DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA FEB 2025 ISSUE 410

Beware the wiley Wobbegong. They are one of the most dangerous sharks of all due to their warrior like personality and short tempered behaviour. Never underestimate a wobbegong resting on the sea floor! They are planning how to take you down!

behaviours that tell you to be careful. It begins with the power stare. They are always totally alert and fix their gaze on you with the intent of a black belt karate fighter. Like the warrior knights of old, they are highly trained, extremely fit and supremely confident in their ability to take you down. As you approach to within a metre, they burn into you with their powerful gaze. At eighty cms, they might shuffle a bit and then raise themselves onto their pectoral fins. At seventy cms, they might turn suddenly and move away. If they don’t turn away, they might even give you a warning bark. Yes, it is true. I have heard barking wobbegongs.

At sixty cms, they lunge forward at you, open their enormous cavernous mouth and make a distinct bark. It is at this point that you might decide to back away. How to dive with sharks safely. Generally speaking, sharks are strongly territorial and extremely curious. Once you enter their territory, they will swim around you at a safe distance and check you out. It also serves to let you know that you are trespassing into their domain. They are letting you know who is boss! On my trip to the Great Barrier Reef last week, we observed

Port Jackson sharks mating aggregation

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DIVE LOG Australasia #410 February‘25

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