SEA LIFE
SHARKS
They are the perfect predators: they stalk their prey; they are armed, ruthless and highly evolved eating machines. When
an at ack is underway, they are singularly focused and savagely relentless. Their victims oſt en have lit le or no chance of survival. That is why sharks should be fearful of man. But why is man fearful of sharks? The media depict them as man- eaters. An exposed fi n circling a swimmer has become a symbol of their skilful, sinister hunting. Yet sharks at ack fewer than 80 humans worldwide per year – and only around fi ve percent of those at acks are fatal. In contrast, people kill more than 100 million sharks each year. Bad publicity and their position at the top of the food chain are enough to strike fear into the hearts of ocean-goers. The image of a fi n, slicing through water, is etched on our minds. Can’t see below you in murky water, but sense something is down there? Swimmers fi ght back the thought: “Was that a shadow – or possibly a shark?” The element of water plays an infl uential role in our natural
fear of sharks. While on terra fi rma we feel we have a chance of defending ourselves against at ack, in the ocean sharks have reigned supreme since the age of the dinosaurs. Water takes away our abilities to defend ourselves and eliminates our ability to even know we are being stalked.
MAN SHARK
DON'T GET BITTEN! How to avoid – and, if necessary, fend off – sharks...
○ Avoid swimming, diving or surfi ng alone. ○ Don't swim to areas that sharks are known to congregate – such as sandbars, steep drop-off s and the mouths of rivers aſt er heavy rains, when freshwater fi shes and other animals are swept out to sea. ○ Avoid swimming at dusk and dawn, when sharks are more active, and when visibility is poor. ○ Swim clear of fi shing boats. These oſt en trail fi sh remains and blood, which can draw sharks. ○ If you're bleeding, stay on the beach. Sharks can smell and taste even the smallest amount of blood from over a mile (1.6 km) away and trace it back to its source. ○ If you cut or injure yourself in the water, get out! Don't stay in the water with blood around you. ○ If you are near shore and see a shark, swim back swiſt ly but calmly – thrashing will at ract its at ention. ○ Sharks have diffi culty biting things that are vertical (their nose gets in the way) so avoid waving your hands and feet around or going horizontal to swim away from the shark. ○ Sharks can't breathe out of water, so, if possible, hold the bit en part of your body out of the water, and get their gills into the air and they will let go. ○ Sharks tend to thrash prey around to tear chunks out of it, so you should latch on to the shark.
(from The Shark Trust, Wikihow, National Geographic)
40
In the first in our new series on marine creatures, Steven Munatones looks into the history of sharks, and asks: what real danger are we in from an attack?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76