Sharks may stalk you more that you think....

[Wetstuff]

A friend in FL a former Life Guard got hit from behind in the calf by a Lemon around Melbourne a couple of years ago.. I thought about that after I read this.




Jim

[Will Hesch]

very creepy stuff, thanks for that...not!

[bajasurf]

Doesn't surprise me..I have been stalked..

I was around 22 yrs old and surfing north of Santa Cruz... Big bay with a deepwater paddle out to a wonderful reef break... About 30 minutes into the fun perfect glassy session, I felt something was there hunting me.. Hairs on the back of my neck stood straight out.. I yelled to my Nephew Donny that we were out of there.. The long slow paddle back in, was nerve wracking.. I am sure we were being stalked.  The only other time my hairs on the back of my neck stood up, was when I was a fishing guide in Alaska.. I was on the bank with a guest, and my neck hairs stood straight out. I took a look behind me and there was a Grizzly. Heck you see them everyday and some very close, but this young bear was stalking me, crouched down in the waist high grass, Friggin bear scared the heck out of me.  I kept my cool(but forgot my gun at the lodge, as this was a after hours fishing) my guest ran for the boat, but it all turned out fine, the bear reared up and did not charge, and I held my ground, but in a demeaning manner.   Once he figured I wasnt a easy meal, he backed off.  The nerve ranking thing was his teeth snapping.. I can still hear that loud popping sound...I did ream out the guest for being a fool and running. 

I think keeping your cool in the water is paramount...I believe if we would have panicked and splashed it might have been a different turnout.. Sharks like other predators, sense fear, and that turns on their prey instinct..

My buddy who is a professional shark diver tells me that sharks are just like dogs..

When I have free dived with sharks, you have to face them head on, and they will turn just before hitting you, but if they come up behind you, and no one has your six, then watch out.. Its the ones you dont see that get you.. The freaky thing is that the makos do their bump(test to see if edible) with their teeth.  The only one that does that..

[SeaMe]

Nice work…getting to write off a trip to the Bahamas for a study that says what everyone already knows: sharks are stealthy.

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

Can  you say shark deterrent?

[PonoBill]

I guess that's news to the Economist. I think you'd be hard pressed to find any diver that has been around sharks that doesn't already know that. Sharks constantly try to get behind you, even when they aren't being aggressive. They know which way we point. And if you do a successful shark dive with other divers you'll almost always see a diver being stalked. This Shark Research Institute seems like a good gig though.

[JC50]

That was a lot of words, research grant money, and time thrown at something we've empirically known for decades; sharks strongly prefer to attack from below and behind.

Ask any blue water freediver how they handle the pelagic sharks "you just keep your head on a swivel and look at 'em, 'cause when they see that you see them they don't like it and try to re-position themselves below and behind you, giving you time to get the boat over to you for extraction" (paraphrased by an old pacific bluewater hunter).

Why do folks think sharks are so dimwitted and surprised to hear they are extremely clever, stealthy, calculating hunters? They actually show amazing restraint and patience at times.

Don't get me wrong, Wetstuff; not trying to dump on your post it was very well intended and thank you for the time, I'm just a very tired of all the shark business and media. I wish they'd use that money for conservation measures against the absolute decimation of these brilliant creatures that's occurring as I write this, not on why or how they attack a swimmer in the ocean every now and then...

I looked at their website...I'm sure they have intentions, but it looks like advisory board is more media based then science. They do have Ellis though and Earle to a distant degree. Wyland always seems to put himself in conservation circles but I dunno, alotta fluff there too. I see the "donate" button but not the accomplishments resume...perhaps I'm just being crabby.

We were surfing outer Cape with GW's decades before Greg Skomal and friends brought it to media's attention. I am sure that early some morning or late afternoon/eventing I've been sized up for a bite...probability's too high. I dunno though I feel more lucky that I got some good waves than I do of not getting hit by a shark.

[PonoBill]

^^What he said. Nicely put. I spend a lot of my time looking for sharks because I really love seeing them. The decimation of their population is tragic and disgusting. The notion of finning is so barbaric I'd be quite comfortable shoving those who do it into a tank of Bulls. At least they'd eat the whole critter.

And no, you're not being crabby. I ask a lot of questions before I donate to ANYTHING. There's a lot of people milking non-profits. Not easy to distinguish good from bad. For example when you look at the compensation for people working for the Susan G Kommen organization, the numbers look terrible. But the guy making the biggest bucks is their "sales" guy, and that's almost always commissioned. If he's making half a million it's because he raised a lot of bucks. The other senior people make well over 100K, and while that might look rich, it's a very successful organization. Organizations succeed when they have talented and accomplished people running them. So you look at the percentages, and organizations that look hideous at first blush might look pretty good. Still... You always have to look a little deeper. Organizations tend to outlive their mission statement, and the they're off to something else--because it's a job.

The Shark Research Institute looks like a pretty low effort organization that bumps along and gets press whenever anyone yells SHARK!!

On the plus side, Caterina Gennaro is on their advisory board, so that's a good thing.

[StandinDan]

All a crime fighter needs...

[Roundhouse]

I'm starting my own study; How many SUP surfers are bit compared to crawlers. From my previous life as a diver, I know I would rather be completely in their element or completely out, not splashing around on the surface.

[JimK]

Interesting thought Roundhouse

JimK
www.extremewindsurfing.com

[PonoBill]

I'm starting my own study; How many SUP surfers are bit compared to crawlers. From my previous life as a diver, I know I would rather be completely in their element or completely out, not splashing around on the surface.

Way too true. After I saw a big GW in Monterey Bay I went through my air like my hose had been cut. It was a long swim back being a teabag on the surface. I wanted to be on the bottom.

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

don't all predators attack from behind? I've  never seen a lion go after a water buffalo  from the front on nat geo. Muggers  also from behind

[pdxmike]

Worst are drop bears--they attack from behind AND above.

[Weasels wake]

What I hate are mosquitoes, they can attack you from any angle, they can even go into your house and get you when you're sleeping,
or even when you're making love with that nasty thing that you found in a bar, they may even belong to her!!!
Nasty suckers!
At least you can eat a shark.