Any diver out there been attacked by a big shark?!

[Dan]

No scalloped hammerheads for sure..

When I was in Banda Sea, Socorro, Cocos & Galápagos, to see the scalloped hammerheads up close I had to hide & took picture / video without flash / video light otherwise they were very skittish & just vanished when they saw you nearby. They like to go in school.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

So do hammer heads ever get aggressive if yes, is it the great scallop kind?

Great hammerheads and scalloped hammerheads are two ENTIRELY different critters. The latter is generally a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sighting and if you breathe too hard they bolt. The former (which just plain looks mean by comparison) is generally skittish, although they can get aggressive with spearfishers.

Divers get hit by sharks occasionally, but as risks go that's way below a lot of other concerns. In French Polynesia two weeks ago I ran across a juvenile oceanic whitetip that seemed willing to try and ambush five humans all larger than himself and a 14-ft tiger shark that came in so hot she got the nickname "Hurricane Miley" ("she came in like a wrecking ball"). Both kept us on our toes and may have triggered some strong language, but I never felt like we were in imminent danger.

 

[Wingy]

Interesting the great hammerhead comment - a friend sent me through some pictures last night of a great hammerhead in Rangi getting a little taste of her leg - she felt she got too close and startled him but as he took off his "stupidly shape mouth" brushed and gave her a little cookie cutter scar. Her takeaway - He seemed to be well aware of his size and the bite was a unintended accident but his GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE bump was not.

Re Tigers - my fathers buddy was bitten in half early 60s - Shark attack at Jurien Bay in Western Australia, Australia
So I tend to keep an eye on our tigers way more than any other shark I see here. My GW sightings gave me a OH wow how impressive feeling when I see a tiger the feeling is ... Way more alert and a lil bit eek. Just noticed the database has been updated with some interesting information. While NSW has the highest number of bites, Western Australia has the highest fatality rate followed by south Aus - Obviously colder waters so more of the fat dudes.
Good read on what it feels like to end up head first inside a big GW when you're on the bottom and several hundred KM from help but keep your cool enough to survive your second lifetime bite is Greg Pickering's story.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Interesting the great hammerhead comment - a friend sent me through some pictures last night of a great hammerhead in Rangi getting a little taste of her leg - she felt she got too close and startled him but as he took off his "stupidly shape mouth" brushed and gave her a little cookie cutter scar. Her takeaway - He seemed to be well aware of his size and the bite was a unintended accident but his GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE bump was not.

Re Tigers - my fathers buddy was bitten in half early 60s - Shark attack at Jurien Bay in Western Australia, Australia
So I tend to keep an eye on our tigers way more than any other shark I see here. My GW sightings gave me a OH wow how impressive feeling when I see a tiger the feeling is ... Way more alert and a lil bit eek. Just noticed the database has been updated with some interesting information. While NSW has the highest number of bites, Western Australia has the highest fatality rate followed by south Aus - Obviously colder waters so more of the fat dudes.
Good read on what it feels like to end up head first inside a big GW when you're on the bottom and several hundred KM from help but keep your cool enough to survive your second lifetime bite is Greg Pickering's story.

Great hammerheads in my experience are practically stealth sharks; I've had it happen to me and seen it happen to others where one zips by close behind and disappears by the time somebody turns around. I've seen footage of them getting very pushy with spearfishers and had a big female (Scylla, a.k.a. Patches) in the Bahamas that was a lot bolder than I was used to, but in the latter case I still had to wait for her to come to me for closeups. Another photographer ignored the briefing and chased after her, which she wanted no part of.

Mostly I think of tigers as going by "rope-a-dope" - they don't move particularly fast, but that camo pattern is surprisingly effective and they have an unnerving ability to get close enough to take advantage of a lapse in attention. If one is around, you forget about the pack of lemon sharks practically cuddling in your lap and watch the stripey fish. Then again, I'm mostly used to Florida and the Bahamas - in Tahiti we had a few "hot" passes that left me thinking the tigers I usually see must be munching some pot bales.

I've only observed great whites from inside a cage at Guadalupe Island, but it's spooky how with 100-ft or more of viz they can still get behind you unobserved - and they can move a lot faster than a tiger. Much as I was irritated by being stuck inside a metal box with 40 lbs of lead harnessed to me, I felt the "hands and feet inside the ride at all times" rule was there for a reason.

All that said, overall the take-home message is that it's their ocean and their rules; divers are guests. Attacks on divers do happen, but they're pretty rare; far more often all parties leave unscathed and the humans at least are impressed. The best tip is to stay aware; surprise is the biggest edge a shark has and they know it.

 

[Satrekker]

In another thread way back, there was discussion about powerbeads from an important angle; powerheads/bang sticks/etc...on the dive means they are also on the dive boat.

Think about the typical dive boat. Dive deck often fairly crowded, people occasionally stumble in their fins and gear, sometimes someone's bcd/tank/reg. combo. takes a dive off a dive bench... To say nothing of incidents of someone getting hit by a speargun underwater, or one diver accidentally running into another or kicking someone's mask off.

Now consider about how likely someone is to successfully defend himself from a dangerous (and no, the damselfish don't count!) oceanic predator on a dive using a powerhead.

Other divers would likely object, it'd be a risk hazard and contentious nightmare for the dive op.

Unless you have your own boat or shore dive, I doubt many people will be packing them.

