Following Edwin's comments, I too am impressed by the very relaxed manner
that Albatross (especially the larger Diomedea) deal with the threat of
sharks. The typical response is to move a short distance away with a brief
flight but on several occasions we have observed birds that refuse to be
driven away from the boat (i.e. food) and, instead, bite the shark on the
snout repeatedly. The sharks appear to lose interest after being bitten
several times. Admittedly, these have not been Great Whites but the point
seems to be that the threat is dealt with in a typically relaxed fashion.
Birds also seem to be able to distinguish a shark which is on line as
opposed to free swimming and see this as a much reduced threat.
cheers
Milburn
Dr.Peter Milburn
Biomolecular Resource Facility
The Australian National University
GPO Box 334 Canberra ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA
Phone No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
Fax No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
E-mail Address
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