Human civilisation? A tribute to the shark.

Following on from my most recent blog Sharks are we proud or prejudice?  I felt very shocked, saddened, angry and disappointed to read todays headline “SHOOT TO KILL” http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/10775095/family-mourns-as-hunt-for-shark-continues/. On Saturday a second fatal shark attack took place off Rottnest Island, Perth. Again the suspected shark a great white. The victim was diving at the time of the attack. The headline is self-explanatory. Whilst reading this article it made me think of a friends blog about rhino poaching, it pondered whether civilisation has de-evolved (check it out  http://keith-connelly.blogspot.com/2011/08/civilisationd-evolved-rhino-poaching.html). It points out that however far we may have come in such things as technology and science have we really progressed at all? To me it seems not.  I could not see a reason given to kill the shark other than the worry another attack could have a possible negative effect on tourism. This to me isn’t a progression in intellect and understanding but a huge step backwards. It boils down to money again, again, again and again.  Sound like a deja vue to you?

I wonder how ‘they’ know which shark is the killer…or will any shark do? We know very little about the mysterious, top ocean predator. We do not know much about the reproduction cycle of sharks. The point is we don’t know how serious the impact of killing the animal is, “…Some sharks can’t reproduce until the age 20 or above (biology stats)”, if so this could have a huge impact on the shark world, what if the shark in question is pregnant. Sharks are already endangered, they need us to protect them and accept them not hunt them. They are part of the oceans ecology only doing what comes naturally. Evan if they did prey on us for food which is not thought to be the case, why should we stop them? Because we seem to have a habit of tipping natures sensitively, beautifully, intrinsically balanced ecosystems to the edge to suit ourselves.

I feel it is a sad day for human civilisation (sadder for the shark) when an animal following its basic instincts are condemned to death. I obviously feel passionately about such things and I am heart warmed that many other people do too.  So I will leave you with this useless yet telling information;

“More people are killed each year by pigs than by sharks” (http://www.sharkinformation.org/tag/attacks/)

“Around 20 to 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year” (http://www.sharkinformation.org/tag/conservation/)

And on a happier note I hope the bloody shark gets away…

Sharks - are we proud or prejudice?

On the 10^th October 2011 64 year old local Bryn Martin takes his regular swim in the sea off Cottesloe beach, Perth. Bryn Martin did not return to the shore. He seemingly disappeared about 300 meters out to sea with not so much as a ripple. Divers later retrieved his bathers from the bottom of the ocean floor which had the markings of great white shark teeth on them. The body has yet to be found. This is pretty chilling stuff and I ‘m not going to lie I was shocked when I heard this-but why? We know we share the ocean with sharks, we know they can be dangerous. However, fatal shark attacks on humans are rare, so rare in fact they always make international news. I guess it is the fragility of life and when we hear of a death in such a scary way that makes it so shocking.

