The Geology Club traveled back from a two day-trip at the Santa Cruz Island and saw a 16-foot great white shark eating a dead minke whale in the Santa Barbara Channel.
The 30-foot carcass was spotted on Sept. 29, 2013 and brought attention to the growing shark population in the Santa Barbara area.
“It was nothing like I have ever seen in my life. It was crazy,” Eiko Kiato, earth and planetary sciences lab technician assistant said. “It smelt so bad I thought I was going to die.”
A video of this siting went viral and sparked community safety and awareness about shark attacks.
According to Oceana.org, great white, tiger and bull sharks are responsible for more than half of all human attacks. Both tiger and great white sharks swim in the Santa Barbara Channel.
About a dozen of the 500 different species of sharks are considered dangerous to humans.
Sharks often mistake surfers and swimmers as seals because of their wetsuits.
Swimmers and surfers are recommended to move slowly and keep sight of the shark. If you are close to a large or even a floating kelp canopy move on top of it.
To see the shark video, click here.
![Bingbong, a 1 and a half year old Belgian Malse Shepard mix, watches as a car passes by on Oct. 22 at the County of Santa Barbara Animal Shelter in Santa Barbara, Calif. "[Bingbong] is extremely playful, and enjoys his time with humans. He's a little stressed when he's left alone in the kennels...he really just wants a home," Animal Handler Dustin Fujuikawa said.](https://www.thechannels.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AZFoster-3-1200x800.jpg)
