Sisbro Studios recently posted a tribute song to great white sharks as performed by sea lions. Sisbro produces educational features with nature themes. Their latest great white shark video features footage from Save Our Seas Foundation and focuses on the importance of the great white shark in the food chain.

Thanks to Deep Sea News for bringing this video to our attention!

Fox 5 San Diego is reporting that two SCUBA divers had an encounter with what was described as a “5-foot great white shark” off La Jolla Cove, last week. Lifeguards did not consider the presence of the animal to be a threat to swimmers, due to the fact that it was spotted “500 yards” from shore and was a relatively small shark. A 5-foot white shark would almost certainly be a juvenile specimen.

It should be noted that the species of shark shown in the first clip of stock footage in the Fox 5 report is not actually a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The shark seen in the first clip is sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), which are not native to California waters.

The reported sighting of a great white shark off of La Jolla is not particularly uncommon, but lifeguard Lt. John Everhart told Fox 5 that often times that sightings of other species such as dolphins or sea lions are misreported as shark sightings, by “people that aren’t used to the area or the ocean.” However, Everhart did not seem to indicate that that he felt that this particular incident was a case of mistaken identity.

Joe Remeiro’s 333 Productions recently unveiled the trailer for their latest shark-themed production entitled “Shark Culture.” The production is listed as an educational, non-profit piece. The trailer features a very cool oceanic white tip “speed drawing” sequence that transitions into live-action footage. Also of note is the appearance of one of Guadalupe’s most recognized great white sharks, Cal Ripfin (aka Shredder).

“Shark Culture” is set to premiere on February 19, 2011, according to the trailer.

Ikreeda.com recently released a “Talking Great White” app. for the iPhone. The app allows you to feed, pet, and apparently provoke your “pet great white shark.” If you irritate the white shark enough it will swim toward the “glass” of your iPhone display and smash it. Additionally, the app. features the ability to talk to the shark and have it repeat back whatever you say in a “deep shark voice.”

Personally, I don’t get the whole app. craze, but to each his/her own.

Bing Videos posted the above video, which features a school of bait fish near the shore playing a game of dodge-shark. An interesting visual effect is created by the smaller fish keeping a safe distance from the sharks.

Today’s Google Doodle features an underwater scene to commemorate Jules Verne (author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) on his birthday. A basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) appears in the scene, which can be navigated via the joystick to the right of the Google logo. The basking shark is toward the right of the scene about half-way down the image (see video above).

Sharkdefenders has posted a video testimonial in support of a proposed bill that would “prohibit the possession, selling, offering for sale, trading, or distribution of shark fins and ray parts.” A public hearing on the bill, held Tuesday, reportedly drew a “full house,” according to Kuam News.

According to a National Post article, a Canadian woman who was the victim of an apparent shark attack in Cancun, Mexico is recovering from her injuries and has “all her limbs intact.” This news is in contrast to earlier reports that the woman had lost an arm as a result of the shark attack.

The victim’s father, Alberto Baldassari, told the National Post that his daughter was “doing relatively well,” after undergoing surgery to repair “severe wounds” to her arm and leg. He went on to say that some of the reports regarding his daughter’s attack were “grossly exaggerated.” The victim plans to return to Canada via “an air ambulance” as soon as her condition allows travel, according to her father.

In what seems to be a bizarre related bit of news, an iNews 880 is reporting that “media reports” are claiming that the victim was attacked by a female bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) who was giving birth prior to the attack taking place. The iNews 880 report goes on to quote a “spokesman for Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas” as saying that the incident was an act of “self defense” on the shark’s behalf and not a “shark attack.”

The details surrounding the iNews 880 story seem sparse, so it should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

The Vancouver Sun is reporting that a 38-year-old Canadian tourist suffered injuries to her left leg and arm yesterday as the result of shark attack. According to Dr. Italo Sampablo Lauro, the medical director of a private Cancun hospital where the victim is being treated, the injuries were “not life-threatening,” and she expected to “recover.” However, an AFP release reports that the victim lost an arm and was left in “grave” condition. The AFP cited a Yucatan newspaper article.

Great white sharks like this one (seen at Isla de Guadalupe) typically spend their time in water temperatures between 60-75 ° F, although evidence has shown that they occasionally venture into colder waters.

UPDATED: Thanks to reader Kevin Polk for the link in the comment section to a CapeLinks Blog article that sheds a lot more light on this story. Most notably that the shark was dead when it was found entangled in the fishing gear, and that the story was kept quiet due to legal concerns due to white sharks being legally protected species.

According to a Cape Cod Times article, a fishing vessel reportedly caught a 20′ (6m) great white shark a few miles off of Chatham, Massachusetts, last month. The capture was reported to Division of Marine Fisheries senior biologist Greg Skomal, who was caught “off-guard” by the news.

Data collected from tagging efforts by Skomal have shown that the tagged great white sharks tended to leave the Chatham area around October or November and spent winter months in the waters off of Florida. Skomal theorized that the bulk of a white shark that large would probably have provided insulation to allow the shark to tolerate the lower water temperatures in the area, which were reported to be in the lower 40s (° F).

The Cape Code Times article does not go into much detail about the capture of the great white shark. There is no mention, in the report, of whether the white shark (a protected species) was released after being caught. There is also no mention of any photographic documentation of the white shark. A 20′ (6m) specimen would be considered very large for the species.