Just another day in Paradise.

Just another day in Paradise.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Shark Week


It's Shark Week on Discovery Channel - and I don't have TV -yet. Bummer. I guess I'll just have to contribute with my own correspondence on the matter.
I'll kick things off with this little bit of news coming to us from Leeward Oahu - "Woman survives shark attack off Makaha with 'chunk' out of arm". You can read the entire article by clicking on the headline. Or I can sum in up in the three words spoken by the snorkeler - "Help. Please. Shark." Allegedly it was a 16 ft. Tiger Shark. We (Ben and Brady) had a shark sighting at the very same spot before while snorkeling. Only it was about 4-5 ft and most likely a reef shark. Although I'm pretty sure they still have teeth.
So shark attacks are pretty rare right? For the number of folks who go in the water and the number actually bitten, yeah. But in the year we lived in Hawaii, there were three incidents on Oahu alone. They were not highly publicized - bad for tourism I'm sure. Ben was working in the E.R. when one came in. Two were snorkelers, one a body boarder, no one died. In fact the waves themselves cause more harm than these lovable sea creatures. But that's not what we're talking about. At least not this week.
I'm afraid of sharks, at least when I'm on land. I'm also a researcher. I like to know every possible outcome to every situation so when it comes to sharks I was delighted to find this gem of a spreadsheet - http://www.sharkattackfile.net/ - The Global Shark Attack File - tracking incidents by species, event details, injuries and location from the beginning of time (1845). Seriously - it's fascinating. And I will probably never go in the water in FL or Brazil because of it. In July there have been 9 attacks in the U.S. alone!
I never spoke about sharks much in Hawaii because I didn't want to jinx myself. I thought as soon as I make a comment or joke, I would be a goner. Or at least lose a toe or two. The funny thing is that when you're out there with them (you can tell when they're around - you can just feel it) it's not so scary. Sometimes I would almost hope to see one. Although the occasional dolphin fin, turtle or leash brushing against your leg might spook one to hope otherwise.
Two things I learned from Discovery's Shark Week 2007 that I would like to pass on - sharks are more attracted to small amounts of urine than blood and to the color yellow more than the color red - not sure if the two facts are interrelated, they weren't presented as so. But those little bits of information may surely change some nasty little habits some of us may have. Frankly, I consider a little pee in the vast expanse of ocean to be nothing compared to some of the things I have seen floating around out there. And besides, how are you supposed to warm up your wetsuit? Just remember sharks can smell fear.
Photo courtesy of National Geographic.

14 comments:

Wilde ones said...

We love shark week! Yay! I have a healthy irrational fear of sharks and overcame that when we were in Hawaii in may - I actually went snorkeling, first time ever, and loved it. I probably wouldn't have loved it so much if I had seen a shark.

Juls said...

Wow. I'm safe, of course, but I'll spread the word. Caution is good.

Pattersons said...

ok so no snorkeling for me while we're in hawaii! mason of course will still be hitting the water-we are so excited to go(we'll be there on sunday and stay for a week-yeah!!!)

Tarah said...

I told you what I learned from Shark Week 2007. Catatonia. Pet the shark and it will be your friend. You just have to know what kind of shark you're dealing with to ensure that you pet the correct spot. Which is why having a plastic paged shark guide with you at all times is key.

Suzanne said...

Don't pee in the ocean. Just the pool.

I wish I could find the documentary, a man (think he's French) swims w/ Great Whites, and "plays" with them. Their snouts have highly attuned sensory glands, as you know. And this guy finds a "player" shark, cups the snout with his hand, moves before the shark bites it off. When it keeps coming back, the neurological sensation sends them in a kind of Utopian trip. And then he swims with them. That broke a perception for me. Mostly, I think he's just nuts.

Don & Cindie said...

Don and I pay extra money so we can go diving with the sharks in Nassau. We've done that a few times and it does get the adrenaline flowing! It's a blast! We love shark week - it gets us in the mood for diving again!

alise said...

NO WAY!! Check out my blog. We have the same pictures hahah! That's fantastic! XO. (I'll read the entry next :)

alise said...

picture, the same one picture.

alise said...

Hmmm, I don't know if science has advanced that much since 2007, but apparently urine doesn't attract sharks...or maybe I heard wrong...but according to Shark Week 2008 it's a myth.

alise said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Jones--trying to keep up said...

Okay, now that you've made me completely paranoid I'll make sure that all my boys pee on the beach before getting into the water. We've been watching Shark Week too and Shay just doesn't understand it--he keeps on asking if sharks live in lakes. We go, quite frequently, to Medina lake and I think the series has him a little nervous. I hope he gets in the water on our next visit. A need for censoring...? Possibly.

Paola said...

I'm not so much afraid as grossed out by sharks (and any other sea creature) so I get goosebumps even when I see them on tv. This fear, though, doesn't stop me from getting into Mexican waters (never swum in American waters -to cold for me!), mostly because I think the water is so dirty (especially Acapulco's) that there has to be NO living creature under there. (Cancun's ocean is fine, do go!)

Oh, and if you ever go with me snorkeling, you won't be seeing any fish because I kick like crazy when they approach me and I scare them away. (First marriage disappointment for Brian...I ruined our honeymoon snorkeling trip.)

Erick & Norma said...

Now that I know how much you love Shark Week, I am going to try and look for a t-shirt that Erick got when he worked for the Discovery Channel store (they had a bunch leftover so the employees got to take the extras home). Every year they went all out for Shark Week. If I find it, we'll send it to you :)

Erick & Norma said...

We found one of the unused tees, email us your address and it's all yours :)