Re: [Paddlewise] Sharks, bears and scary things

> From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_home.com>

> Jackie commented on my comparison of sharks and bears and took objection.
> I thought I'd clarify.

Actually, I was attempting to clarify your comparison myself.  I couldn't
make sense of a comparison that stated we are more at risk from shark attack
than bear attacks as you stated.

> I had not intended to suggest that sharks are a _lot_ more risk than 
> bears.  Rather, I pointed out that sharks were a greater risk than bears 
> (based on the number of deaths, which I glibbly refered to as "statistically"). 

I disagree that sharks are a greater risk.  Not when you consider the number
of people that play in water around sharks (I know we have surfed kayaks where
large sharks were visible and uneventful diver/shark encounters are quite 
common nowadays as there are guides now that take diving parties out for that
specific purpose).  There is a great deal more exposure to sharks in a variety 
of water sports and in numbers of people and shark encounters than with bears 
roaming the back country... worldwide.  Again, it's comparing apples to oranges 
and one could argue that when looking at the numbers, we are at far less risk 
in the ocean with sharks... far fewer attacks per number of visitors and number
of sharks. 

>  Nontheless, the actual
> risk is small to the point of being negligible.  In both cases, the total 
> number of deaths is small.

I definitely agree with this :-) 

> As I said, divers do not clamour for spear guns when diving.  However, hikers and
> campers, notable American, can't keep their hands off their guns when wandering
> into the woods.  Just follow rec.backcountry for more than a couple of weeks and
> you'll see lots of gun discussion.   Why this is is beyond the ken of almost everyone
> outside of the US.  I was comparing the two groups to try to emphasize the
> difference in attitude.  The risk doesn't result in the same response.

I disagree.  I can point you towards documented accounts where an encounter 
between a human and a shark resulted in huge hunting parties looking for the 
shark or any shark.  There are areas of the world where species of sharks (nurse
sharks in Australia at one time, for example) have almost been wiped out completely 
because of the fear of attack generated from one attack (nurse sharks are not a 
threat unless you step on one or deliberately harass it... some people think it is 
fun to pull their tails until the shark reacts).  Irrational fear of sharks has
made folks react in irrational ways to where some species are on endangered lists.  
Our oceans need their shark populations.  For anyone that might be interested in 
more info, I have a shark page at http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/sharks.html
(on the GASP website).

> These critters represent a negligible threat to us when we travel in the 
> backcountry or dive/swim/kayak in the oceans.  You can put yourself into a 
> riskier than normal situation, but you've no one to blame but yourself.  
> Don't kill everything in sight because you don't do your homework.

Well written! :-)

Cheers,

Jackie

 

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