Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 6 sepTember 2018

Cape Cod beaches: Playgrounds for tourists, and young sharks

By PHILIP MARCELO ered a regional white
BOSTON (AP) — As another shark "nursery" where great
beach season draws to a whites spend the first years
close on Cape Cod, re- of their life before gradually
searchers are trying to fig- expanding their territorial
ure out what's driving the reach. But more frequent
increase in shark sightings spottings of juvenile sharks
and encounters — includ- could suggest a broader
ing the state's first attack on recovery for Atlantic white
a human since 2012. shark populations, a phe-
One prominent researcher nomenon that's already
suggests the presence of been documented on
younger and smaller great the U.S. west coast, said
white sharks this summer George Burgess, director
could be playing a role. emeritus of the Internation-
Greg Skomal, a state ma- al Shark Attack File, a da-
rine biologist leading a five- tabase maintained at the
year study wrapping up this Florida Museum of Natural
year, says his team spotted History in Gainesville.
149 great whites off Cape "If anything, it's indicative
Cod in July, more than of a healthy population,"
double the 74 observed last Skomal said. "As the white
July and the 120 in 2016. shark rebounds across the
He said somewhat smaller In this Aug. 23, 2018 photo, a dead great white shark lies on the shoreline in Truro, Mass. East Coast, we should be
great whites — measur- Associated Press seeing a broader range of
ing about 8 to 10 feet — sizes."
appeared to make up counters that are increas- reational fishermen, while something we'll certainly Juvenile sharks could also
a greater number of the ingly being captured in larger adult sharks measur- be watching out for." simply be following their fa-
sharks observed than in viral photos and videos, ing up to 15 feet typically The presence of younger vored prey as they move
year's past, though he said particularly those of sharks hunt seals. white sharks in Massachu- into areas they're not typi-
his team is still analyzing the snatching fish off anglers' "Cape Cod may repre- setts waters isn't totally un- cally found, said Tobey
data. hooks. sent a productive feeding heard of. Curtis, a shark researcher
Skomal suggested more Smaller sharks, he said, ground not just for mature The waters between Cape at the National Marine Fish-
younger sharks could be tend to prefer large fish like white sharks, but also for Cod and New Jersey have eries Service in Gloucester,
contributing to the en- striped bass prized by rec- juveniles," Skomal said. "It's been long been consid- Massachusetts. q

Tiny Alaska village experiences

boom in polar bear tourism

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A fort Sea coast in an area visitors, many from around
tiny Alaska Native village where rapid global warm- the world each year," Reed
has experienced a boom ing has sped up the move- said.
in tourism in recent years ment of sea ice, the prima- Polar bears have always
as polar bears spend more ry habitat of polar bears. As been a common sight on
time on land than on dimin- ice has receded to deep sea ice near Kaktovik, but
ishing Arctic sea ice. water beyond the conti- residents started noticing
More than 2,000 people nental shelf, more bears a change in the mid-1990s.
visited the northern Alaska are remaining on land to More bears seemed to stay This photo provided by Bruce Inglangasak shows a polar bear,
village of Kaktovik on the look for food. on land, and researchers Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018, in the northern Alaska village of Kaktovik
Beaufort Sea last year to The village had less than began taking note of more on the Beaufort Sea.
see polar bears in the wild, 50 visitors annually before female bears making dens Associated Press
Alaska's Energy Desk re- 2011, said Jennifer Reed, of in the snow on land instead
ported Monday. the Arctic National Wildlife of on the ice. come stranded near Kak- the whaling — subsistence
The far north community is Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- tovik until the sea freezes whaling," Inglangasak said.
located on north shore of "Today we're talking about vice biologists began hear- again in October or No- "But that's not true."
Barter Island on the Beau- hundreds and hundreds of ing reports of increasing vember. Inglangasak said he's been
numbers of polar bears in The fall is also when resi- offering polar bear tours
the area in the early 2000s, dents of Kaktovik kill three since 2003 or 2004.
Reed said. As more atten- bowhead whales. Bruce In- Most of his clients are from
tion was given to the plight glangasak, an Inupiaq sub- China and Europe, as well
of polar bears about a de- sistence hunter who offers as from the Lower 48 U.S.
cade ago, more tourists wildlife viewing tours, said states and arrive in Katovik
stated heading to Kaktovik. residents were unsure how on charter planes from An-
Most tourists visit in the fall, tourists would react to whal- chorage and Fairbanks.
when bears are forced to- ing. "The community was Many tourists stay several
ward land because sea ice scared about, you know, days in the village, which
is the farthest away from activists that was going to has two small hotels, Ing-
the shore. Some bears be- try to get us to shut down langasak said.q