I understand they are out there, I understand there is an ecosystem and they are important to that ecosystem... all that goes out the window when you see a great white cruising through the water. We're cool as long as they are out at sea and not where I'm at.
Yes, that's true of large predators in general, like tigers and grizzly bears. But traditionally, while people realize that these animals can be dangerous, people don't hate these animals but want to protect them, just away from people. This was different from the feeling towards sharks, which were hated. It is good that they are beginning to be viewed like other predators.
Depends, if they're representative / a good cross-section it'd be statistically significant enough. That said, I wonder how they get these surveys; there's a number of "get paid pennies to fill in a survey for studies" schemes out there, I can well imagine the quality of the responses of those is not great.
Apparently in parts of the world where tiger attacks are relatively common, house cats still hospitalise more people per year than tigers.
One wonders if this is because it's not really worth taking someone that's been really attacked by a tiger to the hospital, unless you've got a couple of poly bags and a coolbox handy.
Yeah, when you think about how many people are in the water they are incredibly rare. I grew up surfing and never thought much about sharks. I knew they were out there, but the drive to the beach was much more dangerous.
Agree. Though I read that shark attacks are increasing. Possibly due to changing water temperatures, or humans over-fishing their natural prey, leading them to look elsewhere.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File (ISAF), there were just 47 unprovoked attacks last year (worldwide, 2024), 22 fewer compared to 2023 and below the 10-year annual average of 70.
I listened to a yogi talking about mindfulness. He mentioned a session he had with a woman where they where working on the concept of flow. The woman had an experience of flow when she was bitten by a shark.
She said that if she could make a drink that would create that feeling she would addicted the world.
I think about that sometimes.
That's reminiscent of Livingstone's description of the time he was mauled by a lion:
"The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening."
Anecdotally, people's fear of sharks still feels very overblown. I've gone surfing in SoCal a couple times a month for the last 5 years or so, I've never known anyone that's had a shark attack, and have only been told "there's a shark nearby" once. On the other hand, many friends have hit rocks, got caught in rip currents, and or had stingray stings. Even though the severity of these things is less than a shark attack, their prevalence means that there are many more deaths every year due to these relatively mundane things. But when I offer to teach somebody to surf, sharks are still one of the most common objections (it's probably second to "I can't swim").
None of this contradicts what the study is saying -- it's totally possible that the overall fear is decreasing. It's just _still irrationally high_, imo.
As a Southern California kid in the 70s we were regular beach goers, my pal down the street as much as anyone. We went and saw Jaws in a drive in at about age 13. It didn't make a big impression on me, but he never went back in the ocean for the rest of his life, about 40 more years. He wasn't otherwise neurotic or phobic, but he got one-shot by Spielberg.
Jaws is the only movie (within reason I guess) that I don't let my 13 year old watch.
We live by the sea with one of the world's best marine reserves right off shore. There are plenty of fish including sharks living right off the beach and you need nothing more than a mask and snorkel to get right in amongst them.
When I watched Jaws as a kid when it first came out, it scared me shitless and I still carry some of that trauma whenever I am snorkeling over a deep canyon where the blue just goes on forever and you can't see the bottom.
I just don't want my child to miss out on that because of the ability of Hollywood to scare us.
But yeah. I had the fortune to see Jaws on a bus in highland Bolivia (talk about a weird choice for forced onboard entertainment!), and it was more annoying than it was scary.
Orcas are apex predators (and feed on sharks, in fact). Grizzlies are apex predators that occasionally attack humans.
But sharks are more akin to wolves: they live outside reality and statistics as a folklorish monster, just waiting to pull you under the waves or crossdress and eat you whole.
It's about the irrational mythos, not their place in the real world.
A woman got bitten by a shark pretty bad down the street from me about a mile away when I lived there: https://abc7.com/post/newport-beach-shark-bite-victim-recove...
I understand they are out there, I understand there is an ecosystem and they are important to that ecosystem... all that goes out the window when you see a great white cruising through the water. We're cool as long as they are out at sea and not where I'm at.
