So, Shark Week is on. And, like Paul Blart, "I know a lot about sharks."

They just got done saying that sharks will only bite you if they think you are food. And, once they taste you, they will leave, as they don't like to eat people.

I've heard and read that dozens of times over the years. I do believe it, but there is an inconsistency with this information.

During WWII, such as the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, sharks ate MANY shipwrecked sailors. The shark attacks in this incident was recounted in the movie "Jaws."

So, if sharks "don't like people," why did they eat so many sailors?

Because they do eat people.

Actually, I don't know. Those ones in the Pacific were pelagic (open ocean, not coastal). Maybe they are different.

Sailors are often salty. Maybe they were craving salt, or Brawndo.

I've read that book about the Indianapolis. Scary story for those guys.

There are many species of sharks so it's hard to just lump them all together. I've dived with probably more than a thousand over the years. Most really don't care about people. Some are true apex predator and if hungry will eat whats available and can mistake humans for their normal prey.

Great White, Bull and Tiger sharks are the big three I wouldn't want to play with.

Many others are pretty tame. A friend took video of me diving right next to an 8-foot sand tiger shark. He was just swimming around a wreck we were diving along with 50 or so of his friends. I've also had to push one out of my way as he was about to swim into me inside a wreck once. He just swam away and didn't seem to care. Then there are Zoe zebra sharks at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. She was alway very fun to dive with.

So if you find yourself swimming with a hungry shark that will eat almost anything you may be in trouble. Really though you're more likely to get struck by lighting than bit by a shark.

Do a search with something like "human remains found in sharks stomach"

A hungry shark will eat you. The idea that predators only dine from one section of the menu is silly.

quote:

Originally posted by bdylan:
A hungry shark will eat you. The idea that predators only dine from one section of the menu is silly.

Yeah, I know they *can* eat you, but they rarely do. Most Great White attacks, according to the experts, happen because a GW thinks a surfer paddling out to sea is a seal (long oblong body, four appendages) and attack. Once they figure out it's a human, they leave. Of course, being GWs, they have HUGE bites with lots o' teeth, so many of these 'test bites' are fatal.

Bull sharks attack people relatively often (they are cranky and mentally unstable and inhabit very shallow coastal waters and even rivers), but still deaths by sharks are really rare. If sharks were habitual eaters of humans, we would read about shark attacks every day and they would be extinct by now. The movie 'Jaws' really had a lasting impact on the public's psyche. The 'man-eater shark' is a very enduring (though not all that accurate) image.

I just can't rectify the repeated testimony of 'the experts' with the repeated testimonies of sharks eating shipwreck survivors. I suppose it's the whole 'blood in the water' thing. Hundreds of people in the water, many of them bleeding, would evidently be enough to set a pack of sharks off on a feeding frenzy. I guess wartime is a 'special case' for the sharks that normally avoid humans.

quote:

Originally posted by bdylan:
A hungry shark will eat you. The idea that predators only dine from one section of the menu is silly.

That's probably the only rule of thumb you can go by. We may not be on the menu normally, but a hungry shark probably won't care too much.

Humans are the same really. Through history, humans who have been put in survival situations have had to eat anything that comes their way. Roots and bugs, garbage, rotten meat, and even other humans. One of the great lessons from my childhood whenever I was complaining about what my parents cooked was "if you're hungry enough you'll eat it." What they cooked was what I got, and if I was hungry enough, I ate it sure enough.

You can always buy a shark suit.

https://neptunic.com/products/sharksuits

-Rob

I'm not sure if it's still there, but in Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, there was a restaurant at the end of a pier. I remember that at 8:00 pm the owner of the restaurant would strike a bell and people would grab their drinks and stand at the rail on the pier.

Looking into the clear Bahamian water, you could see hundreds of sharks circling patiently. The kitchen staff would then throw the day's kitchen scraps into the water, and the area would just erupt. The sharks would go into full frenzy mode. The surface of the water would froth, like your washing machine if you put too much detergent in it.

Inevitably there would be an alcohol fueled challenge from some guy daring his buddy to jump in. I never saw any takers on that dare.

