this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
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‘They’re not like puppy dogs. They should be respected’: how to swim with sharks in British waters (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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We have only been waiting in the grey Atlantic swell a few moments when the first flash of metallic blue appears in the water. A blue shark, a few miles from the coast of Penzance in Cornwall, emerges from the depths. It is time to get in the water – but part of my brain rebels.

“It’s not what you think it will be like … not that ingrained fear that everyone has about sharks. But until you get in the water with them, that fear will remain,” the guide says to the group.

Slipping off the boat, covered head to toe in dark wetsuits, we are instructed not to shout if we see one but to raise a hand, wave and point. We wait, peering through the gloom at the mackerel lure below us. But the shark does not return, and we heave ourselves back on board.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Dolphins, sea lions, seals, and otters are also not like puppy dogs and should also be respected.

That being said, I'd feel way more comfortable swimming with my oxygen breathing mammalian bretheren than the icthyan terrors.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah you say that, but I've never been chased to the shore by a damn shark. I've had seals come at me from 100 yards out and keep coming until I'm on the beach.

I think part of it feeds into the 'uncanny valley' that the mammalian animals seem less "other" than fish, but we all know the sharks are out there. But I've never been chased by a shark. Seals? Fuck if I know a seal is in the water at my beach, I expect it to chase someone. Seals are like, geese level aggressive and at least the Hawaiian monk seal's that have chased me have jaws that could hold a coconut.