>> >>: SCIENTISTS COMPARE THE WATERS OFF OF CALIFORNIA TO AFRICA'S SERENGETI PLANE FOR
ITS RICHNESS OF LIFE, MOST OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN'S TOP PREDATORS THRIVE THERE.
SAN DIEGO'S OFF SHORE DORSAL FINNED RESIDENTS ARE MOSTLY HARMLESS PUPS.
>> >>: WE DON'T ACTUALLY SEE TOO MANY LARGE WHITE SHARKS OFF OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
THEY OCCASIONALLY COME THROUGH, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY RESIDENT FISH, WE THINK, IN THE AREA.
>> >>: SHARK RESEARCHER NICK WAGNER WITH SCRIPPS INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY SAYS SAN DIEGO WATERS
PROVIDE A NURSERY GROUND FOR THE FIVE FOOT LONG GREAT WHITE NEWBORNS.
>> >>: THERE'S NO PARENTAL CARE FOR WHITE SHARKS.
SO ONCE THE MOM SHARK DROPS OFF THE PUP, SHE LEAVES AND THE PUPS ARE THERE TO FEND FOR
THEMSELVES.
AND SO THE PUPS SEEM TO END OFF OUR COAST IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
THEY'RE PROBABLY ATTRACTED TO HIGH ABUNDANCES OF FISH, GENERALLY CALM WATERS AND AREA THEY
BEST FEEL THEY CAN SURVIVE.
>> >>: THE QUESTION REMAINSIS EXACTLY WHERE FEMALES GO TO GIVE BIRTH.
>> >>: WE'VE NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN A WHITE SHARK GIVE BIRTH, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE HIGH NUMBERS
OF JUVENILES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WE SUSPECT THAT THEY GIVE BIRTH SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA, OR IN ADJACENT WATERS.
>> >>: SAN DIEGO LIFE GUARD LIEUTENANT SAYS MOM DOES SWIM IN CLOSE TO SHORE ON OCCASION
TO SHOW OFF HER DORSAL FIN.
MOST RECENTLY ON JULY SECOND, SWIMMERS WERE CALLED OUT OF THE WATER AND THE BEACH WAS
CLOSED.
>> >>: THE WATER WAS SUPER CLEAR THAT DE WE GOT A HELICOPTER UP WITHIN A FEW MINUTES,
RESCUE BOAT AND LIFE GUARDS LOOKING.
>> >>: BUCHANAN SAYS THE BIG ONE GOT AWAY, BUT SHARK SITINGS ARE ON THE RISE.
>> >>: OUR CRITERIA IS THAT IF WE FIND A SHARK CONFIRMED SHARK SITING WITHIN 500 YARDS OF
SHORE, WE'RE GOING TO CONSIDER A CLOSURE AND THEN THE AREA OUTSIDE THE 500 YARD IS WHAT
WE'LL DESCRIBE AS AN ADVISORY, WE'RE GOING TO TELL EVERYBODY WHAT WE'VE SEEN AND LET
THEM KNOW WE'RE UNDER A SHARK ADVISORY AND THEY CAN CHOOSE TO EXIT THE WATER OR NOT.
>> >>: THE MOST K5U78 COMMON AREA FOR SIGHTINGS IN LA JOLLA.
THE SEAL AND SEA LION POPULATION IS 300, A GREAT WHITE'S FAVORITE MEAL, AND SOME RESEARCHERS
SAY THEY'RE THE REASON ADULT SHARK OCCASIONALLY COME CLOSE TO SHORE.
WAGNER SAYS LA JOLLA'S MARINE MAMMAL OPERATION PAILS IN COMPARISON TO OTHER NATIONAL BEACHES.
THERE ARE MORE THAN 300,000 SEA LIONS AND SEALS ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST, A NUMBER
THAT HAS EXPLODED IN THE THREE FEW YEARS.
>> >>: MOST OF THE LARGE CENTERS FOR WHITE SHARKS ARE IN LARGER AREAS WHERE THERE'S MORE
ABUNDANT SEALS AND SEA LIONS AND ELEPHANT SEALS.
THAT'S WHY WE SEE AN ABUNDANCE OF WHITE SHARKS OFF THE CENTRAL COAST.
>> >>: NEAR THE ISLANDS OFF OF SAN FRANCISCO, THE OTHER POPULATION IS OFF OF MEXICO'S GUADALUPE
ISLAND.
LA JOLLA OFFERS ANOTHER DRAW FOR LARGE SHARKS: >> >>: ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT
LA JOLLA IS YOU HAVE THAT DARK WATER CANYON.
THEY MIGHT PERIODICALLY COME UP THE CANYON.
>> >>: GREAT WHITES AREN'T THE ONLY LARGE SHARKS OFF SAN DIEGO.
>> >>: OFF THE COAST HERE WE HAVE A LOT OF MACO SHARKS AND BLUE SHARKS.
THOSE ARE THE MOST COMMON WE HAVE OFF OUR COAST.
IN THE SPRING TIME WE GET THRESHER SHARKS THAT COME THROUGH.
THEY DROP OFF THEIR PUPS IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER MONTHS.
>> >>: WAGNER SAYS SAN DIEGO'S SHARKS ARE MOSTLY HARMLESS TO SWIMMERS.
>> >>: WE'VE ONLY HAD A COUPLE FATAL SHARK ATTACKS IN THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS IN SAN DIEGO
COUNTY.
SHARK ATTACKS ARE VERY RARE IN SAN DIEGO AND WE ALWAYS GETÊ THERE'S ALWAYS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT
GENERATED WHEN A WHITE SHARK IS SPOTTED BUT THERE'S VERY FEW INCIDENTS WITH THEM ATTACKING
PEOPLE.
>> >>: THE PACIFIC COAST HAD A HUNDRED AND EIGHT GREAT WHITE SHARK ATTACKS RECORDED IN
THE 20TH CENTURY BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010.
THERE WERE 24 ATTACKS.
THE LATEST FATALITY HAPPENED IN SOLANA BEACH.
>> >>: SHARKS EXIST IN THE OCEAN, SO PEOPLE NEED KNOW THAT AND BASICALLY BE AWARE AND
IF YOU SEE ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK IS UNUSUAL AND YOU THINK MIGHT BE A GREAT WHITE SHARK,
THEY SHOULD TELL A LIFE GUARD IMMEDIATELY AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY STICK AROUND SO WE
CAN ACTUALLY INTERVIEW THEM AND GET FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THEY SAW.