I'm not a shark expert, but have spent some time with sharks. As Comet24 already noted, sharks generally leave people alone. Most of my time with sharks has been below the surface, but I've spent a good deal of time floating on the surface, waiting for a boat to pick me up, a few miles off shore, with a bunch of dead bleeding fish on me, and have only had sharks bother me on the surface once. I mention this, because sharks are ambush predators, so If I was to be attacked, I would expect it to be at the surface vice below.

Below the surface, if I shoot a fish, I'd guess I get shark interaction 50% of the time. Generally reef sharks or bull sharks. I did see a great hammer head once. I guess it was about 12-13' and it just cruised right on by. Generally the bull sharks do a slow circle, and the reef sharks are more jerky and unpredictable. I also saw a great white off in the distance once as well, but it was just cruising (I didn't have any fish on me). I have video where I am floating on the surface, 3 sharks are circling me, and as I look down (because I lost site of the 4th shark), I see the 4th shark shooting up from below me. From my experience, as long as you make eye contact with the shark that is closest to you as they tighten the circle, you can keep them at a distance... but you have to keep a watch out for the one that will attack from below. In my case, as soon as I made eye contact with the one come from below, it broke off it's approach.

Another time I was half way under a ledge looking for a lobster, and I felt like something was sniffing my lap. Turns out a 5' reef shark got curious and was trying to figure out what I was. The sharks head was literally in my lap... As soon as we made eye contact, the shark jumped and bugged out... I guess I really startled him.

I've also noticed that sharks in packs are much bolder than individual sharks. Generally if a pack of sharks show up, and won't leave me alone, I call the dive and head up... Not because they are trying to attack me, but because there is no way I am going to be able to spear any more fish with the sharks around. The fish will either get eaten before I can get to it, or they will steal it off my stringer.


Regarding the sailors being eaten. My guess is there was blood in the water... basically like a fishing boat with a bunch of chum in the water... think of a big long chum slick... and that got the sharks going. Once the frenzy began, everything was fair game. They say even other sharks are fair game in a frenzy.

Video I mentioned - gets interesting around 1:18..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldjoKHO6Ooo&t=505s

I am not formally trained on sharks and I am no expert, but I have spent most of my life diving/snorkeling/swimming in the Gulf, Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific. Several times I have been around sharks, including up close. And I have studied them every chance I have gotten.

-Some do "taste test" you and decide not to eat you. Of course this taste can still cause you to bleed out and die.

-Some will dine on you; keep coming back for more while circling to prevent would be rescuers from getting to you.

-Some will kill you because you are in their territory(Bull sharks are notorious for this behavior). But not even all bulls will do this.

-Some will bump you before they bite you. Some won't.

-Some will see you and leave, or make a wide berth around you.

-Most will see you and ignore you, as long as you keep your distance.

Sharks are as different in personality as people and the truth is you cannot tell what any of them will do. With exception of the "threat posture" some will make if they don't want you around, you just cannot tell.



.

quote:

Originally posted by ACTEG:
I'm not a shark expert, but have spent some time with sharks...

Great post and great video. I agree with everything you've said.



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quote:

Originally posted by comet24:
I've read that book about the Indianapolis. Scary story for those guys...

I think Tigers were blamed for a long time, but the conventional wisdom now is Oceanic White Tips. They are notorious for having zero caution around humans and quick to attack and feed. Fortunately, they are supposed to inhabit deep, open ocean-only.

Excellent post.



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If the water aint chlorinated I aint swimming.

I've heard that a male lion has the same bite strength as a sharkey. They both got a lot of teef. I don't believe I would want to be around either if they were in a bitey mood.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I'm not sure if it's still there, but in Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, there was a restaurant at the end of a pier. I remember that at 8:00 pm the owner of the restaurant would strike a bell and people would grab their drinks and stand at the rail on the pier.

Looking into the clear Bahamian water, you could see hundreds of sharks circling patiently. The kitchen staff would then throw the day's kitchen scraps into the water, and the area would just erupt. The sharks would go into full frenzy mode. The surface of the water would froth, like your washing machine if you put too much detergent in it.

Inevitably there would be an alcohol fueled challenge from some guy daring his buddy to jump in. I never saw any takers on that dare.

The restaurant is still there and called Pier One.