You thought Nurse sharks were docile?!

[C.J. Thomas]

Came across this article today at work & couldn't help but be surprised at this shark's demeanor.....I'm wondering if these guys were possibly antagonizing or provoking the shark.....check it out:

Video: Florida man chased by shark while spearfishing | WeatherPlus

Now I have been lobstering in the Keys 12-15 times a year for the past 15 years (at least) and I have encountered 100+ nurse sharks shacked up in boxes, barrels, pipes - you name it. More than once I have been prodding with a tickle stick and had one of these guys violently shoot out of the nearest opening.....but in my experiences they have just taken off quickly. Never have I felt threatened by them or worried that they would come after me (or my catch.)

Anyone ever had an encounter like this group?

 

[macado]

Unfortunately I've had it happen to me many times. In particular in Cozumel where nurse sharks have been fed lionfish. They now come up to divers expecting handouts. If they happen to see or smell fish they will usually not leave you alone. There are particular reefs that have several nurse sharks that exhibit this behavior.

Even worse if you actually have lionfish on you they can get aggressive and will not leave you alone. I've had them follow me all the way to surface. I've had to give up stringers and almost dropped a zookeeper. I try not to give up any fish as I don't want to encourage their behavior. I've known a couple people who were bitten (yes they do have teeth) and some of my gear has some scars from nurse sharks.

I'm not sure of the solution here to fix the problem but I do know that a lot of this was the result of DMs and customers feeding lionfish to nurse sharks for entertainment. I encourage people not to do it but the damage is already done in some areas.

 

[Nick Steele]

Hello there neighbor. I've had similar situation in our backyard actually just south of commercial pier one day lobstering. I had just put my 2nd lobster of the day into my bag and was looking for more when I noticed a 5' nurse heading straight towards my bag which is on my float 15' behind me. At first I didn't think much of it until he was destroying my bag. After he finished his lobster meal he made his retreat back to the reef without giving me a second look.

Slightly amazed at the situation in front of me I froze up and didn't react at all. I've had many encounters with all types of sharks and this is the first I've ever had any type of aggression (although not at me). Makes for a cool story and a mental video in my head for sure!

Dive on!

 

[AfterDark]

Nurse sharks are animals that live in a hostile environment where the next meal is where they find it. Thinking any animal is docile is a mistake. Former US president Jimmy Carter was attacked and bitten by a rabbit on a fly fishing trip.
My 6lb Yorkie mix chases 100lb dogs around the dog park barking and growling if I let him. They run away in terror! Go figure!?

 

[AfterDark]

oops deleted

 

[Shaun Delport]

Sharks are apex predators and opportunistic feeders. Given a meal floating around its home it does what is designed to do, feed. Respect any shark and use common sense. I have done many shark dives, without a cage, and have encountered Oceanic Blacktip, Bull, Dusky, Spotted Sand Tiger and Tiger sharks without incident.
Hand feeding sharks, whatever the reason, is a practice I condemned since I could swim. All incidents involving a diver, dead fish and a shark, I consider provoked. All spearo's, lobster fishermen and shark divers are well aware of the associated risks of their respective activities and accept the occasional tax deduction by the ocean's taxman.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Pfft. Hard to tell exactly what happened there once the shark came in, but given that the schmuck had another fish dangling right next to his leg and was sitting there on the surface for what seemed like forever that little nurse shark had an easy shot. Not sure I would have shot that hogfish; the legal limit is 12 inches here and that looks awfully small. I've had to fight off smallish nurse sharks for my catches down in the Keys before and it's more an annoyance than a concern.

The funny thing is that the shark feeders I know will actually shove nurse sharks away - with their mouth structure they will actually latch onto the milk crates containing the bait and suck bits out. We might see an adult or two every now and then, but definitely never a juvenile that size - it would be lunch for the lemons and tigers that are the more usual customers.

Never underestimate the little guys. Two weeks ago I was shooting lionfish on a private shark trip at Tiger Beach and the dozen or so big 8' lemon sharks we had hanging around were not an issue; if I had wanted to actually keep the lionfish I would have felt fine getting them to the boat. The one time I actually got "sharked" it was by two juvenile Caribbean reef sharks that were each about the size of one of my legs and rocketed right up to me like little missiles.

 

[kammel78]

After he finished his lobster meal he made his retreat back to the reef without giving me a second look.
I've had many encounters with all types of sharks and this is the first I've ever had any type of aggression (although not at me)

Are we categorizing feeding as "aggressive" behavior?

 

[AfterDark]

Are we categorizing feeding as "aggressive" behavior?

Without aggressiveness an animal goes hungry and dies. Lets not change the meaning of words to fit an agenda regardless of how righteous the agenda may be.

 

[chillyinCanada]

My fingers once inadvertently ended up in a nurseshark's mouth. I wasn't hurt and neither was I impressed. The ns thought I was pointing out food for it, near as I could tell.