two shark attacks in a week

[Wing Nut]

My point is, every couple of years, there is a spate of stories about shark attacks.  That doesn't mean the attacks don't happen when they are not reported, it's just the media hyping the story.  That leads to attitudes like yours Paz, that the ocean is not a safe place to play, when it really is.

People are killed every year by lions in Africa, bears in our national parks, and snakes out in the desert, but those stories do not get hyped like a good old shark bite does, because it's 'more dramatic.'  ::)

[Saitek]

What the papers don't report is how many people go into the sea with no problems each year!
Personally I think if people use common sense and don't try to be smart stupid there would be few deaths. If it was considered safe enough to enter shark waters I would - but if I saw one at a distance I was unhappy about I would move away.
It sounds stupid swimming with sharks, getting bitten and then facing a bunch of people saying; you idiot what on earth did you expect!? but if it is unusual then I wouldn't consider it foolish to swim with them. So often in the animal kingdom when deaths are involved so many are because of human aggression either through stupidity and carelessness, or through being overfriendly and getting too close. If people had more respect I think these things would be rarer than they are.

[Hyperion2]

I don't think they happen as frequently as the media wants us to think.  I've spent lots of time in the ocean, and I've never so much as SEEN a shark (in the wild).

That said, I'm not at all surprised when a shark DOES hit someone.  You've got to go into the water with your brain in the right place.  You've got to be cautious.  You can't do stupid crap.

You can't be 100 yards off shore on your little surfboard and not have your eyes open.

[TacitBlue]

This whole thing about demonizing wild animals who occasionally attack people goes right along with the idea that all light planes are dangerous (I think we can all relate). The fact is that it's dramatic to hear "Man bitten by shark" or "Small plane crashes, kills 3". You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than you do of being attacked by a shark. Also, read my new sig.  ;)

[Craig.]

well the simple thing is, the public are stupid when it comes to these things. They dont know enough about the dangers of swimming in places like these.

[Paz]

 I can see the point that considering how many millions of people swim in the ocean each year, shark attacks are quite rare, but they do happen every year and every year the media makes a huge deal out of it, I wonder how many people die each year from rattlesnake bites? Never see that on CNN.

[H]

...People are killed every year by lions in Africa, bears in our national parks, and snakes out in the desert, but those stories do not get hyped like a good old shark bite does, because it's 'more dramatic.'  ::)

Yeah, but,  if they were bitten by sharks in Africa or in the desert, that might actually be some unique news! Hmmn.. the "Desert Sharks" -- kind of a snappy ring to it.

We did notice your "More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes" quote, Tacit; just thought you were pointing out a redundancy, plane crashes only being a small portion of their misdeeds.

[commoner]

........Media hype is maybe the key here..........if it sells papers or gets the TV ratings up a notch "they" don't mind being generous with the actual facts do they? Take for instance the "dreaded" Tarantula, the stuff of most peoples' nightmares.......even though it is totally harmless to humans it has been the villain in more films than you could count (well a lot anyway).............talk about undeserved reputations. ....commoner

[papa-metro]

Fly low & slow over any gulf or Florida waters (real life) and you're going to see enough shadowy sharks to give you pause.
papa-metro 35 yr florida res.

[ozzy72]

when we venture into nature's back yard, we're surprised when it does the same?

Scott really hit the nail on the head with this, I've just been reading Bill Brysons A Walk In The Woods (v.funny and well worth the read) and he relates the story of a bear coming into a family picnic area and eating their food whilst they sat there and watched, so the mother in the family cover a toddlers hand in honey and offered it to the bear to lick off, it bit the whole hand off and they couldn't understand why! Hello Earth calling morons
Alas most people don't use their brain and common sense is becoming a rare commodity.
Like Scott and Kevin I was in the armed forces (UK rather than US) and you sure learn to appreciate the dangers mother nature has to offer in the forms of biting, stinging and swallowing you whole!
Alas the sea is the sharks dwelling place, near shore is where fish spawn (every summer surprisingly) and most sharks like fish (I'm rather partial to Hungarian fish soup and of course fish 'n chips ) so yup if we go into their turf we have to expect trouble sometimes.
Alas terrible things do happen, but hey we can't sterilise the whole world, if we could the first thing I'd eliminate would be mosquitos (I've been eaten alive today!) The second would be pigeons, I mean how do they recognise the smell of a freshly washed car to crap all over it?
Hey I've just had a great idea, I'll invent a car-shampoo that contains a chemical causing anal-retention in birds, billionaire status here I come

[Wing Nut]

Someday when I rule the world, my cockroach genocide will come to fruition.  Death to all roaches everywhere!  Can anyone really tell me what place in nature a roach has?  It does absolutley nothing useful...

[ozzy72]

Actually Kevin they eat all the decomposing crap we drop around. So cockroaches are quite useful, mossies on the other hand only seem to spread certain blood related diseases