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"SHARK ATTACKS"
February 18 2004
ATTACK STORY#5
From Dr. Coppleson's Book
SHARK ATTACK
Printed 1958
Writers for many years, especially in the U.S., have labeled most
stories of shark attacks on humans as "fish yarns". An example of
this type of thinking appeared in the American magazine, Collier's,
in 1944 during World War 2. In all good faith the author of the
article was trying to be helpful, for many American servicemen
were on operations in shark infested tropical and sub-tropical
waters. The author's association with sharks must have been
confined to an armchair, or to a well-bred gentlemanly variety
of shark, for he advised those who found themselves in the track
of an oncoming shark not to be worried.
"When
the shark attacks" he wrote "swim to the side and grab his
pectoral
fin and ride him as long as your breath can hold.
The
shark's belly is his most vulnerable spot, and many cases have
been
reported in which a fisherman has been able to on long enough
to
cut a slit in the shark's underpart. This lets water inside and kills
the
beast almost immediately. ..... All in all, people more from shark
fright
than shark bite"
The
last sentence of this thesis is full of wisdom, the rest must be
regarded
as what the Americans aptly term 'baloney".
During
the war, the United States Navy issued a booklet,
Shark
Sense, to naval personnel who might encounter
sharks in the
tropical
waters. It is cleverly written, delightful, humorous and full
of
sound advice, as well as a sense of proportion on a subject that is
often
over-dramatized. To some extent it falls into the same error as
the
Collier's
article by regarding the killer shark as something that
comes
out of legend rather than actuality.
Another
edition of Shark Sense was
published in the years following
and
the killer shark was treated with more respect- the Navy had
changed
it's mind. According to the publication it is "a mean,
treacherous,
hungry predator". Having warned flyers to beware the
man-eating
shark, this Navy handbook outlines most of the accepted
ways
of reducing the danger from an enemy that never officially
declares
war.
Once
having taken an official interest in sharks, the Americans are
going
into the subject with typical thoroughness. Not only is the
Navy
using all of it's resources on the problem but the American
Institute
of Biological Sciences in June 1958 established a Shark
Research
panel in association with its Hydrobiology Committee.
This
means that the killer sharks are up against a formidable
opposition.
Already
the Panel has set up a world wide organization which,
whenever
s an attack occurs, ensures that a report from a physician
or
scientist on the spot supplying full details of the attack. In January
each
year, the Panel publishes a full list of attacks in all parts of the
world.
Scientists hope that these statisticsw ill guide them to the
sharks'
innermost secrets.
Please Check-In Again Tomorrow For
ATTACK STORY#6
Archives:
ATTACK STORY#1
ATTACK STORY#2
ATTACK STORY#3
ATTACK STORY#4
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