A whale-watching tour got the photo opportunity of a lifetime when they spotted a rare great white shark feeding from an elephant seal about 30 miles west of Santa Barbara.
A group of about 50 people were aboard the Condor Express, which makes daily whale-watching trips through the Santa Barbara Channel, according to Captain Dave Beezer, who has been with the company for nearly 20 years.
On August 30, the team saw the floating carcass of a dead elephant 14 miles off the coast of Gaviota and Beezer knew it lived in the area, he said. The seal’s head was missing so he thought an attacker might be involved. Soon after, a 16-foot great white shark came out of the water and started eating the carcass.
The Condor Express whale watching tour near Santa Barbara saw a great white shark eat an elephant seal on Aug. 30.
(Robert Perry / CondorExpressPhotos.com)
“It dug its jaws into the side of the seal and took out large pieces and then it was no longer seen,” he said.
Great white sharks, sometimes called great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), are the species featured in the classic 1975 movie “Jaws.” The population of great white sharks in the northeast Pacific is growing and is not at risk of becoming endangered in US waters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The shark circled the boat and appeared four or five times to pull the sea creature out. Robert Perry, who has been photographing the ocean since the late 1960s, was also on board, working as the Condor Express photographer. The only time we ever took photos of great white sharks was when they were swimming or under a dead whale so that they were completely invisible.
Perry was able to capture several photos of the great white shark feeding.
“It was absolutely fantastic and a rare opportunity,” added Perry. “It was the picture of a lifetime.”
Beezer said he has seen a great white shark eat four or five times in his life. He emphasized the importance of the white shark in this region. Because San Miguel Island is a seal breeding ground, this area has the highest number of seals in the world. Great white sharks keep some of those people looking, he said.
“It’s not this mindless, murderous machine that we should all be afraid of,” he added. “A predator that plays an important role in the marine ecosystem.”
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