Well, all that has changed a little. It doesn't take much to shake you up and remind you that sharks can be quite intimidating. And you quickly remember that they are known to bite humans. Now don't get me wrong. I really hate the movie Jaws where they turn sharks into man hunting killers and I really hate the media stories of shark bites where they over-dramatise the event to the point that people vow to never swim in the sea again, when in fact, it is the coconut that vacationers should fear the most. Did you know there are more deaths by falling coconut than death by shark bite every year*. Interesting statistics, but any journalist would be hard-pressed to get the coveted front page for a story on the head cracking coconuts of the Caribbean.
So, back to the sharks. We knew when we arrived to the Society Islands in French Polynesia that the dive and snorkelling companies had taken up the habit of feeding the sharks. This guarantees that you see sharks on every trip. Well, sharks are pretty smart. And they soon associate a human being and the sound of a motor boat with free and easy food. But if that human being didn't actually bring along some food, what then? Perhaps the hand will do, or the foot might look like a delicious piece of fish. I don't know. It doesn't seem to me like the best practice in the world. Apparently the naturalists and maybe a publicised shark bite or two have recently caused them to outlaw feeding sharks at many of the islands.
We were doing a last dive at Bora Bora and the second dive of the morning was in an area where we could expect to see Lemon Sharks. Remember, these babies are big. Up to 10 feet long and are probably the more fiercer looking of all the sharks. I take that back. Most sharks look pretty fierce with the exception of the Hammerhead which looks a little silly with its eyes at the end of its flattened head, but regardless they are described as 'considered dangerous' in my fish reference book. Our dive master did mention to us that despite the banning, some of the tour operators have continued to feed the sharks so we should not get too close to the tour boat with all the snorkelers just over yonder (hint, hint).
So with that warning in mind our group of six divers goes down into the clear waters just outside the reef. The water was amazingly calm with no current so it was a very nice time to dive. We saw some Lemon Sharks but they kept their distance and pretty much ignored us. Then about halfway through our dive, I was bringing up the rear of our group of divers and noticed this one very large shark coming around, circling in and then back again, then circling in a little closer and then off again. I started to get a little nervous but what really made me pay attention was when I spotted a large tuna and when the tuna spotted the shark, he swam off so fast it was a blur in the ocean. Ok, so I figured if he didn't like the looks of that shark, then neither did I. That tuna spends a lot more time in the ocean than I do and he has probably learned to recognise a shark on the hunt or he wouldn't have gotten a chance to grow so big.
It certainly made me more than a little skittish and I quickly closed the gap between me and the rest of the group. I pointed out the shark to Jens who I guess from the expression on my face, quickly figured out that this guy had me a little frightened. Our dive master also caught on pretty fast and motioned for us to get up ahead of him. Very brave move I would say. And when sharky shark saw our group all together ready for a face off, he realised we were on to him. He made one last advance and then decided to bugger off. Well, we also decided to bugger off and headed back to the safety of the dive boat lickity split.
After this encounter and after reading the shark descriptions in my fish book a little closer where I notice that most sharks are described as 'considered dangerous' and some are 'occasionally' or 'at times aggressive and considered dangerous', that I wondered how smart was it really to be diving with sharks. Jeez Louise. I am glad I still have all my fingers and toes and I certainly have a renewed respect for sharks.
Now, to make matters worse, we heard that a yachtie who recently went to Beveridge Reef jumped in the water and promptly got bitten by a shark. Right in the rear. His girlfriend had to stitch him up. Imagine. So, needless to say, yesterday when we were at the Reef we took the dinghy with us while we were snorkelling in case we happened across a hungry shark ready to take a chunk out of my glutenous maximus and needed to make a quick exit out of the water. Of course then every time we spotted a shark, we kept a close eye on it and stayed just a little bit closer to the dinghy. It kind of makes the snorkelling experience a wee bit less relaxing than it used to be. I wonder how long it will take us to become cautiously complacent again.
The photo below is of a Blacktip Reef Shark. They get as big as 7 1/2 feet and are 'usually not dangerous'. But he still looks rather fierce!
* note: not a confirmed fact.
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