19 replies to this topic

[Drew]

Part of NGC's Sharkathon, the program Shark Attack Experiment Live puts Olivia Symcox and Clare Daly in bikinis and diving with chummed sharks to dispel the myth that sharks are not programmed to attack humans, especially babes in bikinis! I won't say too much since I know the crew... but an interesting concept for entertainment. I guess NGC is going for Discovery's Shark Week entertainment style with a bit better eye candy than Les Stroud and bunch! The funny thing is that it'll be broadcasted live from South Africa at 9am EST (US east coast), which makes it 4 am South African time. So I'm guessing part of the show is prerecorded. Enjoy the shark porn!

Nat Geo Wild : Shark Attack Experiment Live

http://video.nationa...h-sharks-1.html

[davichin]

I just hope that next time I go on a JASA trip Jim won´t make me wear a bikini as a safety measure! (not that I look bad with a thong!

[Drew]

Err David... I'm sure Miek Veitch would like a pic of you in a thong! But please put NSFW on the thread!

[loftus]

I just hope that next time I go on a JASA trip Jim won´t make me wear a bikini as a safety measure! (not that I look bad with a thong!

Heard you're not bad thinging a thong either!

[johnjvv]

Seems like a few of those sharks found it hard to turn, probably because the found their fins not as flexible as usual!!!

[Drew]

I can see NGC hit their target demographic!

[Drew]

Anyone catch this? I heard it was a disaster? My HDVR didn't catch it for some reason.

[ehanauer]

Is Nat Geo TV pandering to the Walmart crowd?

[Drew]

From what I heard from South Africa, the live event tanked due to weather so they showed taped stuff through out.

I have no idea what market NGC is trying for but the title is says it all.

[John Bantin]

How come blacktip reef sharks now have become responsible for the greatest percentage of shark-attacks in Florida? (from the coomentary) Who pushed bull sharks of the top spot?

[Drew]

Oh John, now you're being pedantic. What's 1% between friends? And maybe the 2011 stats puts the blacktip in the lead?
You have to realize that the bull shark dives in South Africa aren't that great so they could only do the Aliwal Shoal dives, where there are plenty of C. Limbatus. Saying this is the SECOND most prolific biter in Florida sort of loses the impact, no?

[loftus]

How come blacktip reef sharks now have become responsible for the greatest percentage of shark-attacks in Florida? (from the coomentary) Who pushed bull sharks of the top spot?

Where is this data available John? There are tons of factors that could effect this including the accuracy of older data. Shark populations change, the type of activity is very variable etc. It would be interesting to compare data between different countries as well. In the Bahamas, shark feeding of reef sharks is intense (Stuart Cove's), whereas it's illegal in US waters, though individual divers may do it, and fishermen discarding cleaned fish parts may effect it. Neil Hammerschlag runs an awesome shark tagging program through the RJ Dunlap foundation. It would be interesting to see if fed sharks from Nassau, make it to Florida. My daughter works the database with Neil at UM, I will ask her if they have any migratory data that may apply to shark bites. Reef shark behavior is also so much more like a pack animal in the presence of food than a bull shark. Seriousness of the bites is also very different. I never reported my reef shark nip at Stuart Cove's, I'm sure if it were a bull shark it would have been everywhere, possibly an obituary.
I encourage those interested to follow the R. J. Dunlap site http://rjd.miami.edu/ and even consider donating. They will appreciate any donation and if you donate a satellite tag at $2000, you get to name the shark. Their tracking on the website is pretty cool.

[Drew]

Jeff FLMNH releases data:

http://www.flmnh.ufl...ciesattacks.htm

One thing though, the C. Limbatus migration along the Atlantic is spectacular so I'd imagine they'd be up there in the shark incidents. I don't see too many shots from this migration though. Got a boat, Jeff? I'm suppose to come for a wedding in Miami next year so we could go find trouble!

[loftus]

Jeff FLMNH releases data:

http://www.flmnh.ufl...ciesattacks.htm

One thing though, the C. Limbatus migration along the Atlantic is spectacular so I'd imagine they'd be up there in the shark incidents. I don't see too many shots from this migration though. Got a boat, Jeff? I'm suppose to come for a wedding in Miami next year so we could go find trouble!

Hard to draw any conclusions there considering the date range. One of the cool things about Neil's work is the tracking really shows how far these guys travel. I know Jim Abernathy seems to think many of his Tiger models like Emma don't travel that much outside of the Bahamas. Neil's data on the other hand shows Tigers travel all over the place. You have to wonder if those that are fed like Tiger Beach and Stuart Cove sharks tend to be more limited in their range vs those that are not.
Let me know when you are coming to Miami, I can definitely do a road trip, we could set up a boat etc. I'm also hoping to go find some saltwater crocs there this season.

Some redneck moments of my own from Shark Shootout in 2006 at Stuart Cove's. One of the dive magazines was doing something with bikini babes and I think it was for shark week as well. The girl in the white bikini worked with the magazine. The last pic is taken about 2 secs before my elbow got nipped.

Edited by loftus, 10 December 2011 - 10:37 AM.

[Drew]

I'm very sure that the sharks which get consistent food action will not leave too far. There is some data showing once the food stops after 6-8 weeks, great whites tend to wander off in search of food. I think Alison Kock released that study although I'm not sure. Sharks running off to find food when their usual food source is unavailable... DUH!

[loftus]

I'm very sure that the sharks which get consistent food action will not leave too far. There is some data showing once the food stops after 6-8 weeks, great whites tend to wander off in search of food. I think Alison Kock released that study although I'm not sure. Sharks running off to find food when their usual food source is unavailable... DUH!

Yeah, but I guess the question is if sharks are conditioned in one place, will they migrate and behave differently around humans elsewhere, in our case, are Florida sharks biting people really naughty Bahamian sharks.

[Drew]

I guess that's one of those questions where we'll have to paint the fed/chummed sharks with a pink fin and see if and when there's an incident, someone will remember seeing a pink fin!
Mike Domeier's data for Guadalupe is similar for GWs. They tend to return after a seasonal exodus. Now with more ops doing the chum/feeds, it'll be interesting to see if the GWs hang around Guadalupe longer.

[Drew]

Cove's. One of the dive magazines was doing something with bikini babes and I think it was for shark week as well. The girl in the white bikini worked with the magazine. The last pic is taken about 2 secs before my elbow got nipped.

I just realized that women in bikinis do cause shark incidents... by distracting the gawkers into not paying attention to the sharks!

[loftus]

I just realized that women in bikinis do cause shark incidents... by distracting the gawkers into not paying attention to the sharks!

Thanks for pointing out the obvious!
Actually though when I think back on this, being absolutely overwhelmed by 20-30 sharks like pack dogs stirred up by someone dipping bait in the water at the back of the boat, it actually proves the point that sharks have no interest in eating humans. So sharks may associate humans with providing food, as they are clearly attuned to do in a place like Stuart Cove's but when they attack humans in these environments, it's clearly accidental, because the stupid humans got in the way of the food, as I did.

Edited by loftus, 12 December 2011 - 03:48 AM.

[Drew]

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. It may not be merely accidental. They could also get aggressive because they see the human as competition. A shark researcher friend from Australia theorized this reaction in his work with sharks. I've not seen nor heard of sharks feeding like orca where a pod would take on a bigger animal. Although silkies would definitely come to mind as they bump sail boats and pangas to test.
Accidental and misidentification bites probably account for the majority of the incidents. But then you have the Sharm incidents to counter association.