Shark Attacks

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses that human beings tend to view sharks very differently from other aquatic species, based on the fact that many people have fallen victim to attacks by sharks. The paper then relates that our characterization of sharks as ruthless killers intent on consuming us reflects our emotional response to the concept of being eaten alive. The paper also relates that, contrary to assumption, sharks - even those large enough to consume us - do not actually hunt human beings and that, more often than not, shark attacks on humans are often cases of mistaken identity. The paper concludes with the observation that many species of shark are capable of being hand-fed in the wild without protective enclosures to ensure the safety of the feeders which illustrates how exaggerated the general fear is of unprovoked attack by sharks.

From the Paper:

"Like dolphin, tuna, swordfish, and many other large predatory aquatic species with which we are familiar, sharks must locate and consume other organisms to survive. To do so, they have all evolved physiologically and behaviorally to adapt to their environment and to guarantee successful hunts often enough to survive. Unlike the other aquatic species, we fear attack from sharks disproportionately to the ual risk, simply by virtue of the fact that some of them are large enough to mistake us for their prey under the right circumstances. Our characterization of sharks as ruthless killers intent on consuming us reflects our emotional response to the concept of being eaten alive than
reality."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ellis, R. (1989) The Book of Sharks. Knopf: New York
• Perrine, D. Sharks. (1995) Voyageur: Stillwater
• Research Center for Shark Research (2001); Biology of Sharks and Rays; Accessed October 14, 2007, at: http://www.elasmo-research.org/index.html
• Ritter, E. (2000) Anatomy of Shark Accidents; SharkInfo. Accessed, October 14, 2007, at: http://www.sharkinfo.ch/SI4_99e/accidents.html
• Stevens, J. (1999) Sharks. Checkmark: New York

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