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Cipher13 · Dec 17, 2004, 05:18 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html

Well, this has been all over the news here. I have to say... I'm absolutely disgusted. Apalled. And I need to find a way I can do something about it

So, a guy gets attacked and killed by a shark - it's a terrible tragedy, and I do indeed feel terribly sorry for his family, and friends. However... people need to understand something.

When we enter the water, we enter *their* realm. Their world. *We* are visitors. Sharks do not attack humans, generally; not only are there only 10 or 12 dangerous shark species on the planet (and "dangerous" isn't a very accurate term; even Great Whites can be very placid), out of 400 odd, but they aren't interested in us. This "shark attack", perpetrated by a "deadly maneater", was probably the result of an exploratory bite. Unfortunately for us (and even moreso, unfortunately for them), an exploratory bite from a shark can mean death for us.

Now, despite the fact that the Great White is a protected species in Australia (as it bloody well should be), this shark is to be hunted and killed.

1. I'd love to know how they know it was a great white; the initial reports said there were two sharks, then they re-evaluated. If they can't even be sure how MANY there were, how the hell can they know what kind it was? Knee-jerk reaction to please teh public.

2. This shark is long gone. When they find a Great White off the coast, what're they gonna do? Kill it and hope it's the right one? Then slit it's stomach, and hope to find human remains? And if they don't - kill another one? And another?

3. Assuming this was a Great White... this shark is an apex predator. It has no natural enemies, and plays a very important role in the ecosystem. And when I say "the ecosystem", I don't mean locally, I mean all over the place. This one shark could travel from WA, to QLD, to NZ, who knows? They have an extremely long life, and an extremely low birthrate, with extremely high infant mortality. We can't go around killing these things. Sure, somebody got killed... that's terrible. But it's a risk we take when we step into the water.

Should I ever be injured or killed by a wild organism - be it a shark, or a spider, or a snake, or a crocodile - I want it to be left alone, untouched.

Bah. ****ing humans.

demograph68 · Dec 17, 2004, 06:01 AM

A kitten bit me so I snapped its neck. I'm the dominate species so take that bitch! BOO-YAH!

Cubeoid · Dec 17, 2004, 06:05 AM

I just squashed a bug! Boo-yo!

demograph68 · Dec 17, 2004, 06:09 AM

Corintheus · Dec 17, 2004, 06:45 AM

Maybe I'm wrong, but I heard that once Sharks, Lions, or whatever, successfully attack, kill, and eat a human being, they start to make a habit of it. Maybe their line of thinking is, "If we can prevent it from doing it again, let's take action".

Either way, it's a predator, the kid was prey, that's life.

I understand the reasoning behind both sides. The father agrees with you anyway.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...55E421,00.html

Walker · Dec 17, 2004, 07:48 AM

Wow. I hope my kids don't find out about this. We are moving from the USA to Apollo Bay, Victoria for the year 2005. My teenage daughters will freak if they hear that there have been 3 shark attacks recently in Australia. Pretty scary for us flatlanders of South Dakota.

lw

TheBadgerHunter · Dec 17, 2004, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by Corintheus:
Maybe I'm wrong, but I heard that once Sharks, Lions, or whatever, successfully attack, kill, and eat a human being, they start to make a habit of it. Maybe their line of thinking is, "If we can prevent it from doing it again, let's take action".

Either way, it's a predator, the kid was prey, that's life.

I understand the reasoning behind both sides. The father agrees with you anyway.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...55E421,00.html

Sharks will eat anything in the water.. its not like he's going to tell all his friends that humans taste really really good

Peter · Dec 17, 2004, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by demograph68:
A kitten bit me so I snapped its neck. I'm the dominate species so take that bitch! BOO-YAH!

sharks > us

olePigeon · Dec 17, 2004, 01:35 PM

I'm sure God has a lesson for us after we kill off everything...

...wait, that made sense.

Busemann · Dec 17, 2004, 01:43 PM

Originally posted by Peter:
sharks > us

ASIMO · Dec 17, 2004, 02:34 PM

This reminds me of that new Bill Murray movie.

TheBadgerHunter · Dec 17, 2004, 02:50 PM

Btw, how much are those shark repelling things? Seems the thing to have when surfing in shark territory.

Mrjinglesusa · Dec 17, 2004, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by Corintheus:
Maybe I'm wrong, but I heard that once Sharks, Lions, or whatever, successfully attack, kill, and eat a human being, they start to make a habit of it. Maybe their line of thinking is, "If we can prevent it from doing it again, let's take action".

Either way, it's a predator, the kid was prey, that's life.

I understand the reasoning behind both sides. The father agrees with you anyway.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...55E421,00.html

Wrong. Typically sharks attacking humans is a case of mistaken identity - they usually think a surfer is a seal (their natural prey). Think about it. To a shark, what does a surfer paddling on a surf board with arms and legs flailing look like from below? It is VERY rare for a shark to consume a human it has attacked. Usually they realize it isn't a seal and move on.

