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#2502440 - 04/26/08 01:49 PM
Fatal shark attack near San Diego
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Forums Manager
Lifer
Registered: 01/03/01
Loc: Tucson AZ
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I assume many of you have heard about this, but a triathelete, swimming in the ocean north of San Diego, was attacked by a shark and died: Martin, 66, died on the beach Friday morning after a shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted him out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding Martin's black wetsuit.
Martin, a retired veterinarian, was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994. Prior to that, the last known fatal attack in the area was in 1959.
I heard that locals had noticed several seals up on the beach prior to the incident. Maybe the seals knew something predatory was in the water? The rest of the story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352694,00.html
_________________________
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2502445 - 04/26/08 02:01 PM
Re: Fatal shark attack near San Diego
[Re: 20mm]
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Member
Registered: 09/28/04
Loc: California
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Yep, that's about 20 miles or so from my house. Very sad for him and his family.
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Ken Cartwright "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits" - A. Einstein http://www.techflyer.net
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#2502469 - 04/26/08 03:03 PM
Re: Fatal shark attack near San Diego
[Re: 20mm]
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Sierra Hotel
Registered: 04/04/01
Loc: Miami, FL USA
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This is a terrible incident but I hope the news media doesn't catch a sensationalist fever now and start reporting shark attacks on a daily basis like they've done before.
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Everyone around me dies Mr. Morden except for those who most deserve it - Londo Mollari
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#2502479 - 04/26/08 03:36 PM
Re: Fatal shark attack near San Diego
[Re: 20mm]
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Forums Manager
Lifer
Registered: 01/03/01
Loc: Tucson AZ
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Interesting. I'm sitting here, holding an old shark's mouth I got during one my many Mexico trips. Many moons ago.
Anyways, it's a little one, probably no more than a foot side to side, and about half a foot top to bottom. What's interesting is the rows of teeth. Sharks have a front row of teeth, and right behind another row, and further in more rows, folded back. As they lose teeth, these row move forward.
Man, small teeth, but lots of them. Sharp SOB's and serrated on the sides. This was a little guy, but my foot would go right in there and I'd hate to think what would happen if it bit.
Crikey.
_________________________
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2502484 - 04/26/08 03:50 PM
Re: Fatal shark attack near San Diego
[Re: 20mm]
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Member
Registered: 05/09/00
Loc: Zutphen, NL / ShangHai, China
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It always amazes me when I see a shark aquarium (like a few weeks ago in Ocean Park in Hong Kong), and they have a mock-up of the jaws of Carcharodon Megalodon, the "grandfather" of the Great White. 18 metres long, teeth that are 15 centimetre or longer.... an average human would only be a small snack for that one.
_________________________
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
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#2502515 - 04/26/08 04:39 PM
Re: Fatal shark attack near San Diego
[Re: Legend]
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Forums Manager
Lifer
Registered: 01/03/01
Loc: Tucson AZ
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One thing that's interesting, to me, is that animals, predators, have no feelings about this. They just do it. It's their nature. They are hunter/killers and they do it to survive. Otherwise, they won't. But they don't agonize over it, they don't worry about the feelings of their prey. They just kill, eat, go on.
Doesn't make them bad, or evil, or anything of the sort. They are what they are. Like when the tiger attacks in the zoo, well, it's a tiger. It does what it does. We can ascribe all the human characteristics we want to animals, but in the end, they are what they are.
If you happen across a bear, or a lion, or a shark on of those days, well, you've got a problem. But it doesn't mean we run around and start shooting bears or lions or spearing sharks. That is, IMO, an overreaction, and just plain nuts. I'd rather find ways to interact them in the wild that minimizes the risk. Doesn't get rid of the risk. Hell, people jump off cliffs with para sails too. Nuts.
_________________________
Pat Tillman (1976-2004): 4 years Arizona State University, graduated with high honors. 5 seasons National Football League player, Arizona Cardinals. Forever United States Army Ranger.
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#2502597 - 04/26/08 06:49 PM
Re: Fatal shark attack near San Diego
[Re: 20mm]
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Member
Registered: 01/25/01
Loc: Germany
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Do sharks see in color? Are they able to distinguish between different patterns of light and dark?
I only ask, because I wonder, since it seems like a black wetsuit makes a human look like a seal to them, what can be done? Make some zig zag yellow lightning bolt marks or something on the wetsuit? Just something so it's not black and really does look seal-like, especially when a large predator is coming up to take a bite from the bottom.
I'm sure fish scientists (my words) have studied this upside down, I just don't know what the answer is. Not a biologist but I think colour vision, if any, is likely to be very limited in fish. Eyesight is not that important for most of them anyway (pelagic predatory species like the Great White are something of an exception though) because range is often severely restricted and without an artificial lightsource colours would be even more difficult. Ever seen a coral reef without illumination from a TV camera? It doesn't look all that colourful and infact red is an effective camouflage colour underwater! Distinguishing patterns of light and dark (i.e. grayscale vision) - very likely yes for a predatory fish like a Great White. Colours, probably not. If the grayscale contrast of the pattern on the wet suit is good enough, the idea might still work although the attack from below strategy of the Great White complicates things (the wearer will be backlit).
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