[John Gulliver]

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I agree entirely with Spike. Sharks are wonderful animals. Count yourself lucky if you see any! Having said that, and although most species are completely harmless, certain species that are quite common in the Red Sea ARE potentially dangerous and it's common sense not to make them feel threatened in any way. Just stay where you are and admire them from a distance. They are very curious and may come quite close to check you out but they are highly unlikely to attack. The only time I've ever seen any signs of aggression from a shark was when I swam towards a grey reef shark in order to get a better pic. That species are very territorial and will protect their territory if they feel it is being invaded. Provided you treat them with repect, you've little or no reason to fear sharks.

 

[John Gulliver]

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White-tip reef sharks don't even count as real sharks in my opinion. They're just pretend sharks! They're very small and very scared of divers. Unless you pull their tails or poke them in the eye, they are about the least dangerous species you can encounter.

 

[John Gulliver]

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Well, you definitely won't see one of those (Great white)!

 

[John Gulliver]

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Quote[/b] (Dominic @ Oct. 14 2003,11:47)]John's quite right - you won't see one.
The first you'll know about a great white is when it clamps its jaws around your torso and bites you in two.

Didn't know you were such a sadistic bugger, Dom  

 

[John Gulliver]

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Quote[/b] (Steve W @ Oct. 14 2003,11:54)]My old PhD supervisor , who spent years diving around the Caribbean day in day out, said he was never put in danger by a shark encounter, but you know those cute and cuddly bottlenose dolphins? Twice he nearly died when he got harrassed by those.

Oh, God, Steve! Now you've done it! Isn't it enough that the poor girl's pissing herself in case she sees a shark without your telling her dolphins are out to get her too?  

 

[John Gulliver]

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Quote[/b] (Steve W @ Oct. 14 2003,15:06)]Sharks have far more to fear from Man than we have from them.

Sadly, all too true. We kill somewhere between a hundred and two hundred million every year  

 

[John Gulliver]

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Mine was less reassuring. He said: "You'll never see sharks on a night dive, but THEY'LL see YOU"!

 

[John Gulliver]

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Quote[/b] (ainsley @ Oct. 16 2003,11:01)]Hi Kate

Just got back from the Red Sea and saw my first shark.

The sighting, (White tip reef shark about 1.5m long), had our group spell bound for the duration it was visible and was definitely the highlight of our week. (We were diving at Jackson reef in the Straits of Tiran).

None of us were worried about the encounter and just enjoyed the show.

Rob

A white-tip reef shark couldn't scare anyone. I bet some of you would've been a bit nervous if you'd seen an ocean white-tip or tiger shark, though! I've had close encounters with lots of sharks, including bull sharks and hammerheads, but I'm still not too keen about the thought of a close encounter with a tiger shark, even though I know it would be very unlikely to attack me. I love seeing sharks but they are unpredictable, some species more so than others, so, personally, I combine that love with a healthy respect. I'd hate to be one of the very few divers that have been attacked by a shark. Sorry if this goes against what most of us have been saying up to now, Kate.