Shark attack. .

[Hank49]

Preventing the situation is of course the best but I was hoping for some insight into what the best behavior would be if you somehow ended up in the situation anyway. I'm assuming "swim like heck for shore" is probably not the correct answer.

I check all my gear before I jump in the water to prevent problems but I still want to know what the best thing to do is if I happen to still have an equipment malfunction at depth.

Showing some aggression towards curious sharks works, when they can see you, in my limited experience anyway.
I spearfish and see them pretty often.
I do go into shallow (4-20 feet), murky water to maintain a pipeline we have going half mile out to the sea. I've always thought that if I felt a bump, I would put my head under water and yell at the top of my lungs, hoping to scare one off.

 

[scubamountaingirl]

sharks do not "attack" humans. they are eating. period. do we attack cows?
sharks eat to stay alive we are in the path, they try to eat us, sometimes, most of the time they do not. If you are going to be in a situation, swimming in shark infested water, scuba or what ever water sport that includes the habitat of sharks, this means you are going into an ocean that has creatures that will eat humans.

If this is shocking and not acceptable please stay out of the waters that sharks live in.

ww

 

[Hank49]

Yes, I'd say it's an accurate description to say we "attack" cows. What else would you call it?
All predators, as I believe Walter stated, attack their prey. How else do they immobilize it, kill it, and eat it?
In the shark's case in murky water, it is usually mistaken identity, but if it bumps and comes back and takes a chunk out of you, I would call it an attack.

 

[scubamountaingirl]

if you dont mind me asking what does a belizean baby harp seal interceptor do?

I am trying to get a point across that you are not helping in, as to the fact that sharks, UNLIKE COWS WHO EAT FREAKING GRASS. need to eat some kinds of flesh to survive. We attack cows minding their own business and kill them for food, we go into a field with intent and kill someting to eat it.....the shark, unlike US is its in his field and is eating .

I would not call that an attack . thus our dear wiki
Attack may refer to
a military strike, see offensive (military)
first strike
Counterattack
a physical attack, see Strike (attack)
assault
Battery (crime)
Battery (tort)

a shark does none of the above. HE is eating . just that simple eating. If you dont want to be eaten dont go in his territory. or if you are willing to take the risk, know how to handle yourself in a "confrontation".

This swimmer is unfortunate. I dont feel anger at him or the shark, the dude was swimming and the shark was feeding. nature go figure

respectfully
ww

 

[Phishie]

I prefer a dictionary to wikipedia.
Attack Definition | Definition of Attack at Dictionary.com
attack - verb
1. to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way, with or without a weapon ...

The shark forcefully, violently, and aggressively attacks the prey it wishes to eat. If a shark takes a bite of something, be it a fish or human, it can correctly be called an attack if you are using English as the language.

Regardless, entering into the sharks domain is unfortunately a requirement if you wish to dive in the ocean or many rivers.

Going back to the purpose of the accident and incident forum, what other things could an unfortunate swimmer or diver on the surface do after being bumped?

A show of aggression or shouting into the water has been suggested hoping to scare off the shark.

If you get bumped would kicking the shark also be an option worth considering?

 

[scubamountaingirl]

I am done. this is falling on deaf ears.

respectfully
ww

 

[legions]

I am very new to scubaboard, and my involvement here is probably different from everybody else
Though I am of the opinion that the shark attacked the swimmer, what I am most curios of though, is the phrase," for all that I care the guy could have died".

What I am hoping is, there is a problem in translation. I had this same problem once when I was working with the selous scouts.

If that phrase was the authors intent, then to me it shows a total disregard for human life.

Though that trait is nothing new to me, I was surprised to find it in this forum.

pamwe chete.

 

[Walter]

sharks do not "attack" humans. they are eating. period. do we attack cows?

We do attack cows. Most of us hire other people to attack cows for us, but we are attacking cows.

sharks eat to stay alive we are in the path, they try to eat us, sometimes, most of the time they do not.

I agree with you.

If you are going to be in a situation, swimming in shark infested water

I know this is a common expression, but it's a very emotional one. You strike me as someone who like sharks and wants to help protect them. "Shark infested waters" is not the best term to use for those of us who actually want to protect sharks.

I am trying to get a point across that you are not helping in, as to the fact that sharks, UNLIKE COWS WHO EAT FREAKING GRASS. need to eat some kinds of flesh to survive.

Not to worry, I think you made that point quite well. Sharks must eat flesh to live.

We attack cows minding their own business and kill them for food, we go into a field with intent and kill someting to eat it.....the shark, unlike US is its in his field and is eating .

I agree the shark is in its home. I would disagree with your point that we are not also in our home when we attack cows.

I would not call that an attack .

I know you wouldn't. I would.

thus our dear wiki
Attack may refer to....a physical attack

a shark does none of the above.

The shark must make a physical attack to eat. Quite often sharks attack then back off and wait for their prey to bleed to death as the result of their initial attack. After the animal dies, the shark comes in to feed. Even when the prey is small enough that that start eating right away, the shark makes a physical attack.

HE is eating .

True. That does not make it any less of an attack.

just that simple eating. If you dont want to be eaten dont go in his territory. or if you are willing to take the risk, know how to handle yourself in a "confrontation".

Excellent advice.

This swimmer is unfortunate. I dont feel anger at him or the shark, the dude was swimming and the shark was feeding.

I agree, but with the information we have, it appears the shark was attempting unsuccessfully to feed.

I am done. this is falling on deaf ears.

The only disagreement that I see is that you don't want to use the word attack. I've followed your posts. It appears to me (please correct me if I'm wrong) that you don't want to use the word attack when the behavior is associated with feeding. Others do not see feeding as precluding the use of the word.

In my opinion, sharks are often accused of attacking when they are merely defending themselves. When a shark bites a wader that has just stepped on him, I don't see it as an attack. When a shark attempts to feed on someone, I do see it as an attack.

Perhaps you'll explain why you object to the word attack.

 

[scubamountaingirl]

thank you for your thoughtful deconstruction of my posts. they were right on.

I take exception that the word 'attack" implies , suggests, and indicates preconceived ideas.

one attacks when is woken from sleep and finds an intruder in ones bedroom, one attacks when one has a child that is being hurt from outside sources. etc etc etc

A shark or a lion or a tiger or any other of the animals on our planet who have the ability to be higher than us on the food chain are not ATTACKING. they are simply eating. feeding living.

the need to live is within all of us, the shark in the place where he or she lives , the water we play and dive in , is no different. It has a time to eat, a time to sleep a time to just swim around and do nothing.

I take offense when any human makes reference to any animal higher on the food chain as attacking us when every day we slaughter billions of helpless animals way lower on the food chain and never would ever refer to ourselves as attackers.....

thank you for you time in asking me these questions,
respectfully
ww

 

[Walter]

Thanks for your answer. We disagree on the definition of attack. I do agree with you that there is no difference between another animal feeding on us and us feeding on them. I would use the word attack to describe either situation. I respect your view and although I disagree with your definition with one word, I think we generally agree on the important points.