Ningaloo Reef: Woman injured by whale shark at Australian tourist spot

Gerald · 08-03-20, 03:58 AM

Quote:

An Australian woman has suffered injuries after being struck and injured by a whale shark while snorkelling.

The woman, 29, had been swimming with a tour group at Western Australia's popular Ningaloo Reef on Saturday when she was hit by the animal's tail.

A swim with whale sharks - the largest fish species globally and typically docile - is a popular tourist activity.

Police said work safety regulators were investigating the incident, as it had involved a charter group.

St John's Ambulance said the woman had suffered internal bleeding and upper torso injuries "from the crush".

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cp...-542994406.jpg

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53632975

Close call.

Platapus · 08-03-20, 08:27 AM

That's unusual. Whale sharks are usually very aware and gentle around divers.

I wonder if she did something to provoke it?

iambecomelife · 08-05-20, 05:35 PM

Turns out the reporters made an error - the article wrongly said Whale Shark when it was a Humpback Whale. Huge difference!

However, what Platapus said is still true; Humpback Whales are another docile species. I think it was an accident; it's hard to picture one of them maliciously banging into a diver.

Gerald · 08-05-20, 07:24 PM

Perhaps the point of the article was that it would be a sensational story to attract readers. In many cases, the media "goes all in" to arouse curiosity.

iambecomelife · 08-06-20, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vendor

Perhaps the point of the article was that it would be a sensational story to attract readers. In many cases, the media "goes all in" to arouse curiosity.

Maybe. Ah well, I hope she recovers. Personally, I try to be very careful around large animals, no matter how friendly or non-predatory people say they are. In Yellowstone a couple days ago, someone was almost gored by a buffalo - she got into its personal space, and provoked it. I don't think most animals are malicious; they just don't know their own strength.

Von Due · 08-06-20, 01:07 AM

Wild animals like humpback whales and buffalos are not malicious. They do have a pretty good idea about their own strength I would say. It's just that neither of these animals care if you are a human, a herring or a hamster. For the whale, it was more likely a case of "ok, I'm gonna swim right here and if you don't move out of the way then it's your fault if you get squashed", and wild bovines are well known for not having any of it if anything not their own herd invades their personal space. The problem is us. Many of us tend to think of wild animals as Disney creations and cute objects here for our entertainment and amusement if we don't think animals have a deep rooted respect and admiration for "their masters the human". Now I do hope she will recover fine but I also hope she grows wiser. Don't swim too close to a very large animal, don't try to hug bear cubs and don't try to engage in a conversation with the cub's mother.

vienna · 08-06-20, 02:17 AM

Off the coast of Southern California, we have huge numbers of dolphins with some pods in the hundreds of dolphins; they very often pop up around craft and swim alongside for extended distances; they have no real fear of humans and are quite benign; today, on the news there was a clip of some parents and children in the shallow waters off Laguna Beach who were surprised when a group of dolphins showed up and began swimming in among the humans; they played around for a while and left; there was a video of the incident but I have not been able to find it posted yet on YT...

<O>

Von Due · 08-06-20, 03:03 AM

Some species of dolphins may come up to swimmers to play or out of curiosity. They are known to follow ships. They have been reported to aid swimmers in trouble. Humpback whales are not famous for doing the same. Orcas in the wild, while you can swim near them and no fatalities have been reported, you better be cautious around. Not that they are after you, it's just that their size and power means that curiosity can quickly turn into a serious situation. Some seals are relatively safe to have around. Leopard seals not so. Don't swim with bull sharks if you have no idea what you're doing. Sand tiger sharks rarely can be bothered with attacking anything larger than a haddock. In all cases, let the animal have its personal space unless it invites you in. Mutual respect for privacy goes a long way.

