Wednesday, February 07, 2007

"Monster" Great White Shark Spotted Off Sydney Beaches

Cue music : duh dum, duh dum, duh dum dumdumdumdumdum....

It's said to be at least 15 feet long, and has already eaten a dog and a pelican. It's a great white shark, and it's prowling off Sydney beaches.

The "monster" sized shark was described in this report as having "a tendency for aggressiveness." Unlike all those other 15 feet great whites that are complacent and friendly.

“There is evidence to show that this shark has been taking animals,” said Stephen Leahy, the rescue services manager for Surf Lifesaving Sydney.

A couple of eyewitness reports :
“I just went down to the beach, everything was nice and calm and then all of a sudden it was like a boat taking off with all the wake; but we could only see the fin and the shadow...”

Mangan, who owns the Boatshed Cafe on the seafront corroborated Leahy saying, “I definitely know about the pelican being eaten, because the helicopter pilots who saw it happen come for coffee in my cafe. They said it was a White Pointer.”

Mangan was worried about his business. “I rely on people coming swimming and then eating at my cafe. The shark has been hanging around for over a week. I hope it goes away soon,” he said.
But wait a minute, there seems to be a bit of a dispute about whether or not sharks are actually aggressive. Apparently sharks are not aggressive, they're just "curious".

Yes, curious about what your lower torso tastes like.

Shark expert Matt Jacobs informs :
“Sharks, unfortunately for us, don't have hands, and so use their mouth to feel. They are curious and sometimes soft bodied animals, like us, can be damaged.”

“They could just be curious but because it's a shark, people think it is being aggressive...”
Matt appears to be saying that if sharks, uh, had hands, they would not be biting off so much of you when they came up to see what you felt like (?).

They're just curious, you see, and all that chomping and thrashing and foaming blood and sea water is just how a great white shark gets to know you better.

So far the "monster" shark has spotted off La Perouse Beach, but shark alarms have also been raised at Bondi.

Swimmers Should Think Twice "Until This Monster Goes Away"

December, 2006 : Surfers Had To Be Talked Out Of Returning To The Waves After Vicious Shark Attack

Head In Shark : "Poke The Bastard In The Eye"