Paper in Journal of Zoology: From Jack The Ripper To Great Whites

June 22, 2009 — Virginia Key — Predation is one of the most fundamental and fascinating interactions in nature, and sharks are some of the fiercest predators on Earth. However, their hunting pattern is difficult to study because it is rarely observed in the wild. As a result, shark predatory behavior has remained much of a mystery. Now, researchers from the United States and Canada are using geographic profiling - a criminal investigation tool used to track a connected series of crimes and locate where serial criminals live - to examine the hunting patterns of white sharks in South Africa. Using this tool, scientists looked at the predatory interactions between white sharks and Cape fur seals at Seal Island in False Bay, South Africa. They found that sharks possess a well-defined anchor point or search base for hunting, but not where the chances of prey interception were greatest. Instead the attacks seemed to take place at strategic locations that could offer a balance of prey detection, capture rates, and inter-shark competition.