by MegaDude 24 Replies latest jw friends
That's interesting. I have not ever had a completely wild stingray approach me. I have been diving and come upon giant leopard spotted eagle rays feeding but they always take off once they're aware of my presence.
In Grand Cayman the rays were conditioned to feeding because the fishermen cleaned their catch in the shallows and the rays gathered in hoards to feed off the scraps. Now you can feed them by hand.
Help me Mary! Help Me sell Watchtowers!!
Ya see, you should have worn the Shark Shield! LOL.
This was on a well visited reef out of port douglas. Fish feeding is prohibited but i dare say some of the more unscrupulous companies allow it or turn a blind eye to it. The fish were very use to human beings so i dare say some feeding had been going on there at some stage.
| Carcharodon carcharias, | white | 373 |
| Galeocerdo Cuvier, | tiger | 137 |
| Carcharhinus leucas, | bull | 88 |
| Carcharias Taurus, | sand tiger | 67 |
| Carcharhinus limbatus, | black tip | 32 |
| Carcharhinus spp., | requiem | 48 |
| Sphyrna spp., | hammerhead | 35 |
| Prionace glauca, | blue | 34 |
| Carcharhinus melanopterus, | black tip reef | 14 |
| Isurus oxyrinchus, | shortfin mako | 42 |
Whats funny to me about this list is that it's CLEARLY bull...shark! The blue is given 34 attacks despite the fact that during WW2 when ships were torpedoed it was the blue sharks that ate THOUSANDS of sailors in the water! Also the Bull shark eats a gazillion natives a year in fresh water areas! (I'll tell you my bull shark diving experience some time! I made Jesus's water walking look like a beginner!!) But I guess they don't count as they don't live in nice areas!
I read something neat the other day about "trained behavior" (this might be bull $hit too but sounded neat) They have found that several species of migratory shark actually follow the old slave routes from Africa! There is no real reason as it avoids the reef and the theory is that during the periods when the slave ships followed those routes so many people died and were tossed overboard that the sharks learned to follow the ships and have passed that pattern on! Like I said it's probably crap but it was an interesting read!
Oh I forgot to add! I'm for anything that gets people back in touch with nature. If that means that a few more people get bit, well we've certainly taken a bite out of the sharks so fair is fair!
