MAN EATERS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4822, 8 April 1925, Page 1

MAN EATERS.

iELUSIONS ABOUT SHARKS. SOME SPECIES AND CUSTOMS. x\ writer In the Sydney Sun relates that Mr David G. Stead selected tne charming water frontage at Watson’s Bay solely for the beautiful view of isharks and their feeding ground that can be seen from his front windows. He specialises in Grey Nurses, Great Tigers, Whalers, Blue Pointers, Great White Deaths, Port Jackson sharks, and even the humble Wobbegongs.

It would be just as well if we all possessed his special invaluable knowledge about the habits of sharks. Tne two sharks that were recently caught in- Rose Bay, for instance, were not Grey Nurses at all. They were Great Tigers, which grow to a length of 19 feet, though the largest one caught in Port Jackson was only ISL; feet. The Great Tiger is distinguished from the Grey Nurse by hiis teeth, which are large and triangular in shape, and deeply serrated. The Grey Nurse has long, finelypointed, awl-like teeth. Among his other good qualities is the fact that the Grey Nurse is seldom caught in the harbour. He prefers to keep otuside the Heads ; and if he is tempted to get a closer view of oui' famous haibour he never comes further in than Rose Bay. The Port Jackson shark suffers in ou? estmiation from the behaviour of his relations. He is entirely harmless to humankind. His food is composed of sea-urchins, crabs, and sea eggs. He is a rock-dwelling shark. He probably likes small fish as an appetiser, but he is usually not smart enough to ’ catch them. The Wobbegong is also a much maligned shark; though he grows to a length of 10 feet, he- has never been, known to attack a man.

The Whaler was christened by Mr Stead 15 years ago, when he discovered that tbits particular variety of shark is the only large shark that penetrates our estuaries. The Whaler is the man-eater of our harbour ; he is responsible for most of our tragedies. If the Government thought fit to give a bonus on sharks that are caught in certain waters only the man-eater should be specified. The Blue Pointer, with the large, lustrous, cow-like, eye, is the road-hog of the seas. He rushes so swiftly at any object that he has been known to destroy boats by his impetuous leap -to the surface. He grows to 16 feet in length, but his character is cleared. There is no evidence of his having attacked human beings, though he snaps off big fi|sh on the fisherman's line.

Unflattering as it may be to us, the shark does not like our taste. It is only when he is very hungry that he samples human beings. There are .two popular illusions about sharks, says Mr Stead. The first, and (sometimes the last, mistake made by bathers is that one is safe when bathing close to the shore, because the shark has to “turn 011 its back” to attack. No shark needs to turn on its side unless its food >s floating on the surface, and there are only a few types of sharks that need do that.

The second illusion is that sharks have an almost miraculous speed in the water, and .that they can pursue the swiftest boats for long periods of time. But it must be made clear that there is not usually “plenty of time to escape” when bathers are near deep water. Parsley Bay has a gently shelving beach, but Mr Stead regards that cove as very dangerous, though so far no fatalities have taken place there. That bay( he s.ays, is an ideal place for the Whaler, the worst of all out sharks. So savage is the Whaler that the young of a captured shark when taken from its body has been known to bite. It is the nature of the beast.

Out in the ocean, jiist beyond the breakers, there are millions of eharks, Whalers, Grey Nurses, and Tiger sharks ; and farther out is the patrolling ground of the Great White Death, or White Pointer. Ho grows sometimes tb a length of 40 feet. One of these pelasant visitors ccasionally comes into the harbour.

This season of the year its a dangerous one for surfers, 'there are thousands of sharks in bur outside water; and this statement of Mr Stead’s must be .taken literally. At the present time the pilchards are moving along the coast; the horse mackerel and the toiler are chasing the pilchards, and the sharks are after these larger fish. In addition, this is the time when the Whaler, which inhabits our estuaries, migrates to the ocean, where the young are born.

Mr David G. Stead is practically certain that the monster responsible for the Newcastle tragedy is not a Grey Nurse; by a Whaler, which has the habit of trelquenting our estuaries. And. that Whaler must have been a very hungry ishark, as this fish attacks man only when there is no food in its stomach.