Bah humbug.
Will enough attention ever be enough? Must “man-eating” Great Whites arrogantly show up en masse, destroying the peace and tranquility of my once peaceful and tranquil Cardiff by the Sea and also take a giant bite out of Christmas? Do the prehistoric beasts have even the tiniest modicum of humility? A thimbleful of reserve?
It appears not as yesterday, for the fourth consecutive year, the apex predators showed up by the tens upon tens off Santa Claus Beach in Carpinteria, very near Santa Barbara, and stole the spotlight from both Jolly Old Saint Nick and nature’s most lovable dolphins and let us quickly turn to Santa Barbara’s local ABC affiliate for the blood-curdling details.
A phenomenon that’s attracted documentary film crews from around the globe has returned to the beaches off Padaro Lane.
For the past three or four years, great white sharks have been spotted along the same stretch of Carpinteria coastline. Experts say before then, spotting a great white was a freakish encounter, with one or two a year in the early 2000s.
The dolphins put on a show today at Santa Claus Beach Wednesday. Jon Shafer says the great white sharks are looking for some applause too.
“Within 15 seconds of my launching my drone I had a shark in my eyesight and I flew around for an hour and I saw 10 to 15 different sharks,” said Shafer, a local surf photographer, shark enthusiast, and fisherman.
Shafer says there’s been a large presence of great whites along Padaro Lane’s coastline every fall and spring for the past three or four years. He’s been on the lookout and finally got a tip on Monday that the boys are back in town.
“The main theory is that the sharks that used to inhabit the waters to the south of us and the north of us have been crowded out so much so the younger sharks are having to find new homes,” said Shafer.
Danielle Escalera’s husband is known to surf in the area. “I get a little nervous, I make sure he doesn’t wear his wedding ring to attract them with the glitter,” she said.
Shafer worries that people are underestimating the risks and inherent dangers of sharks just because they aren’t 15-feet-long, yet.
“I know people go out, actively seeking, I want to paddle with the sharks, yeah nobody’s been hurt yet but my fear is, something that came to, like with the Conception disaster, sooner or later something bad is going to happen and then people are going to be really up in arms about it,” said Shafer.
Shafer’s drone footage reveals the same apex predators returning year after year and swimming in knee-deep water. “What was a five or six-foot shark three, four years ago, is now a seven, eight, nine-foot shark,” he adds.
Stealing the spotlight from Jolly Old Saint Nick, nature’s most lovable dolphins and also maybe literally stealing Danielle Escalera’s husband? How will they know he’s spoken for sans wedding ring? To be quite honest, I don’t think they’d even care. Sharks, especially “man-eating” Great Whites have been known to revel in their reputation as both man-eaters and home wreckers. I bet these randy juveniles wouldn’t bat a nictitating membrane at sweeping Mr. Escalera off his feet, leaving beautiful Danielle home alone singing mournful Taylor Swift songs.
Cold-hearted bastards.
Cold-cold-hearted bastards.
Just like with humans, if you do everything you can to keep them alive there will be way to many of them. “The God Game”
I lost my wedding ring within a month
I couldnt stop fiddling with it and it fell off.
Now i just wear the suffer ring.
That’s some hard hitting journalism by the local rag hitting up the first sucker they found to posit 5 theories all out of the blue and with no evidence.
I see new story potential. “Californians lust for potent weed causing murderous white shark mayhem”.
Back road past that stretch of coast just reeks of the herb….kinda weird for an old schooler used to hideing everything. All the conservatives are whining about the smell…its kinda skunky . Sativa smells better.
Yea I’m a long time outdoor grower. My favorite strains are the chems especially chem four, but drying it in my house is pretty overpowering. Gassy!
The fog here at the coast seemed to always mess up my great garden plans! Great for tropicals though.
look what happens when they sign the bill to open up the ranch. the sharks are protesting
All I want for Christmas are my 300 front teeth.
Surely the main story is an in depth look at the man identified as. amongst other things, a ‘shark enthusiast’?
I mean, how are we going to take these shark stories to the next level without enthusiasm?
That’s just shy of fetish right?
Depends on whether or not he gets dressed up.
Santa Claus Beach
Child: “Hey Dad, look! It’s Saint Nick and his Reindeer!”
Dad: “Sorry son. That Ain’t Nick and his Reign Fear.”
I saw mum get bit at Santa Claus
Underneath the undertow last night …..