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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 06/25/2005 : 06:35:52
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Seems that the carcass of a shark was found in Lake Okeechobee.
quote:
Officials told news partner NewsChannel 5 the shark was either a nurse shark dumped in the lake or a bull shark, which have been known to travel many miles inland in freshwater.
Anyone who can't tell the difference, at a glance, between a bull and a nurse shark has no business calling themselves an official; at least, not a wildlife official.  This animal was a bull shark. Nurse sharks have a wider head with a barbel at each corner of the mouth. The mouth is in front of the head rather than under it, and the teeth are numerous and tiny. Bull sharks are requime sharks, a classificition which includes the great whites. Their anatomy and dentation is similiar but on a rather smaller scale.
The bull shark commonly invades fresh water, including Okeechobee, and a couple of lakes in SA have resident populations. It is also found in the Amazon, Ganges, and Zambezie(sp?) rivers, among others.
It will feed on almost anything containing protein and is responsible for some pretty serious attacks, mainly in African rivers.
Ok, now it is permissable to panic....
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
 Posted - 06/25/2005 : 22:25:55 [Permalink]
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quote:
Nurse sharks have a wider head with a barbel at each corner of the mouth.
Yeah, kinda catfish like.
They are also pretty mellow, even timid, as far as sharks go. I have been in the water with a number of them at the same time.
Bull sharks, on the other hand, are not to be trifled with.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2005 : 01:26:15 [Permalink]
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They also get quite large -- 16 feet or so. A bull shark generally runs about half that, and makes up for it in potential.
One of the interesting things about the nurse is that, while they hunt solo at night for shellfish, octopi and the like; during the day, they congregate in often large numbers in a favored spot. There they rest quietly on the bottom until it's time to prowl again.
Sharks in general are fascinating animals.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2005 : 09:41:40 [Permalink]
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quote:
One of the interesting things about the nurse is that, while they hunt solo at night for shellfish, octopi and the like; during the day, they congregate in often large numbers in a favored spot. There they rest quietly on the bottom until it's time to prowl again.
Yeah, I usually find them in groups tucked away under a reef ledge or some other place out of any currents. I've never seen one that was 16ft, but have seen several in the 10-12 range.
quote:
Sharks in general are fascinating animals.
That is the case with any animal that has the potential to devour you, I think. While I find most animals to be interesting, the dangerous ones always seem more so.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2005 : 10:35:45 [Permalink]
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This animal could have been a bull shark, although I suspect that it was a tiger -- a much larger, coastal species that often feeds on sea turtles. A child paddling around on a boogie board might resemble a turtle.
quote:
SANDESTIN, Fla. (AP) - A 14-year-old girl died Saturday after a shark attacked her while she and a companion were swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said.
The teenagers were swimming on boogie boards about 100 yards offshore when they noticed a dark shadow in the water, authorities said.
"One of the swimmers was bitten. It was the lower portions of her body," said Walton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Shank. The other swimmer was not injured.
I too, have never seen a 16 foot nurse, and the literature is sometimes wrong. But they are one of the largest, shallow-water species. I think that the biggest I ever saw was one in St. Croix, VI. Some shipmates and I hired a boat (go figger  ) to go fishing and it was laying on the bottom in about 20 feet of very clear water. Even allowing for refraction and magnification, it was huge; probably in the 10 to 12 foot range, maybe even a tad more. Most impressive!
An odd thing about shark attacks on humans: Not always, but usually they only hit once, then swim away. That is, apparently, what happened in the above case and that hints at a case of mistaken identity on the part of the shark. Which is cold comfort to the victim....
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2005 : 12:52:36 [Permalink]
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quote:
An odd thing about shark attacks on humans: Not always, but usually they only hit once, then swim away. That is, apparently, what happened in the above case and that hints at a case of mistaken identity on the part of the shark. Which is cold comfort to the victim....
Typically the shark mistakes surfers for a turtle or a seal. The larger more actively predatory sharks (tiger, great white, hammerhead) could shred a human in the water with very little dufficulty if that was the intent. They just take a nibble, realize that they aren't biting anything they want to eat, and swim off. That is why anyone ever survives that type of encounter.
