Finding a Salmon Shark dead in the shallows is not something I often see in my travels. After a series of questions to myself, I concluded that the shark had been caught in a tidal zone and left high and dry during when the tide went out. Why was it so close to shore and in a tidal pool area? Well this particular tidal zone is where a large population of pink salmon had been riding the tides to reach a creek to spawn. This shark had discovered a way to corral his prey into a small area but stayed too long to get back out. There’s a lot to take from this death. How often do they ride the tides so close to spawning salmon creeks? Do they feed more often in the middle of the night? This creek was in the shade, would they choose this one over one in the sun because of the cover it provided for an ambush? Would love to spend more time camped out along this stream to see what happens when we're all asleep at the lodge. But there's only so many hours in day and only so many days during the shark migration.
On another note. A week prior to this another shark death got my attention as I travelled back from a day tour to the lodge. I was leading a group of photographer’s home and came across a dead Sleeper Shark carcass floating on the surface. Although it was late in the evening, I didn’t have the inclination to snap a photo. Only studying the carcass at length to determine what it was. In retrospect, I wish I had pulled out even my phone to take a picture. The shark had been dead for some time with flesh freely hanging from it, but still bloated and floating. Was this related? Do Sleeper Sharks also feed in these pools? Did it have the same fate but floated out? So many questions.
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