Celebrating Shark Week With Shark Expert Alessandro De Maddalena
A special sharky episode of Skaana, a demo chapter from Mark Leiren-Young's book, Sharks Forever, a great story about Sharks Forever & Cute Cats Meet Baby Sharks...
Yes, it’s Shark Week - and I have written two shark books - so here are some shark facts, links and interviews…
Shark Story About Skaana Host Mark Leiren-Young
So one of the shark experts interviewed for Shark Week… me… Here’s a great piece in one of my local newspapers.
And a great review of both of my new shark books from The Hakai - Twelve New Kids’ Beach Reads to Inspire Action and Adventure
Alessandro De Maddalena on Hunting for the Perfect Shark Photo and the Orcas Hunting Great White Sharks
I first reached out to Alessandro De Maddalena about five years ago when I was working on my book Orcas Everywhere and I was determined to use some of his stunning images of Norwegian Orcas. That’s when he told me that he was really a shark expert who made the occasional visit to Norway to check out my fave whales… So, of course, his photos are featured throughout my shark book, Sharks Forever.
When I was working on Sharks Forever, I did a lengthy interview with Alessandro - which was a huge help for the book, but the Zoom connection between his home in South Africa and mine in Saanich, wasn’t stable enough to turn into a podcast.
Monday afternoon we tried again and - thanks to the magic of producer, Bug Lewis, the episode is already live.
We talked about hunting for the perfect shark photo, the two orcas who are hunting great white sharks in South African waters, what makes great whites great and so much more!
"The reason I love sharks is that they are a perfect art form. I consider Mother Nature the greatest artist.”
Sharks Forever
It’s Shark Week. I have a book about sharks. And I read a demo chapter from that book on Skaana. Seemed kinda silly not to share it again here…
Sharks Don’t Want to Eat You! Mark Leiren-Young’s New Book Sharks Forever
Also… my adventures with sharks started when I met Sharkwater filmmaker Rob Stewart and Sharks Forever only exists because of the support of Rob’s family and Team Sharkwater. So here are some of my stories about Rob.
From The Georgia Straight: Movie Night in Canada: Mark Leiren-Young on Sharkwater
And from The Tyee: Rob Stewart’s Mission to Save the Humans: Shark conservationist, filmmaker and author tackles a new subject in ‘Revolution.’ See it at VIFF
And now a word from our sponsors…
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And a story on the truth about shark “attacks”
Sharks Don’t Want to Eat You! But people do want selfies of sharks attacking them
By Courtney Bill
In 2003, thirteen-year-old Bethany Hamilton was surfing in Kauai, Hawaii when a tiger shark attacked. The shark departed with her entire left arm in their mouth. What followed… two documentaries, nine books, the feature film Soul Surfer, and widespread fear surrounding shark attacks.
How rational are these fears?
What are the odds that a morning swim or afternoon surf could make you prey?
According to reports from the International Shark Attack File the risks are almost non-existent. Humans are more likely to be killed or injured from flying champagne corks, lightning, or power tools. In contrast, humans kill approximately 100 million sharks annually.
The International Shark Attack File compiles surveys, statistics and interactive media aimed to open a broader conversation about the misconceptions surrounding these majestic creatures.
The Shark Attack Data Interactive which we are sharing here on Skaana highlights these statistics by providing informative videos from shark experts and survivors, six-step guides to surviving a shark attack and an interactive map that allows the user to view locations of fatal and non-fatal attacks internationally.
FloridaPanhandle.com recently released some staggering survey results — 150 individuals who expressed interest in being attacked by a shark for the sake of a captivating story, assuring that they would sustain no lasting harm.
While sharks are popularly considered to be dangerous predators (cue the Jaws theme song), the statistics reveal that sharks should not be feared. Instead, humans should explore and coexist with the natural world, understanding that there is more to fear about a world without sharks than a world with them.
For more on Sharks from a Skaana perspective, please check out Skaana host, Mark Leiren-Young reading from his newest book: Sharks Forever; The Mystery and History of the Planet’s Perfect Predator available everywhere on iTunes, Spotify or our Skaana site.
And what would Shark Week be without a rendition of Baby Shark?
As anyone who has visited or Zoomed with me knows, these two cats - Frejya and Saga - are the true bosses in our house.
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Meanwhile, in Ocean News…
If you’re not in Canada, you may not realize that you may no longer be seeing Canadian news online… Google and Facebook are currently at war with the Canadian government and our news sites aren’t being shared and/or are actively being blocked, so we are sharing links to Canadian stories/sites.
I hope you’ll also share our stories and episodes because our stories are also being disappeared from search engines and social media.
Sharks Being Sharky
And a local shark sighting… ‘On every diver’s bucket list’: Video shows up-close encounter with shark in Alberni Inlet
Southern resident orcas
And a story that researchers have known for a while and never really talked about (publicly)… The big problem for endangered orcas? Inbreeding
Orcas being awesome
Caught on cam: Dramatic orca encounter at Victoria breakwater
‘Unique to the Pacific’: Deer swims next to whale in ‘rare’ Salish Sea encounter
Sciencing the oceans
Finding a whale in a very wet haystack… Satellite detection of whales is improving rapidly, but finding the behemoth creatures is still surprisingly tricky.
How does a male orca stay out of trouble? With a lot of help from mom | CBC Radio
The humpback comeback
Humpbacks, including Poptart, return to Salish Sea with new calves
