The USS Indianapolis/Shark Week

[Spencermm]

I'm sure many of you watched the Shark Week show on The USS Indianapolis last night.
The story of this incident, as told to me years ago, has always been a source of tension, as I found the notion of all those sailors being killed by sharks in the fashion reported very horrifying.
One of the reporters stated on the show last night that very few of the sailors, in fact, were actually killed by sharks, indicating that the sailors were assaulted after having already succumbed to injuries sustained by the submarine attack or exposure. I don't know what "very few" means, but it has to be less than how I heard the story- which was that most had been killed by sharks.
Its an understatement to say that it is a shame that the Navy didn't decide to look for them sooner.
I did find 2 statements made during the show intriguing. (I'm going to paraphrase here, but I'm still going to be pretty close to the actual statements.)
Early on the commentator said that, "Sharks senses are so profoundly sensitive that they can discern any movement from hundreds of yards away."
Then later in the show they were showing sharks circling the sailors just a few feet away from their dangling limbs. The commentator then said that, "To a shark, an unclothed limb thrashing in the water looks to them like an injured fish."
I'm probably showing my ignorance of sharks here, but I'm thinking, if they can discern stuff from "hundreds of yards away" why can't they tell a fish from a limb just a few feet away?
Spencer

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

That show was intense. My 6 yr old and I were watching it and about the time the sharks started making themselves known he got the most terified look on his face so I quick changed the channel. All I could think of was the terror I felt when I saw Jaws when I was about 7. Sure hope it doesn't mess with him like Jaws did with me, we're going to the beach in 3 weeks. Prior to Jaws I spent hours on end in the water at the beach. Wouldn't go back in for 3 years after I saw it.

 

[LittleOne]

I also watched the show, and did last year too. It kind of annoys me how for weeks Discovery Channel (Don't get me wrong, I love them) advertises the show as "the nations worst shark attack" or something along those lines when that really isn't (and they state this in the show). For people who just saw the commercials for it and not the show, that's just another reason for them to be afraid of sharks.

P.S.-Did anyone see that part on tonic? Absolutely crazy...

 

[Spencermm]

That show was intense. My 6 yr old and I were watching it and about the time the sharks started making themselves known he got the most terified look on his face so I quick changed the channel. All I could think of was the terror I felt when I saw Jaws when I was about 7. Sure hope it doesn't mess with him like Jaws did with me, we're going to the beach in 3 weeks. Prior to Jaws I spent hours on end in the water at the beach. Wouldn't go back in for 3 years after I saw it.

AH Man, I know! Jaws messed with me at age 12ish. I was afraid to walk home after the show, in land-locked east Texas. There's water in those ditches you know?
We went to Corpus at the end of the summer and it was all I could do to get in the water waist deep for just a few minutes.
Ironically to this thread, one of the most intense scenes in Jaws to me as an adult is the one where the old shark fisherman was telling of his experience with the USS Indianapolis. Brilliant acting.
Spencer

 

[SelkieDVM]

Ironically to this thread, one of the most intense scenes in Jaws to me as an adult is the one where the old shark fisherman was telling of his experience with the USS Indianapolis. Brilliant acting.
Spencer

Agreed. To me that scene was one of, if not the best in the movie. Robert Shaw (a.k.a. Capt. Quint) was indeed a great actor.

 

[dzastr]

I know an Indianapolis survivor here in my town. He has stated that there were many that succumbed to drinking sea water. Those men were pleaded with not to drink it, but they did anyways and died. He never would say how many got sick and died of the sea water or how many the sharks got. They really tried so hard to keep the injured alive by stopping them from drinking. Every Veterans Day we meet at the American Legion. He has Alzheimer's now so he doesn't get real emotional anymore when he talks about it. He only says "So many brave men gone, so many friends gone, and I would do it again for my country and for you."

 

[gypsyman45]

That was a fascinating and tragic story. It's the second time I've seen it, and it was equally disturbing. How about the story that followed later in the evening about the guy who swam with Tiger sharks? It really calmed my fears about them as man-eaters. And, what about his ability to free-dive to 150' and remain under water for up to six minutes! That was UNBELIEVABLE!

 

[Staticdiver]

ya i like shark week but most of the shows kinda put sharks in a bad light. a lot of them are about attacks. i still love the shows. air jaws is awesome tonic was awesome. i wanna go see flying great whites.

 

[ruready7]

Seems like years ago the Shark week was used to talk about sharks and their interaction with the environment. Now is is more about how sharks are man eaters. I dont like the way they have changed the way people look at sharks. As I tell my non diving friends most shark attack victims are ones on the surface and I plan on spending most of mine below the surface...lol

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Shark Behavior: Circling around alleged victims

I found this article to be an easy read to understand shark behavior. Many things made the USS Indianapolis such a tragedy. What killed so many sailors was the length of time they were exposed to the elements due to the top secret nature of their mission. It was a long time before they were reported lost. The sharks involved more than likely were deep water sharks, such as; makos, oceanics, etc. These are oportunistic feeders since food is so scarce in deep waters. It was a tragedy and I could only imagine the nightmare that all of them had to suffer through until they were rescued.

Carolyn:sharks: