1997 Deep Dive/Shark Attack.

[yle]

While I can appreciate the argument that "there were shark bites on the body, so it's plausible a shark caused the accident", I'm definitely with the camp of "sharks have a hard enough time dealing with humans and could use all the help they can get to dispel misunderstandings of their behavior that are propagated by Hollywood to the ignorant masses."

I do my best to explain to non-divers that sharks are just like dogs: they both have teeth and tails, some are friendly, some are cautious, many people have an irrational fear of them, they both love getting treats from humans, they do their best to let you know when they're agitated, and on very rare occasion they get aggressive and can attack.

With that said, while walking my dog recently in our local park, he found a chicken wing (obviously leftover from a human picnic) on the ground and before I knew what he was doing he had grabbed it and taken a bite. He spit it out when I snapped at him. But I doubt anyone that finds the chicken wing will assume my dog killed the chicken.

We should give sharks the same consideration. I know dogs, in general, are cuter than sharks... but I've met some sharks that could really give dogs a run for their money in that category.

 

[InTheDrink]

%. Around sharks is where I feel happiest and nearly always really safe. Much more so than crossing roads etc.

My point simply was that I wouldn’t rule out an attack altho if they did go deeper than the 292ft I understood (perhaps mistakenly) then the shark theory loses increasing plausibility.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

I prefer to view them as wild animals; to them we're relatively large, weird things that aren't on the regular menu but aren't off-limits. I've definitely had times when I feel ones would have taken a shot at me had I not been on full alert. What kept things under control was that they definitely do have an OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop and the "decide" portion factors in "can I take that thing down before it can defend itself?"

That's why the time interval doesn't quite make sense; even if by random chance there was a big tiger right where they were descending that would have been a very quick decision to attack two large moving targets. Could it have happened? Possible, but we're starting to pile on improbable events.

Again, it would be interesting to determine how a determination was made that the bites weren't postmortem. From that little bit of reading I've done, trying to judge by bleeding from the wounds may not be clearcut in drowning cases.

 

[yle]

I prefer to view them as wild animals; to them we're relatively large, weird things that aren't on the regular menu but aren't off-limits. I've definitely had times when I feel ones would have taken a shot at me had I not been on full alert. What kept things under control was that they definitely do have an OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop and the "decide" portion factors in "can I take that thing down before it can defend itself?".

True... the biggest difference between dogs and sharks is the former are domesticated, latter are wild. Which does play a significant role in their decision making process. And to be fair, the sharks I've met are the ones that have grown accustomed to seeing human divers, which also plays a significant role in their decision making process.

 

[dmaziuk]

Again, it would be interesting to determine how a determination was made that the bites weren't postmortem.

A poster never seen on SB before or after said her father spoke to an ME once. Therefore it must be true.

Mac was still alive when attacked by the shark. He was my sister's fiancée and my father spoke to the medical examiner after the autopsy. He was dying of narcosis when he was attacked.

 

[chillyinCanada]

A poster never seen on SB before or after said her father spoke to an ME once. Therefore it must be true.

He was dying of narcosis when he was attacked? That is one amazing coroner.

When bodies eventually come to the surface some days later, it's often the gases in their bodies from decay that helps raise them.

 

[dmaziuk]

He was dying of narcosis when he was attacked? That is one amazing coroner.

Well if there were lethal levels of ketamine in the tissue... that would explain the 500' dive on air.

 

[Mark IV]

........I would be curious to see someone run the numbers on the descent/ascent/deco time and gas consumption for a "bounce dive" on air to 500 ft......

My memory is sketchy, because it's been a couple decades, but I seem to recall some custom/proprietary tables for a deep air dive of about that depth, was in either Bret Gilliam's book, "Deep Diving", or maybe Tom Mount's, "Mixed Gas Diving". (I still have my copy of Tom Mount's book, but sadly, someone borrowed and never returned my treasured, dog-eared copy of Bret Gilliam's Deep Diving. )

 

[InTheDrink]

Everyone can have a bad day, including sharks.

An object falling or rising quickly can indicate an injured animal and attract attention. I know from experience.

I don’t think the time interval is significant.

 

[ChuckP]

Wasn't there two guys somewhere in the caribbean, doing a study dive of something maybe and one was attacked by a shark - I remember the story sort of but can't remember where I seen it.......