Cocos The Island of Hammerhead Sharks

I’m a big believer in discovering as many magical places in a lifetime as possible. Not the mythical kind where one might encounter leprechauns or fairies, but the kind where anything is possible and you never know what you will discover .....

I was fortunate enough to discover such a place last summer. It is the world’s largest uninhabited island. It is also a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Reaching it requires a 36 hour boat ride 600km into the Pacific Ocean. Any guesses?

This magical place happens to be Cocos National Park and is part of Costa Rica. There are over 90 different species of birds that live there, over 200 waterfalls, and rainbows almost every day that disappear into the tree covered island. The only inhabitants are the rangers and volunteers living on one part of the island. There is even thought to be many hidden treasures there buried by pirates!

Perhaps you can begin to see why I consider this a magical place? In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but what makes it truly magical lies in the waters surrounding the island.

Cocos is one of the few places on earth that is home to the world’s largest schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks, numbering in the hundreds! Just in case the hammerhead sharks were not enough, white tip, silvertips, silkys and the odd Galapagos and whale shark also frequent the island. It is one of the best shark diving destinations on the planet for shark encounters.

I came to Cocos to scuba dive with hammerhead sharks. Contrary to popular belief, most sharks are not dangerous to people. Having said this I nearly had to be pushed off the boat on my first dive into the shark infested waters.

My expectations of “magical moments” were high, this was Cocos after all and I was not disappointed.

My fellow divers and I were graced with the presence of whale shark, the world’s largest fish measuring ~12m on our second day of diving with sharks. We jumped into the water and moments later the majestic fish appeared. Seconds later it disappeared into the blue. It is truly quizzical that a fish so big can disappear so quickly!

On several occasions we jumped into a black ocean on a night dive knowing that a feeding frenzy was taking place just a few meters below us – if that is not a leap of faith, I don’t what is. White tip sharks hunt at night in packs and we were fortunate enough to join them as they aggressively pursued their dinner while fish quivered behind rocks hoping their hiding place proved not to be a fatal mistake. One might think that 15 or so divers all with lights might interfere with their dinner plans, but the sharks always seemed oblivious to us. In fact, you could lie down and they would swim right over you, providing an amazing shark encounter. This unbelievable night dive also contributes to Cocos reputation as an exceptional shark diving destination.

You would think that all these shark encounters would be enough even for adrenalin junky like myself, but I remained captivated by the seemly mythical schools of hammerheads until day three, when literally out of the blue, a school of 50 or so hammerheads emerged right before our eyes. I was in awe. I opened my mouth and ended up swallowing a mouthful of sea water which returned the same way it entered shortly after. Normally, this would have bothered me but I was completely enthralled by the hammerheads. Shark diving at its best!

The most fascinating part of hammerhead sharks is the unique shape of their head. They look very comical when they swim as their head looks disjointed from the rest of their body. Hammerhead sharks found in schools are usually females. Sometimes they are recognizable from their mating scars, since when hammerhead sharks mate, the males hang on to the females with their mouths leaving large scars. Ouch! It was because of such a mating scar that I met my first hammerhead, who I named Mona, which means “monkey” in Spanish, because in addition to sharks, I also love monkeys!

The first time I saw Mona, she was by herself and came much closer to me than the other hammerhead sharks did. She would come very close, swim away, and then come close to me again. She would do this for up to ten minutes following me on my dive, but never being aggressive. I was so excited to see a hammerhead shark so close that I was flipping around a lot and breathing very fast. Maybe Mona was just curious to see who this awkward creature was that was giving off a very strong electrical field, probably unlike anything she had experienced from her usual graceful prey! After deciding that while maybe I was funny to watch, I wasn’t suitable prey after all, she would go in search of her preferred prey - fish, rays, or squid.

I saw Mona on five more dives and each time she saw me, she would approach me, sometimes alone and sometimes she brought along a friend. She was never aggressive nor did she come too close. I looked forward to these shark encounters and was so excited to see my new unexpected friend. I had no idea that sharks could be curious about us humans, but Mona certainly seemed curious and provided an unforgettable shark encounter experience.

After ten days, it was time to leave Cocos and I vowed to do something to protect my magical place and my newfound friend. You see, Cocos is a protected national park where fishing is not allowed, but I saw several hammerhead sharks with fish hooks dangling from their mouths, most likely the fortunate escapees of illegal fishermen. Unfortunately not all sharks are so lucky and action is needed for Cocos to remain magical and a top shark diving destination.

SHARK CONSERVATION

Sharks of all species are frequently caught for their fins, which is then made into shark fin soup, even though shark fins have no nutritional or proven health benefit. Usually the shark fins are cut off the shark while they are still alive and then the remainder of the shark’s body is thrown back into the ocean. Unable to swim without fins, the shark either drowns or gets eaten alive. The shark suffers a cruel and unnecessary death and most of the meat is wasted. Last year 100 million sharks were killed for their fins. Shark populations everywhere are decreasing rapidly because of shark finning. Scientists estimate that shark populations have decreased by 90% in the past ten years primarily because of shark finningand that shark births cannot keep up with the slaughter, so if we keep killing sharks, they will become extinct. Learn more about Saving Sharks.  I would recommend reading Shark Life by Peter Benchley.

The two most important shark conservation efforts you can take iare:

1) Stopping the demand for shark fin soup, which is frequently found in Asian restaurants throughout the world. Do not eat shark fin soup or support restaurants who serve it.

2) Shark finning must end if sharks are to stand a chance. Participate in the ban of shark finning activties wherever possible. Write letters to governments, support NGOs that are actively engaged in shark conservation efforts and get the word out.

I am optimistic that once people are aware of the atrocity of shark finning, they will take action, participate in shark conservation efforts and sharks will be around for another 400 million years. I hope to go back to Cocos, my magical place, one day very soon and see my friend Mona again. Who knows, maybe I will even see you at my magical place too! In the meantime, I hope you find your own magical places to discover.