Carcharhinus Leucas frequents Protea Banks all year round except during September and October.
Best time to see Bull Sharks : Jan – Jun
Although blamed for most shark attacks, the bull shark is a placid, slow moving animal who – like all sharks – are no danger to divers.
The speciality about bull sharks is that they are the only fish who can switch from sea water ( salty ) to fresh water ( no salt ). Female bull sharks are known to give birth in fresh water estuaries so their newborn pups are protected from other predators while growing up to fend for themselves. Once they are big enough they find their way into the salty ocean and begin their life as a predator and controller of the oceans eco balance.
Here in South Africa, bull sharks are using the Zambezi River for this purpose which is why they are commonly known as Zambezi Sharks in this country.
On Protea Banks we see them in numbers of up to 15 each year arriving in November and disappearing around July/August. During this time they are resident on Protea.
Divers love to encounter these magnificent animals who always bring tranquility into a dive just by seeing them patrolling the reef at their leisure.
The Bull Shark is a stocky, 2 meter long shark with dark grey top colour and white underbelly colour. It has a typical wide nose with little eyes.
We usually see female bull sharks on Protea banks. Every now and then we get some males coming through. Males are more curious and tend to come much closer to divers than the females.
The picture above is a male which was barely 20cm away from my camera’s wide angle lens
We love diving with the Bull Sharks of Protea Banks
View the Gallery of the Bull Sharks on Protea Banks
