It’s A Shark Attack…
It’s a shark attack and to claim otherwise is really just a matter of semantics. I took issues with this article “That viral shark attack video is everything we get wrong about sharks.” I responded to the article on their website because I gave the article a “thumbs down” and I was hit with a prompt to explain why. I just wanted to hit the thumbs down and figuratively just walk away. But, anyone that knows me, knows I can rant at the drop of a hat. Since they asked for my opinion, I gave it to them.
This was my quickly written, frustrated remarks. I would also like to note that in my haste I referred to Mick Fanning as “Mic” a few times. I saw it, just as clicked the submit button. It was too late, such as life, unless it’s Google Mail, what has been “clicked” cannot be “un-clicked.” I left it uncorrected below as well.
Well, just because there wasn’t a bite doesn’t mean it wasn’t an attack. When Christopher Neff says that sharks don’t normally splash when they attack is ridiculous. From the footage I’ve seen splashing is occurs when the attack is near the surface of the water. He was correct that the board wasn’t bit and neither was Mic. But, it was conveniently left out that the shark did bite through the cord connecting Mic to his surfboard in what was mostly likely an exploratory bite. And sorry to inform Neff but exploratory bites are still considered attacks.
I love sharks, I will agree that the media plays important part in the way some may perceive sharks. I will agree that they do a horrible job presenting the facts about sharks. But, I don’t know how anyone can say with a straight face that this wasn’t an attack. I don’t know what video some of these people were watching but it clearly wasn’t the one that shows Mic being attacked by the shark.
For example, someone could attack me but right before they get to me, I leap out of the way. We could say that since I leaped out of the way that I wasn’t really attacked but at this point it’s just semantics. It was clearly an attack. And, that doesn’t mean it’s the sharks fault. These people are knowing swimming in some of the most shark infested waters in the world. What is most important to note is how rare shark actually are. This article did do that. But, maybe that should have been the focus of the story instead of bashing the media coverage and trying to claim this wasn’t a shark attack. I understand that a scientist saying they don’t know what the sharks intentions were. That is true. However, all you have to do is watch the video and it becomes pretty clear what the intentions probably were. We have a person in the water, a shark and the surf leash it bit through. There doesn’t have to be blood to make an educated guess that it was for all intents and purposes, a shark attack.
What we should be looking at is why did this attack occur? Did it have anything to do with the near fluorescent yellow looking bottom of his surfboard? Did the cord connecting Mic to the surfboard maybe look like a fish to the shark? There’s a lot of questions but to go after the coverage of this because people are calling it an attack is simply petty and more than likely completely wrong in my humble opinion.
Ok, I can be fair about this. After giving this more than my initial knee jerk reaction, I am willing to not call this a shark attack if we can agree on shark “assault” instead. In these times of ridiculous political correctness I think it’s the best course of action with regard to this specific incident.
And, if you decided to not read the referenced article and have not yet seen this incredible video the Shark Assault, here it is…