As you the reader have probably guessed I have a love for animals and I am especially engrossed and fascinated the dangerous animals, these being ones I consider dangerous to humans. I often think, talk and joke about this as I did below with the Kangaroo.  Putting aside the fact in the paper this week a women had been viciously mauled by a kangaroo (!), I do not really believe the ‘jokey’ stuff I say, I just have an incredibly healthy respect for all wild animals especially ones that can kill you. But I do not believe any wild animal wants to kill you and most animals will try to escape rather than fight. I certainly do not believe sharks are killing machines that are hungry for human meat which is more often than not reported in the media. In South Africa I went cage diving with Great White Sharks and was humbled by the experience, I genuinely did not think I would ever say this but the experience was peaceful, the sharks beautiful and it was not a scary experience at all. This is not to say I ever want to be that close to a shark without the metal bars and I sincerely hope with all my heart I never have to be ‘that’ situation, I’m not sure my heart would hold out, but the truth is I have probably swam unknowingly very close to a shark at some point in my life-maybe many. According to scientists who mapped tagged sharks in Sydney showed that thousands of swimmers are very close to sharks in the water but very rarely is anyone ever attacked. This suggests that we are not natural prey for sharks and that they are not mindless killing machines. However, not everyone chooses to take this view and I was disgusted and shocked when after the disappearance of Bryn Martin I saw on the news a surfer saying they were calling for shark culls. This utterly blew me away, surely a surfer knows the risks? Loves and respects the ocean and the animals in it? That will teach me for making assumptions but it seems ludicrous to me that this could be a serious suggestion. Humans have, believe it or not, come leaps and bounds in changing our attitude towards the environment, how could we risk going backwards? It has taken years to change people’s attitudes towards sharks and is still on going. Despite my very natural fear of sharks I don’t want to kill them and I feel disappointed other people do. Humans kill thousands upon thousands of sharks every year in the most inhumane way. We fish them chop off their fins causing unimaginable amounts of pain chuck them back in the water still alive to ‘drown’ at the bottom of the ocean-who is the mindless killing machine now? All this for shark fin soup, a false belief this will boost male libido. We accidently trap them in nets along with many other innocent marine life so we can satisfy our needless need. I am guilty also, I have been told many of the fish in fish and chip shops in Australia is shark. We have done so much damage that sharks are now an endangered species. Sharks have only fatally killed 60 people in Australia in the last 50 years. Research strongly suggests that despite popular belief sharks do not prey on humans. There would be a huge increase in attacks if this were the case. There are several theories as to why shark attack humans, one theory suggest the shark attacks as a case of mistaken identity for its food of choice the seal. Another theory is that the shark ‘mouths’ to test what the mysterious object is, unfortunately for us can cause fatal injury. Thankfully the Australian sharks are protected so a cull would not take place but it scares me how lack of knowledge can lead to such harmful views. There are thousands of people that enjoy the ocean every day. Looking back on shark attacks divers appear to be most at risk with surfers the least at risk. We are much more likely to be killed another way than by a shark yet we do not all stop driving our cars. Calling for a cull makes me think again that us humans want everything ‘our’ way…I beg people to know the facts before taking such a strong viewpoint, isn’t it misinformed prejudice that leads to such unbelievable human acts as genocide? Thankfully again, many many people believe as I that these viewpoints are a waste of time and Australia is a country that seems to look after the environment that they have been given for free. I am proud of this attitude and the natural world I am privileged to be a part of. THINK BEFORE YOU DECIDE.

Friendly cuddly roo's no no NO let me put it to you like this...

I knew Australia had lots of scary and deadly creatures but coming from tiny safe little England had no idea that the seemingly innocent funny looking kangaroo, the national animal, could pose me any threat. A large kangaroo can grow up to nearly 2 meters nose to tail; I mean that is pretty big, um which is a little over six foot so that equates to a big strong man. Kangaroo’s “…They may treat a human as they would another kangaroo, grappling with their forepaws, leaning well back on  their tails to provide enough support to lift and kick with both hind legs simultaneously. Such a blow could break a man’s ribs while the long claws are quite capable of ripping flesh”, now this sounds more like a horror movie to me. However, I did watch a programme once about a rather weird boy who had to have counselling after being attacked by a kangaroo on a golf course and was seemingly terrified of golf courses ever since,  hardly capable of stepping onto one without heaps of hypnotherapy-now that really is something else! I still find it pretty hard to believe kangaroos could possibly be that scary or dangerous unless you are driving in your car and one jumps out in front of you. I have yet to see any kanger’s out here  but I’ll let you know! Amongst other scary animals you could come across out here are sharks, salt water crocodiles which I have ‘heard’ have been known to leap from the sea at unsuspecting tourists – needless to say they didn’t come back from their walk on the beach. Australia is also host to the deadliest jellyfish in the world apparently the most poisonous creature alive and the pain is supposed to be so horrific it can kill a grown man from shock alone. Hmmm let’s see what else are there, poisonous spiders, the blue ringed octopus which is worryingly so small you can hardly see it and the bite virtually painless so you would not even know you had been bitten but can reassuringly cause death within 90 minutes. There are also 384 types of snakes but not too worry as only 47 types of them are poisonous, there are even poisonous cone shells for Christ sake!! In fact Australia has the largest amount of dangerous animals in the world. But how did any of them get here it’s a massive island surrounded by water? For anyone who knows me will find all this quite funny as I have always loved animals but am something of a massive wuss and fairly neurotic, I used to want to be a wildlife camera women but until a recent trip to South Africa where I had to face the literal possibility of hippo’s charging at me in the bush and did great white shark cage diving I had been known to be frightened of walking through a field full of cows! Needless to say I have settled for a career in vet nursing instead. Anyway fingers crossed I am unlikely to encounter anything of the above but you never know...watch this space.