Shark at Castawy Cay - UPDATED with pictures

[crafty91]

More on lionfish, they are killing reefs and fish all over the East Coast. They are a nusaince that need to gotten rid of, and they are darn tasty! Of the coast of NC there are "rodeos" to go down and harvest all you can off of wrecks and reefs. The lionfish will literally take over an entire area and kill just about every other fish on the reef. Luckily they aren't aggessive and don't bother humans. Just don't touch one or it'll be a bad day!

 

[natale1980]

The thing about our shark 'hanging out on the bottom' is he may have been dead. Some jerks that brought the shark to our attention were touching it and even picking it up and it wasn't responding.

The only thing that makes me think it may have been hibernating was that it was gone when DH went to find it again.

I wasn't going to post this picture because I thought it was mean... but you can get a better look at the shape of the shark. I just want to stress that this wasn't anyone that was traveling with us. PLUS when we first saw them do this and we took the picture I thought it was a prop left by Disney.

-nat

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

The thing about our shark 'hanging out on the bottom' is he may have been dead. Some jerks that brought the shark to our attention were touching it and even picking it up and it wasn't responding.

The only thing that makes me think it may have been hibernating was that it was gone when DH went to find it again.

I wasn't going to post this picture because I thought it was mean... but you can get a better look at the shape of the shark. I just want to stress that this wasn't anyone that was traveling with us. PLUS when we first saw them do this and we took the picture I thought it was a prop left by Disney.

-nat

He's just asking for it!!!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I really want to take my 2 10-year-olds snorkeling on CC but if they hear "Sharks!" it'll never happen. They are already making noises about not swimming because a friend of theirs saw jellyfish there in November. Can anyone give me a report on recent jellyfish activity, or non, at CC? Thanks!

We took the 7 day right after Thanksgiving so I guess we were at CC the first Friday in December. Anyway, DD and I had planned on snorkeling out to the sunken Mickey. Only when we got to the water it was filled with jellyfish.

They didn't have tentacles (legs, whatever they're called). They were like the squishy tops only and they were clear. I asked the lifeguard about them as DD was paranoid to get in the water (too many Nemo viewings). Anyway, he said as long as you don't mess with them they will leave you alone. If they did bite you it was more like a mosquito bite and was harmless. There were a lot of kids playing with them, literally tossing them around. Nobody seemed to be screaming in pain.

DD was okay in the shallows but did freak out when we got out deeper. There were literally thousands of them. They were small, maybe the size of a half dollar. We went to out by the play area and there were just too many for her. There was literally no way to avoid them.

She did run out of the water when some kid picked up a jellyfish in his sand strainer and it was about the size of a grapefruit, brown around the outside rim and definitely had tentacles. She said she was done and we could go back to the boat. Considering it was time anyway, it was an easy way to get her out of the water without her throwing the inevitable whiny "But I don't want to goooooo!"

 

[tigger2002]

When are the jellyfish there? What season?

 

[cmc1000]

Thanks for the reply. That's the same week our friends were there . My kids will be like your DD. They want to be brave but ...

Can any recent Castaway Cay visitors give me a jellyfish report?

 

[WENDYDOTS]

I love going snorkeling and seeing innocent and pretty tropical fish, not something that could kill me, lol.

Exactly!!! If I wanted to see sharks & barracuda I would snorkel elsewhere, not a fenced off area!!! Geez....

 

[Twinsn2004]

We were there Jan 10-14 and saw no jellyfish at all. We just saw a few little fish. Nothing out of the ordinary, except we did see a cat walking around by Cooke's BBQ. That was a first for us!!

 

[trwprid]

Exactly!!! If I wanted to see sharks & barracuda I would snorkel elsewhere, not a fenced off area!!! Geez....

This! Someone would have to have smelling salts on standby for me. I can't even tell a garter snake from not-a-garter-snake, so I totally don't trust my ability to discern what's a harmless shark. *shudders*

 

[MASrules]

I was on this same cruise Jan 10-14...what time did you see the shark. I was out around 11am...I saw a ton of fish but had to get all the way out to the mickey statue to see much of anything. I went to many of the areas that looked like where the shark was and did not see anything. Wished I could have seen the shark.

I did see one jellyfish on the adult beach. I did take a photo. It was really cool, and was the same as those described earlier. I also saw a tiny crab and followed it around as it tried to continually bury itself in the sand.

I also saw and petted the cat, and saw many of the little colorful birds.

Overall a good day for wildlife on castaway cay.

 

[Nelfamily]

I don't want to start an argument or scare people but I don't think that is a Nurse Shark. The head is too narrow and pointed where a Nurse Shark is blunt and wide. Also, the Nurse Shark's dorsal fin is located further back on the sharks body, where the shark in the pictures it shows the dorsal fin is positioned further forward almost directly over the pectoral fins. If I had to guess what kind of shark it is, I would say it's a Dusky Whaler Shark, or at least in the Whaler Shark family. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm right that shark is not one to be messed with like in the picture of the swimmer holding it by the tail. They have been known to bite people. Like I said, I don't want to start an argument or scare people, I am only thinking of people's safety. I would hate to hear that someone got hurt because they think it's a harmless species of shark when it's really something that can cause some damage if provoked.

 

[natale1980]

The shark was at the far left. Almost as far back as they will let you go.

-nat

 

[DayDreamBeliever]

I agree with NellFamily, I don't think that was a nurse shark. I thought Reef shark when I first looked at the picture.

And I have to say, that guy is a Jack***! If I saw that, I'd still be yelling at him!!

Please be respectful of nature, look and do not touch. Just leave your footprints in the sand, and your bubbles in the ocean.

 

[pugmom626]

Looks like a reef shark to me. You can make them "faint" by handling them in a certain manner. I think that's what the kid did.
Glad to hear that the jelly fish are gone.

 

[AbsyBabsy]

I don't want to start an argument or scare people but I don't think that is a Nurse Shark. The head is too narrow and pointed where a Nurse Shark is blunt and wide. Also, the Nurse Shark's dorsal fin is located further back on the sharks body, where the shark in the pictures it shows the dorsal fin is positioned further forward almost directly over the pectoral fins. If I had to guess what kind of shark it is, I would say it's a Dusky Whaler Shark, or at least in the Whaler Shark family. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm right that shark is not one to be messed with like in the picture of the swimmer holding it by the tail. They have been known to bite people. Like I said, I don't want to start an argument or scare people, I am only thinking of people's safety. I would hate to hear that someone got hurt because they think it's a harmless species of shark when it's really something that can cause some damage if provoked.

I agree - don't think it is a nurse shark!

 

[caitlinsdad]

no shark should be messed with, would have served the bonehead if the shark bit him, He's lucky he didn't

 

[aiken4mickey]

Is this the shark you saw?

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[natale1980]

LOL! No.. I don't think that was him.

I googled reef shark and we are almost 100% thats what we saw. Looked alot more like our shark then the nurse shark pictures I saw.

-nat

 

[natale1980]

Just like this guy http://www.sharkdivermag.com/IMAGES/TIGER SHARK 07/reef-shark.jpg

But smaller.

 

[aiken4mickey]

He needed alittle help....

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