Everything you thought you knew about sharks is wrong!

My principal concern when I swim with sharks will be that I go with a reliable operator. I do not want someone who is trying to give me an adrenalin rush, and so stirs up the sharks intentionally. Therefore, I am going to pick my operator, not my shark species. The owner/operator of Dolphin Expeditions, who I was with for two weeks on my recent trip, inspired confidence.

I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not need to prove how brave I am, and I do not need to prove to anyone that I can get close to this or that kind of shark. I have seen sharks at a distance on various occasions, and much closer in aquariums, and I think they are beautiful animals, and now that I know the fear is all out of proportion to the risk, I want to swim with them.

Dolphin Expeditions will run a shark swim in November (exact dates not on the web site yet) and I plan on attending, because I trust the operator. After the fact, I will post my experiences, a few pictures, and what kind of sharks we encountered.

I have read reports of swims where the divers were surrounded by hundreds of hammerheads. Those are so weird that it's the one species I'd consider seeking out specially, but that report was from Cocos Island, which is so hard to get to that travel considerations probably will prevent my going there.

Off topic but related: the grizzly bear is another beautiful animal that people are sometimes more afraid of than they need to be. They are probably more dangerous than sharks, but can be seen in their native habitat with very little risk if they are approached properly. (Use of an experienced and knowledgeable guide is imperative.) I found my one close encounter with a grizzly to be so awe-inspiring (I might almost use the word "spiritual") that I have tentative plans to go grizzly watching in June, near Vancouver, with an operator I met while hiking last summer.

I will always use extreme caution when approaching animals that can eat me, but I refuse to be governed by my fear, when rational study has demonstrated that that fear is not justified by hard fact.

 

Great article! I sure hope the naysayers will all read it. I would still only go with someone experienced who understands the animals we intended to approach, be it sharks, bears, or what have you.

There are animals it is never safe to approach in the wild. But sharks are not among them.

 

According to the current issue of Consumer Reports (in an article about risk-taking) (the on-line version requires a paid subscription)

I mention this here as an example of how people take big risks for no reason, but allow fear of small risks to prevent them from doing uplifting things.

 

That's only true if you assume that you and I, who know these animals only from popular media and folklore, understand them better than Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch, with his decades of study and first-hand experience.

 

I'd have liked to be there. If they had consulted me, I'd have asked them to schedule the event a week later. As it turns out, I was even more frazzled upon my return home than usual. Travel gets harder as I get older. Honestly, I'd not have done what you did: OZ to US in coach class. I'd have been a quivering mass of protoplasm by the time I got off the plane.

 

We all will be. The trick is to have fun in the mean time. Sharks, bears, elephants... I really regret having missed the opportunity to take a walk with a tiger at Australia Zoo when I had a free day in Brisbane. By the time I made up my mind, that day was no longer available. Next time I'm in Australia, for sure.