Who has seen this shark????

[isurus]

Blacktip Reef Sharks are considered dangerous? They are definitely inquisitive, but the only time I was uncomfortable with them was lobstering ... but even then the whitetips were suddenly trying to be very friendly.

A shark that didn't make the list is the Galapagos shark, and in my experience, they are sort've scary. I can't particularly say they are dangerous, but there were a lot of them, are aggressive, and looked scary as hell.

Blacktip (C. limbatus) is different from blacktip reef (C. melanopterus).

Where did you see the galapagos sharks (if you say the galapagos I'll feel pretty stupid but am very interested to hear about other possible locations like midway)?

 

[astn]

Blacktip (C. limbatus) is different from blacktip reef (C. melanopterus).

I stand corrected. Thank you.

Where did you see the galapagos sharks (if you say the galapagos I'll feel pretty stupid but am very interested to hear about other possible locations like midway)?

Yeah, my time with the Tigers and Galapagos is from working on Midway. Beautiful place. Sad that it's so mismanaged.

 

[Spragg01]

I don't believe any shark makes a deliberate attempt to attack knowing their prey is human. I believe that most of these attacks are a case of mistaken identity...the rest are samples.

Have to disagree with you on that one. Oceanic Whitetips are renowned for picking off shipwrecked sailors and taking more than just a sample. "Abandon Ship" by Richard F. Newcomb, the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, is a good example if you want an engaging/tragic read. Beautiful animal in the flesh btw, but they scare me on a visceral level more than any other shark.

That being said, the only shark that really scares me is the one I can't see. The Tigers in the Northwestern HI Islands are very friendly. On Pearl and Hermes Reef (near Astn on Midway) they pick off fledgling albatross chicks literally two meters off the beach in three feet of water (also happens to be where we bathe). Not the small ones either, but 10-15 ft guys. Once, during the 15 seconds I had my eyes closed to rinse my hair, I got bumped by a Green Sea Turtle from behind and nearly shat myself.

Actually, the thing I like most about swimming with sharks is that you can't get away. Once you've cleared the cloud from your Warhammer, finished wasting air screaming, and entered a low grade shock, the experience is downright existential.

 

[Sharkgrl]

Duncan Campbell what book are you reading on sharks, I am interested to know.

 

[Duncan Campbell]

Sharkgrl..the book I was reading was "Shark Troubles" by the recently deceased Peter Benchley (The author of Jaws). It was a great educational read and very informative as well. Pick it up if you can... Cheers

 

[arenny]

Saw a white tip when I was in about 60' diving in the the Great Barrier Reef. Almost missed it. It was about 12' My buddy saw it and I was able to take a pic as it swam away. It wasn't interested in us at all, which I am glad
Saw a reef shark while snorkeling off of Maui, he also swam away.
Saw a baby leopard shark in Monterey last week, friendly little guy kept swimming into my lens.
Hope not to see any more big sharks!

 

[Chaseh]

Requiem shark is a generic term used to define a whole group of sharks including bulls, tigers and blacktips.

As Bruce points out oceanic whitetip is a must on any list of "potentially dangerous" sharks due to its feeding style. The tigers I've seen have been very cautious around anything blowing bubbles for some reason. Sand tigers/raggies are pretty mellow and enjoyable to dive with - as a big animal they need to be treated with respect but I certainly wouldn't worry about them at all. They seem happy chilling in their cave for the most part.

Just caught a show on discovery the other day that proved (to them) that many attacks blamed on oceanic whitetips are actually tigers. Case in point was the USS Indianapolis. The show was attempting to use descriptions of attacks as compared with the features of different shark's teeth. The types of wounds that were described were really not possible for a whitetip but were symptomatic for a tiger's bite and action.

BTW, Abandon Ship, a book written about the Indianpolis in the 50s (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...103-5321828-5187009?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) and who's author had close contact with many survivors, repeatidly that while shark attacks were numerous and horrible, the real horrors of the experience, and the causes of death for many of the men, were actually as a result of expossure to the sun and waters, exhaustion, and dehydration.

As for the sand tigers, I do believe they show up high on the ranks of shark attacks, but aren't known to be particularly aggressive nor are their attacks normally as devastating. The do however encounter many surfers, swimmers, and divers, and are too often accidentally provoked into giving a nip. So watch where you're stepping while splashing around off the NC coast.

 

[isurus]

I've never understood why these shows always try to id a "prime suspect" species for events like the indianopolis. Theres no reason as far as I can see for any number of sharks (Tiger, oceanic, silky, silvertip, blue and others) not to turn up in a blue water sinking event.

 

[Chaseh]

one reason could be that many sharks don't look to feast on large mammals, but really rely on fish for their diets. They're still certainly dangerous, but not as likely to attack a person as a potential source of food.

 

[Willie]

I would love to see all of these. I would prefer to do it in a cage though.

I really enjoy seeing all of these ... in other diver's video and pictures!

Willie