What would you do if a shark was trying to eat you? – Marine and Underwater Science Zone

Question: What would you do if a shark was trying to eat you?
- Keywords:
  shark
Asked by petrinabean to Clare, Dave, Glo, Ozge, Sean on 21 Jun 2011.
- Ozge Ozkaya answered on 20 Jun 2011:
  
  I would try to escape but I probably couldnt!
- Dave Sproson answered on 20 Jun 2011:
  
  I’ve heard a punch on the nose can be effective, but I’m not sure how much truth there is in that. I’d probably also try to reason with it — explain that I probably wouldn’t taste that nice — but I don’t think it would pay much attention!
- Gloeta Massie answered on 20 Jun 2011:
  
  Well – the truth is – if a shark wants to eat you – you’re most likely not going to know that until he or she has already bitten you. Sharks are VERY stealthy – they tend to just show up and go CHOMP! Having said that, there are some sharks (whalers, for example), that have very obvious – ‘I’m about to bite you patterns’ – what you’ve got to do in that case is figure out a way to get away. Maybe sink? Look BIG. The last thing you want to do is flail for the surface though – you’ll just look like FOOD. If you get bitten – try to get the bleeding under control immediately, and get out of the water and get help. Most sharks don’t want to eat you – they’re just biting you to see if you are worth eating. Unfortunately, with a huge mouth full of rows of teeth, that can be a problem.
- Sean Clement answered on 20 Jun 2011:
  
  Well, swimming away wouldn’t be an option unfortunately. Not only are Sharks stealthy but they’re VERY fast as well. We’re not best designed for swimming unfortunately, so you’ve no chance of outrunning one.
  
  Of course, this is all conjecture as Sharks, despite the massive amount of publicity generated when it happens, make very few attacks on humans when taken in the context of how many people live on the coast and how many Sharks there are left in the sea. Sharks attacks only tend to occurr if the person being attacked has been identified as prey by the shark. For example, it is believed that one of the main reasons behind why so many surfers are attached is because, to a shark, the silhouette of a surfboard with a surfer lying on it paddling with arms and legs can, from below, look a lot like that of a Turtle, which are prey to sharks in the first place!
- Clare Woulds answered on 21 Jun 2011:
  
  Panic, I imagine. I guess I might try to hit it, but I have no idea if that would work!

Question: What would you do if a shark was trying to eat you?

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