I am not anti-gun; actually more of a 'stand your ground' guy, but in this situation, it's probably for the best.

Richard.

P.S.: And my 'stand your ground' stance does not extend to large sharks. I'd rather flee than stand and fight, given the viable choice.

I spearfish and have both a shark shield and a powerhead. Unless I'm going to the Middle Grounds, I rarely dive with them. I have a reuseable powerhead that slides over the spear tip, so upon firing, the impact of the tip on the round fires it. No chance of that going off on a boat if the powerhead is not attached to the shaft.

I picked up the shark shield upon recommendation from a commercial spearfisherman. He highly recommended it. I've dove with lots and lots of sharks, so I have a healthy respect for them, but I'm only really extra wary when I'm spearing. Interestingly, my commercial friend who has been doing it for 20+ years told me he keeps his stringer with the fish tight on his right hip. A bolt snap is connected to the stringer with 2 large zip ties and then clipped to the d-ring, so it can break away if hit with enough force by a goliath or shark. He is of the mind that the close proximity of the fish to his body discourages most sharks because they can't distinguish between the diver and the fish, so from their perception, the target is a lot larger and is blowing bubbles. That's the way I dive, and I've not had any issues so far, but I only spearfish 6 or 8 tanks each month.

 

[Satrekker]

So far I've stood my ground (of course I've no clue how much danger I may or may not have been in). In my head I could hear the screaming, "swim away, swim away!!" but then came the other voice in my head that said, "do you really think it a good idea to turn your back on a shark?" and so, both times there I remained in place and the sharks were the ones to take off much faster than they'd approached. Even after they'd left, I had a hard time to kick back over to be with my group. shiver

Agree. I don't think swimming away is a good idea. You are not going to outswim a shark, and I don't recommend fleeing like prey and encouraging the shark's natural instinct to attack. Suck it up and get aggressive and swim at it. They are most certainly not accustomed to that.

 

[Satrekker]

No scalloped hammerheads for sure..

When I was in Banda Sea, Socorro, Cocos & Galápagos, to see the scalloped hammerheads up close I had to hide & took picture / video without flash / video light otherwise they were very skittish & just vanished when they saw you nearby. They like to go in school.

I experienced the same in Cocos. I was lucky if the scalloped hammerheads would get within 8 feet of me. It's interesting how you can be at your safety stop and a couple will be swimming at you from behind, but as soon as you look at them, they peel off pretty quickly and leave, or at least leave your field of vision. The Galapagos sharks were less timid. There was more thane one occasion as one was swimming towards me that I was thinking, "Isn't it about time this big guy peels off?" LOL

If you ever get a chance, dive Cocos, and I'd recommend end of August, first of September. 2mm and comfortable and unforgettable diving. I've got to get back there!

Edit: I do remember seeing a 16' tiger shark at little dos amigos around 117'. A few seconds before she cruised by, the area I was in just ceased all activity. It was akin to being in a forest and everything going silent. She swam by about 15 - 20' away. Beautiful! She was by far the largest shark I've ever seen.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

When I'm spearfishing for Halibut in the Calif Channel Islands I have a 25 foot line attached to my stringer that I deploy if I get a fish. I'm swimming over all sand anyway so never had an entanglement issue. One time off Santa Rosa Island I was swimming back to the boat and visibility was about 15 feet so I couldn't see my speared 30 pound Halibut towed behind. Felt a small tug but thought the stringer had briefly caught on something. Got back to the boat and found the only thing on my stringer was a fish head. Something chomped the entire body off in one gulp. Every one else on the boat thought it pretty funny.

 

[Dan]

I experienced the same in Cocos. I was lucky if the scalloped hammerheads would get within 8 feet of me. It's interesting how you can be at your safety stop and a couple will be swimming at you from behind, but as soon as you look at them, they peel off pretty quickly and leave, or at least leave your field of vision. The Galapagos sharks were less timid. There was more thane one occasion as one was swimming towards me that I was thinking, "Isn't it about time this big guy peels off?" LOL

If you ever get a chance, dive Cocos, and I'd recommend end of August, first of September. 2mm and comfortable and unforgettable diving. I've got to get back there!

Edit: I do remember seeing a 16' tiger shark at little dos amigos around 117'. A few seconds before she cruised by, the area I was in just ceased all activity. It was akin to being in a forest and everything going silent. She swam by about 15 - 20' away. Beautiful! She was by far the largest shark I've ever seen.

Come on & join me. Still have a few spots open.

Gathering a group for Cocos with Argo on 10-20 September 2020

 

[AfterDark]

I experienced the same in Cocos. I was lucky if the scalloped hammerheads would get within 8 feet of me. It's interesting how you can be at your safety stop and a couple will be swimming at you from behind, but as soon as you look at them, they peel off pretty quickly and leave, or at least leave your field of vision. The Galapagos sharks were less timid. There was more thane one occasion as one was swimming towards me that I was thinking, "Isn't it about time this big guy peels off?" LOL

If you ever get a chance, dive Cocos, and I'd recommend end of August, first of September. 2mm and comfortable and unforgettable diving. I've got to get back there!

Edit: I do remember seeing a 16' tiger shark at little dos amigos around 117'. A few seconds before she cruised by, the area I was in just ceased all activity. It was akin to being in a forest and everything going silent. She swam by about 15 - 20' away. Beautiful! She was by far the largest shark I've ever seen.

All predators know what eyes are and what they do.