Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)...not an uncommon site on Madang's Planet Rock seamount, though this one was part of a small school (in about 5 m or less of water, right against shore) that was moving very actively along Madang's barrier reef. (Barracuda Point, Madang)
Gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) accompanied by carangids — this one was at a seamount site where gray reef sharks were a common sight. I also saw whitetip reef sharks, silvertips, and hammerheads out at that site but — and I can't say that it was really a disappointment — never managed to run into one of its tiger sharks. (Planet Rock, Madang)
A particularly large (probably about 2 m length) gray reef shark coming toward me from blue water. I'd seen what was probably this shark on a few other occasions but have generally found gray reefs to be a bit more stand-offish than some other species, at least where I've dived. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
The same gray reef shark showing how it got the 'reef' in its name. Gray reef sharks do tend to remain closer to reefs than certain other of their close relatvies (e.g., the silvertip) but aren't usually as strongly attached to the reef itself as their reef whitetip cousins. This one really is quite a big bruiser for a gray reef shark, with a very heavy body more like that of the notorious bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas). (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
Another view of the same shark, making another pass. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
And another of the same shark, coming in from the vastness of blue water that lies beyond the reef. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
Gray reef sharks at a pass in the Madang barrier reef. These sharks were circling above me, just in front of where the pass meets open sea. On most dives at this site I encountered this school — that consisted of at least 30 individuals, most of them relatively small (1.5-m range, on average) — and they seemed to spend all of their time circling up and down a stretch of the wall, encompassing an area that seemed centered around the pass. Usually they would avoid us, but sometimes a few would sneak around behind us and we would occasionally be able to get fairly close to them. On this occasion, we were down very deep (following a barracuda school) and were able to get an upward view of the sharks, for a change, as we ascended. (Milinat Pass, Madang)
A look at the same group from near the top of the pass. When I was close to these sharks I'd find myself surrounded, at times, as some school members peeled off to swim behind and around me. As was only reinforced by my later encounters with sharks, I became very well aware of how difficult it can be to keep these predators in view, even when there are only two or three in the neighborhood. (Milinat Pass, Madang)
Contrary to popular belief, barracuda and sharks can coexist quite happily. Here, on a prolific seamount, a gray reef shark takes no apparent notice of a passing column of loosely-grouped blackfin barracuda (Sphyraena qenie). (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
More proof that barracuda and sharks can be good neighbors. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
Two reef whitetip sharks (Triaenodon obesus) swoop in to the reef from just beyond its edge. This slender species is typically very intimately associated with the reef — certainly moreso than the silvertip and even more than gray reef sharks. They blend well with the sea behind them, but their white-tipped fins (possibly either a species identification device, a 'lure,' or both) stand out quite well. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip swims above the reeftop. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip silhouetted above the reef. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
Close-up of a reef whitetip from above. This shark's eyes always remind me of cats' eyes — I like cats so, of course, have a particular affinity for this little shark. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
Reef whitetip from below. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip heads straight for me. These relatively small, slender sharks (they grow to about 2 m length) are not high on the list of sharks likely to take a chunk of a diver (or anyone else) but they do become more active at twilight and probably exact quite a toll on the reef's fishes. About six of these sharks buzzed around me during my dives at Kilibob's Knob, and the most sobering aspect of their presence was how easily they could 'sneak up' on me, often coming within a few centimeters of making contact with me. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip that's just popped up rom the reef wall and is beginning its patrol of the reeftop. I wouldn't be surprised if this and other whitetips I saw on these dives were the grown-up forms of the same ones that I saw as juveniles a few months earlier, who spent most of their time hiding under plate corals on the reef's crest. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip veers away from me on a seamount's top. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip cruises (quickly!) along the reef. (Kilibob's Knob, Kimbe Bay)
A reef whitetip in the middle of one of its laps of the reef. (Inglis Shoal, Kimbe Bay)
A speckled cat shark (Hemiscyllium trispeculare) asleep on an inshore fringing reef. This photo was on my first roll of film shot in PNG and was — in addition to being from the first dive that my trusty camera made in PNG waters — the first time that I'd ever used my still camera on a night dive. I say this only because it perhaps explains why this photo is so dark: I had my strobes set up completely wrong and most of the shots that I got that night were terribly underexposed. A daylight encounter that I had with the same species didn't yield anything much better than this first try (underwater photography can be a real trial at times). Until I get a better example, here's a dark look at a shark that betrays many people's notions of what a 'shark' is. This small species does eat fishes and invertebrates but is extremely inoffensive and even less likely to injure a human than are nurse sharks and the like. This night dive took me along the shoreline of the research facility at which I was based, as did most of the subsequent night dives that I did during my first PNG trip. (CRI/Jais Aben, Madang area)
Pictures of silvertip sharks...