Gerald · 08-06-20, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Von Due

Some species of dolphins may come up to swimmers to play or out of curiosity. They are known to follow ships. They have been reported to aid swimmers in trouble. Humpback whales are not famous for doing the same. Orcas in the wild, while you can swim near them and no fatalities have been reported, you better be cautious around. Not that they are after you, it's just that their size and power means that curiosity can quickly turn into a serious situation. Some seals are relatively safe to have around. Leopard seals not so. Don't swim with bull sharks if you have no idea what you're doing. Sand tiger sharks rarely can be bothered with attacking anything larger than a haddock. In all cases, let the animal have its personal space unless it invites you in. Mutual respect for privacy goes a long way.

Just like that, respect can be done and carried out then it will not be a problem for animals and humans.

Von Due · 08-06-20, 04:36 AM

Rereading my posts, 2 things: Some accuse me of having a very dry, sarcastic perhaps sardonic sense of humour and they wouldn't be wrong I guess. It comes through even when talking about serious topics. Second, I am really not in favour of whale safaris or any safari where we force ourselves into animals' space without invitation. I guess the 2 made me sound disrespectful or arrogant so if so, then that really wasn't what I was going for.

Gerald · 08-06-20, 04:43 AM

No worries I do not interpret it in any negative way.

vienna · 08-06-20, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Von Due

Some species of dolphins may come up to swimmers to play or out of curiosity. They are known to follow ships. They have been reported to aid swimmers in trouble. Humpback whales are not famous for doing the same. Orcas in the wild, while you can swim near them and no fatalities have been reported, you better be cautious around. Not that they are after you, it's just that their size and power means that curiosity can quickly turn into a serious situation. Some seals are relatively safe to have around. Leopard seals not so. Don't swim with bull sharks if you have no idea what you're doing. Sand tiger sharks rarely can be bothered with attacking anything larger than a haddock. In all cases, let the animal have its personal space unless it invites you in. Mutual respect for privacy goes a long way.

Dolphins and whales, among other sea life, are highly protected by California law and enjoy a very much 'hands off' existence in our waters; fishing and shipping is highly regulated to keep the dolphins and whales as safe as possible; for instance, while whale watching from tour boats is possible, the boats are prohibited from going up close to any sighted whales; because of this, the whales and dolphins have kind of settled into peaceful coexistence with us humans; there have been many occasions in recent years where the whales have swum inshore to get up close to the watch boats and, sometimes, surfers and swimmers; there have been no incidents of the creatures trying to harm humans, whether inadvertently or deliberately; its almost as if they sense the efforts of the humans in the area to protect them and now trust them; the dolphins have been seen surrounding and running with jet skiers just off shore; this clip was taken by a drone flying above a watcher ship:

...this clip was taken by some jet skiers who were surrounded by hundreds of dolphins a few years back...

The incident I referred to earlier was notable because the dolphins came really close in shore, to waters that were waist to shoulder high depth and they swam very close to human swimmers, including some grade school age children; the dolphins were noy aggressive at all and swam around for a while and left; one speculation has been, due to the lockdowns and the very limited access to the beaches causing rather sparse human presence, the dolphins are coming in close because there is little interference; another speculation is that now, since the humans don't come out to them, they are coming in to visit the humans; if you're gonna have a sea creature miss you, it might as well be a dolphin instead of, say, a mackerel...

This is a link to a news article about the recent sighting/event with a link to a FB posting of the video:

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/08/0...-laguna-beach/

<O>

iambecomelife · 08-06-20, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Von Due

Rereading my posts, 2 things: Some accuse me of having a very dry, sarcastic perhaps sardonic sense of humour and they wouldn't be wrong I guess. It comes through even when talking about serious topics. Second, I am really not in favour of whale safaris or any safari where we force ourselves into animals' space without invitation. I guess the 2 made me sound disrespectful or arrogant so if so, then that really wasn't what I was going for.

No worries from me either, I didn't feel that it was arrogant.

Oh, and I just noticed that the woman "attacked" by the buffalo was a local? Kind of disappointing she would be so careless despite living in the area; as we have all discussed, these animals need respect.

