Saturday, June 19, 2010

a peculiar pet

The first two comments inspired me to add some information.

Average number of people killed by sharks worldwide every year: 4
Average number of people killed in car accidents worldwide every year: 1.2 millions
Average number of people killed by DOGS IN THE USA ONLY every year: 26

In contrast we are killing close to 100 million sharks per year and most of them are simply killed for their fins to make shark fin soup, a status symbol in China. Next time you go into a chinese restaurant and you see shark fin soup on the menu remember an animal that has almost the same life span as you died for that soup and his fins were severed from his body and the body dumped over the side.

Virtually all the shark attacks happened because the shark thought the victim was either a seal (in the case of a surfer think how a surfer looks from below) or there was poor visibility in shallow water. Virtually all attacks are a single bite and the shark didn't come back for more because it didn't taste like he expected. The deaths are usually due to blood loss.
For more info on shark attacks and the number of sharks killed by humans go to:
www.bite-back.com

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just like a dog...

TonyWind said...

Giampa, with all due respect those are puppies, try doing the same with this one! :)))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_EIGI9qFp4&feature=channel

"Peace Through Kindness" said...

incredible - if we were not so afraid of them, and not so hellbent on killing them for sharkfin soup or for revenge, then maybe we could develop a more healthy understanding of them. ive certainly surfed with MANY sharks over the years - especially in FL - lots of reeftip sharks, spinner sharks, and also bull sharks -- we do everyday. in HI i dont see many sharks where I surf. I don't deny that they get hungry or afraid. But I do think its important to also consider their other aspects. They do not feed in a frenzy all the time.

"Peace Through Kindness" said...

ps - also enjoyed the great white cage footage with the guy yelling and trying to get out of there.

they do have their distinct personalities, and they do eat

still i appreciate you posting the video; maybe we can get a little bit more wellrounded view of shark behaviors

Nord_Roi said...

I've seen a few sharks already and the last one was in Florida(Boca Raton). While slogging I almost ran over it...gee he was so scared..I never saw a Shark swiming away that fast!!! I'm sure he was screaming...but I didn't hear it for sure! BTW, 1 - 1 VS NZ...ahahhahahahah, Incredible!

Anonymous said...

Hey Giampaolo,

You might also direct folks to the Shark Research Institute, based in Princeton, N.J. I've been to some of their events and have been very impressed!

http://www.sharks.org/

Ely from NYC

TonyWind said...

I never meant to say "shark are bad, just kill them all". I'm aware that the number of people killed by sharks every year is small, although these statistics are by no means accurate because there are many fatalities that are left unaccounted.

Anonymous said...

Statistically comparing shark attacks to car crash fatalities doesn't really work though. I hate it when I hear that argument. It's based on the whole planet's population, and not those like us that go in the water nearly every day.

So your odds of getting bit are much much greater. Be afraid!

-Ray

cammar said...

Lalita and Ely, thanks.

Tony, no worries that's not what I understood from your comment. It just inspired my to provide some additional information.

Ray, you are asolutely correct: the number of people driving cars or motorcycles in the world is way bigger of the number of surfers. Those numbers are not knows. But I'm 100% sure that they are not in the ratio of 1.3 millions to 4!
Hence, I'm 100% sure that driving a car is more dangerous than being in the water.
Be afraid if you want to. I'm not.

Morley said...

Great little clip, a paradigm changer I hope for many people. I recall being scared of simply going swimming in open ocean off a sailboat back in the 1970s because I assumed any passing shark would immediately attack. Didn't know they'd go catatonic while you petted them though! I did see that the divers were wearing chainmail armour, so obviously they think there is some risk involved!

Its much the same working in bear country here, many with a passing knowledge are 'bearanoid' and assume any close bear will attack them, and have a 'shoot first' attitude. But while its really much safer to be in the bush than driving to or from the bush, you can't completely ignore the risk from bears either.

Interesting video from last week:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/06/20/bc-grizzly-charge-leon-lorenz.html

I think the photographer was unreasonably close to a grizzly that didn't know he was there, and he also said 'this isn't a bluff charge' when nobody can tell whether its a bluff charge or not till its over (thats the mama grizzly's evolutionary risk management tactic).

Westerner's views have changed so much from a century ago and more, when every predator was considered such a threat that they should be shot on sight, but the old paradigm still lingers.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Awesome movie. I want a shark friend now. Kinda...

Sierra