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Woman Dances With Tiger Sharks. (Original Post) Uncle Joe Jun 2014 OP
Sharks: they like to party shenmue Jun 2014 #1
.......... trusty elf Jun 2014 #9
Let's see how she does... dhill926 Jun 2014 #2
Millions of women do that on a daily basis. n/t Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #3
Haha...too true... dhill926 Jun 2014 #4
How does she adieu Jun 2014 #5
I read on Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #6
The making of... silverweb Jun 2014 #7
It was well done and quite beautiful. Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #8
Remain afraid of sharks, please. This video is lethally misleading. Divernan Jun 2014 #10
Absolutely agreed BrotherIvan Jun 2014 #11

Divernan

(15,480 posts)
10. Remain afraid of sharks, please. This video is lethally misleading.
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 08:30 AM
Jun 2014

Speaking as a blue water diver who has seen many sharks on dives in the Caribbean and Micronesia - I consider this woman and the folks who created this video to be certifiable. Alternatively, she has a death wish.

Tiger sharks are among the 3 most aggressive/dangerous-to-humans species of shark. I was at a presentation on research on Great Whites conducted off the coast of South Africa. The speaker (at the Explorers Club Philadelphia branch meeting) was asked if the Great White was the most dangerous shark. He answered no. He said the most dangerous was the bull shark because of its huge levels of testosterone, which meant it would attack anything, anytime; next was the tiger shark, considered the garbage disposal of the oceans, and only third was the Great White.

This video was designed to reduce peoples' fear of sharks. That is downright wrong. The only shark I've encountered of which I am not afraid is the extremely passive nurse shark, usually tucked under some rocks, napping. You'd have to step on it or grab it to get it to bite you. But as to the tiger sharks, and also the black-tipped reef sharks shown in this video, they are dangerous to divers, swimmers, snorkelers, etc., and you don't want to stay in the water if you see one.

I believe sharks are magnificent, powerful creatures. It is a heart-stopping, adrenaline pumping, bucket list moment to see one swimming though the ocean. I oppose commercial harvesting of them. It is a tragedy that they are harvested for their fins for the status of serving shark fin soup at wedding banquets or for their alleged aphrodisiac properties for a bunch of impotent old men who should just buy Viagra or eat oysters.

Commercial harvesting has nothing to do with fear of sharks, but rather profits and destructive by-catch. This entertaining video is a dangerously misleading publicity stunt. Believe me, on the occasions when my dive group spotted a bull shark or tiger shark in the distance, as per our dive leaders' hand signals, we got the hell out of the water. Other coverage of the making of this video shows that during the making of it, there were not only several underwater videographers, but another diver who served as shark wrangler. Hate to think of the results if any one of those divers or the "star" had been attacked, or even had her skin broken by the very rough skin of a passing shark, and there was blood in the water.

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
11. Absolutely agreed
Sun Jun 15, 2014, 03:58 AM
Jun 2014

People should not mess with sharks, period. They are beautiful creatures but should only be viewed safely. We went on a shark dive in Fiji. In the distance was a bull shark and its entourage of fish that follow to catch its leavings from messy eating. We still talk with wide eyes about that shark because it was as big as an SUV. Big and fat like a barrel. Scary! Thank god it never got close. The movie jaws was not inspired by a great white but a bull shark that attacked people up and down the East Coast. They can swim in fresh water so they tend to congregate near runoffs. If you see one, get to safety quickly.

But what they said about tiger sharks was even scarier. There was a 16 ft female that cruised the area and if it came near, the hundreds of sharks that normally gathered for the huge feed would leave immediately because they were scared of her. Now if a shark is scared, that tells you something.

The sharks she is diving with are small and as you said, there were many handlers there to help. Sharks should be protected, but they should not be anthropomorphized or thought of as friendly pets!

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