If you read Moby Dick, you will find a section in which Melville rationalizes the killing of whales and explains in the science of his day how the efforts of whalers could never threaten the existence of whales.
He was wrong.
If you look at the history of both Europe and America, you will see a history of a wholesale slaughter of wolves, based upon ancient mythology of their supposed ferocity and danger to humans. Although we still have a long way to go, and though the dangerous wolf mythology still persists, we are much more tolerant of wolves, and they are making a comeback.
Where I live in Colorado, we also have a thriving population of mountain lions, something that was not true not long ago. I assure you that if there were an attempt to eradicate the mountain lions, even if they were dissected for scientific purposes, there would be a huge uproar.
The mythology of sharks is extremely strong. Movies like Jaws sadly misinform the public. We get a few news bulletins about some bull shark attacks, and the notion is reinforced. The general public thinks that sharks are dangerous and ferocious predators who routinely attack humans. The general public thinks "Good riddance" when they hear of a shark being killed. The opinion of sharks has only recently begun to change. The earlier references to Cousteau can be explained in part to his living in an even more shark-unfriendly time.
In time, the cycle will move on as it has with whales, wolves, and mountain lions.
In time.
But that is not inevitable. Time would have saved the Dodo bird, too, but there was not enough of it.
I think we have to hasten the cycle. We need to have more TV shows with the same kind of viewpoint that whales enjoy now.
And, yes, I think there needs to be some more outcry on shark derbies, the kind we would have here if people suddenly went after the mountain lions.
