The Shark's Rebuttal
A Reply and Another Perspective of the Shark Attack on Marco Flagg
Filed by Bruce G.W.S.
Abstract
I have been given a copy of the account of Marco Flagg and the shark attack on 6/30/95, which was posted in the rec.scuba newsgroup on 7/7/95. I wanted to share some thoughts with those of you who read Mr. Flagg's thorough account.
Basic Facts
Exactly as Mr. Flagg described them. About myself: I'm a 17-year-old Great White Shark. In fact, I'm the shark that mistakenly bit Mr. Flagg. (In Great White Shark society, we don't like to use the word "attacked" when it was a mistake.) I was born in 1978 off of the Farallon Islands and spend most of my time in that area with an occasional foray down to the Monterey area. One summer I got as far south as Anacapa Island off of Oxnard, but that was only because there was a rumor of some yellowtail tuna and some blue whales in the area. Too much work. The tuna are fast and the whales are huge so I came back north. But I digress.
Chronological Incident Report
I was cruising around the Pt. Lobos area. I hadn't eaten in two days and was hoping to find some sea lion pups venturing into the water. I was patrolling the area at about 50' when I detected some motion to my left. I really didn't get a good glimpse, but it was a fast-moving dark object and I thought I'd hit the pinniped jackpot. Using my lateral line to sense the movement of my intended, I circled back around. As I approached (from below and behind - just like I was taught by my parents), it seemed to me the sea lion was heading for the surface, perhaps to take a breath of air. I gave a good twitch of my tail and opened my mouth. It was only as I closed down that I realized something was terribly wrong. I tasted metal, and I know that sea lions aren't made of metal. On top of that, I detected an electrical current in the water (which throws off my senses somewhat). I thought, "Oh, ****," and within maybe two seconds I opened my jaws, let go, and swam off.
Comments
Do you realize how embarrassing this is for me? Here I am, an apex predator, top of the food chain, and I can't distinguish the difference between a sea lion and a scuba diver. I can't even begin to tell you all the taunting I've taken from the other sharks in the area. But even worse are the psychological repercussions. Mr. Flagg, I am so sorry for the problems I caused and all I can tell you is that I'm delighted that you were not seriously injured. For a few days after the mistake (not attack) I lost my appetite. I mean, I'm an eating machine -it's what I do. And mistakes happen but we Great Whites pride ourselves on the fact that these mistaken identity problems occur infrequently. We really don't want to eat any of you. We're just doing what nature compels us to do.
Final Thoughts
Again my profound apologies. And I'm terribly sorry that your friend lost both his scooter and his video camera, but another shark I know said they were delicious. All I can tell you is that we in the shark community are working very hard to avoid these problems and we'll do our best to make sure this doesn't happen again. Finally, in parting, if any of you reading this know of a nice, plump, juicy sea lion - would you please send him my way?
This *Incident Report* was playfully provided by Ken Kurtis at Reef Seekers Dive Co. in Beverly Hills, who wishes everyone safe diving (and watch out for those GWSes!).