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Even allowing for refraction and magnification, it was huge; probably in the 10 to 12 foot range, maybe even a tad more. Most impressive!
I've been face to face with a couple that big. They were under a reef ledge and I (and a couple of friends) were diving. They just sat there ignoring us for the most part, then they decided they they didn't want to be bothered any more and swam off.... right through the group of us. Being brushed against by a 12 foot shark is an interesting experience.
As a diver of some experience (recreational diving only, no commercail or research diving to date) and a person with great interest in marine life I have learned a little bit about shark behavior. If there is a shark in the water near you while diving, take note of the posture of the shark. Two key things to look for are the pectoral fins and the line of the shark's body. If the pectoral fins are angled down ventrally and the shark has a slightly bowed line... best if you leave because it is probably feeding or hunting. If they come toward you in that posture, don't panic or go into anything like distress. If you are mistaken for a wounded marine animal, you increase the chance you'll be bitten.
If the pectoral fins are straight out to the sides and the line of the shark is straight, no worries.
There is also a way to "call" some of the larger pelagic sharks into shallower areas. I have seen it done with some success in the Caymans. Take a plastic water bottle, leave it filled with water. When you dive and get to around 60-100 feet on the big coral formations, use your octo and put ait into the bottle til it is about 3/4 air, and recap it. Take the bottle in both hands and squeeze one hand at a time, to make noise. The sound mimmics a distress call from some marine animal, and will attract a hammerhead or three.
I should note that I have never tried this myself, and don't reccomend anyone do it either. But one of the local guides I was with at the time used it and we did see some hammerhead sharks.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2005 : 18:06:30 [Permalink]
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There's been an update on the recent attack. Current thought has it that it was indeed a bull shark and at this point, I can't find fault with that.
quote:
Although Jamie and her friend were farther from shore than recommended, it is common for boogie-boarders, surfers and people on personal watercraft to go beyond the two sandbars that separate the shallow beach area from the open gulf, Glidewell said.
"Our pilots who fly our helicopters have always reported to us that if you look offshore, there's always a large number of sharks _ always has been because that's their natural habitat," Glidewell said.
Dicus, 54, said he heard a scream and saw Jamie's friend swimming for shore as fast as she could. Jamie was face down in a bloody circle of water, and the flesh had been torn on one leg from her hip to her knee. The shark, which was right next to her, appeared to be a bull shark about 8 feet long, Dicus said.
"He just followed us right to the beach," he said.
Two other swimmers came with a raft and used it to help carry Jamie to shore. The surfer said he punched the shark on the nose when it tried to attack him.
If there are any teeth in the wound, not uncommon, a positive ID can probably be made. A shark expert (I don't trust that word) will be attending the autopsy.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2005 : 21:09:10 [Permalink]
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FL gets a rash of bull-shark attacks every year right around the time they are mating. Bullsharks are normally agressive, and much moreso when on the prowl for a mate.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2005 : 12:38:05 [Permalink]
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8356537/
Another one today, same beach.
Boggles the mind. If the bull sharks are roaming closer to shore than usual, in June/July especially (as that is when the shallow water shark species here in FL mate, bulls, reef, and nurse sharks), people just need to stay out of the water and definitely stay off the surfboards and boogie boards.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2005 : 12:54:08 [Permalink]
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Considering the crowds that go to the beach every chance they get this time of year, the only wonder is that there are not more of them.
I seem to recall reading that, last year, someone was bitten on the foot in less than knee-deep water.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2005 : 13:35:20 [Permalink]
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Yeah.
And a couple of years ago a girl lost her arm.... her uncle was fishing from the beach in the same area where she was swimming...
Bullsharks are normally agressive. This time of year they are worse.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2005 : 01:43:36 [Permalink]
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I think that we're going to be seeing a lot of this nonsense for quite a while.
The link is a slide show of a dead blue shark (someone who'd never seen one of either called it a thresher) that washed up in NY. Caused quite a bit of comment.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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