I agree with the original poster - although tragic, this shark should NOT be hunted and killed. Great white are protected species anyway.

rjenkinson · Dec 17, 2004, 03:54 PM

"what would be the scientific purpose of killing it?"
"revenge."

-r.

Corintheus · Dec 17, 2004, 04:21 PM

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
Wrong. Typically sharks attacking humans is a case of mistaken identity - they usually think a surfer is a seal (their natural prey). Think about it. To a shark, what does a surfer paddling on a surf board with arms and legs flailing look like from below? It is VERY rare for a shark to consume a human it has attacked. Usually they realize it isn't a seal and move on.

I agree with the original poster - although tragic, this shark should NOT be hunted and killed. Great white are protected species anyway.

Well I know it's the case for Lions anyway. Actually I don't know. But TV can't be wrong.

roberto blanco · Dec 17, 2004, 04:34 PM

Originally posted by Corintheus:
Well I know it's the case for Lions anyway. Actually I don't know. But TV can't be wrong.

lemme guess, you saw that 'the ghost and the darkness' movie...

voyageur · Dec 17, 2004, 05:02 PM

My knowledge of shark behavior is limited, but I think Mrjinglesusa's theory is right as far as we know. Sharks mistake surfers for the preferred prey, seals, because surfers lying on their surfboards resemble seals from below (although I think this surfer fell off his board, then was attacked). That's also thought to be the reason sharks attack kayakers occasionally. I don't believe there's any evidence that sharks learn to prefer humans as food from these attacks.
On the other hand, bears and lions, which are much smarter than sharks, have demonstrated that they do occasionally learn to identify humans as preferred prey.

KeyLimePi · Dec 17, 2004, 05:05 PM

I have no problem with them hunting and killing this shark, but to be fair they should at least eat it.

TheBadgerHunter · Dec 17, 2004, 05:15 PM

Originally posted by KeyLimePi:
I have no problem with them hunting and killing this shark, but to be fair they should at least eat it.

First its one shark, then its another, and next thing you know they're "culling" due to "over population".

KeyLimePi · Dec 17, 2004, 05:22 PM

Exactly. Killing one isn't going to put a dent in the population. We won't be rid of the shark menace until the third-world nations recognize them as a cheap, plentiful food source.

TheBadgerHunter · Dec 17, 2004, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by KeyLimePi:
Exactly. Killing one isn't going to put a dent in the population. We won't be rid of the shark menace until the third-world nations recognize them as a cheap, plentiful food source.

The sharks are probably thinking the same about third-world nations.

Zimphire · Dec 17, 2004, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by demograph68:

I knew when I Photoshopped that it would come in handy more than once.

demograph68 · Dec 17, 2004, 06:34 PM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
I knew when I Photoshopped that it would come in handy more than once.

Notice how I'm not robbing your bandwidth this time.

nredman · Dec 17, 2004, 06:39 PM

Originally posted by ASIMO:
This reminds me of that new Bill Murray movie.

thats what i was thinking...looks like a funny movie to me.

xenu · Dec 18, 2004, 12:40 AM

Some of the white pointer scenes in 'Jaws' was filmed in the waters of South Australia - that should give people a clue.

Killing the shark for doing what comes naturally is just stupid. My understanding is that if there is something in the water, a shark will investigate. If it's edible, it will eat it. If it's not, it will go find something that is. How does a shark decide if something is edible? By biting it.

Cipher13 · Dec 18, 2004, 01:04 AM

Originally posted by xenu:
Killing the shark for doing what comes naturally is just stupid. My understanding is that if there is something in the water, a shark will investigate. If it's edible, it will eat it. If it's not, it will go find something that is. How does a shark decide if something is edible? By biting it.

Correct. Exploratory bites. They don't have bloody arms, so they can't exactly 'feel around' and decide if something is edible. As I said before... it's just unfortunate that an exploratory bite from a large shark can be fatal to us.

And yeah, voyageur is correct. From a bottom-up profile, a human on a surfboard, or bodyboard, looks and sounds like a seal or something similar, to a shark. If you're in the water with a dangerous shark, the best course of action is to *very* lightly tread water, keeping yourself vertical, with your arms by your side. Don't thrash, don't move horizontally. After some investigation, the shark will usually leave you alone. If it starts coming directly towards you at speed, it's probably lining up for an exploratory bite, and you're screwed... but swimming away thrashing and screaming is basically assuring your demise.

It's a shame. Mass hysteria like this could become has contributed significantly to the current status of sharks... along with the shark fin soup market, and whatnot. The impact "Jaws" had on shark populations is just... incredible. The last thing we need now is for the Government to sanction the extermination of this shark - let alone with the help of fishermen.