411 Dive Log Australasia April 2025

look down, the wobby is inches from my face. Hello there! Inevitably, the shark does this as my buddies are watching and cackling their heads off. I usually hear about it for weeks later. The sharks are always female! The question arises: Can they sense testosterone? My answer: I am sure that they can! Those divers who use testosterone scented aftershave should consider this before diving. No user of steroids should dive, especially with female sharks! Same applies to female hormones. Male sharks will respond to human females, especially when hormones levels are elevated such as the days of ovulation, i.e. day 14 of the menstrual cycle.

I can tell you that a solo ascent from forty metres with a few Silver Tip Whalers in close attendance is a very long way. These days, with OH and S regulations, fun stuff like that is frowned on. We used to do fun things all the time that had a bit of adrenalin attached to them and get away with them on a regular basis but things have changed. The fun police have taken over. If you are in a shark feed, stay close to the sea floor and stay with the group! Rays Our local ray, the Short Tail Stingray, Bathytoshia brevicaudatum is recorded as the world’s largest Sting Ray. It has a placid personality and will tolerate divers coming very close to it, as long as you stay still or move very slowly. They are powerful and definitely

You can determine the shark behaviour to a degree. As I indicated above, if you have been doing active hard yakka and go diving, sharks can smell your body odours. That makes them interested. The most obvious way you can change the behaviour of sharks is swimming alone at dawn or dusk. Night diving solo is a bad idea. A curious shark will take the cue and may become aggressive. close encounter with sharks, try to get your back against a coral reef. Swimming up in the water column will create interest for the shark. They will become emboldened. If you want to have closer photos of Silver Tip Whalers, swim about in the open water column. Make sure you attach rear vision mirrors to your facemask! I have done these solo dives at Osprey reef back in 1987. I swam down to forty metres by myself and waited for some Silver Tip Whalers to turn up. It only took a few minutes. Then, it was a case of getting a few photos and regularly rotating around to catch that sneaky shark approaching from behind. It was exhilarating to say the least. Right: Rare encounter with a huge Angel Shark provides a challenge to balance the light on an overcast day with green water. Nikon D810 Nikkor 16 to 35 mm f13. 1/100 Sec ISO 400 87 Dive Log Australasia #411 April 2025 You being there makes the shark interested! If you are having a

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