He's a maneater...

I'm in San Diego. And you know what that means: SHARK.

When I booked my trip, I immediately began looking into scuba diving with the sea lions. It's one of the few places in the world where you can dive or snorkel and be guaranteed to be surrounded by swarms of cute lions of the sea. Who wouldn't want to do that?



Fun, RIGHT?

But then, I read this in the paper last week:

A shark today attacked and killed a 66-year-old swimmer who was training in the ocean with a group of triathletes, authorities said.

Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian from Solana Beach, was attacked by what authorities believe was a GREAT WHITE SHARK at San Diego County's Tide Beach around 7 a.m. local time, authorities and family friend Rob Hill said.

Apparently, the shark may be 17 feet long. Which means, it could fit THREE of me inside, no problem. Of course, they're not SURE how big the SHARK is, because they CAN'T FIND IT.

The Hubs was very nervous. He didn't want me to go diving.

"It's fine," I kept trying to reassure him. Because the thing is, the shark attack was VERY rare. The last fatal attack in San Diego happened in 1959.

"Just ask," The Hubs insisted. "Find out if they caught the shark before you go."

I promised I would.

Last night, I flipped on the TV. On Animal Planet, the episode was called "Maneaters: Killers in the Water".



The gist of the show was that due to global warming SHARK ATTACKS ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON and MORE PEOPLE ARE DYING EVERY YEAR DUE TO SHARK ATTACKS.

Also, apparently the sharks are getting confused and leaving their normal habitat and heading to other areas, like SAN DIEGO.

So then I did a Google search to find an update on the shark.

"The shark is still in the area. We're sure of that," Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian said.

And then, on CNN, they said that even if they find the shark they're NOT GOING TO CAPTURE OR KILL IT. What??

And then, I read this warning:

"Don't go in waters occupied by large numbers of marine mammals, such as sea lions. Wherever there are marine mammals, such as in a rookery, these sharks are going to be nearby because that's what they're built to eat."

THEN, this morning I turned on the Today Show as I was getting ready and they interrupted regular programming to say that a man has been KILLED in San Diego at the beach ACROSS THE STREET FROM MY HOTEL. They're about to do an autopsy to see if it's SHARK-related.

In the hotel lobby, I heard some people say that they're going to go kayaking instead - because it's another very popular way to see the sea lions - and safer, because you're not IN THE WATER. With the SHARK.

I don't think so...



So, apparently if you go to La Jolla at sunset, you can see the sea lions frolicking on the beach. From a walkway far above the sea. Like these people. Who are NOT getting eaten by SHARKS.




I think that's what I'm going to do today. Wish me luck. If the SHARK doesn't get me, I'll report all tomorrow.