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  • Shark cage diving in Gansbaai, South Africa with Marine Dynamics. Experience the exceptional and come face to face with a great white shark! 

  • The exact world record white shark is a contested issue, but chances are it is between 6-7m. In Gansbaai, the largest white shark ever caught was at Danger Point and measured up to 5.9m.

  • If you see a white shark in the water don’t panic. Chances are high that the shark has already detected you and isn’t interested. White shark attacks are normally associated with poor visibility, so avoid murky conditions.

  • White sharks have a unique system called a “counter current heat exchange”, which keeps their body  tempreture +/- 7C above the surrounding water temperature. 

  • All sharks have an incredibly unique system on the tip of their nose called the “ampillae of Lorenzini”. These are small pores filled with a gel that transmits the electrical currents in the water to the shark’s brain so that it can assess its environment.

  • White sharks give birth to live young (not eggs), and they give birth to 6-8 pups at one time. Pups are usually between 1.0-1.5m in length and are born with teeth.

  • Body language has been a well documented form of shark communication and has identified body arching, jaw gaping, and other postures as specific social tactics.

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Bronze Whaler or Copper Sharks

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Gansbaai's new gold - The bronze whaler shark

Bronze whaler sharks have become the new stars at Gansbaai’s shark cage diving boats.

Bronze whaler sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) otherwise known as the copper shark because of its distinctive colouration is the new star at the shark cage diving boats in Gansbaai. This species is found in temperate waters and usually seen in groups. Bronze whalers can grow up to 3.3m in length during its 25 to 30-year lifespan. Their copper/gold colour is distinctive, and this species is very active around the boats leaving nature lovers and divers enthralled. It is not known to be predatory to humans, but itself faces fishing pressures and is considered near threatened by IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature. Marine Dynamics, together with other operators, is working towards a no catch policy in the Kleinbaai area.

We first noticed bronze whalers at the shark boats in 2013 and it has been amazing to see how they have adapted to the area. The only other way that people are able to see bronze whalers is if scuba diving on the sardine run, which is limited to a few weeks in June and July.