Great White Sharks Are Like Serial Killers

[RedAloy]

Great White Sharks Killers

 

WASHINGTON (June 21) -- Great white sharks have some things in common with human serial killers, a new study says: They don't attack at random, but stalk specific victims, lurking out of sight.

 

The sharks hang back and observe from a not-too-close, not-too-far base, hunt strategically, and learn from previous attempts, according to a study being published online Monday in the Journal of Zoology. Researchers used a serial killer profiling method to figure out just how the fearsome ocean predator hunts, something that's been hard to observe beneath the surface.

 

"There's some strategy going on," said study co-author Neil Hammerschlag, a shark researcher at the University of Miami who observed 340 great white shark attacks on seals off an island in South Africa. "It's more than sharks lurking at the water waiting to go after them."

 

The sharks feeding at Seal Island could have just hovered right where the seals congregated if they were random killers-of-opportunity, Hammerschlag said. But they weren't. The sharks had a distinct M.O.

 

They were focused. They stalked from a usual base of operations, 100 yards from their victims. It was close enough to see their prey, but not close enough to be seen and scare off their victims. They attacked when the lights were low. They liked their victims young and alone. They tried to attack when no other sharks were around to compete. They learned from previous kills.

 

And they attacked from below, unseen.

 

There's a big difference between great white sharks and serial killers and it comes down to that old gumshoe standard: motive. The great whites attack to eat and survive, not for thrills. And great whites are majestic creatures that should be saved, Hammerschlag said.

 

"They both have the same objective, which is to find a target or prey or victim," said study co-author D. Kim Rossmo, a professor of criminal justice at Texas State University-San Marcos. "They have to lurk. They want to be efficient in their search."

 

The human criminal has to worry about being caught by police and thus is even more careful, said Rossmo, who was a police officer for more than 21 years in Vancouver, British Columbia.

[Flying Pig]

My ambition is to cage dive with a Great White. Obviously I'll be IN the cage, just in case some silly bastards thinks the opposite.

[Guest simon]

Well if they are then pants must be Most Wanted It's a fact that more people die by pants than they do by sharks.

[Flying Pig]

Well if they are then pants must be Most Wanted It's a fact that more people die by pants than they do by sharks.

 

Can Simons carer please collect him from the asylum? Thanks.

[Flying Pig]

Sorry Si, I owe you an apology. This article from National Geographic seems to confirm your beliefs.

 

 

"The legendary great white shark is far more fearsome in our imaginations than in reality. As scientific research on these elusive predators increases, their image as mindless killing machines is beginning to fade. They are one of the most scarest predator in the world just behind the Killer Whale and Corduroy pants, who have been know to chafe their victims to death in bedrooms around the world."

 

 

I'm not going anywhere near TopMan again without a Cord Cage.

[Original202]

They are incredible animals. But they get such a bad press and most cage diving firms take people down when the sharks are hungry, and then they wind them up by teasing them which makes them even more aggressive.

 

On the BBC a few months back (No longer on the iPlayer) there was a documentary about a Sarth Efrican dude who swam with great whites - and I don't mean in a cage. It's possible to interact with them if you can show them you're not a threat and if you can regulate and control your own breathing to show them you don't fear them (They can detect fear through the speed of your heartbeat).

 

It was pretty fascinating how he could warn them off using body language, and get close to them whilst always being in control. I love them and would like to observe them from the safety of a cage, they're pretty awesome.

[Cosmos]

Sorry Si, I owe you an apology. This article from National Geographic seems to confirm your beliefs.

 

 

"The legendary great white shark is far more fearsome in our imaginations than in reality. As scientific research on these elusive predators increases, their image as mindless killing machines is beginning to fade. They are one of the most scarest predator in the world just behind the Killer Whale and Corduroy pants, who have been know to chafe their victims to death in bedrooms around the world."

 

 

I'm not going anywhere near TopMan again without a Cord Cage.

 

You really shouldn't unless you're a homosexual student.