Interesting clips of the dolphins, too! Would love to see some in the wild once I can travel again; I've only seen them in captivity.

em2nought · 08-06-20, 04:17 PM

Flipper had to be around humans so much that she decided it was better to commit suicide.

Gerald · 08-07-20, 05:22 AM

About

08-03-20, 08:27 AM	#2
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,384 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	That's unusual. Whale sharks are usually very aware and gentle around divers. I wonder if she did something to provoke it? __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

08-05-20, 05:35 PM	#3
iambecomelife Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,709 Downloads: 300 Uploads: 0	Turns out the reporters made an error - the article wrongly said Whale Shark when it was a Humpback Whale. Huge difference! However, what Platapus said is still true; Humpback Whales are another docile species. I think it was an accident; it's hard to picture one of them maliciously banging into a diver. __________________ https://www.facebook.com/WolvesoftheKaiser/

08-05-20, 07:24 PM	#4
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Perhaps the point of the article was that it would be a sensational story to attract readers. In many cases, the media "goes all in" to arouse curiosity. __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

08-06-20, 02:17 AM	#7
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,719 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Off the coast of Southern California, we have huge numbers of dolphins with some pods in the hundreds of dolphins; they very often pop up around craft and swim alongside for extended distances; they have no real fear of humans and are quite benign; today, on the news there was a clip of some parents and children in the shallow waters off Laguna Beach who were surprised when a group of dolphins showed up and began swimming in among the humans; they played around for a while and left; there was a video of the incident but I have not been able to find it posted yet on YT... <O> __________________ __________________________________________________ __

08-06-20, 04:43 AM	#11
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	No worries I do not interpret it in any negative way. __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

08-06-20, 01:07 AM	#6
Von Due Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,690 Downloads: 30 Uploads: 0	Wild animals like humpback whales and buffalos are not malicious. They do have a pretty good idea about their own strength I would say. It's just that neither of these animals care if you are a human, a herring or a hamster. For the whale, it was more likely a case of "ok, I'm gonna swim right here and if you don't move out of the way then it's your fault if you get squashed", and wild bovines are well known for not having any of it if anything not their own herd invades their personal space. The problem is us. Many of us tend to think of wild animals as Disney creations and cute objects here for our entertainment and amusement if we don't think animals have a deep rooted respect and admiration for "their masters the human". Now I do hope she will recover fine but I also hope she grows wiser. Don't swim too close to a very large animal, don't try to hug bear cubs and don't try to engage in a conversation with the cub's mother.

08-06-20, 03:03 AM	#8
Von Due Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,690 Downloads: 30 Uploads: 0	Some species of dolphins may come up to swimmers to play or out of curiosity. They are known to follow ships. They have been reported to aid swimmers in trouble. Humpback whales are not famous for doing the same. Orcas in the wild, while you can swim near them and no fatalities have been reported, you better be cautious around. Not that they are after you, it's just that their size and power means that curiosity can quickly turn into a serious situation. Some seals are relatively safe to have around. Leopard seals not so. Don't swim with bull sharks if you have no idea what you're doing. Sand tiger sharks rarely can be bothered with attacking anything larger than a haddock. In all cases, let the animal have its personal space unless it invites you in. Mutual respect for privacy goes a long way.

08-06-20, 04:36 AM	#10
Von Due Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,690 Downloads: 30 Uploads: 0	Rereading my posts, 2 things: Some accuse me of having a very dry, sarcastic perhaps sardonic sense of humour and they wouldn't be wrong I guess. It comes through even when talking about serious topics. Second, I am really not in favour of whale safaris or any safari where we force ourselves into animals' space without invitation. I guess the 2 made me sound disrespectful or arrogant so if so, then that really wasn't what I was going for.

08-06-20, 04:17 PM	#14
em2nought Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 3,485 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Flipper had to be around humans so much that she decided it was better to commit suicide. __________________ em2nought is ecstatic garbage!

08-07-20, 05:22 AM	#15
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	About __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie