OK. Here is an anecdotal indication of intelligence...and Good Observation is the foundation of good science...so if you agree this is indicative of shark IQ, then the next step would be to see if there was a way to recreate this type of a mental exercise for a shark, and how to test it....
A year or two ago, Jim Abernethy told me a story about the 14 foot Tiger shark he calls Emma. If you have not yet heard about Emma, this is a shark that has "known" Jim for over 7 years now, and a shark that often follows his boat when it sees it ( I suppose that is another issue to test).
When Abernethy has Bait crates down on the bottom ( Tiger Beach, Bahamas), it will bring in many big tiger sharks and bulls, nurses and reefies....the Tigers on the top of the pecking order....What is interesting from the shark learning perspective, is that when Emma sees Jim, she ignores the bait crate, and swims over to Jim, and then stays with him pretty much as long as he has air for.
Years ago, Jim began cleaning her parasites off of her, and also removing fishing hooks in her mouth...Emma learned that any time she swam over to Jim, he would clean her, and help get rid to the nasty hooks that she clearly did not like having in her mouth....Here there is the basis of the potentially instinctive symbiotic relationship sharks are pre-wired for with cleaner fish--but it clearly has evolved far beyond an instinctual interaction, as it requires Emma to recognize JIm from all other divers, and to communicate to him what she wants....and to put up with some considerable pain, in order to have hooks removed. And then there is the hanging out with Jim, that could go on for an hour and a half, rather than the 5 minutes a cleaner fish might be involved....Where Emma just swims next to Jim, and sometimes plays tag and grab the camera and let Jim chase me ( like the family dog).
The bigger story here, was one situation where Emma came up to Jim with a huge hook embedded deeply way back in her mouth, behind the hinge in the jaw...so far back in, that to remove the hook, would require JIm to stick his arm way back into Emma's mouth. This was nothing like the normal hook removals, where the hooks were close to the sides, and no sticking your head in the lion's mouth was required.
So, there was Emma, swimming along side by side with Jimmy, and she wanted this hook out....Jim is very upset over how horrifying this hook situation is....and what would happen to Emma long term if this huge hook could not be removed.....After a few minutes, they swim over this big coral head, still side by side, and Emma stops, and opens her jaws wide, and bites down on the big coral head...and then is still....basically showing Jim that she will not be "biting" his arm, if he can get his arm in to remove the hook....Which, Jim does in a heart beat...and the hook was so big, it actually tears a big hole as he removes it, which he would later film, and then show in later stages as it heals. When Jim succeeded in getting the big hook out, and then moved away from Emma's mouth, and she knew he was done, she then let go of the coral head.....As far as thinking and learned behavior, I can think of some dentists that would tell you of kids or even some adults that reacted less intellectually from pain in their mouths when the dentist had his hand deep inside
To me, this is a story that shows anecdotal evidence of learned behavior, and of complex problem solving, and of complex communication.
If you see the shots of Emma coming up to Jim and giving him a "kiss" on the cheek, there is something of an "expression" on her face, and a light of sorts in her eyes....that does not look like the mindless image of a shark feeding at a cage...it looks more like the face of a dog, playing...with Jim.
The video below of the ABC Nightline piece shows the interaction with Emma and Jim, and to me, there does appear to be a connection beyond food or bait...and even beyond "just" cleaning.
[video]http://content.jwplatform.com/previews/j6GADY3Z-n5tqcd38[/video]
I don't think this equates to dolphin intelligence, but if you listen to a few dozen of the unique encounters like this Jim has had with Emma, then I think it paints a picture of a Shark with a far more acute intelligence than is assumed by the viewers of Discovery Shark Week, or by NetDoc or by Fisherman
Also...for the purposes of this thread....I think this speaks well for a possible future for Emerald's Shark interaction off Jupiter....if good observation, and SCIENCE, can assist in figuring out the best way to get sharks to LEARN what divers in the water means...and to learn HOW to get fed if they want to....and a host of related issues, it would be my expectation that the concept of the "more intelligent Shark" could be a path toward better scuba diving experiences off of Palm Beach/Jupiter, and much better understanding by humans of how we should or can interact with sharks.....and may go a long way to assist in ending the mindless slaughter of sharks by some commercial fishing elements.
