Yesterday was a bit of a gloomy day, starting off with heavy cloud cover, no wind and quite warm. A strangeness in the atmosphere. In False Bay, a school of 1000 dolphins frolicked, while close by a great white shark took a nibble on a surfer's leg. It didn't come back for a second bite so it was a great day for the surfer, but it will certainly make surfing a questionable sport in the area until the spray settles. A local reported that she saw the biggest shark she has ever seen at the back of the waves the evening before, and a lone surfer confirmed 'being spooked' and leaving the water at that time. All this reinforces my lifelong instinct to stay out of the water, although I love to be in a boat on a calm day.
Although the surfer suffered minor injuries, there is never any reason to downplay the severity of the incident. Those who believe they understand these prehistoric creatures should be wary of giving the impression that swimming with sharks can become a pastime. They are and always will be non-domesticated and should be treated with the utmost respect and circumspection. This applies to all wild creatures - the tendency of man to consider himself top of the food chain or the intelligence tree is, I think, misguided. No one will ever know why the shark didn't launch a serious attack, and I think all surfers are aware of the constantly lurking danger as they share the sharks' territory. One can only hope that this doesn't escalate predation of these survivors from the early times of life on this planet.
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