German diver attacked by shark - Isla del Coco, Costa Rica
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CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
I doubt they would tell the public. If it's the same shark then it's only a matter of time before it really ruins their business.
CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
True. It would be interesting to know if it was or wasn't the same one. We see a lot of sharks and for the most part they are well behaved, but we are dealing with a big, aggressive, resident bull on one of the spots we dive. This shark is meaner than a rattlesnake and on three occasions it has pushed us out of the water. Once trying to bite my buddy on the bottom. Unfortunately I think some sharks simply have a bad attitude.
It's probably the contrast rather than the color. However shark eyes do possess both rods and cones and are therefore able to see colors (assuming light levels are sufficient) contrary to what early studies suggested.
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HalcyonDaze
Contributor
Trying to dig back a decade to a lecture in one of my graduate behavioral ecology seminars for the exact terminology, but during one presentation we covered the concept of "behavioral types" - for instance, a bolder or more inquisitive animal might incur additional survival risks under normal conditions, but such behavior would afford it a competitive advantage during a food shortage.
Along those lines, I don't doubt that some sharks are more aggressive than others and some may be more inclined to investigate novel prey items. There may even be a social pecking order I'm not aware of. I damn well know that with our Jupiter tigers some concern me more than others; I wouldn't "trust" any of them in close proximity but there's a definite gradient. Some I'm fairly confident are just there for the Food Guy and don't give a crap about the other divers; one or two will eyeball us at close range and I have something of an adversarial attitude towards them.
That said, I wouldn't put money on the same shark being involved in both incidents. Tiger sharks aren't harmless kittens and they aren't mindless killers; they're apex predators and they don't get orientation lessons teaching them that humans are off the menu. Rather, there are things one can do to demonstrate that you're too much trouble for them to taste-test.
DiveTheGalapagos
Contributor
When the lady died from her wounds in Dec, I had to wonder if her taking off from the group alone caused a prey driven response. You see it in other land species. They go after solo prey, especially flailing prey. I have never heard this about sharks, but I wonder.
On the thread about that tragedy, there was a US man who had this same experience in Cocos, a shark went after his tank. I read a lengthy post on FB he made about that experience. And John above. It makes me wonder if it could have something to do with reflection off a tank buckle or other shiny piece of equipment. Again, have only heard this in reference to barracuda, but ???. No idea of how deep this diver was, but for him to abandon his equipment and go for the chase boat, I assume it wasn't that deep.
On the thread about that tragedy, there was a US man who had this same experience in Cocos, a shark went after his tank. I read a lengthy post on FB he made about that experience. And John above. It makes me wonder if it could have something to do with reflection off a tank buckle or other shiny piece of equipment. Again, have only heard this in reference to barracuda, but ???. No idea of how deep this diver was, but for him to abandon his equipment and go for the chase boat, I assume it wasn't that deep.
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