Snorkeler Killed by Sharks in the Bahamas

[CT-Rich]

Do they count the pigs? And even if couple pigs were missing will anyone report this in the news?

I can’t imagine the local news reporting it unless it happens in front of tourist cameras and goes viral.

 

[Dan]

I doubt it. They have been there for over 200 years and roaming free according to this Smithsonian video:

 

[tarponchik]

So it is possible that some sharks had developed a taste for pork?

 

[Joneill]

Do they count the pigs? And even if couple pigs were missing will anyone report this in the news?

I suspect they would as they reported on deaths they thought were related to pigs being fed alcohol - it was reported on all the major news sites back in 2017.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/relay....ublic/amp/2017/03/swimming-pigs-bahamas-death

As a big tourist attraction, they do appear to be monitored - at least at the famous site at Pig Beach near Staniel Cay.

Official Home of The Swimming Pigs

 

[Lostdiver71]

The problem is people don't read the threads, they skim.

No one made a direct connection to the shark feeding dives, rather they, myself included, speculate the possibility of it playing a role. There's is no documentation that feeding sharks doesn't alter their behavior. However, we know it does happen with other large predators so either sharks are just really really dumb man eaters, or we should be exploring the possibility. As I posted earlier, permanent identifying (color) dorsal tags on fed sharks would help us determine if these same sharks are the ones responsible for attacks, especially in crystal clear open water like where the attack happened. In other words, we need to do some research and I hope that there is not a connection, but it can't be ruled out and if we find that the majority of the S. Florida and Bahama attacks that happen every year are predominately fed sharks, well...

FWIW, there's a shark feeding operation nearby the site of the attack.

And finally, I agree about your points on menstrual cycle and sharks. It's nonsense. Fish blood is not the same as human blood.

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.

 

[The Chairman]

As a big tourist attraction, they do appear to be monitored - at least at the famous site at Pig Beach near Staniel Cay.

Unless things have changed dramatically, the pigs at Staniel cay stay very shallow. I don't thing they went past waist or chest deep. It was fun watching them bob for apples in the shallows.

 

[CT-Rich]

I suspect they would as they reported on deaths they thought were related to pigs being fed alcohol - it was reported on all the major news sites back in 2017.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/relay....ublic/amp/2017/03/swimming-pigs-bahamas-death

As a big tourist attraction, they do appear to be monitored - at least at the famous site at Pig Beach near Staniel Cay.

Official Home of The Swimming Pigs

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.

 

[CuzzA]

IIRC, on a episode of Shark Week years ago they were experimenting with different animals and threw a pig carcass at the sharks, they had little interest.

 

[CuzzA]

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.

Yes, but I think they have a pretty good count on the pigs. I could be wrong. At least they report like they know exactly what's going on with them, so much so they are putting a game warden at the beach to protect them.

I believe they died due to a lack of water and ingesting too much sand from tourist tossing food on the beach.

 

[The Chairman]

IIRC, on a episode of Shark Week years ago they were experimenting with different animals and threw a pig carcass at the sharks, they little interest.

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.