My own personal Discovery Channel

So, I'm going to post one shark story, and then I will never bother folks with it again! But this shark attack was amazing. I was on shark watch, which basically involves me circling the light house while spacing out mentally or listening to music, but always with an eye on the water. I've seen a lot of whales up there, and even some cool birds (tundra swans!), but no sharks as of that point.

I come around the side of the light and in Mirounga Bay (our most sharky area) there is a tight circle of red on the water. Its a total rush. I grab data sheets, check the time, take a bearing and get the spotting scope on the attack. In the middle of the crimson patch is a young elephant seal(maybe 5ish feet). Its still alive and swimming in akward circles. Then with all the drama of the nature documentry a shark fin rises out of the red water and passes in front of the seal. The fin circles the seal for several minutes as the seal slowly stops struggling and (presumably) dies. The fin disappears and then from behind the seal a head rises out of the water. I can see the the open mouth, the pointed nose, the countershading, the teeth(!) as the shark takes its first feeding bite of the seal carcass. It kinda rolls sideways with the carcass and begins to thrash to rip of a chunk small enough to swallow. The shark stays at the surface for about 5 minutes, ripping and a throwing bloody water into the air as it thrashes (sorry couldn't come up with another word for thrashing). Best look I've ever had of a shark attack. It was truely awesome.

That's my story!