Deep Dark Water - Shark Attack StoriesIts Not Safe.               Shark Attack Chronicles.

Just looking at a picture of a great white shark can simultaneously evoke feelings of awe for its strange beauty and of dread for its killing prowess. Imagine how your body would react if you were to suddenly meet one in the open waters.

When seen from above, the shark tends to blend into the sea due to its darker dorsal coloring. Its camouflaged as well from below as its lighter grey - white color casts a minimal silhouette against the sun. With rows of razor-sharp teeth and elegant lines, its easy to see why its such an effective predator.

They usually range anywhere from 13 to 16 feet in length and generally weigh between 1500 to 2500 lbs. Occasionally, however, there are a few large ones weighing as much as 4200 lbs and growing as long as 20 feet.

This shark is known as an apex-predator, meaning its main function is to control the population of other fish. Any animal with a high content of fat is preferred , with great white typically targeting rays, tuna, smaller sharks, dolphins, seals, and sea lions. They have been known to sample nearly anything, however, and have even eaten objects they are unable to digest.

The only exceptions to the apex-predator rule is humans, which have contributed greatly to the sharks conservation status of “threatened”. There is also the occasional attack on a great white by an orca. Dolphins have been known to kill great whites, by repeatedly ramming the shark in groups. Larger great whites have also been known to feed on smaller specimens.

Studies have shown that they typically hunt in the mornings, usually within two hours after sunrise. Apparently its the most difficult to see a shark near the bottom around this time. A great white will typically attack its prey with a forceful bite, leaving the animal wounded and then later go in to finish after its stopped struggling.

Date: August 23, 2007 Late-night
Location: Sarasota Bay, Florida
Shark: Bull Shark

Andrea Lynch was on a boating trip with friends off of the coast of Sarasota, FL when she and some others decided to go for a late-night swim. A 7ft-long bull shark interrupted the fun. As she lay on her back in the ocean the shark anchored its teeth into her side, sinking them into her hips and ribs.

“I was screaming. There was blood all over.”

The shark shook her, and then released quickly, allowing Andrea to race back to the boat. Apparently, since it was night her friends didn’t see the attack and thought she was joking, refusing to believe that a shark had attacked her.

“I reached back with my hand”, she said, “and felt these gashes on me, and there was blood running down my body and pooling into the boat.” She ended up with 17 puncture wounds several of them just narrowly missing her lungs.

She later joked, “Either it didn’t like the taste of human or it thought I was too bony.”

Date: June 21, 2008 9 AM
Location: West Cove Catalina Island Southern California
Shark: 15 Foot Great White

It was a family day the Pereira family would never forget! Bettina, her husband Andrew, and their three children took a fishing boat to the West Cove of Catalina Island on June 21st, 2008.

Betty decided to take a kayak out around that part of the cove. She was in 50 feet deep water, which quickly dropped off to nearly 500 feet beyond her starting location. Suddenly she felt what seemed like a boat slam into the back of her kayak!

Looking around, she turned and saw the huge body of a shark coming up fast from underneath her kayak. The force of the shark’s next impact threw her and the kayak into the air, Bettina landing directly on the sharks back, feet first. She pushed off of the shark’s body and started racing towards the family’s boat.

Later Bettina said that all she could think about as she headed for the boat was that her family was going to watch her get killed by a shark. She was eventually picked up by another boat in the area whose crew had witnessed the event. They said she was in giddy with a certain euphoria over still being alive.

Sources: sharkattacksurvivors.com, lionofjudah

Known to researchers as CA2, this Orca turns the tables and attacks sharks! She’s a 25 foot long female who seeks out, hunts down, and kills great white sharks for their livers.

Apparently Orcas, not sharks, are the true apex-killers in the ocean. Although its rare to see a killer whale attack a shark, there are photos and even an actual video of CA2 tearing apart a great white.

This is crazy, I mean, why not just throw a silverback gorilla in there to top it off ..

Most of the time killer whales prey on sea lions, sting ray, salmon, and whales.. even large whales! Their hunting techniques seem to go beyond those of a shark’s though and border on the wild, outrageous, and intelligent.

Besides the distinction of being the only animal besides humans known to hunt and kill sharks, orcas often show strong intelligence as they stalk their prey. For example, some species of orcas have learned to sneak up on sea lion pups on the beach! The result is a dramatic blast from the ocean with water and sand flying as the killer whale snatches the baby sea lion, flipping it behind with its tail and into the ocean. They’ll then play with the poor lion by flinging it back and forth with other orcas before eventually eating.

As the story goes, orcas got their name from attacking and killing whales. Whalers who witnessed this called them “whale killers”. Somehow the name was transposed along the way and they ended up being called “killer whales”. There is actually a well-documented attack on a blue whale, the largest mammal on the planet off the coast of Mexico where several orcas attacked it and nearly brought it down.

Despite all the attention and notoriety given to sharks, Orcas are the true top predators of the sea.

Returning the Favor ?

One of the worst things about a fatal shark attack is the how the helpless victim must feel. A life has been needlessly taken away in a random act by a nearly mindless killer. But can we really get revenge?

Really, how do you avenge a shark attack ? And what’s the point ? And your first task is nearly impossible — finding your shark. Sharks are known for traveling great distances, sometimes over 40 miles in a day. The chances that you’ll find the killer in the same area are extremely poor. Fishing for the culprit is extremely unlikely to be effective.

The movie Jaws characterizes a shark with a personality. A hunting machine gone slightly haywire, this fictional shark is bent towards seeking out human flesh as its prey. It seems as if this film has framed the real sharks as killers with attitudes.

Humans are generally attacked by mistake or out of curiosity. In fact, a shark that attacks a human is unlikely to do it again. Maybe we just don’t taste very well! Who really thinks that we should go out and hunt down a shark after it attacks someone? To me, that borders on absurdity.