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Great white jumps on to research boat
Shark researchers in South Africa didn't have to go far Tuesday to find a specimen - a 10-foot great white shark leaped into the back of their boat. And rather than a story of the big one that got away, this is a story of a big one they couldn't get rid of.
The boat, from Ocean's Research in Mossel Bay on South Africa's southern coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, was chumming in the waters around Seal Island and monitoring the activity of four sharks as part of an ongoing study, researchers reported on their blog.
“Next thing I know I hear a splash, and see a white shark breach out of the water from the side of the boat hovering, literally, over the crewmember who was chumming on the boat's port side,” field specialist Dorien Schroder wrote on the blog. He pulled the crewmember to safety while others jumped out of the way of the 1,100-pound shark.
Schroder said the shark landed with only half of its body on the boat, and the crew hoped it would slide off. This shark, however, wanted to hang around.
The shark thrashed about and became stuck in a 5-by-6.5-foot area on the stern of the boat, cutting the vessel's fuel lines in the process.
Schroder's crew on the Cheetah radioed for help from other researchers aboard the boat Laminade. Schroder poured water on the shark's gills to keep it alive as they waited 15 minutes for help to arrive. Researchers then tied a rope around the shark's tail and tried to use the Laminade to pull it off the Cheetah to no avail.
After the Laminade towed the Cheetah back to port, a water hose was inserted into the shark's mouth to keep it alive as a fishing boat used its crane to lift the animal by its tail and drop it in the harbor.
Shark tale over, right? Not quite.
About a half hour later, the researchers found the shark beached on a small area in the harbor.
Two researchers, Enrico Gennari and Ryan Johnson, tried to walk the animal into deeper water. The shark was having none of it, but the researchers weren't about to give up.
The attached ropes from their boat to the shark's tail and pectoral fins, tilted its head up so its gills could work properly, and towed it about a half-mile outside the harbor, where the shark regained strength and swam away.
Researchers were satisfied.
"It is impossible to predict everything that can happen," they said on the blog. "What is important is how you respond to such situation. No one was injured and the shark survived, this is a credit to our team, the port authorities and members of the community who assisted."
And they do have a whale of a shark story to tell their kids.
Jaws...Roy Scheider...Scheider..Roy...SCHRODER!!
Maybe the shark was attempting suicide. They could have just helped the brotha out.
COULD HAVE BEEN SHARK SUSHI FOR DINNER..
I think they're going to need a Bigger Boat.
LOL! Like your sense of humor, JFK!
ROFL. Yep, sharky was just trying to say, "Thanks for all the fish."
LOL
KNOCK KNOCK......errr....ahhhh CANDYGRAM
I like how it looks like the shark got caught with his nose in the chumbox... haha
Great story
"...where the shark regained strength and swam away." to kill a man some other day – what a story.
Shark was sensing the fat/blood. Was not in search of human being..
Sharks need to eat as well as anything else alive. Sharks do not bite human unless they mistake them for a sea lion, seal,...
You've been watching way too many Hollywood movies..
You have any idea how rare shark attacks are? More people are killed by being crushed by vending machines then from sharks.
[quote]Mike wrote
You have any idea how rare shark attacks are? More people are killed by being crushed by vending machines then from sharks.[/quote]
Oh come on. I haven't killed anyone iwth a vending machine in years.
yea the shark survive to kill another human.i wonder if the scientist r so sure that shark don't eat human why they don't swim with them like a dolphin. or a whale?
I understand you're not very intelligent, but please try to keep up here. If sharks went around actively hunting humans, there would be a lot more shark attacks reported than there are. This is not new knowledge. Read a book, or, hey, switch the channel over to animal planet or discovery and stay away from nickelodeon and the food network for a change.
It's because of their brain functionality and size ...
They are not like Dolphins or Killer whales that are extremely intelligent. You see one has to have the capacity to be trained. Search for my videos playing with wild dolphins out in open water on youtube. Search words "Captain Reza Dolphin Show" . Dolphins are extremely intelligent and curios animals where sharks not so much...
They are lucky that only the fuel lines were damaged, this could have turned out so much differently had this not been shark researchers on this boat...
So true. But then again, if it were just some idiots out there chumming, they wouldn't have known what to do with something that size suddenly in their boat, they're just killers, not big in the brains. I loved the line, "Tried to walk the animal into deeper water." What a hoot! Come on fishie!
A Happy Ending for all
Good thing there were no congressman on board or else they would have "cut, cap and balanced" that shark!
Great Line!!!!!
i would've shot the thing myself. isn't south africa where most people get attacked by sharks?
How about you just stay out of the water like a good boy.
Well it's a good thing you weren't on the boat. To kill a magnificent creature over a freak occurence. You probably tortured and killed animals as kid. Another worthless human being with no positive contribution to the human race. Set yourself on fire and have a nice day.
...and bystanders are still puzzled about the "i'm on a boat, i'm on a boat...." humming
Was probably a beach bum in a previous life, and just wanted to get back in time for happy hour.
What a cool story! Great that no one got hurt and the shark survived.
Nobody wondered what that shark had been through to deliberately attempt to end its life twice on the same day. It'll probably try it again – far away from these interferring researchers.