Bull sharks

[snagel]

Sounds like several have been watching Shark Week on Discovery. (I've been watching in the back room - sharks freak my son out and I don't want him watching some of this or I will never get him in the water)

Snagel

[caburrid]

Originally Posted by navyhmc

One of the other interesting things about Male bull sharks is that they have the highest level of testosterone in a mg/Kg ratio than any other male species on the planet-talk about your 'roid rage!!!!

Would this explain the aggressive behavior of the bull shark then? Or is it still mostly them thinking you are food in murky water at certain points of the day?

[navyhmc]

That has been one explanation for bull shark attacks or at least it's been suggested. Murky water has it's merits as well. Probably somewhere in the middle of these two theories.

[Splitlip]

Originally Posted by navyhmc

That has been one explanation for bull shark attacks or at least it's been suggested. Murky water has it's merits as well. Probably somewhere in the middle of these two theories.

My brother's girlfriend's son's 14 year old friend was bit recently in the Bahamas by a Bull. (so this is not anecdotal, lol). You might have seen it on the news.

Clear water. (I know surfers get hit by Bulls because good surf limits viz).

Anyway, the kid told me yes, they were spearfishing, but did not have any kills. Somthing about the Bulls I do know; if you slap the bands of a gun around here, they hear it and the sound brings them in. Now in the Bahamas, only Hawaiian slings and pole spears are permitted. Did the sharks hear that? I don't know. To be continued.

FTR, the kid was stabalized in a Bahamian facility before they flew him across and is fine.

The shark got the teeth of the lower jaw in the calf and never quite locked on with the uppers. So when he spit the kid out, the the muscle remained intact.

(IMO, another reason I wear a full suit. I was told about a hundred years ago, the taste of rubber and neoprene discourages the shark and it releases more quickly. It is gonna release anyway once he taste human flesh in most cases.)

Jupiter teen bitten by shark ready to 'get back in the water and diving again'

Edit: I just read the article above. They had an injured fish. Makes more sense now.

[caburrid]

Originally Posted by Splitlip

My brother's girlfriend's son's 14 year old friend was bit recently in the Bahamas by a Bull. (so this is not anecdotal, lol). You might have seen it on the news.

Clear water. (I know surfers get hit by Bulls because good surf limits viz).

Anyway, the kid told me yes, they were spearfishing, but did not have any kills. Somthing about the Bulls I do know; if you slap the bands of a gun around here, they hear it and the sound brings them in. Now in the Bahamas, only Hawaiian slings and pole spears are permitted. Did the sharks hear that? I don't know. To be continued.

FTR, the kid was stabalized in a Bahamian facility before they flew him across and is fine.

The shark got the teeth of the lower jaw in the calf and never quite locked on with the uppers. So when he spit the kid out, the the muscle remained intact.

(IMO, another reason I wear a full suit. I was told about a hundred years ago, the taste of rubber and neoprene discourages the shark and it releases more quickly. It is gonna release anyway once he taste human flesh in most cases.)

Jupiter teen bitten by shark ready to 'get back in the water and diving again'

Edit: I just read the article above. They had an injured fish. Makes more sense now.

This entire thread is the most fascinating thing I have read on ST. We need more threads like this! The bull shark sure is an amazing animal, and it definitely has my respect. I love threads that encourage me to read on about a subject.

[joemamma]

The wife and I were lucky enough to do a shark dive with 3 bulls down in Playa Del Carmen, MX. It was an amazing experience to say the least! They would circle the group then would swim straight at you only to turn at the last minute. They probable came within in 3 feet of me 3 or 4 times. That will wake you up in the morning! With out a doubt it was my favorite dive thus far.

[DMWiz]

That is the one shark in the waters I usually dive that concerns me... I don't know that I would be Mr. cool if I saw what you describe.

[BRsnow]

Originally Posted by DMWiz

That is the one shark in the waters I usually dive that concerns me... I don't know that I would be Mr. cool if I saw what you describe.

The family that we dive with in Cozumel took trips over to playa to swim with them as well. It was earlier in the year though and they were gone when we were down there. Apparently there are bunch of them and some of them are quite large. Not sure if I would do it or not, but it seems once you are in the water you fear abates to an extent...BR

[joemamma]

It was a very last minute type of decision. We got off the afternoon boat and decided to ask if a night dive was available (would have been our first). They said on that day of the week they didn't do a night dive but a shark dive instead. They said the boat is leaving in 5 minutes so if you want to do it, then grab your gear and get on. So it was a mad dash to get on board, and a total of about a 4 minute boat ride to the site. So the first time I had a moment to process what I was about to do was a split second before my back-roll entry. I was surprised at how serene the whole encounter was. I expected to tear through my air at a record pace, but I didn't, instead I was surprisingly calm and relaxed. Not at all what I expected. For me the scariest part was the ascent. We swam away from the site and slowly made our way up, but 2 of the bulls followed us to our exit point and circled at the bottom as we ascended. The vis was a bit limited(35 feet), so by the time we hit our stop depth, you couldn't see them anymore. But you knew they were there!! That was a LONG 3 minutes! Then once we popped the surface it took about 10 minutes for our boat to pick us up due to the rough seas. All the while you cant help but think about them circling below. What a rush!