Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for July 20, 2012

While sharks are a negligible manace, the number of people killed by them is closer to 50 a year, but that is only the ones that are killed in advanced enough areas that would have the ability to report the death.

Sharks are actually quite indifferent to people, not our friends. We sure would be in trouble if they were gone though, they maintain the health of the oceans, by culling the aged and infirm. I like sharks, especially the Isuridae, because they are the most elegant beasties in the sea.

They could buy her a Bamboo shark, they only get to be about a foot long.

been a few here in MA off the cape they like a good seal dinner

Alix cannot have a harmless whale shark either; too big to fit in her kiddy pool (I even asked about whale sharks long ago [9 Nov. ’10] on “Ask Shagg”; the strip is on my Facebook)

Wolves and sharks are both “our friends” (necessary), but that doesn’t stop them being decimated. We don’t much like competition from other preditors and sharks have the added disadvantage of being good to eat.

Most shark attacks in any case happen from bull sharks, which are much smaller than whites and come close inshore, often into estuaries and even rivers. They’re predators of animals which venture into water to drink and swim, rather like crocodiles. White sharks, on the other hand, prey on marine mammals like seals, and people who get attacked do so when they act – from the shark’s PoV – like seals or wounded dolphins.

Good anticipation of the next question!

Right. It’s not sharks we need to worry about. It’s your next door neighbor who is addicted to shark’s fin soup!

well that is not comforting at all if your going to be one of the ten

we probably taste terrible

One is more likely to die in a car accident then being killed by a shark.

@ИOMЯOM: "Alix cannot have a harmless whale shark either; too big to fit in her kiddy pool "

Ya wanna bet? You must’ve forgotten how big it is under the surface. Like the TARDIS, or Snoopy’s doghouse.

HectorPriam: you’d never “LET” your girlfriend swim in the ocean? LET?? What, are you her parent and she’s a little child?? SHE decides if SHE wants to enter the ocean or not, you can only LET her know that you are uneasy with it, not dictate her actions. Unless she wants to dive into a pod (group?) of sharks wearing sparkly stuff, splashing about & bleeding like a stuck pig, then she is deliberately inviting death & may need to be reminded (or educated) that might not be a wise decision.

for Alix, a stuffy shark (as opposed to a stuffed & mounted shark) could be a ‘pet’.

All Alix needs is a 200 gallon tank and she could get a cat shark.

Where did you get this info from? Let me guess from the fishermen who are trying to hunt sharks into extinction.

My husband once had little mini sharks in his fish aquarium. Alix should be allowed to have one of those.

Bamboo sharks are a type of nurse shark.

One of the most appalling things I have ever seen was a very, very beautiful male Mako of about 8 feet, that had been killed by being finned.

The link came up “not found”It disgust me how so many people aren’t evolved enough to care about the planet and the other species that live here.

Yep, they are wee small Nurse Sharks, also called carpet sharks. With all the regional names for them, one wonders how the poor shark ever gets his mail delivered.