Yes, that's true of large predators in general, like tigers and grizzly bears. But traditionally, while people realize that these animals can be dangerous, people don't hate these animals but want to protect them, just away from people. This was different from the feeling towards sharks, which were hated. It is good that they are beginning to be viewed like other predators.
What was the shark doing in the street?!
It was one of these guys:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Sharks
Wearing her pyjamas, obviously.
Diver and conservationist Cristina Zenato showed another side to sharks: they come to her to have hooks removed from their mouths...
https://youtu.be/G8LmxwOgBhA
If that's real, and not anthropomorphized, it shows that sharks are complex creatures, not mindless predators.
And it also tragically shows how much damage we humans do to the natural world. Sport fishing? Not so much for the fish...
That video speaks to shark behavior, but equally as much to Zebato's risk tolerance.
She seems a little too close for comfort to Timothy Treadwell https://youtu.be/watch?v=uWA7GtDmNFU
Hm, I don't get those vibes at all.
She's wearing chain mail, so I believe she respects the environment she puts herself into...
At a first glance, sure. And more at risk than I am, behind my monitor in the middle of the US.
But unlike Timothy, she doesn't appear to be a batshit-insane, risktaking showoff. She doesn't claim, nor act like, sharks are her friends.
Even if you don't anthropomorphize (if that's possible) - shark actual behaviour is miles apart from the stereotypes.
Imagine if shark outer appearance were more mammal-cute, but they'd kept their behaviour - they'd be cuddly super stars with a stellar reputation!
Nah, more like bears. Cuddly looking, but Do Not Pet the Murder-Mitts.
1 reply →
> In an online survey of 371 people, mostly from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom
I'm pretty sure that's not a significant enough sample size to matter.
Depends, if they're representative / a good cross-section it'd be statistically significant enough. That said, I wonder how they get these surveys; there's a number of "get paid pennies to fill in a survey for studies" schemes out there, I can well imagine the quality of the responses of those is not great.
Can you show your work?
People get killed by sharks in Australia regularly (two last week I think).
But I don’t think the public sees sharks as monsters to be destroyed.
Sharks are wild animals and we are in their habitat.
Sharks deserve protection even if they eat people.
People don't get killed regularly
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/yearly-world...
There are 4 confirmed fatalities in 2024 and 47 unprovoked bites.
> There are 4 confirmed fatalities in 2024 and 47 unprovoked bites.
To put that into perspective - there's about 4-5 fatal cow attacks in the UK alone a year.
https://cattlesafety.co.uk/facts-stats/when-cows-attack
4 replies →
Apparently in parts of the world where tiger attacks are relatively common, house cats still hospitalise more people per year than tigers.
One wonders if this is because it's not really worth taking someone that's been really attacked by a tiger to the hospital, unless you've got a couple of poly bags and a coolbox handy.
Yeah, when you think about how many people are in the water they are incredibly rare. I grew up surfing and never thought much about sharks. I knew they were out there, but the drive to the beach was much more dangerous.
[dead]
[dead]
So, one chomping a week.
Pretty regular.
1 reply →
Agree. Though I read that shark attacks are increasing. Possibly due to changing water temperatures, or humans over-fishing their natural prey, leading them to look elsewhere.
I've read that they are down:
~ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-12/shark-attack-bite-rep...
3 replies →
Also, Great Whites were protected some time ago in Australia, 1996 if I recall correctly.
Fair chance there are more of them.
I listened to a yogi talking about mindfulness. He mentioned a session he had with a woman where they where working on the concept of flow. The woman had an experience of flow when she was bitten by a shark. She said that if she could make a drink that would create that feeling she would addicted the world. I think about that sometimes.
