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> > Carcharodon carcharias (The Great White, or White Pointer) has eaten (not
If you want accurate data I'd have to go back to the Coroner's reports. If
you trust my memory... (David Doolette will likely correct/add to this
posting and flame me to boot)
> How big or long were the sharks involved?
18-20 feet. The attack at Aldinga in particular was witnessed by the
victims dive buddy. C.carcharias are not uncommon in the waters off
metropolitan Adelaide. When sighted they (or it?) is/are 18-22 feet long
(viz; as long as a typical recreational fishing runabout).
> Did news of these cases put many people off scuba diving?
Who can say? The main thing keeping me from diving is time, not fear of
sharks. Most dive shops noticed a small reduction in trade after the
Aldinga death, although no formal survey was done.
> Over how many years did the abovementioned deaths occur?
5-6 years
> In Australia is there a save-the-whales-type movement to put the great white
>shark on the protected list? I read that it is on the protected list in South
>Africa.
I believe C. carcharias is protected in South Australia. This is the
correct strategy since these are apparently very territoral animals. If one
is removed from an area several smaller, less well behaved White Pointers
will take it's place. Happened off Melbourne (Victoria) several years ago.
Anyway, we are entering their world. Seems a bit unfair to wipe them out of
their home just becasue we want to visit.
> What was the Rodney Fox case? (Excuse my ignorance)
R.Fox was a spearfisherman attacked by a large shark (presumably C.
carcharias) and survived about 25 years ago at Aldinga.
> Note that your initials `SA' hereinabove, could be taken to mean `South
>Africa' by readers who don't live in or near Australia.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA not S.Africa although there are a lot of C. carcharias
attacks off the coast of S.Africa. Someone else might like to comment on
S.Africa.
> In June/July 1994 I was 16 nights in Coonabarabran in the NSW outback to see
>& photograph the southern star constellations, and I went round the Siding
>Spring Mountain Observatory.
Nice country there. Did you see the dinosaur exhibit?
> > Repugnare ut detur vacuum sive in quo nulla plane sit res. (That) it is
> >contrary to reason to say that there is a vacuum or space in which there is
> >absolutely nothing. DESCARTES 1596-1650
> Clearly Descartes never served a turn as an asteroid miner or the like.
Space (even intergalactic space) is full of stuff. It's just at a very low
pressure. A bit like those bubbles in the cracking knuckles...
/Rat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shelps@ac*.ma*.ad*.ed*.au* | Stephen Helps Ack! ___/|
FAX (08)232-3283 | Anaesthesia & Intensive Care \O.o|
Voice (08)224-5495 | University of Adelaide =(___)=
| ADELAIDE, 5005, South Australia U
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we finally see the light, we see how once again we have fallen into
some foolish assumption, some oafish practice, or some witless blunder.
-Weinberg, p.152
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