Marvels of evolution!

Sharks are one of the great successes of evolution on earth. A basic design so good its remained unchanged for millions of years. Ruthlessly persecuted by humans due to a lack of understanding and indiscriminately slaughtered to satisfy the growing need of people craving shark fin soup these beautiful creatures are now a rare sight in most waters. Shark numbers in Sri Lanka have declined drastically and now they can only be seen in a few places around our coast. Black tip reef sharks such as this can still be seen in places such as Pigeon Island and Bar Reef, but like many other species their future remains uncertain. In his book "Reefs of Taprobane" Arthur C. Clarke states that in his first dive in Sri Lanka he got better pictures of sharks than in two years on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. A sharp contrast to the present day, where in most parts of Sri Lanka, seeing sharks is as rare as seeing a mermaid!

Face Off!

Whale Sharks of Sogod Bay

From November to May each year, whale sharks gather for feeding in the sheltered, deep waters of Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte, Philippines. A well managed eco-tourism industry has been established by several dive operators together with the local community. Regulations including a ban on SCUBA diving and flash photography, a minimum distance from the sharks, and time limits have been enforced. Locals have been employed as spotters and guides, and a sanctuary fee charged from tourists supports the local village. A successful model that benefits the local community and the tourists, while minimizing the impact on the sharks ensuring that they return to Sogod Bay in the future.

White-tip reef shark

White-tip reef sharks are nocturnal predators that feed on small fishes, mollusks and crustaceans. They have slender and highly flexible bodies and adults reach a length of around 1.8m. This allows them to get into small cracks and holes in the reef in pursuit of smaller fish which they track down with their acute sense of smell. White-tip reef sharks tend to rest in caves or channels between reefs during the day and often congregate into large hunting groups around dusk. This behavior has been observed and made famous in places such as the Cocos Islands, off Costa Rica, where over a 100 sharks have been seen hunting in a group.