Give That Shark a Cigar for His Diving Record

Here's one for the record books: A great white shark named Shack, tagged with a tiny transmitter by New Zealand scientists who are studying the migratory patterns of great whites, took a dive a record 1,200 meters (or nearly 4,000 feet!) under the ocean's surface.

Now that is deep.

Shack is part of a larger group of 25 great whites who had these transmitter tags attached to them. Scientists are learning a lot about sharks they didn't already know. As Malcolm Francis, principle scientist for the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (one of the groups heading the study) noted:

Before we started this work, five years ago, it was thought that great white sharks were cold water animals. But it seems the great white sharks are taking tropical winter holidays, departing New Zealand between April and September, for somewhere warmer. The maximum distance migrated was 3300 km. Our sharks don't cross the equator; so far our tagged animals have only gone as far north as 17 degrees south, north of New Caledonia. (Source)

Almost as cool as the fact that Shack plunged close to the 4,000 feet under the water was the description of the process by which the sharks are "tagged" by scientists. As Department of Conservation Scientist Clinton Duffy described it:

We have to attract them to the boat, with a berley of tuna oil and minced tuna. Then we use a long pole that has a needle tip on it. The tag has a monofilament nylon leader with a barbed plastic anchor on it. The anchor slides over the needle tip, which is injected under the skin of the shark with the pole. When the shark is close enough and at (hopefully) the right angle, we use the pole to stab the anchor into the muscle below the dorsal fin as it swims by. Lots of patience is needed because usually the shark is moving around, its back is exposed only for a short amount of time and the dorsal fin is out of reach. (Source)

You've got to wonder: How much does that job pay an hour? And what are the benefits like?

A Big Thumbs Up to New Zealand's Prime Minister...

Thumbs up to New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key for fast-tracking a new bill through the government to get tough on animal abuse. Key has a lot of support for the bill, both within his own party (the National Party) and from the opposition. The public pressure to pass the bill intensified after a man in Wellsford recently shot and killed 33 dogs in a local dispute. The head of the Labour Party opposition, Phil Goff, spoke for a lot of New Zealanders when he said:

I'm the owner of two dogs and have had pets all my life. There is a human obligation to treat animals humanely and we need to do everything we can to stop these appalling acts. We know that there is a link, that people who are capable of committing acts of cruelty against animals [are also capable of behaving] in a similar manner against human beings.

Hopefully the passage of tougher laws in New Zealand (it's looking like this bill is a sure thing) will inspire other countries around the world to toughen their animal cruelty laws. It is time to start punishing those who abuse, harm and - in some cases - kill innocent animals. This law is a very encouraging sign.

PM Key, you get a big thumbs up!