drrich2
Contributor
This is a 'relativity' question. On this forum & elsewhere a lot of concern is expressed by people heading for the ocean about Great White Sharks. Granted, they appear massive, very powerful, rather ghostly/alien (I'm speaking of overall appearance, especially those round, nearly all black looking eyes) and rather horrifying (mighty jaws of arrow-head shaped teeth tearing into bait, etc...). Sensationalistic media (e.g.: Shark Week, Jaws movies) add to it.
But they're also a colder water species that is usually not expected down in the Caribbean. And there's been a lot of effort to convince people they don't view humans as prey, but rather may mistake us for seals/sea lions & don't like our taste. Still, while at least one operator is an exception, most GWS charter boat dives use cages.
Now, consider the Tiger Shark. A generalist carnivore with a rep. for eating a wide range of things, fast, gets quite large (not quite as large as the GWS, but close enough), also responsible for human fatalities (I'm 41; when I was a kid the GWS was billed as the #1 man eater, but the Tiger Shark was #2) & occurs in the Caribbean, a region where many of us dive. Yet some dive op.s take people on shark dives hoping to see Tiger Sharks, and they are not cage dives!
Granted, Tiger Sharks just don't compare to the visceral horrific majesty of watching a large Great White breach with a (near human-sized) seal or sea lion, but is that all there is to it?
I'm not encouraging fear-mongering against sharks. I'd just like to know why Tiger Sharks don't seem to command anywhere near the fear and caution of Great Whites, yet are more likely to share ocean with many of us on dive trips.
Tiger Shark dives just don't seem nearly as high on the 'bucket list' for many divers as cage diving with Great Whites.
Richard.
But they're also a colder water species that is usually not expected down in the Caribbean. And there's been a lot of effort to convince people they don't view humans as prey, but rather may mistake us for seals/sea lions & don't like our taste. Still, while at least one operator is an exception, most GWS charter boat dives use cages.
Now, consider the Tiger Shark. A generalist carnivore with a rep. for eating a wide range of things, fast, gets quite large (not quite as large as the GWS, but close enough), also responsible for human fatalities (I'm 41; when I was a kid the GWS was billed as the #1 man eater, but the Tiger Shark was #2) & occurs in the Caribbean, a region where many of us dive. Yet some dive op.s take people on shark dives hoping to see Tiger Sharks, and they are not cage dives!
Granted, Tiger Sharks just don't compare to the visceral horrific majesty of watching a large Great White breach with a (near human-sized) seal or sea lion, but is that all there is to it?
I'm not encouraging fear-mongering against sharks. I'd just like to know why Tiger Sharks don't seem to command anywhere near the fear and caution of Great Whites, yet are more likely to share ocean with many of us on dive trips.
Tiger Shark dives just don't seem nearly as high on the 'bucket list' for many divers as cage diving with Great Whites.
Richard.