Sharks Attacks Are Down

Robbieb · Post by **Robbieb** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 12:38 pm

http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20040...harkattack.html

Post by **Wolfyu** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 12:43 pm

That's interesting. I think it's great that there are less shark attacks, but it's kind of sad that there (may) be less sharks swimming around. Sharks were some of the first large ocean predators.

Capt.Rutlinger · Post by **Capt.Rutlinger** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 6:34 am

I think the movie Jaws is totally junk as it makes people think sharks are human killers and need to be destroyed

J. Mand · Post by **J. Mand** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 7:25 am

Well, Jaws was a good movie and all but it caused a big antisharkomania that was quite disastrous for the shark population. I think the nuber of shark attacks has dropped because people are getting more awhere of them now that we know so much more about these fascinating fish.

Capt.Rutlinger · Post by **Capt.Rutlinger** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 11:56 am

I was refering to the content of jaws not the way they filmed it

Post by **Wally** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 12:51 pm

cows kill humans more often then sharks...
they must make instead of jaws.. COWS!

Post by **Wolfyu** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 8:59 pm

Are you serious, Wally? That's hilarious!

((Not for the dead people of course, but...y'all know what I mean.))

Post by **Kielo91** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 4:05 pm

Ooh, I always thought cows were dangerous. But not like this.

I think Jaws was definitely a fictional movie in a way, because not all sharks are like that. Great whites are so very aggressive, but in Jaws, they act like they're rabid. Aw, it's hard to explain. Too tired...

must rest... *falls over*

phantom · Post by **phantom** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 6:49 pm

What happened in Jaws could realistically happen but it would be near impossible. Sharks basically feed on whatever is around. If it happens to be a human, well...
like the movie talked about, in territoriality the shark will stay until the food supply is gone. So Jaws was somewhat realistic but I doubt if would ever happen. Still a great movie though. As for less shark attacks, it is good news but why are there less attacks? Is it because the population of sharks is decling or is it both humans and sharks are getting smarter?

Post by **Kielo91** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 7:30 pm

The answer to that question can definitely vary. There may be numerous different answers. My guess would be perhaps humans are just getting smarter?

Definitely not sure with that one...
Jaws was a good movie, but quite a few features in it aren't very likely to happen in real life. Realistic, but not enough, you know what I mean? Essentially, a shark swims close to the surface of the water to see if anything above might look good. They bite only to taste. But just like the shark attacks that sometimes occur, the result of sharks tasting humans only to find they aren't what their hunger craves, humans usually end of up dying in the end. Sharks generally eat seals and other smaller-than-themselves organisms. They will attack anything in their reach only to find if it's what they crave. Out of all the things sharks do attack or eat, they don't go near dolphins. I have yet to find out why this is...

Post by **superlion** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 9:54 pm

dolphins gang up on sharks and often kill them by ramming into them... so sharks are a bit afraid of dolphins, I imagine...

phantom · Post by **phantom** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 10:24 pm

SL is right. Dolphins know how to fight off the sharks. Sharks usually attack lone animals. The one major concern about sharks is that generally they bite a human and then go away(not liking the taste or whatever) but what happens if the shark does like it? The concern is can a shark begin to prefer humans(disgusting but true) and start to go after them like in Jaws? No one knows...yet.

Post by **superlion** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 10:43 pm

hmmm... it is interesting - with that definition, a shark could presumably become addicted to eating people - addictive tendncies in my experience tending to be toward things that are gross to 'normal' taste... for example, one time I drank several glasses of that nasty sparkling water... then realised what I was doing :XP:

Post by **Jay** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 11:01 pm

For those that enjoy reading research on dolphins... I highly recommend "A World of Animals" from Topics. (I got mine from Best Buy a few years ago for $14.99. I don't know what it is today.) It contains 3 CD-ROMs: Whales & Dolphins of the World, Bears & Pandas of he World, and Webster's Animals of Africa. The latter two probably don't contain much more info than what is in encyclopedias. (although they do have more pictures.) The Whales/Dolphins one, however, has quite a number of research studies in it.

Dolphins, as a group, will defend well against sharks. However, dolphin mothers prefer to be alone when raising newborns. (I don't remember if that was for a certain species or all dolphins.) During this time, they are vulnerable to sharks. Sometimes they come back with quite a number of shark bites and, unfortunately, sometimes only the mother or the child returns.

It is believed that humans have too much bone and not enough meat for sharks when compared to fish. So sharks, when they do take a bite, usually spit it out immediately and move on. But if they are hungry enough, anything can happen.

Different shark species have different instinct/intelligence. At Sea World, some sharks can be fed by hand (although it is better being safe). For bull sharks, however, the feeders have to stay well back and use long "tools" to put the food in the water. Bull sharks are extremely instinctive when it comes to food being near and will just clamp down on anything that is near.

Post by **Kielo91** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 10:03 am

Thanks for the info and advice. Yes, bull sharks can be exceedingly aggressive. Feeding them up close is an extremely perilous situation to be in. Well, primarily, feeding practically any shark is a very dangerous creature to feed at nearly any time. But like you said, Jay, some particular sharks can be fed up close. But anything can happen.