# Would you swim with sharks? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481 "2009-09-17T19:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/21 "2009-09-17T21:57:32Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Depends on the sharks. > > Yes with blue, leopard, whale, black/whitetip reef, and nurse sharks. Not that different than hiking near bobcats, wolves, or moose. > > No with great white, bull, oceanic whitetip, and tiger sharks. Too much like hiking near lions, tigers, and grizzlies. > > Others would need further study. > > I’ve heard that nurse sharks are involved in a small proportion of diver deaths. Apparently, morons harass them and wind up with the fish clamped onto their arm and/or a severed air line. Any truth? The worst I have heard is one guy who got his face bitten off after hugging and kissing a nurse shark. He lived, though. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/22 "2009-09-17T22:49:26Z")
I’ve scuba dived with sharks, or rather dived places where sharks turned out to be. While diving on my honeymoon a hammerhead swam right behind me and I missed seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/23 "2009-09-17T23:19:31Z")
Honestly, I wouldn’t do it for the same reason I don’t swim with dolphins (or feed the bears in Yellowstone or pet the chimps in Kenya.) Wild animals are better off if they don’t get accustomed to being around people - especially if there’s food involved. It would be bad for the sharks if they got the idea that small boats full of people = food. I can’t help wishing for it though. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/24 "2009-09-18T00:44:46Z")
I’ve had blue sharks approach within about 10’ during dives in the Virgin Islands. Saw a tiger shark in Hawaii (Big Island) that didn’t seem very curious. > [@Weedy](#): > > … guy who got his face bitten off … I _hate_ when that happens. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/25 "2009-09-18T02:59:33Z")
> [@Shark](#): > > Yes? > > I guess I know now why no one wants to get in the pool with me ☹ It’s either that or my leopard print speedo. I hate animal prints. Besides, I’ve heard a rumor that you still “go” in the water – I thought you were supposed to stay in the kiddy pool if you did that. I might do the cage dive thing if there were lots of other tasty targets around 😛 and people weren’t doing dumb shit like teasing the sharks or getting too close to them. I’m thinking more along the lines of everybody hangs out in the water and watches the sharks in a relatively controlled setting with escape and rescue options. I would not do a wild, unfed, unknown shark swim (presumably the captive sharks know the routine and are used to having people around, at least to some extent). My objections are along those laid out by Merneith, and also ones of self-preservation. My opinion as a relatively risk-averse person is that it would not be worth the (probably small) risk of getting hurt. I know that shark attacks are VERY rare compared to, say, driving, but I do not trust wild animals with strong predatory instincts, and it would only take one shark incident to ruin my day. Working with horses, a domesticated and thus supposedly very safe animal, and nevertheless getting minor injuries and seeing other people get seriously hurt, I have come to realize that there is no such thing as an animal that you can trust 100% and be able to predict its reactions, even if you have known it its whole life. With something as big as a shark or a horse, I can not see taking unnecessary risks. These safety concerns are just MHO and apply only to me and not to what the braver or more motivated people decide to do, as long as the sharks are not unduly affected. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/26 "2009-09-18T03:05:18Z")
If you’ve spent much time in salt water, you’ve probably been much closer to sharks than you realize. I’ve seen six feet long hammerheads and tigers within fifty yards of the shore in water about six feet deep. I don’t swim in the Gulf anymore; I pushed my luck enough when I was younger. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/27 "2009-09-18T04:54:06Z")
The different responses to this OP correlates/indicates pretty clearly a significant difference between respondents: whether they’re scuba divers or not: - Most scuba divers (with some dive trips under their belts) not only are not afraid of sharks, but consider it a treat to see them on a dive (no cage, no protection). - The majority (big generalization, I know) non-divers consider all sharks to not only be dangerous, but naturally aggressive. There are some 90+ species of sharks in the oceans, and of those only something like 5 or 6 are known to be aggressive to humans. And “aggressive” doesn’t mean “hunt them out whenever they smell humans in the water”, but rather there had been “incidents” (among the 100’s of encounters that were incident free). In case you hadn’t guessed, I am a diver. And I have been in the water with lots of sharks: reef sharks (carribean, white tip, black tip), “wussy” nurse sharks (although I have video of one munching a parrot fish, and it did not appear all that “wussy”), leopard sharks, horned sharks, whale sharks, and 100’s of (the dreaded) hammerhead sharks. No cage, no chain mail. Never an incident. Never even any “aggressive” moves. So for all the non-divers, here’s an interesting tidbit about these “dangerous man-eaters”: most of the ones you encounter are afraid of your bubbles (including the hammerheads) ! Most things underwater are not too thrilled with your bubbles, and sharks are no different. This is the trick you learn to get close to take pictures - you time it with your exhales to be able to not scare them away. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/28 "2009-09-18T05:18:56Z")
