She's bigger across than the diver is long, she could do serious damage just with a swish of her caudal fin. Also, even if they aren't very hungry, sharks can be very curious and their means of exploring is the mouths. Also also, it is believed she is likely pregnant, which means she is basically ALWAYS hungry, unless she is very close to giving birth, in which case the sharks body will actually shut down the predation drive temporarily, until after delivery(so they don't eat their pups as soon as they give birth)
In regards to her fins, that is correct, but no more so than swimming with a whale, dolphin, seal, sting ray etc. All have the potential to do extreme harm with varying degrees of effort just on the basis of proximity.
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Her size is likely part of what keeps her from viewing him as a threat of any kind.
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As for her being "always hungry" I see no reason why this would be the case if she had recently had an opportunity to gorge herself. Pregnancy would require more frequent feedings, but the concept that it would make her constantly hungry, regardless of how much she has consumed, seems like speculation. Their pregnancies can last upwards of a year. The fact she makes no attempt to eat the diver seems to disprove the theory that she is in a constant state of insatiable hunger. If she IS constantly hungry, then she clearly has failed to identify him as a worthwhile meal.
There are risks involved when dealing with any animal-- and it usually doubles when dealing with predatorial creatures. If you're not prepared to take into account the context of the creature you're dealing with, then you are quite likely to end up putting yourself in danger.
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However, sharks are far from blood thirsty monsters constantly on the hunt for human flesh. Even when they are hungry humans are rarely at the top of their list. But they're also not one of the super discriminatory species when it comes to food, and they are more inclined to try and find out if you ARE edible when they're hungry. Gives the right conditions, they don't have much interest in people in general.
Oh, I assure you, I am not one who believes sharks are mindless killing machines, and even among sharks, bulls and tigers are more aggressive as a whole, it's just Great Whites are more fatal. This particular incident is at a whale carcass where there had recently been numerous sharks engaged in a feeding frenzy (I just cannot imagine why they dispersed). In the video it actually showed her testing a cage they were in (not sure if before or after this) but it was a pretty gentle testing. The video really gives you a sense of her size, because the case holds at least 3-4 people side by side, and she is easily as wide or wider than it.
They have actually had to put out advisories to novice divers NOT TO TRY TO INTERACT WITH HER. Personally, I feel if they need to be told not to get in the water with a shark LITERALLY THE SIZE OF JAWS, without adequate training and experience, and reason, then honestly our species is probably better off if they end up as a snack. And while sharks fascinate me, and I believe they are a vital part of global ecology, I have ZERO desire to swim with them, even in a cage. Same reason I have no desire to try petting a tiger. Nope.
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· 5 years ago
I pet a tiger once... it was quite nice. They are very soft.
In the wild? Either way, even"domesticated" pet tigers (and any large cat) can be extremely dangerous and even deadly, even without intending to be.
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· 5 years ago
Not in the wild, no. It was born in captivity and very well fed. It seemed to like all the attention from people too. Not a pet, but in a zoo of sorts.
You still want to be extremely careful about those situations. They are so powerful, even playing or affection can be dangerous. There was one case of a tiger raised by a family since a cub, it was playing with their 6 year old and jumped up like a hug, and the force broke her neck. I will never understand why someone thinks a large apex predator is a good pet.
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· 5 years ago
Oh I 100% agree with you, I don’t think they should be pets at all. This one was rescued from the pet trade as a little cub if I recall correctly. The little zoo/sanctuary thing did petting zoo-type stuff on top of donations to keep everyone fed. It shut down not too long ago I think, and all the animals went to new homes. It was a cool and fun experience, but I had the opportunity for a similar experience at my city’s actual zoo many years later and I turned it down. I have a healthy respect for them as highly evolved apex predators, but I was young and stupid at the time.
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Her size is likely part of what keeps her from viewing him as a threat of any kind.
'
As for her being "always hungry" I see no reason why this would be the case if she had recently had an opportunity to gorge herself. Pregnancy would require more frequent feedings, but the concept that it would make her constantly hungry, regardless of how much she has consumed, seems like speculation. Their pregnancies can last upwards of a year. The fact she makes no attempt to eat the diver seems to disprove the theory that she is in a constant state of insatiable hunger. If she IS constantly hungry, then she clearly has failed to identify him as a worthwhile meal.
'
However, sharks are far from blood thirsty monsters constantly on the hunt for human flesh. Even when they are hungry humans are rarely at the top of their list. But they're also not one of the super discriminatory species when it comes to food, and they are more inclined to try and find out if you ARE edible when they're hungry. Gives the right conditions, they don't have much interest in people in general.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/marine-biologist-swims-20-foot-long-great-white-shark-n960241