INTERACTION

Unit 2.5. White Death

Michelle Parks talks to an expert on sharks, Charles Cling, and a diver and underwater
photographer, Ray Laster. Cling has written a book on sharks and Laster has actually been
attacked by one and is still alive to tell the tale.

MP: I saw a film recently in which a huge shark attacks a young girl and eats her alive.
There's a crowd of people on a beach only a stone's throw away. Charles Cling, can such
things really happen?

CC: It depends where you are, of course, but in places like Australia, certain parts of Africa,
and even the coast of Florida, such things do happen every year.

MP: Well, luckily they can't happen here.

CC: That isn't quite correct. As a matter of fact, they can. sharks are seen fairly frequently off
the English Coast (the Atlantic coast in particular), and not long ago off the Scottish coast
one attacked a swimmer and ripped off his leg.

MP: Really? I almost thought, I mean… I was under the impression that sharks attack human
beings only in warm conditions, in the Pacific or the Caribbean for instance. that is….
Somehow…

CC: No! In point of fact, sharks attack in much colder conditions. But it is true, of course,
that they're more likely to attack when the water temperature reaches about 18 degrees
Centigrade. They become hungrier then and come much closer to shore looking for food.

MP: Ray Laster, tell us about your experience.

RL: Well, about 10 years ago I was doing some underwater photography off the Australian
coast. I was just about to come up and get into the boat, when suddenly this huge shark came
out of nowhere and sank its choppers, you know, teeth into me.

MP: You must have been terrified! I mean weren't you frightened out of your wits?

RL: I go white with fear when I think about it now. But strange as it may seem at the time I
was just dazed. I mean, I hardly realized what was happening.

MP: But surely you were in terrific pain.

RL: No! You may find this hard to believe but I felt almost nothing. If anything, I felt sick.

MP: And how in the world did you get away?

RL: Well, you see, the shark had bitten into my shoulder and chest, and half my arm was
actually sticking down his throat, and so he couldn't bite or swallow properly. With my free
arm, I managed to hit it hard in the snout, nose, and I stuck a finger on his eye. Suddenly, we
just let go. When they pulled me into the boat, I was bleeding like a stuck pig, but luckily, I
was all in one piece.
MP: Charles Cling, how intelligent are sharks?

CC: Oh, they have very tiny brains.

MP: And what's their strongest sense?

CC: They can smell even a tiny drop of blood, half a kilometer away.

MP: In other words, it's their sense of smell.

CC: Yeah... and they're also very sensitive to vibrations from a swimmer or a ship, for
example.

MP: And their eyes?

CC: It may surprise you, but they have a very poor sense of sight. they're even colorblind.

MP: And what should we do if attacked by one?

CC: Try to kick or hit them in the eyes, or on the snout. and if you're religious it might help to
pray!