"I had the privilege of visiting this incredible animal for almost a year. It totally trusted me, lost all fear, it would take me on hunting expeditions and let me into its secret world. Octopuses have different personalities, some are quite bold, others very shy, she was in between," Mr Foster told the BBC, describing how she would come over and greet him when she became accustomed to his visits.
"It is a great privilege to step into that world to learn - not like a mammal - but like a fellow spineless creature in her invertebrate world," he said.
Her den was mainly a hole she had dug in the ocean floor, which the diver described as a "proper home". "She hunts over 50 species but you can only find that out when you're allowed into her den and can pick up the bones of the animals she has eaten," he said, referring to the lobster and crab shells he saw. "You realise, my goodness, her life is so detailed and crazily connected to everything around her."
The diver has also had amazing encounters with great white sharks, possibly some of the ones that have been responsible for attacks on surfers and bathers on surfers and bathers in nearby False Bay over the years. Unlike the aggressive hunters of human flesh they are often portrayed to be, he paints a totally different picture of a magnificent serene animal.
"When the great white sees a human it scans us, its search image is picking up something that's not prey. They are not sure what we are, they may be curious but it's not something that's good for them to eat and they know that. They aren't animals that are after us, if they were, there would be attacks every day. If they see a seal, a fish or some of the other prey that's a different story but humans are not on their menu."
"The one attack a year is an aberration. There's something in that person they attack that's triggering a response in that shark, it's incredibly rare. Maybe it's the muscle tension that's high, maybe the shark is in a bad mood. I have made eye contact with them. I once had five great whites circling me in open water and I could see no aggression towards me whatsoever," Mr Foster said. "I've had a couple of close meetings with Tiger Sharks but they're also very gentle if you're relaxed. These animals are not the killers they're made out to be."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45967535
Which explains why our friend Donald Drumpf hates sharks so much. They are endangered, with bad reputation from fear-mongers due to extremely rare cases that are individual aberrations, and come from distant, strange places - just like immigrants!
ReplyDeleteElie Thorne - The Jaws movie series didn't help things either. Though I'll admit to watching it.
ReplyDeleteI had an encounter with an octopus while snorkeling in Barbados. When it saw me, it blanched, and as I continued to approach, it backed away, finally squirting ink in my face as a last resort. I stopped until the ink cloud dispersed, and saw it a little ways in the distance. I thought, okay, I'll let you be, and pretended to have lost it. I didn't want to needlessly harass such a resourceful little creature.
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