Exactly my point with most sharks, they are not going to bite or attack a person, its journalism hype.
As to the nurse shark, yeah duh, I had a catch bag half filled with bleeding flopping flounder. I knew the nurse and dogs were hanging out in the inlet so it was to be expected. Where we dive, you can't swing a dead shark with out hitting one.
Out of all the sharks that I have seen under water.. tigers, thrashers, white tips, nurse, sand, dogs, and bulls the only one that bothers me is bulls sharks. Knowing and learning their personalities and how they handle themselfs, not a nice shark.
I can’t understand especially you ophiura, would put false hope that swimming with shark “as not a big deal“. If I remember correctly Camden, Jekinsons and Baltimore aquariums all said that when “our staff enters the water the sharks have been well feed”.
Could it not be as simple as nurture or nature? If sharks in an aquarium know that food will be plentiful at certain times (yes I know animals can not tell time by numbers) that their hunting skills are a little rusty over time?
When we were over in keys, Bahamas and Cancun and did the “dive with shark tours” and they give that stick to feed the sharks with, I was not to keen on the idea of being around the feedbox.
After a while you see the sharks seem to know what the deal is. Sure I’m a little bit timid when we go off wrecks and I bring a powder stick with me. Have I had to use it? No. I can tell you too that when your grabbing a lobster from a hole and shaking the crap out of it to disorientate it since we can’t use tickle sticks in NJ, you make a lot of panic/injured waves and commotion in the water and sharks key in on those noises, as you know.
The sharks dart over real quick and seemed to just mossy on away as nothing was wrong when the sell of blood is non existent and the stimuli is gone .
Knowing that most sharks can not hit a meal or test something straight on, they have to have an upward angle (minor angle but still an angle) but the bull can hit straight on or even downward.
Now going back to the nurture or nature argument, if sharks are not constantly around “these things” that bring us food like the tourist traps do and they are always on the hunt for food, then what makes a shark that has no human interaction safe to be around? I’m not talking the sharks that people swim and feed. I’m talking about the shark that makes his way over to bite and shake the daylights out of a scuba tank?
The whole thing boils down to if your underwater and you see a shark don’t panic if your pressure allows drop down and let them pass, don’t make a mad dash for the surface.
I don’t care what shark it is either. You ever P.O a dog shark? They are like gang banger you P.O one they come back with a couple more to get even.
And I don’t care who you are, when it comes to watching some schlep get his tank banged up by a bull shark when he was getting into the water with out provocation, he did not even have fins on yet.
I don’t see to may pictures or doc’s with people hanging around bulls sharks all casual and care free in the wild.
Who was the film maker ankle deep in water when a bull came up and took a nice chunk out of his calf for no reason? What was the provocation their?
Now I normally will not dispute any your comment or skills or knowledge ophiura, but damn, I believe I have read enough books and watch shark doc;s where multiple researchers have stated bulls can be more ferocious and indiscriminative then whites when it comes to outright attacks and testing. Car parts, boots, turtle shells, license plates the list goes on. All found in bulls stomachs.
Come on, you want to handle those sharks with kid gloves? Have it, good luck with that. If a bulls within my sticks reach there getting a little powder pop OR I’ll go with journeys idea and cut the diver next to me.
