Hawaii woman hitches ride on Great White shark

[tkevcu]

[h=3]Hawaii woman hitches ride on Great White shark[/h]
:shocked2:

 

[maniago]

Hawaii woman hitches ride on Great White shark


:shocked2:

I don't know what to think about this. I totally respect sharks. I'm sure she meant no harm and all, but its seems disrespectful, if not flat dangerous, because it is after all, a wild animal. One quick flick around and she's half a body.
Am I missing something here?

 

[vincent54]

A publicity stunt that is best ignored. Shark probably thought she was a oversized remora. It must be human nature to molest, fondle and harass animals trying to exist. They aren't our friends and most probably don't even like us. I guess the phrase look but don't touch doesn't apply to some people. Cheers

 

[drrich2]

Very impressive, but I keep thinking somebody's going to get mauled or killed doing that sort of thing eventually. Maybe not the professional, but someone too emboldened by the examples.

As more videos come out with people diving cageless with great whites, and getting in close proximity, I fear there'll be that few foolish types who want to 'share the thrill' or be one of the few who've touched one, etc...

And while a professional with a lot of in-water experience with sharks might pull this off, such a person may also be perceptive of subtle cues of the shark's temperament and body language in a way others won't be.

If & when this happens someday, it'll likely get caught on video, and may end up going viral on the Web. That could be a problem for shark conservation. Not long ago, video of a shark dive showed a large tiger shark swim toward a diver, who went up over it, sort of straddling the head. The shark snapped (I guess you could call it) to the side, and wasn't all that far from snagging a leg. Someone commented that almost set shark conservation back significantly (would've if it'd nailed him).

So while I appreciate the brave efforts of activists like this one to act as ambassadors for great whites & other sharks, I wonder whether it's worth the risk. Maybe it is!

What do others think?

Richard.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I don't think a video of someone suffering the just consequences of their actions would set back shark conservation one bit. Nobody I can imagine is under any illusions that sharks are safe to play with.

 

[drrich2]

Dr. Lecter:

I agree that it shouldn't; unfortunately, many humans have a very skewed way of interpreting what they see. In rural America, for example, a human walking along may blunder near a rattlesnake. The snake rattles a warning, hoping to avoid conflict & injury. The human sees the snake, fears & loathes it, concludes it's dangerous, vicious and threatening, and grabs a shovel or something & slices its head off, or shoots it.

While completely missing the irony of it all.

Sadly, public image often trumps reality (which might have an impact on some political election results, I'm thinking...). The article notes an effort is underway to get great whites on the endangered species list. Now, if one mauling somebody went viral and, oh, say, Californians thought there was an effort underway to protect man-eaters cruising their beaches...

Richard.

 

[CT-Rich]

I think in this case it would be a pass for the sharks. Just like poking a sticl at a rattler, you reap what you sow... Most Shark attacks occur in error or terror. A shark hits a wading bather when it is accidently trapped by the wader in shallow water, or mistakes a swimmer/swimmer for a prey item. This person knew this was a big shark, that she screwed with it absolves the shark of blame. Sharks suffer most when the cause of the attack is not visible to the humans.

Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I would agree that sharks are being unfairly villified. However, this is in not a behavior I would encourage emulating.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

"It shows Hawaii shark conservationist Ocean Ramsey swimming with a Great White shark and even hanging on to its dorsal fin as it glides through the water and she flashes the shaka sign."

A true contradiction if I have ever seen one. Try looking at this link: Great white sharks get protections for now - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL Yea, you might play around with tigers in, let's say, a Las Vegas show. You might be able to pull it off once maybe several times but... IMHO she should be fined as was the Woman photographed riding a manatee in Florida is arrested - Los Angeles Times , Local News | Woman fined for petting whale in British Columbia | Seattle Times Newspaper etc.

 

[drbill]

Personally, I don't see this as "big news." People have been doing this since at least the 1990s (Andre Hartmann in South Africa who took Jean-Michel Cousteau out to do it years ago).

Is it a good idea? I'm not sure I'd do it (although I've had a great white swim past me while I was SCUBA Diving... no cage). I find myself straddling the fence as to whether it is a good or bad thing. I do understand the motivation behind it... to show GWS are not the mindless killers that most in the general public thinks they are.

 

[theduckguru]

"It shows Hawaii shark conservationist Ocean Ramsey swimming with a Great White shark and even hanging on to its dorsal fin as it glides through the water and she flashes the shaka sign."

And fashion model. Premier Models and Talent | Hawaii's Leading Agency for Models and Talent | Premier Modeling

I never thought looking like a seal and swimming with great whites was a good idea.