Nurse Sharks attack?

[kevinj1]

When did Nurse Sharks just start attacking people for no reason?
Something seems wrong with this story.

http://www.townhall.com/video/News/895787

[JCAT]

I didn't see any Nurse Sharks in the video and I highly doubt that the kid's bite marks came from a 3-4' Nurse Shark. (Bites don't seem big enough)

As usual, the story seems sideways as reported by the media. Nurse Sharks are not in the habit of attacking unless they are harassed or threatened. I've been close to a few and as long as you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone.

my 2psi

EDIT: I may stand corrected. The pool may have baby Nurse Sharks in it with people hand feeding them.

[scubasavvy]

Nurse sharks are way too mellow to bite. If they did, the idiot who got bit probably deserved it...

[CrzyJay456]

Originally Posted by scubasavvy

Nurse sharks are way too mellow to bite. If they did, the idiot who got bit probably deserved it...

i agree.
the boy had to pull on its tail or something dumb like that to make a docile creature attack. i'd understand if it was a bull or g.white... but a nurse shark, not unprovoked.

[ianr33]

What? A teenage boy messing with a small shark? Surely not !!

[wxboy911]

I really have to wonder what was going on before the kid got bit...Either he was bothering the shark or the shark thought he was bothering him-It was a Nurse or at least that is what they reported. I always feel like there is more to every story we see on the news that we may never know...I think they should have interviewed the shark.

[GDiver]

I've only dove with nurse sharks a few times, but they seemed extremely docile. I also don't remember them having such big teeth!

[JCAT]

The first picture in the video of a shark swimming overhead is interesting. One does not need to wonder wonder why the reporter used that clip.

The South Africans call him Mr. Ragged Tooth, the Australians call him a Gray Nurse and in South Carolina we call him a SandTiger.

There may be as many as six distinct species of sand tigers (odontaspids), of which O. taurus is the one found in American waters. The species nomenclature is confusing, because this is a fairly common shark in the waters of Australia, South Africa, South America, Japan, India, and China; and in some locations it has a different scientific name. The common names are confusing as well: in America C. taurus is called the sand tiger -- not to be confused with the tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvieri -- but in South Africa C. taurus is called the ragged-tooth. In Australia C. taurus, is called the grey nurse -- not to be confused with the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum. Everyone agrees, though, that all the species closely resemble one another. These sharks have a staring yellow eye and a mouthful of the wickedest-looking teeth in sharkdom. They are grayish brown above, lighter below, and often have a series of irregular dark spots on the flanks. They have a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and teeth that are always erect and decidedly "fanglike." The fins are heavy and fleshy, often tipped with black on the posterior margins. The first dorsal is situated fairly far back, and is close to the second dorsal, which is almost as large as the first. The base of the tail is stocky. They reach a maximum length of about ten feet in the Atlantic, but larger ones have been reported in other locations. In some places they are considered harmless, while in others they are considered very dangerous. In American waters, Carcharias taurus is considered to be unaggressive and fairly easy to catch, and so it is often used as an aquarium specimen -- where its snaggle-toothed face makes it a popular shark for viewing and photography.

Reprinted from Source: The Book of Sharks by Richard Ellis

[kevinj1]

Thanks Jcat for the sand tiger breakdown. Of course the media has to use a jagged tooth shark to represent the species. Meanwhile, if many people swam with nurse sharks, they would realize how calm and docile they really are.

[divechaplain-sara]

Didn't the boy's mom (or was it grandmother) say that she hoped he had been taught a lesson that when he catches those big fish they might turn around and catch him back? That sounds like an admission that he was harassing the animal before it latched on to him.