I am another who is both fascinated and terrified of sharks. I snorkled in Okinawa knowing full well that humongous great whites had been caught in the very spot I was milling about, which is kind of surprising in retrospect. If I had actually seen a great white, much less been anywhere near one or been accosted by one . . . well, to borrow from Bill Bryson > [@](#): > > Why, I would die, of course. Literally shit myself lifeless. I would blow my sphincter out my backside like one of those unrolling paper streamers you get at children’s parties–I daresay it would even give a merry toot–and bleed to a messy death. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/29 "2009-09-18T11:57:09Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro2jwQ-r2HA) After that? I’m NEVER cage diving. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/30 "2009-09-18T12:23:08Z")
The knowledge that I’d be very unlikely to be attacked, regardless of the type of shark I was swimming with, wouldn’t stop me from being scared. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/31 "2009-09-18T12:30:17Z")
One of my goals in life is to invent the sport of Shark Rodeo. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/32 "2009-09-18T12:56:27Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > If you’ve spent much time in salt water, you’ve probably been much closer to sharks than you realize. I’ve seen six feet long hammerheads and tigers within fifty yards of the shore in water about six feet deep. I don’t swim in the Gulf anymore; I pushed my luck enough when I was younger. Thanks a lot; now I can never go swimming in the Gulf of Mexico again. 😉 I grew up in Houston & Galveston when I was young, and the Galveston beaches were the first beaches I ever swam in. We still go there when we visit family in Houston. However, I also have this real terror of sharks. I think it was because of _Jaws_. Not the movie (my mom wouldn’t let me go, because I was too young); no, I read the book. That was enough, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/33 "2009-09-18T13:10:09Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > The different responses to this OP correlates/indicates pretty clearly a significant difference between respondents: whether they’re scuba divers or not… Yeah, I think that I would probably be OK if I was diving. If I were scuba diving underwater and could see what’s going on, I don’t think it would be as terrifying as bobbing on the surface with no idea what’s below you. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/34 "2009-09-18T13:38:18Z")
I just watched a couple Youtubes of cage diving where the sharks get partially in the cage. One question- WHY are the openings in the cages so big? The last one I watched the shark was 15 feet long… that is a BIG shark Wouldn’t it be safer to have smaller openings? To answer the original question- I would LOVE to dive with sharks in a cage _if_ the openings were smaller LOL. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/35 "2009-09-18T21:40:56Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > There’s a big tank at the New England Aquarium that holds all sorts of big fish, including IIRC a hammerhead. The feeder gets right in the tank and never gets attacked. The feeder never gets attacked, and the _other fish_ never do either, because the sharks are offered food 10x as often as they eat in the wild. As for swimming with sharks…only really small ones. Animals bigger than me, including horses, make me uneasy to get up close and personal with. If the shark is only 3’ or 4’ and overfed, yeah, I’d swim with it. I’d be more afraid that I’d be accidentally drown by a bigger one than bitten, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/36 "2009-09-18T21:50:30Z")
I would need a brown wetsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/37 "2009-09-20T10:15:12Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > A couple of years ago I went on a Whale Shark tour out of Exmouth in Western Oz. I just happened to pick the only trip of the season that didn’t spot one. The tour operator offered a voucher for a free trip if you didn’t get to see a Whale Shark, but I didn’t have an extra day. Cool. I happen to be in Exmouth tonight. Did you go for a snorkel at Turquoise Bay? It’s common to see black and white tipped reef sharks there and I’ve seen a grey nurse as well. I also had a swim at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands a few weeks ago and saw a small reef shark. I’m generally pretty comfortable around sharks who don’t appear to be aggressive (when I first saw a shark while snorkeling I told myself “all these other fish don’t seem to be scared, why should I be?”) I think, on the question of doing a cage dive with a great white with chum, I wouldn’t do it. Not because of the fear factor, though I’m sure I’d be nervous, but I’m not keen on having wild animals made to perform for us. I’d do a cage dive with great whites if they were just left to their own devices and I could watch them swimming around naturally. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/38 "2009-09-20T11:20:56Z")
Hell yeah. I do a website for my buddies in Thailand, and when they asked how they could pay me, my answer was: “fuck the money, get me in the water with sharks”. In 30+ dives I’ve not seen a single one. ☹ I leave next Feb… if I don’t post again here after then, you know what happened. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/39 "2009-09-20T13:25:04Z")
No one has bothered to try and answer my question- why are the openings so large in a shark cage? All the videos I watched, the openings were WAY bigger than I would be comfortable with. In one, it allowed a 15 foot shark to get in. So, I ask, why not make the openings smaller? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481/40 "2009-09-20T15:22:47Z")
I would never do this, although I am pretty sure I’d be safe. No shark would attack somebody surrounded by that much urine. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do this, but I don’t get death sports anyway. > [@](#): > > There’s a big tank at the New England Aquarium that holds all sorts of big fish, including IIRC a hammerhead. The feeder gets right in the tank and never gets attacked. That sounds like a Siegfried and Roy incident waiting to happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-swim-with-sharks/510481.md?page=3)