Sharks? You dive with sharks? Are you crazy!?Sunday, January 25th, 2009 by Heidi |
I hear this all the time. Certainly I understand from where this perception of sharks has come: JAWS, that little Hollywood horror flick. Unfortunately for sharks, their image as the big, scary bad guy registered with viewers and made many of them afraid to go near the water (the movie’s promo tagline). Heck, it made some people illogically afraid to go in swimming pools!
JAWS had the opposite effect on me in that it made me curious and awestruck. I was fascinated that something like that was out there and from that point on I set out to learn as much as I could about sharks. In the past 30+ years that I’ve been interested in sharks, a lot has been researched and published about them, but the truth is we still know very little. There are around 400 different shark species and while they share many commonalities, the differences are significant. Biologically many facts are known, but much mystery remains. Unlike the premise of JAWS, we at least know that sharks do not hunt or seek to consume humans. I also do not believe they attack people, as portrayed by the media. Sharks make investigatory bites, well, they have no hands, and regrettably sometimes that’s fatal. But there’s no evidence that sharks prefer or enjoy eating humans. If they did, they would devour the person after the initial bite. Shark bite victims usually die from their injuries, not from ending up in the shark’s belly.
So anyway, I’m about sharks. I’m not a scientist or marine biologist, although I occasionally rue my decision to choose a different path. I’m a regular person with a corporate job who is committed to following my passion. I try to spend as much time as possible in the water with sharks and talking about them on land. Along with sharks, I love writing. As shark correspondent, I hope to entertain and educate both shark and non-shark people about shark life, shark diving and the genuine threat of extinction sharks face.
I’m open to questions or topic suggestions, as well, so feel free to write me at heidi@squidforce.com or get me at facebook. I look forward hearing from you Squids.
In sharks,
heidi
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