Perhaps the last thing Phoenix Lam expected to see on her dreary morning run around the Stanley Park seawall was a school of sharks chasing after their breakfast.
The City of Vancouver communications worker was out on a 26 kilometre run around the park when she saw some dogs barking at the water near Siwash Rock. The water was seething with clouds of tiny silverfish which the small sharks were munching on. Lam took a video of the feeding frenzy and posted it to Twitter where she reminded people to always stop and smell the roses -- even when training for a marathon.
Not exactly great whites, these small sharks are called spiny dogfish and can grow on average between 75 and 105 cm but individuals have been known to grow to 130 cm. The spiny dogfish has an estimated life span of 30 to 40 years although ages as old as 70 years have been recorded.
The sharks Lam saw may not be sticking around for very much longer. According to Environment Canada the dogfish that have made themselves Canadian residents usually move inshore in the summer and offshore in the winter.
