Page 96 - Mexico Diving From the Caribbean to Pacific Isles

hey understood the first dive was to find the bait before it got gobbled up. thought to be living in the Brisbane River.
In the Pacific Ocean, it can be found from
T simply a swim around so they were T he bulls kick up the loose sand and Baja California to Ecuador.
cloud up everything in their area, mak-
more relaxed and not as worked up hang- T he shark has traveled 4,000 kilometers
ing around the bait barrel. This second dive up the Amazon River to Iquitos in
Peru. It can live in water with a high salt
however, they were much more amped up, ing it hard to film, and even harder to see content and is generally prolific in the
warm coastal waters. The species has a
because they knew they were going to be the sharks scrambling around looking for distinct preference for warm currents. Bull
sharks are large and stout, with females
fed. It is impressive, scary and humbling bait. As we ascend back to the surface and being larger than males. While a size of
3.5 meters is commonly reported, with the
when you have these large predatory prepare for our safety stop the Bulls follow maximum recorded weight of a bull shark
of 315 kilograms. Bull sharks are wider and
sharks within inches of your frail body, us to the surface, having lost all fear of us. heavier than other sharks of comparable
length, and have a bite force of up to 600
knowing their notorious behavior when As we continue to ascend there are feel- kilograms, pound for pound the highest
among all investigated cartilaginous fishes.
they get worked up or confused. I have ings of excitement, fear and anxiety. The Bull sharks are able to regulate themselves
to live in either fresh water or salt water.
such a deep respect for all sharks and their adrenaline level is high and you can feel It is possible for the bull shark to live in
fresh water for its entire life, but it has been
lethal capabilities - but bulls just make you your heart beating. This is a truly remarka- observed that this does not happen for cer-
tain reasons, mostly due to reproduction.
so much more respectful, and mindful of ble experience. The bull shark is commonly

where you are and what you are doing. found worldwide in coastal areas of warm

O nce the feeding started everything oceans, in rivers and lakes, and occasionally
went EPIC! The bulls were pretty salt and freshwater streams if they are deep
enough.

good at grabbing the bait, but every once I n the Atlantic, it is found from Massa-
in a while a remora or cobia would fly in, chusetts to southern Brazil, and from
snatch it up and try to swim off with it. Of

course it would then get chased down by Morocco to Angola. In the Indian Ocean, it

the other small fish hanging around, and is found from South Africa to Kenya, India,

the tug of war would begin. The bulls knew and Vietnam to Australia. Populations of

that a piece of bait was floating around and bull sharks are also found in several major

would begin to spin in tight circles trying rivers, with more than 500 bull sharks