Snorkeler Killed by Sharks in the Bahamas

[AfterDark]

I remember the noise caused by those pigs swimming. They have small hooves, and not hands/paws. Thwup, thwup, thwup, thwup... It was pretty obvious. A carcass would obviously not provide aural stimulation.

Isn't it theorized that lower range noises like thwup, thwup, stimulate some sharks?

 

[Steve_C]

The fact that on a given day or two a shark did not eat a particular item is irrelevant. I used to do live bait fishing in the carolinas from a pier. I have had sharks come up and check out the bait and leave. I have had sharks check out the bait and then come back and take it. I have had them hit it as soon as they saw it. There is an element of being in the mood. Same behavior by other predators.

 

[Joneill]

Calling out tourists for accidentally killing a tourist friendly pigs is different from publicly calling out a shark for attacking a tourist sized mammal swimming just like a tourist.

Maybe - but it’s a big tourist attraction and the pigs only really swim out to get fed by folks on boats coming in or people swimming. I think it’s pretty safe to say that if the pigs were getting poached by sharks that we’d have heard about it as it would be likely be happening in front of tourists.

I have a friend who spent summers on Staniel Cay growing up and visited the pigs frequently. She said the pigs don’t normally swim when there are no folks/boats in the water with food and she had never heard of pigs getting eaten - not to say it couldn’t happen, but it appears it would not be the norm.

 

[The Chairman]

Yeah, the pigs weren't even on the beach until we pulled up with boats, and then they swarmed us.

FWIW, between Staniel Key and Pig Beach, is Thunderball Grotto, where they filmed part of the movie by that name. Beautiful, with lots of juvies, don't bother taking anything but a snorkel to explore it. At the time I was there, there had been so many plane wrecks on take-off, that it was required for a pilot to pass a breathalyser test before they were allowed to fly. Lots of planes in the shallows and lots of nurse sharks around the dock.

 

[Allison Finch]

The closest conflict with a shark, for me, also happened at Rose Island back on the 70s. A bull shark started circling while I was diving in fairly shallow water. It gave all the classic body language of a territorial threat display. Pectoral fins down, nose up, back humped, swishing back and forth.

It was clearly telling me to get out of it's part of the reef.

As a diver, I saw it....understood it....and quietly left the area. There was no escalation/attack.

Sadly, swimmers and snorkelers often either don't see, or don't understand a full threat display. As a result, they don't react appropriately.

And, yes, I believe shark feeding makes it more likely that the shark will have lost it's fear of humans. I hate these feeding dives.

 

[Allison Finch]

Yeah, the pigs weren't even on the beach until we pulled up with boats, and then they swarmed us.

FWIW, between Staniel Key and Pig Beach, is Thunderball Grotto, where they filmed part of the movie by that name. Beautiful, with lots of juvies, don't bother taking anything but a snorkel to explore it. At the time I was there, there had been so many plane wrecks on take-off, that it was required for a pilot to pass a breathalyser test before they were allowed to fly. Lots of planes in the shallows and lots of nurse sharks around the dock.

Back in the 70s, my favorite watering hole on Staniel Cay was the Pink Pearl Bar. I used to crew on sailboats down there.

 

[itsmeok]

I normally lurk but thought I'd post . I did a short article on the shark feed at Beqa - Diving with Tiger Sharks - A Distant Shore - part of this was trying to find research that supports the hypothesis that feeding increases the likelihood of shark attack. I couldn't find anything - is anyone aware of research that supports this view?

 

[cerich]

The thing is that the number of shark attacks have not gone up despite the increase in shark feeding dives and the increase in the number of people in the water worldwide. I have personally observed that when I am Scuba diving and carrying a spear or speargun sharks will check me out and sometimes follow me at a distance but when I do not carry one they normally leave me alone. Sharks are definitely smarter then they have been portrayed in the past. Also Goliath Grouper will follow you if they see a spear or speargun.

That is FAR from accurate, very far from. Just saying

Trends by Decade

 

[drrich2]

In another thread in the past few years I believe it was a Florida diver who suspected shark populations in that area had climbed significantly, based on seeing more of them. He was a spear fishermen. It'd be good know how shark populations (& people in the water) compare to the rise over time in recorded attacks worldwide.

 

[dirtfarmer]

For the record: I don't much like shark feeding dives. I've been on them and they are boring. I was at one in Fiji because they are simply the best. Simply. 7 tigers, 20+ bulls, at least one nurse and who knows how many reefies. I tried it (again) and I didn't like (again). Others did like it. Fine for them but not so fine for me.

I loved the shark dives I had at Tiger Beach. The op I dove with rarely fed the sharks, except at the end of the day when the bait box was dumped, or when bringing in Lemons on the surface for split shot photos. But when they did feed the sharks, they were much more aggressive.

Rarely in all my dives have I had multiple 7 minute long heartthumping adrenaline rushes, my Tiger Beach trip rates a couple of the dives in my top ten in 900 or so dives for sheer excitement.

Having them so up close and personal and seeing their different attitudes was incredible. I noticed with different dive masters and their own individual ways they dealt with the sharks, different behavior from the sharks reacting to the divermaster.