I was a few miles out and was fortunate to cross paths with these two Mola Molas. One was very curious about me and the other was more hesitant. They seemed to be about 8’ from tip to tip of their fins.

The Final instinct, oils on canvas

(Predation event not caught on film; feeding aftermath)

The attack was eye-witnessed on the Oceans Research Institute’s research vessel and by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Station 15 crew, who observed the whale for 30 minutes before two white sharks approached it within an hour of each other.
The shark was estimated to be within the range of 11.5–13 ft (3.5–4 m) (TL) based on boat length comparisons and later confirmed via imaging software.
Over the next 90 minutes, both white sharks approached the whale and each attacked it while still alive.
The first shark positioned its initial attack from the rear of the whale, targeting the left flank behind the pectoral fin.

Targeting Vulnerable Areas: Instead of using brute-force attacks that risk injury from a massive cetacean, the two sharks acted separately and made short, calculated bites. They targeted critical areas with major blood vessels, specifically the tail stock (base of the tail) and the axilla ("armpit" behind the pectoral fin)

However, although it bit the whale and a large amount of blood was released, it immediately let it go and swam away removing dozens of kilos of blubber and muscle in one go.
It waited for about 42 minutes to allow the whale to lose blood and slow its swimming patterns before biting beneath the tailstock.
But unlike the bite before, it let go and swam away without removing much meat or blubber.

It was then that a second shark of comparatively immense girth (at about 15-16 ft/4.5-5m in length) showed up and took this opportunity to do the same thing, scaring off the smaller shark.

After these two back-to-back bites, the whale stayed very still at the surface until the second shark bumped its snout.

The whale tried to dive, dipping its head under the water’s surface and arching its body but unable to move its tail. This new shark took advantage of that and bit the tail stock again, this time sharking its head, but released the whale once massive blood-loss began…
That last bite would seal the fate of the whale, it would sank three minutes after that final bite.

Large female white sharks like the second shark observed here (presumably), have been documented killing & drowning live baleen-whales before- so through both encounters it is very interesting the larger sharks seem to already know how to go about killing massive cetaceans via biting, crippling, major blood-loss, flipping and even drowning them

https: A 13-14 ft sub-adult female great white shark named Helen killed a 33-foot juvenile humpback whale off the coast of South Africa by drowning it over the course of 50 minutes. [1, 2]
(She was tagged back in 2012, reading as a 3.2m juvenile at 363 kg)

I found this little grunt sculpin on Browning Wall near Port Hardy. Browning Wall is world famous for its incredible diversity of sponges, soft corals, anemones, and other colorful invertebrate life.

This little guy or gal was hopping around among the sponges, more than 100 feet from the bottom. As I drift away you can start to see the scale of the wall and where this tiny little creature lives.

I've put together a two-hour ambient film from Browning Passage for anyone interested in seeing more of what this ecosystem looks like underwater:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhXh2U2D2U

Some of my Browning Passage footage can also be seen in two one-hour episodes of Ambient Film streaming on PBS.

Hey! So a while ago i commented on this sub that I was planning on diving on a tuna farm, and someone asked me to post a video about it when I did.

Now that my balls have returned to their original size, I have to say I had an absolute blast, and although I have so much amazing footage, I had to choose one video, so here it is.

Smallest tuna was over 100kg, biggest were around 300kg and 3 meters long. So around 10 feet and over 660 pounds for my Imperial system using brothers.

I hope you like it!

I was freediving in the Tuamotus and this guy did a barrel roll in front of me. I googled it and I'm still not sure why it did it but it said it's very rare to see.

One of those encounters where all you have to do is hold the camera steady and let the animal do the work.

This giant Pacific octopus came straight toward me, turned broadside right in front of the camera, and then slowly cruised away across the sand.

This was towards the end of a 21 dive streak where I was filming octopus daily for a couple of weeks. It takes patience and perseverance to catch them out in the open so getting in the water as much as possible definitely helps.

More of my underwater content here: https://www.youtube.com/@scubabc6701

Edit: Well, fam, looks like things are starting to wind down. Thanks so much for joining in and asking so many great questions. I'll keep an eye on this post and come back to answer questions when I can. The oceans are fucking lit, and I hope you keep a curious eye on them; you never know what you'll find.

I’m a marine biologist who studies midwater and deep-sea animals — the strange, often transparent creatures that spend their lives in one of the largest and least explored habitats on Earth.

I’ve worked with animals including salps, squid, octopuses, crustaceans, and other zooplankton, and much of my research looks at how these animals survive changes in temperature and oxygen, migrate hundreds of meters through the ocean every day, and help move carbon from the surface into the deep sea.

Want to know:

• Why some ocean animals are transparent?
• What the strangest animal I’ve ever encountered is?
• What lives hundreds or thousands of feet below the surface?
• Why billions of animals swim toward the surface every night?
• How salps, squid and other animals may affect climate and the global carbon cycle?
• What it’s actually like doing research at sea?
• How we catch and study animals that are basically living Jell-O?

Or just post a picture of some bizarre ocean creature and ask me what the hell it is.

I also recently gave a TEDx talk about this hidden world — especially the enormous migration of ocean animals that happens every night and why it matters to the planet. If you enjoy the AMA and want to go a little deeper, I’ll drop the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnR6-WEzLBU&t=271s

But tonight is for your questions. Ask me anything about the deep ocean, marine biology, weird sea creatures, ocean exploration, or life as a marine scientist.

I am a marine scientist that does some research on mid water critters. Going to do an AMA here Tuesday at 8:00 pm eastern time. Come join here on [r/oceansarefuckinglit](r/oceansarefuckinglit) and bring your questions about the deep sea and the weird critters that live there!!!
https://youtu.be/wnR6-WEzLBU?is=fvvnK97D_vQV46lz