Laura Banks’s headline “When sharks eat people it’s time to cull” immediately made me think “When journalists intentionally lie, it’s time to fire them.” The damage articles such as the crap published by the Daily Mail UK, the Daily Telegraph, etc. is immeasurable both in terms of damage done to humans and to marine life and we will never move forward with real “beach safety” strategies when we are approaching these strategies with heads full of lies.
Sharks do bite (and occasionally kill) people...just less than anything else on the planet. And even more rarely do they consume the person they bit. In most cases in history where sharks have consumed human flesh they did so when the human was already dead. This means the shark was in scavenging mode, cleaning the ocean. Those of us who have observed white sharks in person have been humbled by the size, power, speed, and agility of these animals. Others of us have even seen the white shark in process of killing a pinniped (seal, sea lion, elephant seal, etc.) which wakes us up to what the difference between an investigative bite and the desire to consume looks like. Did you know the shark bite wasn't even the most interesting part of the story!?
The list of circumstances that were required in order for Rodney Fox to get to the hospital in time to survive his encounter with a great white shark is nothing short of miraculous. Here's the "Shark Minutes" version of the story. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uNAuLpxsS_Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Want to see this type of behavior first hand? Fill out the form below to begin your journey. WSV is able to offer a discounted internship working with these sharks in Mossel Bay. Click here to start.
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![]() Debra Canabal of Epic Diving in the WSV hoodie. Get yours!
![]() About the Author
Skyler Thomas is the primary blog contributor, cinematographer, and lead editor at White Shark Video. Archives
June 2023
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