drrich2
Contributor
A lot of people have no idea how common (or not) potentially dangerous sharks are in the ocean.
In a related example, if you watch nature shows on t.v., you might get the idea that on a casual stroll through the forest in the southern U.S., one might see raccoon, foxes, coyotes, skunks armadillos and what-not strolling around. Spending considerable forest time in Arkansas, I can say that of those, an armadillo or skunk up during the day would be a rarity, no way would I see a fox, coyote or bobcat (much less a black bear, mountain lion or wolf), and I might see a rabbit, deer or squirrel, lizards, birds, perhaps a snake. But nothing like you'd see on a nature special.
Now consider the historic portrayal of sharks as near-mindless eating machines. The assumption would be that those considered dangerous (great whites, tigers & bull sharks; perhaps a few others) are large, powerful predators who pretty non-discriminantly attack & kill whatever they can catch that's substantially smaller than they are (rather like a frog or toad eating whatever fits in its mouth). Stories of human-made litter like license plates showing up in shark stomachs reinforces the 'they eat anything' mindset (Tiger sharks have particularly been characterized this way I believe). And the oceans are connected, so there's no reason to believe these sharks are geographically isolated as land animals are. I can walk in the woods in Kentucky with little fear of African lions or Indian tigers, but is there really any reason a great white couldn't nail me off Bonaire?
Great whites are a lot more prey-specific and intelligent than is commonly realized. Being cooler water sharks who as adults favor marine mammals they seem to be rare in some of the mainstream dive locales like Cozumel, Bonaire & Grand Cayman.
So the average citizen, having seen some shark horror movies & shows discussing real shark attacks, considering being eaten alive floating screaming in salt water being a horrible death, and with the ignorance cited above, views them as a danger.
If I went to rural Africa and a villager invited me to stroll across a grassy savannah, I'd at least ask about the potential danger of lions, leopards, cobras, etc...
Richard.
