Divers just begging to die

Divers just begging to die

by SouthernFriedInfidel | Published on February 27th, 2008, 7:42 am | Travel

In 1999, I went with my family on a school-related 3-night cruise to the Bahamas. While in Freeport, we tried without success to get a dive tour -- nothing was going to return in time for us to catch our ship. Which was quite a bummer. But while we were checking out the options, I saw something that scared the heck out of me: shark dives.

There were at least two dive operators in Freeport that took divers out to get close-up with sharks. The ones I saw offered to give divers a suit of mail and some dead fish to actually hand-feed sharks. I said, "That's one of the most daft things I've ever heard of! Sharks are going to get accustomed to feeding from human hands and someone is going to get killed."

Well, it looks like at least one diver did manage it. Not in the exact same scenario that I had thought back then, but actually in an even more stupid one. And I have to wonder -- how freaking bone-headed does a diver have to be to get into water with just a wet suit on while a 400-lb eating machine that doesn't mind the taste of human flesh at all is feeding just a few feet away? And all this so they can impress their friends with their photos when they get back to their offices? Bloody HELL!

I've been on many ocean dives over the years and seen my share of sharks. They are wonderful to see as they patrol their area. But I see no reason to try and draw their attention to me, or to give them any reason to think I might have anything like "food" anywhere within 100 yards of my body. I'd prefer that they stick to their business and I'll just stick to mine, thank you VERY much!

I agree, they just make it more dangerous for everyone.

One thing the 'chainmail' gang don't mention is that sharks do a death roll similar to crocodiles. When they have a mouthful they spin to tear out a chunk of meat. This can break bones and tear limbs off - even in a chainmail suit.

Mind you after I saw this clip of an octopus taking down a (albeit small) shark, I had a lot more respect for our mollusk cousins!

Last night on NGC or one of those types, they had a Barracuda TV show... Now that looks like an interesting thing to get chomped up by.

A Person wrote:
Mind you after I saw this clip of an octopus taking down a (albeit small) shark, I had a lot more respect for our mollusk cousins!

Holy Freaking Crap!!!!

What was Mr Sharky Thinking !!!

The Giant Pacific Octopus is a remarkable animal. It grows up to 30 feet in diameter - in about 2 years!

Two years - 30 feet. Think about it, that takes a lot of food.

I set a crab pot off the West Coast one summer, baited with a bit of meat. The first night, the bait just disappeared. The second night I put the bait inside a tin can with some holes punched into it - the next day the can had been opened up as if with a can opener and the bait removed. After seeing that I was a lot more respectful of octopi. (I have a photo somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.)

I do like Pulpa a la Veracruz though.

The divemaster on my trip to Molokini crater (just off Maui) found a little octopus (total tentacle span of about 2 ft) in the rocks and pried the little beggar out to play with. Which was strictly speaking illegal, but they are sort of relaxed on such things there...

Anyway, once the poor beast calmed down, he latched onto the guy's arm, and everyone came up to pet it. Rubbery/slimy. And, of course, totally cute. I rather think anyone with any brains would stay the HELL away from a 30-ft version of something like that. Just Yikes!

I just rechecked my facts and it seems that 30' and 600lb was a record size for a GP Octopus. The average adult size is nearer 15'/160 lb. That's still pretty damn big.

These guys describe what happened when they interrupted two opctopussies mating.

OK, I have to set the record straight. There has been a certain video clip floating around for years of a Giant pacific octopus as it attacks a scuba diver in either British Columbia or Alaska (you can't tell from the clip). It's been on "The World's Most Dangerous Animals", "When Animals Attack" and now "Spike TV". Come on guys, I was there and it wasn't like that..
...
So there we were in Tzoonie Narrows (I seemed to be able to spend a lot more time in the water in those days) on the Sechelt Peninsula hunting for giant octopus, or G.P.O.s as our friends in Northern California call them, with Doug Pemberton ex Vancouver Aquarium. There are two different kinds of octopus in British Columbia and Alaska including the famous giant Pacific octo's. These monsters only live for 3 or 4 years but have been documented as large as 27 feet in length and weighing more than 600 lbs. I should note that I have never seen an octo that size myself - a hundred pounder is normally considered a big animal. So the first thing we noticed was a large GPO "hiding" out in the open. Octopus are masters of disguising themselves and are able to change colour and texture and almost be invisible sometimes. Doug then discovered a second GPO hiding under a rock 10 feet away. I suspect that we might have interupted mating behaviour or something similar because the first octo made a beeline for Doug's private parts when he discovered the second animal hiding in the rocks. In the sequence that was originally aired, you could actually see my hands holding onto the first octo as it tries to crawl up the inside of Doug's leg. Anyways, the second octopus came zooming out of the rocks and latched onto Doug's mask and regulator. We (and that includes Doug) were all killing ourselves laughing. It was pretty funny. The soundtrack in that clip is not what I recall at all! Hmmm. Anyways, we treated it as a big joke and there was certainly never any danger. The truth isn't always as good as the hype huh!

I wonder what the statistics are of octopuses eating people?

: octocan.jpg (36.06 KiB) Viewed 757 times

This the can. I had punched holes in it (from the outside) the octopus had enlarged several of them and made a hole big enough to extract the bait

There aren't many reports of octopi killing people, but Octopi have a reputation for intelligence so it's possible they kill hundreds of people a year and get away with it.

Blue ringed octopi have deadly venom -

and kill several people every year

Depending on how much venom has been transferred into the wound, the onset of symptoms can be quite rapid. Within five to ten minutes, the victim begins to experience parasthesias and numbness, progressive muscular weakness and difficulty breathing and swallowing. Nausea and vomiting, visual disturbances and difficulty speaking may also occur. In severe cases, this is followed by flaccid paralysis and respiratory failure, leading to unconsciousness and death due to cerebral anoxia. Interestingly, the victim's heart continues to beat until extreme asphyxia sets in. Some victims report being conscious, but unable to speak or move. They may even appear clinically dead with pupils fixed and dilated. Not all bites result in the transfer of venom. The severity of symptoms is dose-dependent. Smaller adults and especially children are most at risk.

Apparently around 6 deaths a year due to eating and choking on live octopus, each year in South Korea

They love to get belly rubs, it seems. Only you need special equipment. Like chain mail. For safety, of course.

Would make for a good seaworld show.... It would be like NASCAR, except instead of waiting for the wrecks we'd go and wait for the shark to go deranged and bite of the head of it's trainer.