Animal Stereotypes That You Hate

[Chlidonias]

They're not, though. A couple of species, out of ~500, are near the top of the food chain. Half of those don't even reach 3 feet in length, and most of the rest don't reach 7. Only three species have double digit fatalities - the great white, tiger, and bull. Unprovoked deaths have been recorded by just 7 other species. Even with great whites, only 17% are fatal. In the grand scheme of things, humans are a weird novelty to sharks, and those big enough to not be threatened sometimes get curious about what humans are.

But they are still dangerous. Most dogs don't savage people but dogs are still dangerous. Most people don't kill other people, but people are still dangerous.

You're quoting a post which is saying "sharks are predators, but not bloodthirsty killers" to reply with what amounts to "sure some species kill people but they're not dangerous".

 

[TinoPup]

But they are still dangerous. Most dogs don't savage people but dogs are still dangerous. Most people don't kill other people, but people are still dangerous.

You're quoting a post which is saying "sharks are predators, but not bloodthirsty killers" to reply with what amounts to "sure some species kill people but they're not dangerous".

I don't think they're "really" dangerous, and lumping all sharks together as being near/at the top of the food chain is part of the problem. Sharks are far from a monolith, and the vast majority of them are completely harmless.

 

[Chlidonias]

I don't think they're "really" dangerous, and lumping all sharks together as being near/at the top of the food chain is part of the problem. Sharks are far from a monolith, and the vast majority of them are completely harmless.

Well I do agree with that. I feel you should have quoted the original post in that case, and not cerperal's.

 

[TinoPup]

Well I do agree with that. I feel you should have quoted the original post in that case, and not cerperal's.

Cerperal was the one who said they're really dangerous, though, and made the food chain comment.

 

[cerperal]

I don't think they're "really" dangerous, and lumping all sharks together as being near/at the top of the food chain is part of the problem. Sharks are far from a monolith, and the vast majority of them are completely harmless.

I would like to hear a convincing argument as to why bull, tiger, great white and even reef sharks aren't really dangerous. If you get in the water with them and don't know what you're doing, chances are you will end up leaving with some significant weight loss surgery. I enjoy pedantry as much as the next person but given we all have an interest in the subject here I don't feel like specifying I don't think of lanternsharks as particularly dangerous is necessary.

Are all sharks dangerous? No. Neither are all people. Or all crocodiles. Or attempts at defusing a bomb. But the point is, some are very much so for the reasons noted. Asserting that sharks aren't dangerous is just as bad as suggesting they are killing machines magnetised to swimmers' feet, because it's simply untrue.

You can extend this to basically all animals, of course. A dik-dik is somewhat less likely to gore you than an eland. But I don't think swinging the pendulum to the other extreme as Jaws is particularly constructive.

 

[Great Argus]

I would like to hear a convincing argument as to why bull, tiger, great white and even reef sharks aren't really dangerous. If you get in the water with them and don't know what you're doing, chances are you will end up leaving with some significant weight loss surgery. I enjoy pedantry as much as the next person but given we all have an interest in the subject here I don't feel like specifying I don't think of lanternsharks as particularly dangerous is necessary.

For as many videos there are on the internet of divers/fishermen casually encountering these species or the videos of multiple sharks just offshore from surfing beaches, there certainly aren't as many shark attacks as might be thought. Even the 'big three' really aren't all that dangerous unless under specific situations, ie surfing, swimming near fish cleaning areas, or being dumb and not respecting the animal. They'd far sooner leave humans alone. Potential shark attacks are easily minimized and in terms of fatal incidents caused by animals, they rank quite low.
Are they large powerful animals capable of causing significant injury? Absolutely. But the chances of receiving even a non-fatal bite is very low. There's really no reason to consider them any more dangerous than a cow, horse, dog, bear, or even the bee. Arguably they're one of the easiest animals to avoid - if you see one while swimming, just calmly get out of the water. Mammals can run, swim, and jump to go for you, versus once you're walking out of the surf you've got nothing to fear from any potentially dangerous shark.

 

[Chlidonias]

Arguably they're one of the easiest animals to avoid - if you see one while swimming, just calmly get out of the water.

Jaws movies - solved.

 

[Simon Hampel]

if you see one while swimming, just calmly get out of the water

It's the sharks you don't see which tend to be the problem.

once you're walking out of the surf you've got nothing to fear from any potentially dangerous shark

Sometimes sharks will even swim between the flags in shallow waters!

the chances of receiving even a non-fatal bite is very low

But it is not zero and the injuries caused by any attack are usually very significant, even if not fatal.

Australian Shark-Incident Database Public Version.xlsx

(source: Australian Shark Incident Database)

There's really no reason to consider them any more dangerous than a cow, horse, dog, bear, or even the bee

This is true - although you do generally see these animals coming (other than bees perhaps).

According to: Chart of the day: You're probably not afraid of Australia's deadliest animals



Sharks are well down the list and it's horses and cows that are responsible for the most deaths in Australia.

However - it's quite important to differentiate between "accidents" (eg falling off a horse, getting crushed by a cow), and "attacks". Most of the deaths caused by horses and cows are purely accidential in nature, inflicted upon someone who willingly interacted with the animal - and not really the (direct) fault of the animal itself as the result of a random or unprovoked attack.

Even wasp and bee stings are more likely the result of an allergic reaction or unrelated injury (falling / crashing / cardiac event / etc) than a direct result of the attack itself.

As far as deaths caused directly by an unprovoked attack (even if usually the result of mistaken identity), sharks are still well up there in the danger zone - at least in Australia.

I will note, however, that location is very much a factor in the risk here. Far fewer people have died from shark attacks in New Zealand than in Australia, even on a per-capita basis. A large part of this I would suggest is that there is not the same beach culture in NZ as there is in Australia - mostly due to geography and climate - it's a LOT colder in NZ, and they are not known for their beaches in most of the country, especially the South Island!

