Would you let your 5 y.o. child swim with sharks and then post on FB? (teenagers, appropriate)
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See I take issue with these sorts of statements and I do not mean to single out Zimbo because they are prevalent by many in this thread.
The only reason why it is statistically safer is because more people drive, and people spend more time in cars.
What are there, 40K traffic fatalities a year? Divide that by number of people in the US it and it is about 0.0001% (I should check my math because its late but I cant be bothered). That of course includes everyone in the US. Same with any numbers on shark attacks. But many people live in places like Kansas and do not go in the ocean all year let alone everyday (like most Americans drive).
My point is not to fear sharks or other wild animals but to truly respect them and understand that they truly are unpredictable. They are apex predators and when you go into their environment, especially when you are feeding them, you are risking injury.
It really concerns me as a scientist that the only two opinions that seem to exist are either that sharks are evil and will absolutely kill you in or that since the odds globally are low for shark attack that you have nothing to worry about, even when feeding them. Not sure where the extremes come from.
I like sharks, but i sure aint gonna swim with them :X
Not a problem. The world isn't childproof and there are a lot of things happeneing every day, every second, that puts kids and adults in "danger" that's called LIVING. There looked to be a lot of people in that water in that video so I'm going to assume kids swim with sharks all the time....you just don't get the opportunity to see it and comment on it and get all freaked out over it since it's got nothing to do with you.
I agree with the sentiment for the most part but I have to quibble over the details.
Swimming in groups is ZERO protection against a shark attack. The nature of their feeding is to pull individuals out of a school. Additionally, the Indianapolis had over a thousand go in the water. That did not stop the sharks (granted they were not reef sharks).
Second, sharks see exceptionally well, if they were going to go for a prey item they would pick the smallest item present. Pair that with the fact that kids tend to splash around and swim more erratically than most adults (assuming they actually know how to snorkel) and you make it that the child is the most likely target. In the video though, that type of situation is more likely lead to an aggressive bite than a predatory one. As for posturing when they were snorkeling, the one grey reef sharks was posturing with the slightly arched back and staying sideways to them. That can be a threat posturing in reef sharks. But do most people who are snorkeling know that? Especially little kids? I dunno.
I like sharks, but i sure aint gonna swim with them :X
That is of course your choice. It is an amazing experience. I have done it probably a dozen or more times if you count diving and surfing. I have never done one of the feeding trips though, but more for ethical reasons. But I wouldn't have taken my daughter to a shark feeding.
The one time I was bitten by a shark was in a fish tank 4 miles inland. And it was completely my fault. I picked her up without rolling her over first. She made sure I didnt do that again.
And what if a child did roll over a shark? Or make a fast, "prey" like movement? Well....I wonder if the parent would post those pictures also on FB? "Here is my child being attacked by sharks".
Intriguing....child protective services called out my nieghbor the other day for leaving her kids at school after the child care closed...her car broke down in an area with no cell service...and yet, "shark parents" get a pass....go figure it.
Rolling over a shark makes many of them (and all the requiem sharks) catatonic, so likely nothing.
[quote[Or make a fast, "prey" like movement?[/quote]
Probably nothing but it is possible, given the unpredictable nature of sharks that they may snap at the child. Given that they were being fed recently, only up those odds.
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Well....I wonder if the parent would post those pictures also on FB? "Here is my child being attacked by sharks".
I have a picture of my scar from my bite on face book. It is sort of cool in bizarre way.
Quote:
Intriguing....child protective services called out my nieghbor the other day for leaving her kids at school after the child care closed...her car broke down in an area with no cell service...and yet, "shark parents" get a pass....go figure it.
See I think the shark feeding thing was at best bad judgement. My neighbor lets his 6yo ride a full size atv. I also think that is a dumb idea (especially after he broke his femur!! hard to do in a little kid) but I do not think it is neglect. As for your neighbor, I suspect the school called them and they HAD to follow up.
Well, yes, life includes many forms of danger. Some of which can't be helped. Some of which can't be helped while being practical. But then others that can be altogether avoided with practically no downside. That's the level I'm on, regarding this subject. Instead of only focusing on what is (un)likely to be lost, how bout thinking for an instant on what you're hoping to gain? What can be gained from swimming with sharks that can't be gained from swimming with dolphins?
Gosh, I could ask this question about most anything in life. I can see why someone would not allow it, but I don't think someone is a bad parent for allowing it either. C'est la vie!
They would be safer there than driving in mom's car in suburban USA.
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Originally Posted by Lucidkitty
I think people should just drop their kids off in the african savanah to play with lions because life is too short to live in a bubble padded room.
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Originally Posted by lkb0714
See I take issue with these sorts of statements and I do not mean to single out Zimbo because they are prevalent by many in this thread.
The only reason why it is statistically safer is because more people drive, and people spend more time in cars.
What are there, 40K traffic fatalities a year? Divide that by number of people in the US it and it is about 0.0001% (I should check my math because its late but I cant be bothered). That of course includes everyone in the US. Same with any numbers on shark attacks. But many people live in places like Kansas and do not go in the ocean all year let alone everyday (like most Americans drive).
My point is not to fear sharks or other wild animals but to truly respect them and understand that they truly are unpredictable. They are apex predators and when you go into their environment, especially when you are feeding them, you are risking injury.
It really concerns me as a scientist that the only two opinions that seem to exist are either that sharks are evil and will absolutely kill you in or that since the odds globally are low for shark attack that you have nothing to worry about, even when feeding them. Not sure where the extremes come from.
I believe Lucid Kitty's post is more implausible than Zimbo's. The family in question did all of this within a controlled atmosphere with trained professionals. No one is suggesting nor advocating dropping a child unattended with wild animals.
Zimbo has a very good point in that we all take risks with our children when we deem said risks beneficial for ourselves or our children. While I may make a different decision than you, neither of us are necessarily more correct than the other.
And what if a child did roll over a shark? Or make a fast, "prey" like movement? Well....I wonder if the parent would post those pictures also on FB? "Here is my child being attacked by sharks".
Intriguing....child protective services called out my nieghbor the other day for leaving her kids at school after the child care closed...her car broke down in an area with no cell service...and yet, "shark parents" get a pass....go figure it.
Believe half of what you read and nothing of what you hear on FB..so no I don't believe ANYONE could be that dumb to let a kid swim with sharks. Then again, there was that guy whose kid hid in his attic and at first they thought someone had kidnapped him..media went nuts with all sorts of scenarios about what happened to this kid. The parents did some hot air ballooning and they found one of the balloons missing and later found it some miles away down in a field or something. Come to find out, the parents staged his disappearance, made him hide in the attic. Why?? Who knows??? Idiots.
Gosh, I could ask this question about most anything in life. I can see why someone would not allow it, but I don't think someone is a bad parent for allowing it either. C'est la vie!
Ehh, I don't believe in labeling parents "good" or "bad". But I do believe in encouraging them to think about why they do what they do. Honestly, I don't believe that first sentence; give me examples. And of course, I mean things that people let kids do when there is a safer, comparable alternative.
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