The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Posted: 20 Nov 2011 11:02 PM PST

They are viewed as the most vicious killing machines in the animal kingdom, but sharks are like any other creature looking for survival.

IT must be a recurring nightmare for shark conservationists to repeatedly see shark movie after movie rolling out of Hollywood studios since the first and all-time most terrifying shark movie, Jaws, came out in 1975.

With every new fact uncovered on sharks not being man-eaters, the cause seems to have taken a step back with the likes of Shark Night, Deep Blue Sea, 12 Days Of Terror, Raging Shark ... movies that portray the fish as savage, senseless killing machines.

But Discovery Channel is bent on keeping the record straight, and with it being Shark Week this week, programmes such as Jaws Comes Home: Return Of The Great Whites, Summer Of The Shark 2, Rogue Sharks, How Sharks Hunt, Great White Triangle, Great White Invasion and Great White Christmas are set to debunk many of the baseless myths about sharks being ruthless man-eaters.

Dr Vic Peddemors, a senior scientist attached to the Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence, and who also heads the shark research programme at New South Wales Of Primary Industries in Australia, was on hand via a teleconference to debunk the misconceptions of one of the most evolved species in the animal kingdom.

He reckons sharks have had a bad name because of man's fascination for fierce creatures. "I think that we humans have an ingrained fear of any animal that can potentially eat us. It probably goes back to Neanderthal Man days when we had to protect the family from the sabre tooth tiger, and things like that. Of course, with sharks, it's not just animals that can eat us, it's that we can't see them, too, so that's an additional factor that comes into play," explains the South African, who also investigates shark attacks around the New South Wales region. This job includes determining the types of sharks involved in the attacks and their sizes.

Dealing with wild animals should always be a practice of applying common sense. Just like it's not advisable to walk into a lion's den, don't treat a shark like it's a domesticated animal. So, there's no need to fear them.

"The chances of somebody being bitten are very low. The most important thing obviously is not to be stupid about it. You need to look at the environment where you're planning to go into the water. If you see a lot of fish activity, it's probably not a good idea to get into the water because there's a good chance that there are sharks busy feeding around the fish.

"If you see birds diving on fish in the water, don't go swimming there. If it's very, very murky water and you can't see very far, particularly in the tropics, there's likely to be bull sharks in those waters. So don't go swimming in big river outflows or even inside the river where you can't see what's going on," Peddemors cautions.

Having said that, though, he reveals that the bull sharks living in the Sydney harbour have not harmed anyone.

If humans should be wary of any shark, three breeds in particular have had a bad track record – the Great White shark, the tiger shark and the bull shark, all of which operate in very different manners and locations.

Great Whites are coastal sharks that travel long distances in search of mammals like seals, dolphins and whales, hence, they thrive in cooler waters.

Bull sharks are more tropical in nature and can be found in the Zambezi River in Mozambique, Africa, which makes them tolerant to fresh water. They are also found in Australia and Asia.

The tiger shark is easily identified by the stripes on its body. These magnificent creatures have been behind many shark attacks in Hawaii and Hong Kong, though in Peddemor's experience, he sees them as fairly timid.

Timid or not, being in shark-infested waters is not a desirable proposition. Should someone find themselves in such an unenviable situation, Peddemor advises being calm and collected. He says that if you can see a shark, it's highly unlikely that it will come to bite you. And as crazy as it sounds, he advises swimming towards a shark if it approaches.

"It turns around and swims away ... because it doesn't know what you are. I've found that time and again. I know it's a strange thought to most people, but it definitely works. If nothing else, hit it on the nose. The nose of a shark is full of very, very sensitive organs. And so, if you bang it on its nose hard enough, it's probably going to turn around and leave you alone."

Sharks, like cockroaches and crocodiles, are one of the few creatures that have survived since the dinosaur age, and Peddemors attributes it to the animal's successful survival strategy.

"What we do know is that for a large number of sharks, if their food runs out, they can move on to other types of food. So, maybe it's that ability to adapt that has allowed them to survive this long. But obviously the ocean is far more stable an environment than land, so that will also have helped it over the years," he reveals.

Safe to say, human meat has yet to make it into the shark's menu. This puts the theory of rogue sharks – known to have a taste for human flesh – to rest once and for all.

"The concept that once they've tasted human blood, they then start feeding on humans – there's no evidence for that. They don't encounter humans often enough to take that as an option," Peddemors explains.

Ultimately, sharks have more to fear of humans because we eat them more than they eat us. Shark fin soup continues to be a delicacy in Oriental cuisine, and over-fishing is also bringing down the number of sharks globally.

Hopefully, with the series of documentaries lined up for Shark Week, these majestic and fascinating fishes will be better understood and appreciated for generations to come.

Catch Jaws Comes Home: Return Of The Great Whites (today), Summer Of The Shark 2 (Tuesday), Rogue Sharks (Wednesday), How Sharks Hunt (Thursday), Great White Triangle (Friday), Great White Invasion (Saturday) and Great White Christmas (Sunday), all of which screen at 10pm on Discovery Channel (Astro Ch 551).

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 20 November 2011