Shark Words

Something strange in society that is never mentioned is how the reality we face as adults does not correspond in important ways to the one we learned about growing up. Since this discrepancy remains unacknowledged, each of us discovers and must investigate its length and breadth alone.   The irrational nature of the bias held against sharks in Western society became evident to me during discussions on the Internet discussion list, Shark-L from 2002 to 2008. Being familiar with the behaviour of several species of wild sharks, I found that the members seemed to be talking about a different animal. While a large proportion of those posting on the list were apparently in thrall to the great white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) , a variety of shark scientists and shark fishermen from many countries were also members; membership at that time was between 450 to 500 people. The subject of shark attacks commonly generated avid discussion, and during the year that Discovery Channel presen...

  In April, 2016, National Geographic featured an article entitled “ The War on Science, ” which questions why many scientific claims face a storm of opposition from the public. It explains that these criticisms result from a tendency to believe in one's religious or political position, rather than in the facts, which is a recent finding by Dan Kahan of Yale University. Yet, the problems with modern science which might contribute to this public attitude were not examined--when one looks out across the ravaged earth, National Geographic's statement “Modern science is based on things it got right,” appears in a different light. In addition to widespread pollution and the destabilization of the climate, human activity has caused the sixth mass extinction, the tropical forests needed to support the life-giving atmosphere are devastated, and the oceans are showing signs of ecological collapse. Why, at the height of science's glory, has it had such a destructive eff...

When I give talks about my study of shark behaviour, the most common question I am asked is : “But weren't you afraid of the sharks?” Well of course, but to me, those sharks were simply wild animals. I had often been fearful, during my long history of observing wild animals, but never had an animal threatened me. On the contrary, I learned at an early age that it was the men in the forest, not bears, not mountain lions, not snakes, who were really dangerous. When I was growing up in North America, there was one serial killer after another in the local news. Every couple of months, another girl or young woman would be found, naked, bruised, and bloody after a nightmare death, in some dark corner of the forest, to the shock of her weeping family. Those were the monsters who lay in wait along my pathways, as a young wildlife artist and ethologist. The first time I had to run for my life, I was only four years old. At twelve, I was grabbed by a strange man while walking...