Great White Sharks in Media Pt 2

marinebiologyfacts:

So you may remember the post from last year where I talked about the effect media has on great white sharks and how the public feels about them and the effect that in turn has on the great white shark population. Read it here!

Well we’re at it again! Last year there was a movie called “The Shallows” where a young woman is being targeted by a great white for a long duration of time. there were several reasons the whole thing was ridiculous but what bothered me the most was the over dramatization and how people try to make a quick dollar on people’s fears.

This year we have “47 Meters Down” which has many of the same elements: young pretty girls being hunted by great whites, a fun vacation gone wrong, etc. During the movie the girls are cage diving and the cord breaks sending them down to the depths of “shark infested waters”. So lets talk about cage diving.

First of all: yes it can be dangerous if proper precautions are not met. Accidents do happen and there are places where people will bait the sharks to make it more exciting which is how this happened:

Now you don’t see it in this video but sometimes they will pull the bait along to get the sharks more riled up, again for excitement. Luckily in this incident the diver was uninjured.

Here is a video of a safer dive, please keep in mind these are all seasoned professionals:

This is Big Blue, the largest great white filmed to date. Notice how they talk about how calm she was and how incredible their experience was. Yes they did have bait, but they were not there for cheap thrills and they got a better experience for it.

The media tries to paint a picture of an aggressive killing machine but sharks are graceful and curious. They are efficient at all that they do which is why they have been on this planet for millions of years.

Finally I want to point out that sharks are not interested in eating people. We do not have the fat and nutrients that it takes to keep these animals going. Great whites feed on large fish, seals, sea lions, sea turtles, etc. Most shark attacks are a single bite because the shark realizes that it’s not eating something it wants to and is not going to waist energy on that.

Side note: I hate the term “shark infested waters” becasue the sharks are not infesting anything. We are the outsiders in their home, and we need to be mindful and respectful.

+Reblog 3 years ago with 851 notes
reblogged from magnificogreatwhites - originally from marinebiologyfacts