# Bull shark kills dolphin



## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

http://www.extremecoast.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6477


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## SSMike (Aug 15, 2005)

So did anyone ever see the Dolphin alive? Just wondering if he was dead or near death before being attacked. Something wasn't right with him I'm sure...


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## salty_waders (Feb 13, 2006)

Wow, thats nuts! Ive never heard of a porpoise eating a lure and Ive never heard of a shark killing a porpoise. That just goes to show that whenever you/we/scientists think we have everything figured out, nature throws us a curve.


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## FALCO (Aug 25, 2005)

man thats my super spook no wonder i was spooled so fast


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

salty_waders said:


> Wow, thats nuts! Ive never heard of a porpoise eating a lure and Ive never heard of a shark killing a porpoise.


You still haven't, that's a dolphin.


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## QuackWhacker (Feb 4, 2006)

Thats sad but thats the way it goes. I think that was the same dolphin eating my snapper!


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## big_zugie (Mar 14, 2006)

well if i was there i would have been trying to catch that shark


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

salty_waders said:


> Wow, thats nuts! Ive never heard of a porpoise eating a lure and Ive never heard of a shark killing a porpoise. That just goes to show that whenever you/we/scientists think we have everything figured out, nature throws us a curve.


I know of both and I bet it happens more than we know.


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## SSMike (Aug 15, 2005)

That dolphin was dead before that shark started chewing on him... Looks like he had been dead for awhile.


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

SSMike said:


> That dolphin was dead before that shark started chewing on him... Looks like he had been dead for awhile.


I agree with that...................those bites dont look fatal


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## Dolphin Girl (May 21, 2004)

It actually looks really fresh... code 3 at the absolute latest.

And if it's pec was bitten off it would have had trouble swimming and could have very easily drowned. Looks like he was in bad shape to begin with though... blubber layer is extremely thin and you can see "peanut head."

I'm trying to get more info. No one reported it so a necropsy wasn't done.


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## crtarpon (May 11, 2005)

That shark probably had nothing to do with that dolphin dying until the last few minutes of its life if even then. I've seen bulls and dolphins interact in Costa Rica. The bulls stay way clear of them unless the dolphins are very sick or dead. The dolphins down there are darker colored with light spots, and like the ones here will absolutely not take any guff off of a shark. It is like watching a 20 year old Muhammad Ali toying with his 80 year old grandfather (or five year old son)....the difference in speed and smarts makes them untouchable to the bulls.

A bull will wait around like that like a vulture for a long time. I am a little puzzled by the lure in the mouth...I have never seen that before. This critter's sonar was likely busted or he wouldn't have tried to eat that.


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

*New post on EC*

*Sharkespeare*
Bait

Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 1

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:07 pm  Post subject:  I actually responded to this stranding call and unfortunately there is no video. As part of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, We arrived to necropsy the dolphin, however that scene had changed. Someone cut the lure from the dolphin's(*Tursiops truncatus*) mouth (reason undetermined). The shark fins in that first picture and second to last are from a great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) ***NOT*** a bull shark(Carcharhinus leucas). The angle of the dorsal and the upper lobe on the caudal fin are far too steep for a bull shark (good pics though). Several sharks had attacked this animal ranging from 5ft to 9ft specimens (according to the bite radii). The reason that the sharks never pulled any flesh off the dolphin was that the blubber layer was nearly non-existant. The Bottle-nose had been starving and after the necropsy on the beach, we determined that dolphin to be an old female that had had five offspring in her life (by the scarring on her uterus). This animal was dying and was not killed or chased by any shark. Her teeth were worn very far down and the lure in her mouth meant that she had to resort to opportunistic feeding by stealing bait from fishermen's lines. A side note, having seen this animal from the inside, she lived a long life and it apparently was her time. She was 9 feet 3 inches long and weighed over 400 lbs. Again, I say I know because I was there and helped bury the remains of the animal after the necropsy. Currently her tissue samples are on their way to Galveston for further testing that cannot be done in the Corpus Christi area. 
****If you locate a stranded marine mammal (alive or dead) please call (800) 9-MAMMAL for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network(TMMSN)

Thanks

ps. this was reported and necropsied - no there is no video but over 150 pictures were taken prior and during necropsy - the pictures you see now were when the shore patrol responded who then called TMMSN. I also thank whoever posted these pics are they will help our current file on cc-234 (stranding designation) found 2.5 miles from main entrance to the Texas National Seashore


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## Seahuntress (May 1, 2006)

Yes I know that, sharks will attack dolphins. I'm sure the dolphin was probably weak or ill in some way. Is the reason it could of happend.


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Leave the Marine Mammal alone!!...Catch the Shark*

I'm with Big Zugie....I'd been out there trying to catch the shark in the first gut....
Mustad7731
Jackie


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

WOW, so those were great hammerheads swimming in the first gut?? How scary.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

sp00lme said:


> WOW, so those were great hammerheads swimming in the first gut?? How scary.


Most people say no. The first pic is tricky because it looks like the shark is turning and makes the fin look thinner. Look at the rest of the pics and it's clearly more triangular.


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