Celebrating the Majesty of Sharks.
Diving with Sharks. Why do you do it?
As you can see I'm in a bit of a writing splurge at the mo so why waste it? It would be great to try and get some dialog going here so c'mon, let's get stuck in.
It would be cool to get some kind of idea as to why some of you guys feel the need to jump into the middle of what the mainstream media would have us believe to be the monsters of the deep. Is it for 'the Buzz' that adrenalin rush of being in the company of sharks? Is it borne of fascination with an animal that we are forever being told is dangerous and bad? Is it for respect? To try and see these animals for the majesty that they represent?
Do you have your own reason?
Being in the company of sharks, for me, brings home the message that we, humans, are quite simply just a bunch of awkward and destructive naked apes. We have the power to communicate which manifests itself as coordinated destruction of that which we don't understand or for greed.
Sharks for me are the perfect predator and to witness that incredible presence requires not that I peer at them restrained through the thickened glass of an aquarium holding tank, it doesn't require that I watch them on slasher style documentaries. It requires that I am there in the Ocean, in their company, on their terms. Personally I don't feel the urge to have to engage in antics of crowd pleasing gestures to enjoy sharks. I'm just as happy sitting in a reef channel watching them patrol back and forth as I am in a cage with Great White Sharks as the dive buddy of the day.
Above all, my take is that sharks should be there for everyone to study, to witness. We as a species tend to protect what we love, we love what we understand and we understand what we can see and share. My hope is that as many people get to see this and other shark related sites so that they can start to learn, understand and protect.
Its the least we can do to make as many people aware of them as possible.
Cheers,
Mark.
Tags: Education, Protection, Shark Diving, Tourism, Understanding
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Comment by Terry Goss on February 10, 2010 at 12:52am -
I do it because it's AWESOME.
;)
(Slightly more) seriously though, I've always loved sharks, and the oceans, and nature and animals... and science-fiction, and all the lovely alien worlds the oceans provide for our little ape-brain consumption. (Just ask Arthur C. Clarke, or James Cameron!... Well, I guess you can't ask Clarke.)
I am not a thrill-seeker, an "adrenaline junkie", a daredevil, nor do I live each day "on the Edge!" with a death-wish. I want to see the world, I want to see and experience everything I can in this tiny, infinitesimal, insignificant life we humans have; I want to see and commune with my fellow Earth-creatures.
(Disclaimer: I do also enjoy some adrenaline-pumping things, like a good roller coaster, scary movies, falling in love, and I am a semi-professional metalhead, etc....)
I know there are some divers - and "shark divers" - who are there for the "rush", for the exhiliration, and that's fine for them, I'm not here to judge your personal habits... ;)
But I don't dive for visceral thrills - I do it for emotional thrills, if you will; I add sharks to the mix because, hey, they're awesome, and diving is awesome, and being there, doing something that few humans ever get to do is just totally awesome (-read that back in a Keanu Reeves voice for full-effect...).
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