Tempting fate?

[Spongebobscubasteve]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyRypo6YqA&mode=related&search=

It looks to me that this situation could very easily esculate out of control. I am still of the opinion that we should interact as little as possible with wild animals. What are some of your opinions on this video?

 

[Steve50]

It can help to free up spots on the dive boat.

 

[Spongebobscubasteve]

The problem with that is that as soon as someone is injured or killed by a shark, it will drum up a witch hunt!

 

[ronbeau]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyRypo6YqA&mode=related&search=

It looks to me that this situation could very easily escalate out of control. I am still of the opinion that we should interact as little as possible with wild animals. What are some of your opinions on this video?

I hope for the sake of their loved ones they have a very good insurance policy or the loved ones can get them to see a shrink.

My father had two sayings that are appropriate here

"Truth is stranger than fiction"
"Stupid is as stupid does"

 

[NorCalDawg]

I really don't see much of a problem here. The sharks can obviously tell that the divers aren't food. Yeah, the shark could put a serious hurtin' on them, but it appears that they are leaving them alone. I think feeding them the fish by HAND instead of a stick is a little stupid but.... i think the rest of it is pretty cool.

 

[tstormdiver]

Yes, that seems VERY dangerous to me. They are teaching the sharks that humans are a food source & causing the sharks to lose what little fear they may have had of humans. What if an unaware diver goes in without any food to a bunch of predators waiting to be fed? Then panics & starts flailing around? Can you say, "lunch on the fin"? It runs along the same lines of feeding lions, bears, wolves & other land predators. Tiger sharks are already well known for attacking & killing humans, this is the same as throwing gasoline on a fire. You may get away with it for a while, but eventually it'll come back & "bite you".

 

[Missdirected]

Well I guess that DM earned more than the $5 a tank that day

 

[Humble older aquaman]

Could it get out of control, sure. But for many, sometimes myself included, that's the point. Can you control what many believe is uncontrollable? Mountain climbing, whitewater on rivers, jumping out of perfectly good planes, scuba diving and playing with apex predaters... I've exposed myself to these elements that can clearly take you if you screw up, can also take you when you've done them right. Risk is a potent drug, partake carefully, the overdose is often terminal!

I feel strongly that interacting with animals, like doing most things is about your comfort zone. Critters have many ways of detecting our emotions. Your fear, weakness will be sensed by the critter, that can make the situation uncomfortable for both of you!

The other question is should we be feeding these sharks? Are we making it more dangerous for our fellow divers by doing this? Lots of opinions on this...very little empirical data one way or the other. I could go both ways on it.

Hoa!

 

[SharkDiver36]

Well....I've done a bunch of shark dives (more than 1,000) and speaking from experience the least you do to provoke, antagonise, excite or piss them off the better.

Feeding them, touching them, cornering them, surprising them is just plain stupid and yes it is flat out tempting fate.

Sharks are amazing animals and have so much power it boggles the mind. Seeing them feed (natural circumstances), watching them move and turn on a dime is amazing and to think that I could possibly turn that power in my direction is enough of a deterent to just be still and watch them.

I've seen video footage of people in the water with bull's and whites without a cage, and while I've done that myself too, it was under very controlled circumstances and great care/detail was paid to the terrain and water conditions and we certainly did NOT try hand feeding them. That just S T U P I D!

 

[fldiver1]

Tigers scare the HELL out of me!! Did you see the way they just keep coming back for more? The diver with the trash can between him and the shark? That tiger just kept coming! I have seen plenty of shark dives with reefs, blacktips, etc. but Tigers????? Somebody has lost thier DAMN MIND!!!!