Da.. da... da.... da... dadadadadadadadada...

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Yeah, this is all over the local news. It's only the second great white attack which resulted in a death in San Diego County in the last 100 years. The other one occurred in La Jolla Cove around a dozen years ago. The local news is speculating that the exploding local seal population is what is attracting the sharks here.

Are the any chance that the "journalists" of these local news could be lured into taking a swim in shark infested areas ? It could only be an improvement if some of them met a hungry shark.

[Dinner]

I would love to see some of them get eaten.

Agie, it's north of Del Mar by about 10-12 miles. So maybe 30 miles north of San Diego but still in the same county.

[Aeson]

I just got home from the beach (bout 15 miles N of there). Went swimming for a little bit, but the water is too cold to stay out long. I still think I was safer out in the surf than at any other point in my day.

[Dinner]

Come to San Diego where the fish eat you.

[Thoth]

Originally posted by BlackCat


Are the any chance that the "journalists" of these local news could be lured into taking a swim in shark infested areas ? It could only be an improvement if some of them met a hungry shark.

Nice thought, but it wouldn't work. There are some things that even a shark won't touch.

[SpencerH]

One less hippie. Think he's happy about saving the seals now?

[Lancer]

I'm viewing this as an attack on the species. It is provocation! I'll tell you this for sure...I AM provocated! Lemme at those nassy sharks, lemme attem!

Ich bean eyen veteranarian!

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Yeah, this is all over the local news. It's only the second great white attack which resulted in a death in San Diego County in the last 100 years. The other one occurred in La Jolla Cove around a dozen years ago. The local news is speculating that the exploding local seal population is what is attracting the sharks here.

You obviously need more Newfies.

[Dinner]

Seriously! The seals in La Jolla (which is the closest beach to my house) used to sit on Seal Rock but their population got so large that the colony broke in two and now a bunch of them have taken over a local beach.



That's the Scripps Children's tide pool which had the sea wall constructed in 1930 paid for by one of the local wealthy families at the time as a kind of make work/community endowment project during the depression. Environmentalists and the city have been suing each other for the last several years over this seal colony. The environmentalists want the seals to stay and for people to not be allowed on this one beach while the city & the Scripps family want the seals to go.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Seriously! The seals in La Jolla (which is the closest beach to my house) used to sit on Seal Rock but their population got so large that the colony broke in two and now a bunch of them have taken over a local beach.

You're a ****ing liar Oerdin. All I can see in that picture is a bunch of fat retirees!!!

[Lul Thyme]

There's a cat watching the seals at the bottom of the picture

[Winston]

Cunningly disguised as a sea gull.

[Dinner]

Are you talking about the ground squirrel? Those things are a plague on this area. Lonely old women and young children feed them so they breed and multiply and some have become quite tame. Sometimes it's cool when they jump on you and sometimes they're annoying as ****; like when you're having a BBQ and the little ****ers jump right on top of the table and start stealing stuff the second your back is turned. Damn rodents!

[Dinner]

Chicago Tribune

April 26, 2008

From the Los Angeles Times
Shark kills triathlete off Solana Beach
The deadly attack on a 66-year-old swimmer had all the hallmarks of a great white, authorities say. It's the first death attributed to a shark in San Diego County since 1994.
Shark attack

GRIEF: Two women console each other after learning of Dave Martin’s death off Solana Beach. A professor emeritus of marine biology at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla said the shark probably mistook the wetsuit-clad Martin for a seal. (Sandy Huffaker / Associated Press / April 25, 2008)

By Laura Nott, H.G. Reza and Molly Hennessy-Fiske | Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
April 26, 2008

SOLANA BEACH, CALIF. - The attack was swift and deadly. A shark expert who examined the mangled body said the bite marks showed the classic pattern of a great white: Strike from underneath and then retreat quickly.

Despite attempts by lifeguards at resuscitation, retired veterinarian Dave Martin, 66, a dedicated triathlete who swam every Friday with other fitness buffs, was declared dead just minutes after he was pulled from the water.

A shark estimated at 12 to 17 feet in length had bitten both his thighs, leading to massive bleeding, rescue personnel said. Martin's death left friends, beach lovers and fellow competitive swimmers in shock.

Though sharks are known to roam the ocean off Southern California, and millions of people swim in the waters annually, this was the first death attributed to a shark attack in San Diego County since 1994.

Great White Sharks
The Times' Francisco Vara-Orta provides a primer on the infamous creatures. More on the attack at Unleashed, The Times blog about animals.

Officials immediately placed a 72-hour off-limits designation on an eight-mile stretch of the ocean from Torrey Pines to South Carlsbad, prime swimming and surfing territory.

Surfers just as quickly ignored the warnings and got in the water.

Torrey Pines to Carlsbad is a huge section of beach to put off limits. Basically from just north of La Jolla to almost Oceanside/Camp Pendleton so about 20-30 miles of beaches are officially closed due to the shark attack.

It's interesting that Harbor seals were reported being seen in the water immediately before the attack. Great Whites just love those fat little seals and they make up a large part of the Great White's diet.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-me-shark26apr26,1,7964593.story

[Dinner]

It's already started. The people who want to chase the seals off the beach are now using this attack to claim the seals attract the sharks and so have to go for public safety. It's a shame we can't give sea life just one local beach.

Also the attack occured some 30-40 miles away from La Jolla so I'm not sure this is related.

http://www.friendsofthechildrenspool.com/lajollaseals_sharks.htm

Then again the spot in La Jolla is only one of a handful of locations on the mainland in Southern California where the harbor seals have their young each year. The tourists love how they can get close and take pictures of the baby seals but maybe the sharks love how they can get close too.