Seal Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article concerns the island located off the coast of South Africa. For the one located in the Gulf of Maine see Machias Seal Island or for the one located off the shore of Southwestern Nova Scotia see Seal Island, Nova Scotia
Seal Island is a small land mass located about 5.7 km off the northern beaches of False Bay, near Cape Town, in South Africa. The island is occupied by Cape Fur Seals and a few sea birds. It is an outcrop of the Cape granite and rises no more than about four metres above the high tide mark. There is no vegetation or soil of any significance. A radio mast was built on the island during World War II but this was blown over in a winter storm in 1970 and all that remains of it is rusty, twisted metal. There are the ruins of a few huts and other structures from the sealing and guano-collection era (first half of the 20th century). Some rock inscriptions made by sealers in the 1930s are still evident.
[edit] Great White Sharks
The dense population of fur seals at certain times of the year attracts the seal's main foe, the Great White Shark. Seal Island provides unique opportunities for those who wish to observe attacks by White Sharks on Cape Fur Seals and to observe social interactions amongst both species.
[edit] Video
- Polaris Attack, in which the shark launches itself vertically out of the water and grasps the seal while in mid-air.
- Surface Pursuit of a Cape Fur Seal by a White Shark at Seal Island.
- Great White Sharks - Air Jaws
- Great White Sharks - Air Jaws 2
- Great White Sharks - Air Jaws 2 pt. 2
