You Got a Shark Right Next to You, Dude
May 21, 2021 11:39 AM Subscribe
Drones show California’s great white sharks are closer — and more common — than you think [LAT; archive version; summary from Inside Hook]
Original drone footage at the artist's channel
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:52 PM on May 21, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:52 PM on May 21, 2021 [11 favorites]
I'm up for the realistic science documentary, "When Sharks Don't Attack!"
Perhaps they could do it for ASMR Shark Week.
posted by clawsoon at 1:05 PM on May 21, 2021 [11 favorites]
Perhaps they could do it for ASMR Shark Week.
posted by clawsoon at 1:05 PM on May 21, 2021 [11 favorites]
So cool! That shark that got slapped didn't seem to really mind even. Try that with most land animals!
posted by starfishprime at 1:18 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by starfishprime at 1:18 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Even when I know that nothing is going to happen, my stomach still flips watching some of Gauna's footage. I can't imagine watching in real time without being able to warn the surfers.
On the other hand, Gauna is probably too optimistic when he describes this family as "enjoying the sight" of a juvenile great white following their kayaks.
posted by gladly at 1:25 PM on May 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
On the other hand, Gauna is probably too optimistic when he describes this family as "enjoying the sight" of a juvenile great white following their kayaks.
posted by gladly at 1:25 PM on May 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
posted by lumosh at 1:27 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by lumosh at 1:27 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE!
posted by lumosh at 1:27 PM on May 21, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by lumosh at 1:27 PM on May 21, 2021 [12 favorites]
Sharks are not sea kittens, and bears are not forest poodles. Nope. Nope. Nope.
posted by Beholder at 1:29 PM on May 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Beholder at 1:29 PM on May 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
12-foot great white shark caught and released on Pensacola Beach ... McLean said the adrenaline was flowing during the 40-minute fight, which occurred about 100 yards offshore
I think I'll take my chances with the Vibrio vulnificus, pass the raw oysters...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:35 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think I'll take my chances with the Vibrio vulnificus, pass the raw oysters...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:35 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
And not just in southern California.
San Jose Mercury News: Great white shark numbers up significantly in Monterey Bay
Warming waters have attracted juvenile white sharks off Aptos, near shoreline, new research shows
San Francisco Chronicle: Santa Cruz is seeing more great white sharks. Now researchers know why
Videos:
WATCH: Great white sharks return to the shores of Seacliff State Beach
If you only click one of these links, may I suggest this one with all of the sharks.
Kayaker checks out a sub-adult white shark in the shallow waters off Seacliff State Beach, Monterey Bay, California.
White Shark Cruising Next to Swimmer off Aptos, Monterey Bay, California.
About 40 great white sharks circle Aptos beach
posted by ActingTheGoat at 1:39 PM on May 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
San Jose Mercury News: Great white shark numbers up significantly in Monterey Bay
Warming waters have attracted juvenile white sharks off Aptos, near shoreline, new research shows
San Francisco Chronicle: Santa Cruz is seeing more great white sharks. Now researchers know why
Videos:
WATCH: Great white sharks return to the shores of Seacliff State Beach
If you only click one of these links, may I suggest this one with all of the sharks.
Kayaker checks out a sub-adult white shark in the shallow waters off Seacliff State Beach, Monterey Bay, California.
White Shark Cruising Next to Swimmer off Aptos, Monterey Bay, California.
About 40 great white sharks circle Aptos beach
posted by ActingTheGoat at 1:39 PM on May 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thank you for adding the non-paywalled, non-registered optional links, chavenet.
posted by doctornemo at 2:36 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by doctornemo at 2:36 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
Key point here:
“These types of encounters have always been happening,” he said. “Which shows you really just how low the number of attacks are.”
posted by doctornemo at 2:37 PM on May 21, 2021 [16 favorites]
“These types of encounters have always been happening,” he said. “Which shows you really just how low the number of attacks are.”
posted by doctornemo at 2:37 PM on May 21, 2021 [16 favorites]
Spent my childhood in the Midwest, transfixed with horror by Jacques Cousteau shows.
Moved to Rhode Island, a.k.a. The Ocean State, but avoid the beaches. (Still scared.)
Just won a trip to the Caribbean, and had been reading up on snorkeling.
DAMMIT
posted by wenestvedt at 2:47 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
Moved to Rhode Island, a.k.a. The Ocean State, but avoid the beaches. (Still scared.)
Just won a trip to the Caribbean, and had been reading up on snorkeling.
DAMMIT
posted by wenestvedt at 2:47 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
I used to scuba. Only saw sharks (other than small nurse sharks) one time, in the Bahamas. It was a huge reef with pillars of coral over 20 feet tall and the water was 40 feet deep, so we were swimming around through the pillars. We saw at least a dozen black tipped reef sharks, which are about six to eight feet long. They had zero interest in us or any of the other divers, and stayed about 30-40 feet away from us—approximately. They didn't seem to be hunting... they were doing what we were doing, just circling around the coral.
