Are there any wildlife that actually want to harm us?

[drrich2]

But he stopped instantly when I demonstrated a submissive pose.

Okay, I'll be the one to ask. What is a submissive pose to a dolphin? What did you do?

Richard.

 

[TSandM]

You have to get to a fairly large animal before humans would be reasonably considered prey. Alligators and crocodiles and larger sharks might view us that way. But the vast majority of what you run into underwater will only act aggressively when threatened. Stick your hand in a hole with a moray and you will be bitten. Swim too close to a cabezon nest in Puget Sound and you will get whacked upside the head (and they're strong little monsters!). Anemonefish are annoying, especially if you don't realize the shape of the territory they defend. And many things will bite or sting if touched. But nothing on that list "wants" to hurt you -- they'd just as soon you just went away.

 

[dberry]

Okay, I'll be the one to ask. What is a submissive pose to a dolphin? What did you do?

After all the stories about randy dolphins, I want to be careful with those submissive poses.

 

[DaleC]

I don't know about dolphins but when diving with sea lions the guide gave us some tips. I paraphrase:

They can be curious and may mouth you. They use their mouths like we use our hands to touch and explore. They may bump you and can even become quite boisterous like a group of teenage boys. They are usually playing but can become rough to show off to their buddies. When they, do don't stare them in the eye too much or hit them back or they may see it as an invitation for harder play. Also, don't blow bubbles right at them if you can avoid it. Sea lions roar at each other as a threat/challenge display and our bubbles may look like that. If you feel they are being too aggressive head for the surface. For some reason, sea lions know that when you are on the surface it's hands off as far as play/bullying is concerned.

The only person the guide knew who had been hurt by a sea lion was a guy who punched one between the eyes when it bumped him. The sea lion bumped back and broke his (the divers) ribs.

An adult male with a harem is different. The only thing to do there is leave his females territory.

 

[TMHeimer]

I've always said that it's the big creatures I don't want to be near. The little ones described probably won't kill or seriously injure you. Except for iricongi of course, but they're only in places I can't afford.

 

[agilis]

There is a world out there filled with parasitic worms, bacteria, protozoan nasties, and various bugs and other tiny creatures that see us as a resource vital to their health and happiness. We are their legitimate God-given prey, nutrition on the hoof.

 

[Scuba7]

Are there any animals that no matter what we did, if they got near us, they would try to purposely harm us?

Yes, human beings.

The only animal that will hurt another for no real reason IMHO.

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

Okay, I'll be the one to ask. What is a submissive pose to a dolphin? What did you do?

Richard.

When I worked offshore in Belize often we could jump out of the boat and get close to pods of wild dolphins. In this case they were swimming away and I wanted to get a bit closer and so I had the idea to try diving down using a two-legged "dolphin kick."

Instantly (!) a single very large and scar-faced dolphin peeled off from the pack and came straight at me, at about warp speed. All could think of was how I've heard they can kill sharks by ramming them.

I stopped, went vertical, and kind of dangled my arms and legs. (Full Dork posture.) The dolphin immediate hit the brakes and calmly rejoined the pod.

A "rinse and replace" procedure on my wetsuit, and I was fine.



---------- Post added May 23rd, 2015 at 07:59 PM ----------

You have to get to a fairly large animal before humans would be reasonably considered prey.

Yeah? Mosquitoes kill more humans than any other creature on earth.

 

[Tigerman]

I have been attacked by damselfish (they had eggs they where protecting) and clownfish - no, Nemo is not just curious, hes protecting his territory - the anemone he live in as well as triggerfish.
The titan trigger definetly has seemed the most agressive to me so far.
I did get attacked by this one though, although this is a very rare one for me as its the normally docile blue trigger...
[video=youtube;vwzQP00lW-A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwzQP00lW-A[/video]

---------- Post added May 24th, 2015 at 01:49 AM ----------

I've always said that it's the big creatures I don't want to be near. The little ones described probably won't kill or seriously injure you. Except for iricongi of course, but they're only in places I can't afford.

Touch a stonefish, a scorpionfish or a blue ring octopus the wrong way and you'll soon wish you just bumped into a little zebrashark instead

 

[TMHeimer]

---------- Post added May 24th, 2015 at 01:49 AM ----------


Touch a stonefish, a scorpionfish or a blue ring octopus the wrong way and you'll soon wish you just bumped into a little zebrashark instead

**************************************

I stand corrected. These are other good examples of smaller things that can do serious harm. As can textile and other cone shells (I would devise a method of collecting these that would prevent a sting if I dived where they live). You can't see the tiny iricongi and they are more deadly than Blue Ring. But, for such things as scorpionfish, you can see them I gather and should try not to bump into them. I'd still rather see one of these and swim the other way than be around any biggies, but that's just me.