anyone see it? interesting footage. but seems like they made it to scare the heck out of people.
anatomy of a shark bite?
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I'm watching it right now, and it's pissing me off more and more by the minute.
It seems clear to me that the bite on Eric Ritter was an exploratory one. If the shark had wanted Ritter, the shark could have hit a LOT harder and taken his leg off below the knee.
It appears to me that this was the result of a stupid publicity stunt. I don't buy for a second that there's any valid science to be learned from any of this.
I haven't seen ANYTHING yet where Ritter makes a statement along the lines of "Sharks are sharks, and I took an unwise risk in doing what I did - it was MY fault and not the shark's!"
And until I see something like that, I am going to consider this show a ridiculous and unbalanced bit of negative shark propaganda.
My opinion: if you chum to bring a bunch of sharks into an area and then walk into the water with them, then you damn well deserve to be bit.
Sorry if this seems caustic. I just wish they would follow this show up with a show about shark fisheries and the unbelievable barbarism that humans inflict on sharks, vs. what sharks do to humans.
:upset:
It seems clear to me that the bite on Eric Ritter was an exploratory one. If the shark had wanted Ritter, the shark could have hit a LOT harder and taken his leg off below the knee.
It appears to me that this was the result of a stupid publicity stunt. I don't buy for a second that there's any valid science to be learned from any of this.
I haven't seen ANYTHING yet where Ritter makes a statement along the lines of "Sharks are sharks, and I took an unwise risk in doing what I did - it was MY fault and not the shark's!"
And until I see something like that, I am going to consider this show a ridiculous and unbalanced bit of negative shark propaganda.
My opinion: if you chum to bring a bunch of sharks into an area and then walk into the water with them, then you damn well deserve to be bit.
Sorry if this seems caustic. I just wish they would follow this show up with a show about shark fisheries and the unbelievable barbarism that humans inflict on sharks, vs. what sharks do to humans.
:upset:
crab
Contributor
I watched a big chunk of it and found myself wondering why so much effort was being invested into explaining why a person standing in waist deep water surrounded by dozens of Bull sharks would mysteriously be bitten. Do you really need to fabricate a life size pnuematic shark that eats sheep carcasses and fleshy fake legs to answer that question?
I wonder what the production budget was for this exposition. I wish I could get a piece of it to do a little of my own shark research... a few weeks on a tropical island somewhere would be all the enlightenment I would need.
I wonder what the production budget was for this exposition. I wish I could get a piece of it to do a little of my own shark research... a few weeks on a tropical island somewhere would be all the enlightenment I would need.
I agree it was more sensationalisim than research. They also seemed to have ignored all the existing data on bite pressure in preference to doing their own really limited and flawed testing.
Phish-phood
Guest
I watched a program last night called The Science of Shark attacks
In general I thought it was okay but one part in particular disgusted me. They were talking about recovering astronauts from shark infested waters and how a weapon had been developed that kept the sharks at bay by shooting them with pressurised CO2 which then expand inside the sharks body cavity and killed it in what has to be one of the cruelest ways ever!!!
In general I thought it was okay but one part in particular disgusted me. They were talking about recovering astronauts from shark infested waters and how a weapon had been developed that kept the sharks at bay by shooting them with pressurised CO2 which then expand inside the sharks body cavity and killed it in what has to be one of the cruelest ways ever!!!
Completely agree. I can not believe there is any scientific data derived from what was explored by David Ritter. He's an idiot that finally was in the wrong place at the right time. They have no idea what is in the mind of a shark. The mechanical devices they mfg'd don't even approach what a real shark bite is like other than they attempted to repeat the bite pressure.
Very poorly done IMO. A grandious 2 hour show derived from several minutes of film footage. Discovery should be embarrased.
Jersey
Contributor
Exactly what I said watching it - a 10 second bite, becomes a 2 hours show that demonstrates 1:sharks swim really fast, 2:they exert a lot of pressure when they bite, 3: they eat stuff that happens to be in the water. Did we learn anything new here??
Standing in waist deep water and offering up food seems to me to be a clear invitation to be bitten.
And yes Crab, I too thought of the great expense incurred fabricating mechanical models & wished they would throw some of it my way!
OK -so who is going to produce the special on finning live sharks?
On a brighter note, the Big Blue Planet series on Discover channel did a couple hours yesterday on the deep sea trenches & the interesting life forms found around the vents. Anyone catch that?
docmartin
Contributor
ditto. how disappointing that in years of "shark week" they have not come up with a piece on the wholesale slaughter of sharks. they certainly do not lack the budget judging by last night's roboshark extravaganza.
nevertheless, i found the show interesting because i have snorkeled there before with the bulls. however, my buddy and i did not chum them and we did not see that many. it was definitely one of my most memorable experiences in and out of the water.
i remember when eric ritter had his calf taken off they said it happened in somewhat murky water and the sharks were feeding which suggested a somewhat out of control situation where he happened to get caught in the middle. watching the footage yesterday i was actually surprised because the water was perfectly clear and the bull was obviously not frenzied at all but rather approached very calmly and deliberately and took an almost delicate bite to see if researcher leg would be to its liking. this was not a chaotic scene with sharks competing for morsels of food and getting carried away in the heat of the moment. it also was clearly not a case of mistaken identity. it made me aware that i may have been a little overconfident in my interactions with sharks. they are wild animals and a little nibble ends up hurting really bad.
nevertheless, i found the show interesting because i have snorkeled there before with the bulls. however, my buddy and i did not chum them and we did not see that many. it was definitely one of my most memorable experiences in and out of the water.
i remember when eric ritter had his calf taken off they said it happened in somewhat murky water and the sharks were feeding which suggested a somewhat out of control situation where he happened to get caught in the middle. watching the footage yesterday i was actually surprised because the water was perfectly clear and the bull was obviously not frenzied at all but rather approached very calmly and deliberately and took an almost delicate bite to see if researcher leg would be to its liking. this was not a chaotic scene with sharks competing for morsels of food and getting carried away in the heat of the moment. it also was clearly not a case of mistaken identity. it made me aware that i may have been a little overconfident in my interactions with sharks. they are wild animals and a little nibble ends up hurting really bad.
zeN||
Guest
I only saw part of the show, but I thought the show was great, it was interesting to study the sharks predatory methods on humans, and what you could expect, I was very suprised how fast these sleek predators move, and glad there are people researching this area zeN
JustAddWater
Guest
I recorded it on TEVO, but haven't watched it yet. In spite of the hype and panic merchandising I still enjoy shark week.
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