Death in Cocos from shark attack

[mmmbelows]

The only basis for staff bearing bang sticks is the presumption some sharks pose a sufficiently serious & reasonably foreseeable risk of serious injury or death to customers, and staff are obligated to guard them against this threat. Consider how that would play out:.

Oh my God, give it a rest.

 

[Kay Dee]

If the divemaster in this incident had a powerhead with him, likely that tiger shark would be dead right now, would it have prevented the death of Rohinda Bhandari?

If this had transpired (my now underlined), in a place like Cocos with many different species of shark about, a bleeding dying tiger shark in its death throws would have attracted a shark feeding frenzy in no time at all. And then everyone in the vicinity would / could have been in real trouble, also in no time.

I am sure several, if not more, folks here have seen an incidence of sharks coming in out of 'nowhere' when a spearo spears a fish that begins bleeding and 'thrashing' about in it's death throws? If not, its quite a spectacle and rather unsettling to say the least, given that moments ago there wasn't a shark to be seen. And no, I am not saying this happens every time, but if there are sharks about 'out of view', it does / will happen.

As far as recognizing the shark, I'm surprised the DM was able to note the gender of the individual given the circumstances, and I'm not sure I trust even that observation.

I am rather surprised you would say what I have now underlined above. Given it is often one of the first things divers experienced with sharks or photographing sharks looks for, and unless sharks have rapidly changed their look in the past twenty years or so, those big claspers hanging off a big tiger would be a dead give away as to its sex IMO, even in a situation such as this, especially given the dive guides 'experience' of tigers in said area.

And for those wondering what 'claspers' are, well;
Determine the Sex of a Shark

 

[peeweediver]

A number of the group that went on the Sea Hunter to Cocos last year were together for a holiday party Saturday night. Interspersed with holiday cheer, we all talked about this incident and how we could avoid it in the future...many of this group are going back next August. After much discussion and the hope that we could find a reason that this happened when we believed it never would at Cocos, we ended up with nothing. Nothing seems to have happened to have set off the shark. We learned of no set of facts that we could use to avoid this next time. Most on this tread want the same thing: why and how can it be avoided. We do plan to chat, informally due to potential litigation, with our pals with Undersea Hunter. If we learn anything. we'll let you know. In the end, it's very sad that a fellow diver, exploring the world we all love, lost her life doing so.

Rob

 

[flyboy08]

I'd like to have a bang stick as much as I'd like to have a parachute on airlines, but I doubt either would happen....

 

[Kay Dee]

Nothing seems to have happened to have set off the shark. We learned of no set of facts that we could use to avoid this next time.

Well if the 'rumour', and I have seen nothing to confirm this as fact, hence why I say 'rumour' for now, that the woman set off for the surface alone (or even with someone) in a hurry, then that would be enough to set off a shark like the one described in this incident. Big sharks are unpredictable at the best of times, no matter what we might like (and hope) to believe. Seems it was simply an unfortunate accident, that when all the facts come out may include a tidbit of info that might, repeat might, help to mitigate this occurring to you or I. Till then analyse the risk, accept (or not) the risk, and take appropriate precautions (which may be different precautions to different people) to mitigate the risk.

Most on this tread want the same thing: why and how can it be avoided.

Why? 'Something' set off the shark, or it just was 'out-a-hunting (anything) that day. How can it be avoided? It can't, unless you stay away from sharks (and that's still no guarantee) / or stay out of the water completely (which's is a guarantee, 'cept against the land shark variety). Every time you / I get in the water there is a potential for an accident. It's an alien environment after all. Add in some big big predators and it just got even more dangerous. Just because it never happened before / we haven't witnessed it happen ourselves, does not mean it won't happen. I think that many of us may have or had lulled ourselves into a state of mind that thought what we are / were interacting with was always going to be OK, because it always almost had been, or had been in our direct experience anyway. Or we just encouraged ourselves to believe the old 'it won't happen to me' reinforcement idea. And now that it has happened doesn't mean it wont happen again. The old adage 'lighting doesn't strike in the same place twice' has oft been proven wrong, unfortunately.

But glad you and your cohorts are still planning on going to Cocos, as would I if in your shoes! After all if your numbers up, your numbers up, at Cocos or simply walking the streets.

 

[Dan]

I’ll be there in September 2018, after reading this thread, I’d be on the lookout for the Tiger shark during safety stop & before getting back on the skiff. This is something that I have never thought or worry about.

A quick look at SCUBA7 shark shield shows a pretty pricey device for $600. Hmm.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

I am rather surprised you would say what I have now underlined above. Given it is often one of the first things divers experienced with sharks or photographing sharks looks for, and unless sharks have rapidly changed their look in the past twenty years or so, those big claspers hanging off a big tiger would be a dead give away as to its sex IMO, even in a situation such as this, especially given the dive guides 'experience' of tigers in said area.

And for those wondering what 'claspers' are, well;
Determine the Sex of a Shark

Recall that the observer in question (the DM) reportedly saw the shark going for the victim, made an attempt to drive it off, was wounded himself, and was then in the middle of a medical emergency with a fatal outcome. In those situations whether the shark had claspers or not tends to be an overlooked detail - kind of like how eyewitnesses to a crime can ID the wrong suspect in a lineup. Additionally, in an immature male (which can be as big as 8-9 ft) the claspers can be relatively small and hard to distinguish from a distance.

Even aside from the circumstances in this case, you would be surprised. I recently threw up my hands and walked away from an argument with a bunch of divers chiming in on a posted photo of a "female" hammerhead - even though claspers were clearly visible and the photographer admitted he had only been able to get one mid-range shot before the shark swam away, since so-and-so dove with sharks "all the time" and insisted it was a female that apparently overruled the visual record. A probable factor was that a rival shark-dive operator pointed out the claspers and then it became a piddling match over who had more "experience" rather than a rational discussion.

 

[EricTheDood]

A quick look at SCUBA7 shark shield shows a pretty pricey device for $600. Hmm.

Seems like cheap insurance for situations where sharks start getting a bit too comfortable, and especially surface swims.

 

[CuzzA]

Look around, the MAP just dropped to $499. For what it's worth, I wouldn't wear one if I weren't fishing... Though I'd still want something to allow me to get separation from a shark... like a big stick.

 

[Dan]

Seems like cheap insurance for situations where sharks start getting a bit too comfortable, and especially surface swims.

I carry camera & pointer to stabilize myself when taking pictures underwater. That would be my cheaper version of insurance. I’d just poke the pointer to the dang shark.