Tourist killed by 'dinosaur-sized' shark off South African beach.

[Aesop Rocks]

edit.

 

[Timstuff]

Coconuts aren't able to be villified and those deaths aren't flashy. The media isn't for information, it's for entertainment. This story is a prime example of that, especially considering that it's not surprising that a man was eaten by a shark in one of the most shark infested areas of the world. It's not newsworthy.

Actually, the real reason why is dumber than you might think... The fact of the matter is, there has never been a reported incident of someone dying from having a coconut tree falling on their head. The chances of being hit on the head by a coconut are a fraction of a percent, and chances are the worst you'd get from the ordeal is a concussion.

It all started when some scientist just said "You're more likely to get killed by a coconut falling on your head than a shark when you go to the beach." It was meant to be a joking exaggeration, but since then it has been repeated indefinitely with no citation, and some inventive folks (like the Discovery Channel) have even gone so far as to specify that you are ten times more likely to be attacked by coconuts than sharks. If that were true, coconut season would be considered a friggin' national emergency.

 

[SuperFerret]

Also, shark attacks are more funny.

 

[Carcharodon]

Also, shark attacks are more funny.

 

[SuperFerret]

 

[Aesop Rocks]

You can almost look down it's entire body.

 

[YoungE808]

Kisame?

 

[Mike_D202]

http://www.spike.com/video/saturday-night-live/2802070

 

[E-Man]

Time to call in Giant Octopus.

The Thrilla in Manilla!

This guy is setting it up...

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

Shark attacks are more funny if the sharks looked like these.

 

[SuperFerret]

Seriously, shark attacks are funny. Some guy gets mauled by a bear in the woods, well, he shouldn't have been in the woods. Some guy gets attacked by a shark at the beach and it's the shark's fault.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Well yeah, I mean, Sharks really AREN'T the thing to blame for well, any of the attacks.

Surfers on surf boards wading in the water look like a great whites main meal, the sea lion.

Sharks are ambush predators, they strike fast and hard. MOST of the time, when they realize it's not a seal or sea lion, they basically run away.

 

[SuperFerret]

Plus, you know, if you go into the wilderness, you become part of the food chain.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Not if you're Les Stroud.

 

[SuperFerret]

That name is unfamiliar to me, and I care not about where it is from.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

You're all about that outdoorsy ****, I'm surprised you didn't.



You're a meanie when you're not talking Jurassic Park or Dinosaurs. :/

 

[bell110]

Man, that's scary. Imagine being that man.

 

[Paroxysm]

Man, that's scary. Imagine being that man.

getting ripped apart would probably be up there on a list of "worst ways to die"

 

[Carcharodon]

Sharks are ambush predators, they strike fast and hard. MOST of the time, when they realize it's not a seal or sea lion, they basically run away.

Well, great whites are ambush predators, yes. However, I don't buy into the idea that they leave because they "realize" that their prey item isn't a seal or sea lion. I believe that to be a blatant misconception. They have eaten people in the past, particularly in situations where injured parties aren't immediately pulled from the water.

They're not running away. They're waiting. They're waiting for you to bleed out and die before they come back to enjoy their meal. They exhibit the very same behavior and hunting strategy when they attack pinnipeds. They hit their prey once with devastating and damaging results, and then back off to avoid a struggle or fight that may injure the shark and waste precious energy.

In the human attacks where the shark seemingly "runs away," I guarantee that the shark is nearby and at depth, and that given the opportunity would come back to finish the job.

 

[Figs]

as with all things i'm skeptical of..........pix or it didn't happen!

This.

Without pics I'm going to assume it was a fairly large but still normal sized shark.

People always exaggerate stories. It's like when any guy shows how big the fish he caught was using his hands...it's always at least a quarter larger then what he actually caught.

 

[SuperFerret]

Well, great whites are ambush predators, yes. However, I don't buy into the idea that they leave because they "realize" that their prey item isn't a seal or sea lion. I believe that to be a blatant misconception. They have eaten people in the past, particularly in situations where injured parties aren't immediately pulled from the water.

They're not running away. They're waiting. They're waiting for you to bleed out and die before they come back to enjoy their meal. They exhibit the very same behavior and hunting strategy when they attack pinnipeds. They hit their prey once with devastating and damaging results, and then back off to avoid a struggle or fight that may injure the shark and waste precious energy.

In the human attacks where the shark seemingly "runs away," I guarantee that the shark is nearby and at depth, and that given the opportunity would come back to finish the job.

Good thinking, and I'm surprised I hadn't thought of that. What predator would give up a meal, regardless of what it is?

 

[AnorexicBatman]

The Culprit

 

[Carcharodon]

Good thinking, and I'm surprised I hadn't thought of that. What predator would give up a meal, regardless of what it is?

Well, these aren't my ideas. The conclusions are based on observations of hunting behavior. They'd been trying to solve the riddle of the so-called, "bite-and-spit" for a long time. There were all kinds of wacky ideas, mostly involving us tasting bad. All they had to do was learn how they hunt normally, and the question was pretty much answered.

In the United States, people rarely surf or dive alone. Thus, shark attack victims are (usually) pulled from the water fairly quickly, leaving the shark no opportunity to come back to eat said victim. In other countries (like Chile, for example), the buddy-system isn't as widely practiced, and for that reason the incidence of disappearance of, say, abalone divers (classically in danger of white shark attacks) is much, much higher. In fact, there are eyewitness accounts of the sharks returning to the scene of the attack...but my specific knowledge of those accounts is lacking. Have it in a book somewhere.

 

[SuperFerret]

Still, it is good thinking, and something that I probably should've seen earlier.

 

[Mike_D202]

Well, these aren't my ideas. The conclusions are based on observations of hunting behavior. They'd been trying to solve the riddle of the so-called, "bite-and-spit" for a long time. There were all kinds of wacky ideas, mostly involving us tasting bad. All they had to do was learn how they hunt normally, and the question was pretty much answered.

In the United States, people rarely surf or dive alone. Thus, shark attack victims are (usually) pulled from the water fairly quickly, leaving the shark no opportunity to come back to eat said victim. In other countries (like Chile, for example), the buddy-system isn't as widely practiced, and for that reason the incidence of disappearance of, say, abalone divers (classically in danger of white shark attacks) is much, much higher. In fact, there are eyewitness accounts of the sharks returning to the scene of the attack...but my specific knowledge of those accounts is lacking. Have it in a book somewhere.

Well don't they "smell" the blood? Maybe they bite to see if it bleeds, and when they "smell" it they go after it.