the traditional notion about the great white as being a coastal species. Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a species of large lamniform shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. The great white shark is mainly known for its size, with mature individuals growing up to 6.4 m (21 ft) in length (although reports have been published of great white sharks measuring over 8 m (22 ft), and 3,324 kg (7,328 lb) in weight). This shark reaches its maturity around 15 years of age and was previously believed to have a life span of over 30 years. The true lifespan of great white sharks is far longer; now estimated to be as long as 70 years or more, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fish currently known. Great white sharks can accelerate to speeds that exceed 56 km/h (35 mph).
The great white shark has no natural predators other than the Orca. The great white shark is arguably the world’s largest known extant macro predatory fish, and is one of the primary predators of marine mammals. It is also known to prey upon a variety of other marine animals, including fish and seabirds. It is the only known surviving species of its genus Carcharodon, and is ranked first in having the most attacks on humans. The IUCN list the great white shark as a vulnerable species, while it is included in Appendix II of CITES.
Male great whites reach maturity at 3.5–4.0 m (11.5–13.1 ft) long and females at 4.5–5.0 m (14.8–16.4 ft) long. Adults on average are 4–5.2 m (13–17 ft) long and have a mass of 680–1,100 kg (1,500–2,430 lb). Females are generally larger than males. The great white shark can reach 6.4 m (21 ft) in length and 3,324 kg (7,328 lb) in weight. The maximum size is subject to debate because some reports are rough estimations or speculations performed under questionable circumstances. Among living cartilaginous fish, only the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and the giant manta ray (Manta birostris), in that order, average larger and heavier. These three species are generally quite docile in disposition and given to passively filter-feeding on very small organisms.
A number of very large great white shark specimens have been recorded. For decades, many ichthyological works, as well as the Guinness Book of World Records, listed two great white sharks as the largest individuals: In the 1870s, a 10.9 m (36 ft) great white captured in southern Australian waters, near Port Fairy, and an 11.3 m (37 ft) shark trapped in a herring weir in New Brunswick, Canada, in the 1930s. Some researchers question these measurements’ reliability, noting they were much larger than any other accurately reported sighting. This New Brunswick shark may have been a misidentified basking shark, as the two have similar body shapes. The question of the Port Fairy shark was settled in the 1970s when J.E. Randall examined the shark’s jaws and “found that the Port Fairy shark was of the order of 5 m (17 ft) in length and suggested that a mistake had been made in the original record, in 1870, of the shark’s length”.
According to J.E. Randall, the largest white shark reliably measured was a 6.0 m (19.7 ft) individual reported from Ledge Point, Western Australia in 1987. Another great white specimen of similar size has been verified by the Canadian Shark Research Center: A female caught by David McKendrick of Alberton, Prince Edward Island, in August 1988 in the Gulf of St.Lawrence off Prince Edward Island. This female great white was 6.1 m (20 ft) long. However, there is a report considered reliable by some experts of a larger great white shark specimen from Cuba in 1945. This specimen was 6.4 m (21 ft) long and had a body mass of about 3,324 kg (7,328 lb).
Several other great white sharks caught in modern times have been estimated to be more than 7 m (23 ft) long, but these claims have received some criticism. However, again J.E. Randall believed that great white shark may have exceeded 6.1 m (20 ft) in length. A great white shark was captured near Kangaroo Island in Australia on 1 April 1987. This shark was estimated to be more than 7 m (23 ft) long by Peter Resiley, and has been designated as KANGA. Another great white shark was caught in Malta by Alfredo Cutajar on 16 April 1987. This shark was also estimated to be around 7.13 m (23.4 ft) long by John Abela and has been designated as MALTA. However, Cappo drew criticism because he used shark size estimation methods proposed by J.E. Randall to suggest that the KANGA specimen was 5.8–6.4 m (19–21 ft) long. In a similar fashion, I.K. Fergusson also used shark size estimation methods proposed by J.E. Randall to suggest that the MALTA specimen was 5.3–5.7 m (17–19 ft) long. However, photographic evidence suggested that these specimens were larger than the size estimations yielded through Randall’s methods. Thus, a team of scientists—H.F. Mollet, G.M. Cailliet, A.P. Klimley, D.A. Ebert, A.D. Testi, and L.J.V. Compagno—reviewed the cases of the KANGA and MALTA specimens in 1996 to resolve the dispute by conducting a comprehensive morphometric analysis of the remains of these sharks and re-examination of photographic evidence in an attempt to validate the original size estimations and their findings were consistent with them. The findings indicated that estimations by P. Resiley and J. Abela are reasonable and could not be ruled out.