This is a spot that two dive groups of 12 people went to every day (weather permitting), morning and afternoon. Probably far more than that as there were many more dive boats within a mile of us on the water. The captain told us that the sharks were there almost all the time. So, over a couple thousand divers get that close to dozens of sharks every year, in that one small spot alone—year after year. And there has never been an attack there, ever. An example of how extremely unlikely a shark attack is. It's a vanishingly small chance that you or anyone you know will ever be bitten by a shark, even if you knowingly swim near sharks all the time. You are far more likely to drown or be killed in a car crash on your way to the marina.
I get that it can be creepy thinking about it. But it's a ludicrous thing to actually be afraid of.
posted by SoberHighland at 3:01 PM on May 21, 2021 [9 favorites]
This is a spot that two dive groups of 12 people went to every day (weather permitting), morning and afternoon. Probably far more than that as there were many more dive boats within a mile of us on the water. The captain told us that the sharks were there almost all the time. So, over a couple thousand divers get that close to dozens of sharks every year, in that one small spot alone—year after year. And there has never been an attack there, ever. An example of how extremely unlikely a shark attack is. It's a vanishingly small chance that you or anyone you know will ever be bitten by a shark, even if you knowingly swim near sharks all the time. You are far more likely to drown or be killed in a car crash on your way to the marina.
I get that it can be creepy thinking about it. But it's a ludicrous thing to actually be afraid of.
posted by SoberHighland at 3:01 PM on May 21, 2021 [9 favorites]
*muttering* I didn't say it was rational...
posted by wenestvedt at 3:48 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 3:48 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
I used to scuba dive too, there’s a reason people are not afraid of reef sharks but are afraid of great whites.
posted by skewed at 3:51 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by skewed at 3:51 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I bet I would find a way to drown, on my way to the marina
posted by thelonius at 4:01 PM on May 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 4:01 PM on May 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
The music is soothing, his narration is great, and these are beautiful creatures...
...but some of that footage made me so anxious I was grinding my teeth, I was waiting for something truly awful to happen even though I knew he wouldn't upload any such footage.
Many, many years ago a marine biologist I knew told me that any time you go swimming, there are sharks way, way closer to you than you think, and I took her at her word, and this footage bears that out. It's often made me wonder if, as someone who enjoys hiking and camping in the deep woods, I've also been way, way closer to various potentially dangerous land animals than I knew at the time: rattlesnakes, bears, mountain lions, wild boars, and so on.
Thanks for sharing this, chavenet.
posted by lord_wolf at 4:15 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
...but some of that footage made me so anxious I was grinding my teeth, I was waiting for something truly awful to happen even though I knew he wouldn't upload any such footage.
Many, many years ago a marine biologist I knew told me that any time you go swimming, there are sharks way, way closer to you than you think, and I took her at her word, and this footage bears that out. It's often made me wonder if, as someone who enjoys hiking and camping in the deep woods, I've also been way, way closer to various potentially dangerous land animals than I knew at the time: rattlesnakes, bears, mountain lions, wild boars, and so on.
Thanks for sharing this, chavenet.
posted by lord_wolf at 4:15 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
Yeah if anything, knowing sharks are that close all the time makes me feel safer, not in danger. If they liked eating people, they've had plenty of opportunities. Seems like they're not interested.
Same as the skunk family living in my back yard. We all mind our own business, and everyone's just fine sharing the space.
posted by ctmf at 6:39 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
Same as the skunk family living in my back yard. We all mind our own business, and everyone's just fine sharing the space.
posted by ctmf at 6:39 PM on May 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
Sharks only bother me if I go swimming with my lucky ham.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:52 PM on May 21, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 8:52 PM on May 21, 2021 [8 favorites]
The first time I tried snorkelling was in Tioman Island, Malaysia in the early 80s - crystal clear water with jellyfish, 3 foot long giant clams, sea turtles ...and then a dark shape moving through a deeper ravine just outside the cove I was exploring. I think I ran across the surface back to shore.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:34 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:34 PM on May 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
LAND SHARK.
posted by clavdivs at 10:13 PM on May 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 10:13 PM on May 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
They are always there. You just don’t see them.
[I often surf at a local reef which is fairly distant from other reefs or underwater structure. Lots of fish aggregate there. There are also tons of nearshore sharks - sand sharks, bull sharks, black-tipped sharks, reef sharks, makos, spinners - while outside in the deeper water, there are hammerheads, more makos and reef sharks, and great whites as well. Never seen a great white in the water but drone and aerial footage shows them about. Only one shark encounter there in the last 10 years - my friend George got bit on his calf. He basically stepped on the shark after jumping off his board and it turned and bit him in surprise, I think. Just superficial lacerations, a few deep scratches, requiring a few stitches and he was back in the water in a month. This was a small (5’ or so) bull shark which is the type most often implicated in bites/deaths in FL.
