Sharks are fascinating creatures and certainly one of my favourite marine encounters.  the main problem though is getting close enough to experience the shear power and beauty of them.

I have dived in cold water and warm water, clear water and zero visibility water and yet I have not seen very many sharks in my 20 plus years of diving.  I have not specifically travelled to places like the Cocos Islands to witness the mass populations of Hammerheads but I have always kept my eye out for that chance encounter.

One of the nicest sharks, in my opinion is the Angel Shark.  They are beautiful in a strange sort of way, docile and wiling to allow you to take a nice photo of them close up. Their latin name is Squatina Squatina on account of their flattened bodies.  Their dorsal fin also flattens down along their bodies to make them less easy to spot when lying on the sandy bottom, their preferred habitat.

The most angel sharks I have seen has been whilst diving the waters off Lanzarote.  Here you are almost always guaranteed to see these delightful creatures in shallow water of just 8 or 10 metres.

Once settled on the bottom they flap their “wings” and camouflage themselves by distributing sand onto their bodies.  Once partially buried they lie in wait for some unsuspecting fish to come cos to their enormous mouths.

They will then suddenly and rapidly open their mouths and suck the fish in.

When I was getting these particular photos the shark really did act like a little angel.  Allowing me as close as I wanted without being bothered.  This particular Angel shark was about 5 feet in length and quite broad across its wings.

Angel sharks inhabit most of tropical and temperate waters of the world and can be found from the shallow shore line to some very deep depths, depending on the species.

The Angel shark is Ovoviviparous which means the egg shell is only weakly formed and the young actually hatch out inside the mother. They have a small yolk sac that keeps them nourished and are only born once this is all used up.

There are two other types of reproductive system found in sharks:

Oviparous - these sharks lay eggs with a leathery outer casing.  The shark develops inside, again nourished by a yolk sac

Viviparous- there is hardly any shell development.  The young is attached partially to a yolk sac and partially to the mothers ‘umbilical cord’. As the yolk is used up the relationship between the mother and youngster becomes more akin to mammals with the mother nourishing the unborn shark trough the placental attachment and her maternal blood.  Some sharks of this type actually nourish the young by a secretion in the uterus lining - uterine milk- rather than with substances dissolved in the mothers blood.

They are largely nocturnal so I was lucky to get these photos in shallow water, during the day, with good sunlight penetration.

In some parts of the world they are actively caught for food.  The flesh being very tasty - although I would not indulge in eating shark.

I have a fascination for sharks and would love to see other pictures and stories of encounters.

If, like me, you have a similar fascination of sharks, then check out the book below. This book is a fascinating read that gives great pictures and documents where you are most likely to see and encounter these graceful creatures. I take it with me when I go on holiday.

The Shark Watchers Handbook: A Guide to Sharks and Where to See Them