Description
The great white shark has a robust, large, conical snout. The upper and lower lobes on the tail fin are approximately the same size which is similar to some mackerel sharks. A great white displays countershading, by having a white underside and a grey dorsal area (sometimes in a brown or blue shade) that gives an overall mottled appearance. The coloration makes it difficult for prey to spot the shark because it breaks up the shark’s outline when seen from the side. From above, the darker shade blends with the sea and from below it exposes a minimal silhouette against the sunlight. Great white sharks, like many other sharks, have rows of serrated teeth behind the main ones, ready to replace any that break off. When the shark bites, it shakes its head side-to-side, helping the teeth saw off large chunks of flesh. In the event you observe a large fish that meets this description I advise you to refrain from swimming at that time.
Shark Attacks
Of all shark species, the great white shark is responsible for by far the largest number of recorded shark attacks on humans, with 272 documented unprovoked attacks on humans in which the great white shark was identified as of 2012. More than any documented attack, Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel Jaws and the subsequent 1975 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg provided the great white shark with the image of being a “man eater” in the public mind. While great white sharks have killed humans in at least 74 documented unprovoked attacks in which the species was identified, they typically do not target them: for example, in the Mediterranean Sea there have been 31 confirmed attacks against humans in the last two centuries, most of which were non-fatal. Many of the incidents seemed to be “test-bites”. Great white sharks also test-bite buoys, flotsam, and other unfamiliar objects, and they might grab a human or a surfboard to identify what it is.
The great white shark is one of only four kinds of sharks that have been involved in a significant number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans. Other incidents seem to be cases of mistaken identity, in which a shark ambushes a bather or surfer from below, believing the silhouette is from a seal. Many attacks occur in waters with low visibility or other situations which impair the shark’s senses. The species appears to not like the taste of humans, or at least finds the taste unfamiliar. Further research shows that they can tell in one bite whether or not the object is worth attacking. Humans, for the most part, are too bony for their liking. They much prefer a fat, protein-rich seal. Humans are not appropriate prey because the shark’s digestion is too slow to cope with a human’s high ratio of bone to muscle and fat. Accordingly, in most recorded attacks, great whites broke off contact after the first bite. Fatalities are usually caused by blood loss from the initial bite rather than from critical organ loss or from whole consumption. From 1990 until 2011 there have been a total of 139 unprovoked great white shark attacks, 29 fatal.
However, some researchers have hypothesized that the reason the proportion of fatalities is low is not because sharks do not like human flesh, but because humans are often able to escape after the first bite. In the 1980s John McCosker, the Chair of Aquatic Biology at California Academy, noted that divers who dove solo and were attacked by great whites were generally at least partially consumed, while divers who followed the buddy system were generally rescued by their buddy. McCosker and Timothy C. Tricas, an author and professor at the University of Hawaii, suggest that a standard pattern for great whites is to make an initial devastating attack and then wait for the prey to weaken before consuming the wounded animal. Humans’ ability to move out of reach with the help of others, thus foiling the attack, is unusual for a great white’s prey. In 2014 the state government of Western Australia led by Premier Colin Barnett implemented a policy of killing large sharks. The policy is intended to protect users of the marine environment from shark attack following the deaths of seven people on the Western Australian coastline in the years 2010 to 2013. Baited drum lines are deployed near popular beaches using hooks designed to catch great white sharks, as well as bull and tiger sharks. Large sharks found hooked but still alive are shot and their bodies discarded at sea. The government claims they are not culling the sharks, but are using a “targeted, localized, hazard mitigation strategy”. Barnett has described opposition as “ludicrous” and “extreme”, and said that nothing can change his mind.
