Cautious and hesitant

Cautious and hesitant

Contrary to popular belief, sharks are cautious and hesitant creatures, and since it is unknown to these animals that our power and agility are no match for them, a potentially stressful situation may arise for them. The egocentric view of humans to see themselves as being in danger when facing a shark should be put aside. Humans should try to imagine the same situation from the shark’s point of view. Chances are that this very shark a person is facing has swam for 10, 20, or even more years through the oceans without ever having run into anything unknown, and as so many times before, it once more picks up a familiar sound, suggesting a known prey, creates a search image, but instead runs into a human being. The likely confusion might get even worse should the person float within an odor corridor of some kind, i.e., down current of an active fishing pier. The shark’s impression might then be more than puzzling, leading to an internal conflict: attracted by familiar sounds and smells and put on alert by a visual mismatch. Should this conflict not force the animal to withdraw, an interaction may take place that could not be more unique for both sides. Although the shark does what evolution taught it for millions of years, it needs to reevaluate everything it knows when interacting with humans. Likewise, a person can only act according to what he or she has learned about these animals or as per cues from the subconscious mind. Once a person is capable of blocking the erroneous media created image, lets the situation develop without prejudice or fear and solely tries to interpret the shark’s signals and the environmental factors, an encounter will be rewarding, and not just for the person but the shark as well.