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lol, yea right

probably because they're always listening for the next school shooting, hoping not to die

@bethorien If you're asking why parisqeen says "don't count this as Gospel," as opposed to "don't count this as gossip," then I don't believe that was an accident.
Saying something "is gospel" basically is an idiom you're saying you believe it is the absolute truth, with no room for debate. Written in stone. Its the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. When they said "Don't take this a gospel," they are just saying it's something they've heard, but whether it's accurate or not is still debatable.

*hopefully)
Also, considering a lot of countries are still very much NOT interested in conservation, and there's a lot of sharks endangered because of it. Not to mention ones that are losing their food sources due to overfishing and pollution. Which, actually, could also lead to more aggression. Much like cougars, if you leave them no alternative, sharks do what it takes to survive. And that's usually hen they're at their most dangerous.
I think at the end of the day, we're both agreeing that sharks aren't mindless killing machines set on attacking humans, and that they should be treated with the respect of a predator. Preferably from a safe distance. It sounded from your initial comment like you might be saying a hungry shark will always attack and try to kill human, and that's more or less the only thing I was really meaning to address. They're truly amazing animals, and they get such a bad rap. I enjoyed hearing everyone's points on the matter :)

and the system they've used has worked well for them. Assess as threat, prey, or neutral, and act accordingly.
That being said, from what I remember of sharks and animal psychology in general, the most important thing is how you respond. No different than a dog baring it's fangs at you. I've seen instances of sharks coming close to humans in similar manners, getting closer each time, even attempting to take small nips eventually. If you permit the behaviour, it will escalate. This is part of why punching a shark in the nose is supposed to be helpful, since, aside from stunning the shark somewhat, it asserts you are willing and potentially able to defend yourself, and probably not worth the effort.
Dolphins employ this strategy, since they are faster than sharks, and have been observed ramming into their stomachs and gills, which can result in death for the shark. Anytime a predator attempts to go for prey, especially large prey, it's taking a decent size risk, too. (Cont again, hop

I feel like, if humans know that's a place sharks actively hunt, and they go in the water anyway, that's more or less the equivalent of covering yourself in zebra blood and taking a jaunt around the savannah. It just goes back to the whole "if you're in their hunting territory, behaving much like what they hunt, why are you surprised and blaming them for attacking you?"
Also, I don't think anyone claimed they were *harmless*-- just that sharks don't see people and go "looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" They do what any animal would: assess as threat, prey, or neutral, and then react accordingly. Even in this gif, the shark seems to be aware the person is there, but not certain what exactly he/she IS, or what they're doing. It gets close and tests a boundary, but it made no actual attempt to attack. It could even be sizing the guy up to see if he's competition for food in the area. These are some of the oldest predators in the world, (cont, hopefully - limit might be reached)

Yeah, so you dont look him directly in the eyes

Said everyone in 20th century

Also a sharks eyesight is significantly worse than a humans, which also helps to explain the few shark attacks that happen due to confusion.
Fun fact: shark attacks result in around 30 to 50 deaths per year world wide, which is less than deaths associated with pigs, dogs, deer, and yes vending machines

You cant be serious. No one can possibly be such a pretentious prick.

Oh, how we have fallen

How ever, the pics it actually did send back are fucking amazing still

and it's hard to be surprised that attacks happen. However, given the size and power of both these predators, and the relatively weak and poor swimmers humans make, I think if sharks truly saw humans consistently as food, and sought them out to kill them, humans would be dying a lot more often, rather than just losing limbs.
I could be wrong-- and there are exceptions to every rule (such as a crocodile who actively sought out humans as its preferred prey), but that's true of most animals, and I think if this shark were looking to be aggressive, this chap would fail to have a head anymore.
All that in mind, according to google we also are far more likely to be attacked by new yorkers than sharks, which, in hindsight, really isn't that surprising.

From what I've seen and learned of sharks, there don't seem to actually be that many cases where they're actively looking to hunt humans. Humans aren't a thing they would know to be a food source, and, even just from a practical perspective, eating things you don't recognize is usually a decent way to end up with your digestive system liquefied because that harmless fish you caught actually had level 100 poison, or releases so much slime you're now suffocating on it-- and still hungry.
I think they are much like crocodiles, however. A lot of crocodile attacks happen in places where people are taking animals such as cattle to rivers to drink. Crocodiles eat cattle. Likewise, most human attacks seem to occur when humans are splashing about and making a racket near the surface-- a behaviour sharks typically would associate with something injured, or vulnerable seals, dolphins, or birds. Enter an area where their typical prey often frequent-- especially if that prey is nearby-- (cont)

^^

They ARE Spaniards, not Latinos at all.

ok let us hope it was not a vivisection.