Posted on 02/01/2006 8:58:09 PM PST by Mongeaux
Makes me want to go fishing. :)
...or a killer whale.
Why? The shark has not harmed or threatened anyone from what I'm reading here. A warning has been issued to people not to swim or surf around where it has been sighted.
And whalers kill whales, not sharks.
Personally I find tapeworms and lice more disturbing. Smallpox is even more so. Really makes you question his intent.
Yep, Orcas are at the top of the food chain. ....and incredibly intelligent, as well.
or mosquitoes
Bears are the source of bear skin rugs. ;-)
And they also are the source of roast bear, stewed bear, etc. The claws make interesting jewelery, and the Chinese pay unbelievable prices for certain body parts. And let's not forget bear paw dishes which the Chinese like.
Let's hear it for Bear Season! ! !
One last thing. Bear have some of the most interesting metabolic mechanisms of any land animal.
Well, I don't have to run very fast, just faster than you.
"I'm sure they do -- I just can't cultivate an appreciation for anything which might not consider that I should be at the top of the food chain, and not somewhere in the middle :-/ LOL"
Should has nothing to do with it. But gunpowdeer does. Ask any wolf, bear, panther, etc. - unless they have been granted "endangered" status under the Endangered Species Act. If granted "endangered" status, they soon start attacking and eating people.
Ask Timothy Treadwell.
Oops, he became bear scat. Oh well. 'Twas a natural death, albeit a prolonged and agonizing one.
"Great White Sharks are about the most awesome and complex creatures alive on Earth"
Awesome I can agree with, but not really very complex.
They don't consider us part of the food chain...as long as we don't bother them.
Are you arare your above mentioned thought contains a good deal of what Professor Lindzenden called "overt unreality"?
You are wrong. Sharks are among the most complex animals alive on Earth.
No animal has human beings on its diet. The only animal on Earth known to actually hunt humans is the polar bear, though where it lives, humans aren't exactly plentiful anyway.
The Great White Shark's primary food source are seals and sea lions. There's a reason for that; as sharks, they have to move constantly in the water. They can never stop or they will sink or die. Therefore, they have to eat constantly to provide the energy to keep moving. They need food that is high in fat. Humans are not a good source of energy because compared to most animals, we are very lean and low-fat. Seals and sea lions, on the other hand, are very high-fat and good energy sources.
Most shark attacks on humans are simple cases of mistaken identity. The shark looks at a surf-board from below and thinks its a seal. Usually, after the shark bites once, it loses interest (though one bite from such an animal can be fatal).
I said "among" the most, not "the" most. I'm talking about sharks from a biological standpoint, not behavioral or psychological. In all of nature, their design ranks high among the most complex. They are highly advanced predators.
<< Why? The shark has not harmed or threatened anyone ... >>
Sharks don't "harm" or "threaten," those are human characteristics.
I had in mind that it be eaten. Lot of shark'n'taties in 19 feet of noah's arc.
Or cut up for bait.
Why?
'Cause we can.
We Humans, not sharks, are atop the food chain.
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