Well, it’s been a week since my last entry, in which we touched on the Ragged Tooth, the Mako, Greenland and Epaulette Sharks. This time, I want to chat about Mick Fanning and his “shark attack” in Jeffery’s Bay. I think the hype is almost past, so now, as an amateur, I want to dissect this “attack” and see just how much danger Mick was really in.
First off, let me say that I can well imagine the utter, paralyzing fear that he experienced at the time of the “attack”, I mean a Great White Shark is considered the apex predator of the ocean, and I think we all breathe a little easier knowing they can’t come out of the sea and walk on land, right? This is the perfect shark, incorporating the speed of the Mako (maybe not as fast, but dam near close enough), the strength of the Whale Shark, the sense of smell of the Greenland Shark, and quite frankly, just the best parts of all the sharks! The Great White Shark is a clever shark, exhibiting not only the mindless actions of an unthinking killing machine, but rather intelligent and cognitive thought, in its travels, its hunting and its survival. It is a worthy advisory!
Having said that, haven’t I already answered the question asked earlier; how much danger was Mick Fanning really in? I guess there are two sides to this reply, one looking at the sheer magnitude of this perfect specimen, might say, Mick was in a great deal of danger and very fortunate to have gotten away unscathed, which I hear, but I think I am more inclined to be of the second school of thought, that considering this creature really has no natural predators and is certainly no prey, Mick was simply the object of the Great White’s curiosity.
Let’s look at why I say this; judging by the size of the fin, which is visible on the footage, I think this shark must have been between 3 and 3.5 meters in length, maybe even larger, which means it was quite capable of taking a rather nasty bite out of Mick, had it wanted to! Mick, himself admits to the fact that the shark got tangled in his safety cord, which of course would frighten him something awful, as it would the shark, and still the shark released itself and swam away, causing no physical damage to Mick or board.
Human beings are simply not the staple diet of these magnificent creatures, and according to statistics more people are killed by lightning than shark attacks! Since 1580 to 2015, there have been only 160 fatal shark attacks recorded. Admittedly of these, 80 were recorded as Great Whites, while 31 were attributed to the Tiger Shark and 21 to the Bull Shark. Sharks are a curious bunch, and will come “check you out” if you are in their environment and they happen to be about that day, which is a scary thought admittedly, but I really do not believe that they are the pre-historic, mindless killing machines as depicted by the media and Hollywood in the attempt to sell papers, magazines and theater seats. I mean, when last did you read in the headlines: “More than 651 days with no shark attacks”?
Till we meet again, keep that toothy grin!
By Nadine Bentley