 

[Simon Hampel]

Just to follow up on my previous post - a teenager has just died after a shark attack in South Australia a few hours ago.

Teen killed in shark attack off coast of Yorke Peninsula in SA

A 16 year old was bitten by a shark on Christmas Day in northern NSW

https://www.9news.com.au/national/s...ar-taree/3fdc98d0-8140-4a61-88bf-c5ceda341a45

A man was mauled by a shark in Christmas eve near Perth - required 40 stiches

https://www.9news.com.au/national/s...of-perth/8d4fe9d1-14cf-4774-b0aa-53be2a866796

A 21 year old NZ woman suffered a "significant leg wound" while wading in knee-deep water in Southland, NZ last week

Dozens exit ocean after shark spotted at Auckland’s Long Bay Beach

 

[Osedax]

I read recently that there are more reports of people being bitten by other people on New York train stations than there are reports of shark attacks worldwide.

 

[cerperal]

I read recently that there are more reports of people being bitten by other people on New York train stations than there are reports of shark attacks worldwide.

I wouldn't be surprised if that was true, based purely on the fact there are far more interactions between New York commuters than people with sharks.

But I don't think anyone's been killed by it yet. Which I think is the key thing here - if something is more likely than not to inflict severe injury or death, it is inherently dangerous, regardless of how common it is.

Dreadful news about the attack in NSW.

 

[Strathmorezoo]

Keep still and wasps won't sting you...WRONG
I'm a wasps magnet,I've been stung so many times that I've lost count. Unfortunately because I'm immune suppressed I sometimes end up in A and E.

 

[SugarPlumLucy]

That lemmings will just follow eachother off of cliffs.

This comes from a 1958 disney documentary called white wilderness, where instead of filming an actual documentary, they faked everything on movie sets. They did this in every disney documentary at the time but the lemmings made a bigger impact.

Instead of using already captive animals, they paid Inuit children to catch lemmings in Manitoba, Canada and took them to Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Which Is where they used a few different methods to get them off the cliff, a turn table mechanism which would propel them off the cliff, chasing them and scaring off the cliff and just throwing and pushing them off of the cliff.
The way that the people in charge of the documentary talked about was so off putting, I get it was the 50's but OMG they were so nonchalant about it.

 

[Strathmorezoo]

That lemmings will just follow eachother off of cliffs.

This comes from a 1958 disney documentary called white wilderness, where instead of filming an actual documentary, they faked everything on movie sets. They did this in every disney documentary at the time but the lemmings made a bigger impact.

Instead of using already captive animals, they paid Inuit children to catch lemmings in Manitoba, Canada and took them to Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Which Is where they used a few different methods to get them off the cliff, a turn table mechanism which would propel them off the cliff, chasing them and scaring off the cliff and just throwing and pushing them off of the cliff.
The way that the people in charge of the documentary talked about was so off putting, I get it was the 50's but OMG they were so nonchalant about it.

Cruelty is Cruelty whatever the decade

 

[Birdsage]

The 10 Least Intelligent Birds in the World
The ten “dumbest” birds in the world, according to an [URL='https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/things-that-irritate-you-in-life.467210/page-14']English teacher[/URL]. Yes, this is the same site that used a picture of a Zebra Shark when discussing Leopard Sharks:
Secretary Bird: included solely on the basis of appearance
Ostriches: do have to explain that brain size has little bearing on intelligence?
Turkeys: included for a genetic condition present in just one domestic lineage
Red-necked Phalarope: included for its long and supposedly risky and inefficient migratory pattern, but then why the Arctic Tern not on the list?
They gave the Dodo a pass for the effects of island biogeography, but the Kakapo is still #1?

 

[FBBird]

The 10 Least Intelligent Birds in the World
The ten “dumbest” birds in the world, according to an English teacher. Yes, this is the same site that used a picture of a Zebra Shark when discussing Leopard Sharks:
Secretary Bird: included solely on the basis of appearance
Ostriches: do have to explain that brain size has little bearing on intelligence?
Turkeys: included for a genetic condition present in just one domestic lineage
Red-necked Phalarope: included for its long and supposedly risky and inefficient migratory pattern, but then why the Arctic Tern not on the list?
They gave the Dodo a pass for the effects of island biogeography, but the Kakapo is still #1?

What a load of silly clickbait!

 

[GreatApe]

I personally, have been swooped multiple times before, and i've found most swoop just to scare, not to actually physically hurt you.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are Southern Hemisphere "Magpies" corvids, like the Northern Hemisphere ones?

As a corvid fan, I'm saddened that the crows local to my workplace mob call me; this was my own stupid fault for unthinkingly carrying a fledgling that had invaded the building back out to the nest site in full sight rather than hidden in a box. The parent pair mobbed and "dive bombed" me, (with other locals joining in the chorus), and now I get "scolded" whenever I'm visible. Although the swooping was scary, they only once made "contact", (claws, perhaps?)

Amusingly an ex colleague who looked similar to me was also included in the scolding, even though he was "innocent"!

 

[Dassie rat]

I don't like hearing people criticise hyaenas, jackals and vultures for being scavengers. Many of those people rely on other people to kill the animals they eat.

 

[Birdsage]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are Southern Hemisphere "Magpies" corvids, like the Northern Hemisphere ones?

To answer this question (as there are no stupid questions), no, the Australian Magpie is in the Artamidae along with other Australasian birds called “currawongs”, “butcherbirds”, and “woodswallows”. Though, they’re definitely closer to corvids than to actual swallows or any of the other passerines you in the UK would be familiar with.

 

[Conor McGarry]

All bats will "Suck your Blood" or that all spiders and snakes are dangerous,