Shark attacks - Accidental or Malicious?

[Chidori Noodlez]

I'm gonna go both. I'm sure there are some sharks that have territorial issue(like my Red Terror) He thinks the whole tank is his,harassing everything that moves... Then on the other hand. I have a JD with some angelfish,small tetras and some guppies and he acts like he's one... But could kick the crap out of them if he decided to go postal or get curious.
So yea both IMO... But like someone said. Either don't go where they frequent or watch your back.. I opt for the first,haven't been in the ocean since I was 9. Seen a dolphin and that was enough for me(mind you I grew up in the JAWS ERA!!! LOL


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[d3r]

@MaddMaxx, u mad bro? LOL

but yea I'm not ignoring what you guys are saying.. but there's been thousands of "attacks" or "encounters" documented. So basically THOUSANDS of "accidents" according to everyone. not one time is it possible a shark bit a human knowing it wasn't a seal or a fish? Cmoooooooon. I just don't believe it.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

So the few times a shark ate a human cuz it was hungry or territorial dispels all research? The rare occasion doesn't make your theory overrule your friends theory.

Go watch the video of sharks jumping from shark week. You'll see them hone in on a fake seal, bite it and spit it out in a split second realizing its not real. Very similar to the bites they put on our soft flesh. Please explain why your rogue sharks just bite and rarely devour their easy prey and aren't actively hunting human in overpopulated swim areas? What animal do you know that turns down easy meals?

 

[MyGiants]

I on the other hand feel just like there are A-hole people in the world that like to blow frogs up with firecrackers and kick puppies - there are A-hole sharks that just like to screw with humans out at sea because they're bigger and they can and they don't care what species(human) you are.

what do YOU think and why.

I say if Great White sharks were not predators. If they were not carnivorous by nature. If Great White's were strictly plankton eater then I'd say you might have an argument that Great White's attack cause there just being a bully. But since they are predators top of the food chain carnivorous by nature. It be hard to argue they only attack humans cause they can and don't care.

Why don't Whale Sharks attack humans there bigger then us. There can't be A-Hole Whale Sharks? Its because there not predators there plankton eaters.

 

[Zoodiver]

^ that was a good read!

couple questions though...

bro-man up there called me Uneducated about sharks and claimed sharks can't "think" what do you say about that considering YOU just said they're smart.

and also, how is it considered an "accident" just because we as humans didn't follow the signs of how a shark is acting. i don't feel the fact that we didn't get out of the way fast enough that its now labeled an "accident".

Sharks have shown the ability to identify shapes, some can identify colors, many have shown they will participate in operant conditioning programs willingly. (IE: Touch a target to get food, hold a target on command, move from point A to point B on command). In fact I've written several training protocols for sharks under human care. The topic comes up alot in the Shark/Ray section of target training sharks for feeding purposes and routine physical exams. Just a few weeks ago I posted a video in that section showing the public shark interaction program that is up and running at Theater of the Sea down in the Keys.

For "accident" - I mean the shark mistook us for something we aren't.There has never been a proven case for sharks biting purely for sport or malicious behavior. They are obviously biting an object (people) on purpose. They are just figuring out what we are. I'm not saying the shark is bitting a human by accident. They clearing bite what they want to. I'm saying that they aren't doing just for the sake of biting. There is too much risk for them to do something that careless. Many things fight back and will damage the ampullae, eyes or gill rakes. Biting also spends energy they want to conserve. The muscle's used to strike are far more than just the typical muscles used for movement. I was doing some underwater filming/photography of shark bites last month to expand our knowledge of how sharks bite.

.....PS, who the heck watches shark week? Ive got people who work with sharks for a living on this site. Plus if I watched shark week I'd be thinking more like you as all they do is dramatize bites and show sharks jumping out of the water

Truth. Shark Week has lost the original idea behind it. SW turned into "Ratings Week", and has peppered the general public with misinformation and skewed facts. I'm hoping that Nat Geo's version "Shark Fest" takes it back to an exciting and educational level for people. I think sharks are amazing on their own, no need to make it all dramatic and staged.

but yea I'm not ignoring what you guys are saying.. but there's been thousands of "attacks" or "encounters" documented. So basically THOUSANDS of "accidents" according to everyone. not one time is it possible a shark bit a human knowing it wasn't a seal or a fish? Cmoooooooon. I just don't believe it.

The use of the term "THOUSANDS" is a stretch. About seven to ten people die from a shark bite every year. AC units falling out of windows and vending machines tipping over each kill more people annually. So by that thought process, AC units and vending machines must be attacking us on purpose as well (sarcasm). If a large shark knew a human was in fact a human and that is what it was after on purpose, it would bite and devour. Do you have an example of a shark hunting down, killing and eating a live human. I personally have never seen it documented.

 

[Pyramid_Party]

d3r, the thing that makes us think and have feelings etc is our large brains. More complex the animal, the more larger and complex the brain. All the "thinking" parts of the brain are in the cerebrum. Sharks do not have this, they got mostly a brainstem which is responsible for just living and instinct. Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE for a shark to have feelings and thoughts because it lacks the anatomy to do so. I never said you knew little about sharks, but that you knew little about brains. You can keep throwing theories out there and ignoring logic and facts, but your friends won the argument. And you have no evidence or science to back it up.

 

[d3r]

Well now we've hit a dead end... you all still think i think sharks hunt us down and kill us and eat us every chance they get - i don't!

and that wasn't a stretch(?) there's been over 2000 "attacks" (not deaths) since they've started documenting them.
I don't care if they bite and let go.. just because it doesn't eat the person doesn't mean it was an accident.

^ tell it to zoodiver because i don't think its a sharks instinct to distinguish between a square and triangle. and that'd be pretty hard to do without a brain

Please explain how i "lost" because now some are saying "well yea..I'm sure it happened a few times" and thats EXACTLY what i was pointing out.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

I got into a friendly debate with my coworker about Shark attacks.

He sides with most everyone else who thinks all shark attacks are "wrong place wrong time" or accidents, unintentional, curiousity and so on.

I on the other hand feel just like there are A-hole people in the world that like to blow frogs up with firecrackers and kick puppies - there are A-hole sharks that just like to screw with humans out at sea because they're bigger and they can and they don't care what species(human) you are.

what do YOU think and why.

You asked, we answered. Hope you didnt bet your friend anything


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[d3r]

Its funny because we went around asking people..he would explain how he thinks they're all accidents (as shark week tells us) and then i would explain my thoughts and they would end up agreeing with me. so too bad we didn't bet.

just easier to explain in person because my point is getting lost in the text and the fact that you just think I'm an idiot jaws junkie.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

Its funny because we went around asking people..he would explain how he thinks they're all accidents (as shark week tells us) and then i would explain my thoughts and they would end up agreeing with me. so too bad we didn't bet.

just easier to explain in person because my point is getting lost in the text and the fact that you just think I'm an idiot jaws junkie.

Lol, no, I dont think you're an idiot. I just think the debate is worded too vaguely. Your friend should've said most attacks and you should need a higher percentage then 1% for your side. One shark is sick and lazy and eats a human and suddenly your side is valid even though the other 99% have been accidents or investigative bites. To be honest, instead of bringing opinions or television shows into this or people from the street into this, why dont you talk more to zoodiver? Hes got true hand on experience with the very species you're talking about. Yet you seem to be blowing off his knowledge