There are about 10 deaths a year worldwide due to sharks. In contrast, say 400-500k per year due to other humans.]
We surf every day there are waves. The sharks are there; it’s their home.
posted by sudogeek at 6:38 AM on May 22, 2021 [7 favorites]
[I often surf at a local reef which is fairly distant from other reefs or underwater structure. Lots of fish aggregate there. There are also tons of nearshore sharks - sand sharks, bull sharks, black-tipped sharks, reef sharks, makos, spinners - while outside in the deeper water, there are hammerheads, more makos and reef sharks, and great whites as well. Never seen a great white in the water but drone and aerial footage shows them about. Only one shark encounter there in the last 10 years - my friend George got bit on his calf. He basically stepped on the shark after jumping off his board and it turned and bit him in surprise, I think. Just superficial lacerations, a few deep scratches, requiring a few stitches and he was back in the water in a month. This was a small (5’ or so) bull shark which is the type most often implicated in bites/deaths in FL.
There are about 10 deaths a year worldwide due to sharks. In contrast, say 400-500k per year due to other humans.]
We surf every day there are waves. The sharks are there; it’s their home.
posted by sudogeek at 6:38 AM on May 22, 2021 [7 favorites]
I believe it was MeFi's own WhySharksMatter who had the best advice. If you're on the ocean and are worried that there might be sharks nearby, there's an easy way to tell. Dip your finger in the water, then taste it. If it tastes salty, there are sharks nearby.
posted by brundlefly at 7:37 AM on May 22, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 7:37 AM on May 22, 2021 [14 favorites]
I have been fascinated with sharks for most of my life, so I have a basic theoretical grip of their ordinary behaviors and the stimuli that are likely to interest them most. That said, if I was swimming and I saw a great white shark around me -- or worse, a bull or a tiger -- my body would instinctively attempt to levitate like a Hanna-Barbera character pedaling in midair over the water, and I would make a thrashing mess.
And yet, these sharks don't seem to care. A bull would be more aggressive, but surely bulls have been around swimmers -- around me -- more than we realized and still declined to engage. As much as I would like to see alarm drones over the beach, it might make matters worse by starting panics. Then, too, there are the silhouettes of other species of shark that are not going to cause trouble but might look alarming.
I guess the thing is that we have to accept a somewhat heightened risk of shark attacks due to increased shark presence now. It's not quite fair that we don't have such a terror of bears, whose territory we invade much more often.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:00 AM on May 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
And yet, these sharks don't seem to care. A bull would be more aggressive, but surely bulls have been around swimmers -- around me -- more than we realized and still declined to engage. As much as I would like to see alarm drones over the beach, it might make matters worse by starting panics. Then, too, there are the silhouettes of other species of shark that are not going to cause trouble but might look alarming.
I guess the thing is that we have to accept a somewhat heightened risk of shark attacks due to increased shark presence now. It's not quite fair that we don't have such a terror of bears, whose territory we invade much more often.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:00 AM on May 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
great white sharks are closer — and more common — than you think
In fact, there's one behind you RIGHT NOW.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:48 PM on May 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
In fact, there's one behind you RIGHT NOW.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:48 PM on May 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
bet I would find a way to drown, on my way to the marina
Thanks thelonius. This made me laugh. I needed to laugh.
posted by Zumbador at 12:33 AM on May 23, 2021
Thanks thelonius. This made me laugh. I needed to laugh.
posted by Zumbador at 12:33 AM on May 23, 2021
In fact, there's one behind you RIGHT NOW.
CANDYGRAM
posted by brundlefly at 8:37 AM on May 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
CANDYGRAM
posted by brundlefly at 8:37 AM on May 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
I am intensely phobic of "regular" fish, but the idea of sharks has never really bothered me. Looking at those images only distresses me because I can just imagine how many awful, gilly, gape-eyed scaled fish are brushing up against or swimming near those people. My body tends to react without consulting my brain when I'm in the presence of scaled fish - I can just see myself leaping onto the back of a great white to escape a school of dreaded minnows ...
posted by DingoMutt at 9:02 AM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by DingoMutt at 9:02 AM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Come to think of it, I would imagine that the scaled fish probably clear right out when there's a shark nearby, don't they? Maybe I could befriend one and employ its services as a lookout as I swim?
posted by DingoMutt at 9:03 AM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by DingoMutt at 9:03 AM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm only a dolphin, ma'am..In fact, there's one behind you RIGHT NOW.CANDYGRAM
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:35 PM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
« Older Darwin was a racist | “It’s a bit harder with cats, because they’re made... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
This is great for my sour grapes over not being able to afford to move to California. Not great about my enjoyment of ever swimming in any ocean ever again.
posted by skewed at 12:37 PM on May 21, 2021 [2 favorites]