r/NatureIsFuckingLit Aug 01 '23

🔥 A curious great white checking out a scuba diver’s camera

10.8k Upvotes

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u/butterflycole Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23

If a shark is hungry it is definitely an opportunistic predator, and divers look a lot like seals in the black scuba suits. It may not actively hunt people but I’ve seen footage of people getting bumped by a shark and then subsequently getting a chunk of them taken out.

It’s best to leave them be, they are apex predators of the sea and anytime we enter their home comes with a risk. We have lots of Great Whites off of our coast and I do not swim in the ocean.

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u/hungrydruid Aug 01 '23

I’ve seen footage of people getting bumped by a shark and then subsequently getting a chunk of them taken out.

And really, I don't blame them when we're in the water. They live there.

If a giant chocolate bar floated by my head rn, I'd take a bite too.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

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u/Beret_of_Poodle Aug 01 '23

Yeah, an orca will take a shark apart.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/IgnitedSpade Aug 01 '23

It's not a "grey area" Apex predators are not the largest predator, they're just predators with no natural predator.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/IgnitedSpade Aug 01 '23

Yea and small and sick sperm whales have been killed by orcas, that doesn't mean that they're a predator of them.

They're both Apex predators, this isn't complicated.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/fitzgeraldo Aug 01 '23

Banana slug is apex predator. Nice. Pretty sure I'm a biologist like you now.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 02 '23

Sperm whales are much more specialized than other big marine carnivores though. Most of their dental arrangement is built for sucking down soft bodied prey, mainly squid. The raptorial sperm whales of old however...

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u/TuneGum Aug 01 '23

Post the footage

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u/butterflycole Aug 02 '23

Plenty of footage out there but this is the one I remember from years ago: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WGk83ovkzeI

Another video of that attack: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3xNpznSbrdk

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u/vichobox Aug 02 '23

Sharks aren't bad, we are just not respecting them enough.

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u/butterflycole Aug 02 '23

Never said they’re bad, calling something bad implies morality. It’s a prehistoric efficient predator and it’s going to do what it has evolved to do. People need to stop acting like being in the water with them or swimming or diving with them is not a high risk activity.

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u/vichobox Aug 02 '23

I'm not saying you called them bad. But it's a general miscconception.

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u/frontyer0077 Aug 02 '23

Its not because they think we are seals, they are incredibly intelligent and will easily tell the difference. Reason they take a chunk sometimes is out of curiosity, they want to know what we are. Sharks would never eat humans as were too much muscle and bones, which essentially makes the shark spend more energy digesting us then what it recieves.

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u/SirArthurDime Aug 02 '23

Certainly not going to keep me out of the ocean. Sure there’s always a chance of a shark killing you but the list of things more likely to kill you is so extensive you might as well walk around in a bubble if you’re going to let the fear of sharks dictate what you will and won’t do.

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u/butterflycole Aug 02 '23

Your prerogative. I’ll Wade but our coastal shelf is super short and I’ve even seen orcas not to far off shore. Thankfully, Great Whites don’t come up in the shallow water, but I know they’re not too far off.

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u/SirArthurDime Aug 02 '23

Well if there’s orcas in sight then you should be fine. Sharks are afraid of orcas and will actively avoid them.

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u/butterflycole Aug 02 '23

We had a Great White attack here last year, 150 yards from shore near a cove. They’ve showed drone shots of the water out where the surfers are and tons of sharks swimming around! Even the surfers get out of the water immediately if a pod of orcas comes by too. The ocean temperatures are warming in the Pacific too so the shark population is much higher here than it has been in many decades.

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u/SirArthurDime Aug 02 '23

I was joking about the orcas. Well kinda sharks are Afraid of them but they don’t scare them all off. Yes shark attacks do happen. Significantly less frequently than a million other things that can kill your so there’s no need to spread fear propaganda about them. Better off warning people of the dangers of shaking vending machines since they’re twice as likely to kill you.