Seal Island, South Africa

Seal Island is a small land mass located about 5.7 km off the northern beaches of False Bay, near Cape Town, in South Africa. The island is so named because of the number of Cape Fur Seals that occupy it. There are a few sea birds as well. It is an outcrop of the Cape granite and rises no more than about six metres above the high tide mark. The island is approx 200 meters in length. There is no vegetation or soil of any significance. A radar mast was built on the island during World War II by a crew who lived on the island in prefabricated huts for the duration of the construction, but this was blown over in a winter storm in 1970 and all that remains of it is rusty, twisted metal. There are the ruins of a few huts and other structures from the sealing and guano-collection era (first half of the 20th century). Some rock inscriptions made by sealers in the 1930s are still evident.

Great White Sharks

The dense population of fur seals at certain times of the year attracts the seal's main foe, the Great White Shark. Seal Island provides unique opportunities for those who wish to observe attacks by White Sharks on Cape Fur Seal and to observe social interactions amongst both species. The island is well known for the interesting way the sharks grab their prey: They come up from underneath and literally launch themselves out of the water with the seal in their mouth. It has been shown that the seals that enter the "death zone" (where the sharks circle the island) on the surface instead of at the murky bottom, they will be picked off by the faster and more aggressive Great White.

Video

* [http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/predation_v2.htm Polaris Attack, in which the shark launches itself vertically out of the water and grasps the seal while in mid-air.]
* [http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/predation_v1.htm Surface Pursuit of a Cape Fur Seal by a White Shark at Seal Island.]

External links

* [http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/predation.htm "White Shark Predatory Behavior at Seal Island"]
* [http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/sealfbay.htm University of Cape Town Avian Demography Unit]
* [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1124_031124_flyingsharks.html Photographing Africa's "Flying Sharks"] from National Geographic's web site

References