Attacks on boats
Great white sharks infrequently attack and sometimes even sink boats. Only five of the 108 authenticated unprovoked shark attacks reported from the Pacific Coast during the 20th century involved kayakers. In a few cases they have attacked boats up to 10 metres (33 ft) in length. They have bumped or knocked people overboard, usually attacking the boat from the stern. In one case in 1936, a large shark leapt completely into the South African fishing boat Lucky Jim, knocking a crewman into the sea. Tricas and McCosker’s underwater observations suggest that sharks are attracted to boats due to the electrical fields they generate.
Prehistoric Past
The great white shark came into existence during the mid-Miocene epoch. The earliest known fossils of the great white shark are about 16 million years old. However, the phylogeny of the great white is still in dispute. The original hypothesis for the great white’s origins is that it shares a common ancestor with a prehistoric shark, such as the C.megalodon. C. megalodon had teeth that were superficially not too dissimilar with those great white sharks but its teeth were far larger. Although cartilaginous skeletons do not fossilize, C. megalodon is estimated to have been considerably larger than the great white shark, estimated at up to at least 17 m (56 ft) and 59,413 kg (130,983 lb), now that is one big fish. Similarities among the physical remains and the extreme size of both the great white and C. megalodon led many scientists to believe these sharks were closely related, and the name Carcharodon megalodon was applied to the latter. However, a new hypothesis proposes that the C. megalodon and the great white are distant relatives (albeit sharing the family Lamnidae). The great white is also more closely related to an ancient Mako shark, Isurus hastalis, than to the C. megalodon, a theory that seems to be supported with the discovery of a complete set of jaws with 222 teeth and 45 vertebrae of the extinct transitional species Carcharodon hubbelli in 1988 and published on 14 November 2012. In addition, the new hypothesis assigns C. megalodon to the genus Carcharocles, which also comprises the other megatoothed sharks; Otodus obliquus is the ancient representative of the extinct Carcharocles lineage.
The Great Whites of Isla Guadalupe
For more than 100 years, scattered reports have told of Great White sharks up and down the Pacific coasts of North America. In the 1970s a rash of attacks on California surfers alerted the public to the presence of deadly predators that shared their precious surf. A few years later, researchers discovered that a large and stable population of adult Great Whites returned year after year to feed on Northern Elephant seals and tuna in the waters around Isla Guadalupe, 160 miles off the north-central coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. These sharks, sometimes reaching 19 feet in length, surged up from the depths and attacked the catches of long-range sport fishing boats who visited Isla Guadalupe in search of world-class tuna. Shark “season” runs from September through November and Isla Guadalupe is well known for its warm waters and 100-foot visibilities.
Today, a small number of companies provide divers with the adventure of a lifetime by offering 5- to 9-day live aboard trips to experience the Great Whites of Isla Guadalupe up close and personal! Carefully planned and safely executed cage diving interactions provide divers, researchers and film crews with an opportunity to observe Great White sharks in their natural habitat. Although companies such as Shark Diver offer extreme adventure dive trips to the public, they are also very involved in the conservation, protection and study of the Great Whites. Shark Diver, for example, provides both financial and practical aid to a number of shark conservation groups and all responsible shark dive operators realize that their continued success is dependent on the viability of the shark populations they view and study. One such group, the Guadalupe Island Conservation Fund, was established in early 2006 by the International Community Foundation (ICF) in close collaboration with members of the scuba diving and eco-community to support and raise money to help the Government of Mexico protect the endangered shark population of Isla Guadalupe and to channel money from growing white shark tourism into local conservation-related projects on the island. This fund is managed by the International Community Foundation, a registered 501c3 not-for-profit organization which is dedicated to expanding charitable giving internationally with an emphasis in environment and conservation grant-making in Northwest Mexico.
On April 27, 2012 a capture of a gigantic great white shark in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez was major news because of the size of the predator — nearly 20 feet long and weighing at least 2,000 pounds — but also because catches of adult white sharks in the gulf are considered rare. Unfortunately however, such catches appear to be increasingly common. Unfortunately white sharks are being increasingly targeted for their jaws and fins, dozens of large sharks have been killed during the past few months alone. Shark jaws are sold locally for about $1,500 per set, then re-sold by more entrepreneurial types for much steeper prices. A set of large jaws may garner $10,000 or more. This is alarming because white sharks are embattled and highly-protected in Mexico — as in the U.S. — and because portions of the Sea of Cortez are now recognized as important nursery areas for the species.
