Speaking of "Open Water"... I love sharks

[sundog]

You know, humans have managed to manipulate, alter & screw practically every life-form on the planet.

I just love that once in a while a shark comes out of nowhere & takes a chunk out of one of us. Karmic justice. Like a reminder that we don't "rule."

One of those mysterious lifeforms that humans haven't completely gotten their hands on.

[Skittles]

1. oh, I don't know

I thought that attack on that little surfer girl was horrific. Now when one hunter accidentally shoots another hunter.....well......

[MuseRider]

2. I do too.

I have seen quite a few of them diving and never, well once but only that one time was I nervous. It was only because I came straight up into the opening of a cave just as one was coming out, my bad. They are beautiful and really, most times just ignore you.

On Edit Black Tip? Beautiful picture.

[sundog]

3. Wow, that's cool...

I think mass mentality vilifies them. Primary reason being that they cannot be controlled or understood. It ties in with the ideology that humans must rule all things, which is definitely not the case in my books.

[MuseRider]

4. Good thought,

I had not thought of it in that way but I believe you are right. We are prey to the sharks and the only way we respond to something like that is to kill it. (Not that that is not understandable in some ways)

Whenever you put yourself in the position that something else could eat you it is your responsibility. If I dive and a shark eats me, my fault.

[sundog]

5. Yeah, it's a Black Tip Reef Shark from Bora Bora...

I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, and there were these amazing spots where you could find fossil teeth in the surf. I had some pretty big ones (one was the size of my thumb), but I gave them away.

I would love to dive with sharks. I have no experience and it's not likely at this point in the New Mexico desert :( ... maybe down the road.

[Dookus]

6. I've encountered some small sharks

while diving - nurse sharks, reef sharks... all pretty shy. I WAS in the water once when many in the group I was with spotted a great white (off Big Sur), but I didn't see it. I heard about when I got back to the boat, though. They claimed it was about 15 feet long.

[sundog]

7. Must have gotten your blood pumping

Once I was body surfing in San Diego & I saw a fin next to me in the curl -- my heart skipped a beat, but it was just a pair of dolphins playing in the surf -- whew --

[Dookus]

12. I've been more scared by sea lions...

they come racing right towards you and then blow bubbles and turn aside at the last second. When you're in murky water, that can be pretty startling!

[MuseRider]

8. Fossil teeth

are really cool and it is amazing how big some of them are.

I am in Kansas, not exactly diving heaven! There are places where you can go and they feed sharks. I saw a tape one of my friends made at a place like that. I feel very strongly that this is wrong but I believe they are still out there doing it. It was frightening to watch and he told me he was scared to death because they just kept getting closer and closer. It is getting more difficult to see sharks except for perhaps Nurse sharks. I missed a Hammerhead because I was on the other side of the reef and we missed a day of diving in Hawaii because of Tiger shark warnings. You just have to do it a lot I guess and eventually you will see them. My reaction was different than I thought, I thought I would be afraid but they are so beautiful and graceful you are just in awe of them.

[DrWeird]

9. Speaking of things that are boring as hell...

Naw, just kidding. They're alright, but I'm sick of this "Shark Week" crap that seems to crop up every month on the Discovery Channel or whatever.

They're fricking cartilaginous fish, what's so interesting they need a whole week?

[sundog]

10. lol-- are they still doing that --last time I saw that was like 10 yrs ago

-

[DrWeird]

11. Yup.

They goofed it on the Simpsons. Lisa's home sick with the measles, she's upset because she's not getting any education. She's watching a documentary on the Discovery channel about a vicious, terrifying, shark: The Seaweed Shark! She turns it off in disgust because she's still not learning anything.