That's reminiscent of Livingstone's description of the time he was mauled by a lion:
"The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening."
https://historyweblog.com/2014/10/lion-attacks-livingstone/
Anecdotally, people's fear of sharks still feels very overblown. I've gone surfing in SoCal a couple times a month for the last 5 years or so, I've never known anyone that's had a shark attack, and have only been told "there's a shark nearby" once. On the other hand, many friends have hit rocks, got caught in rip currents, and or had stingray stings. Even though the severity of these things is less than a shark attack, their prevalence means that there are many more deaths every year due to these relatively mundane things. But when I offer to teach somebody to surf, sharks are still one of the most common objections (it's probably second to "I can't swim").
None of this contradicts what the study is saying -- it's totally possible that the overall fear is decreasing. It's just _still irrationally high_, imo.
> But when I offer to teach somebody to surf, sharks are still one of the most common objections (it's probably second to "I can't swim").
It could also be just a good common excuse (and also a cover for the sometimes embarrassing "can't swim")
Huh, that’s a really good point. I wonder if that is what’s happening, will have to pay more attention next time. Thanks for suggesting it!
I'd say irrational risk-ranking is a near-universal human weakness.
Parents fear kidnappers more than car accidents. The elderly fear whatever the news is telling them to fear more than heart disease or falling.
Kids fear quicksand and the Bermuda triangle.
...or maybe they don't fear it enough, given https://nos.nl/artikel/2590957-vier-jongens-uit-cementslib-b....
There are way more things to worry about than sharks, placement, wave mass, reef suck, if you go down will you come up again, etc.
The Right, going well: https://youtu.be/cYb9HOuhBrc?t=299
The Right, a bit wrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjHaFOGBPzk
More on that location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X03-6lTxFTg
My friend David was attacked by a shark and lost his leg, the story is quite incredible: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/13-david-byrd-was-brut...
As a Southern California kid in the 70s we were regular beach goers, my pal down the street as much as anyone. We went and saw Jaws in a drive in at about age 13. It didn't make a big impression on me, but he never went back in the ocean for the rest of his life, about 40 more years. He wasn't otherwise neurotic or phobic, but he got one-shot by Spielberg.
Jaws is the only movie (within reason I guess) that I don't let my 13 year old watch.
We live by the sea with one of the world's best marine reserves right off shore. There are plenty of fish including sharks living right off the beach and you need nothing more than a mask and snorkel to get right in amongst them.
When I watched Jaws as a kid when it first came out, it scared me shitless and I still carry some of that trauma whenever I am snorkeling over a deep canyon where the blue just goes on forever and you can't see the bottom.
I just don't want my child to miss out on that because of the ability of Hollywood to scare us.
> Jaws is the only movie (within reason I guess) that I don't let my 13 year old watch.
On the other hand, I totally forgot about Sharknado until just now; that's my next movie night pick and my kid's gonna love it.
What a great reminder... A Sharknado marathon is one of the things I really long for, but don't quite have the people for atm...
Or maybe it's the time of year??
[Edit - added:] I wonder if you need to have watched both "Jaws" and "Beverly Hills 90210" to enjoy the series?
2 replies →
I really want to see Big Shark.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9755806/
1 reply →
I'd recommend you watch Jaws again, or at least some clips of it, just to see how cheesy it feels now. It's lost its teeth imo
"Jaws lost its teeth"? I see what you did there.
But yeah. I had the fortune to see Jaws on a bus in highland Bolivia (talk about a weird choice for forced onboard entertainment!), and it was more annoying than it was scary.
I’ve watched it twice in the last three years or so and am surprised by this post.
1 reply →
"Most people in a recent survey saw sharks as neutral..."
That truly made me laugh ...
Sharks are apex predators and an integral part of the ecosystem. These two ideas are not contradictory.
Not what is being discussed.
Orcas are apex predators (and feed on sharks, in fact). Grizzlies are apex predators that occasionally attack humans.
But sharks are more akin to wolves: they live outside reality and statistics as a folklorish monster, just waiting to pull you under the waves or crossdress and eat you whole.
It's about the irrational mythos, not their place in the real world.