The Dorsal Fin

Gillette has unveiled a new ad campaign for its Proglide series that centers around two divers shaving underwater in the Bahamas in baited shark scenario. The ad uses the old “sharks can smell a drop of blood from a quarter of a mile away” bit and portrays the sharks as becoming seemingly aggressive after one of the divers after apparently nicks himself shaving with an inferior disposable razor.

So, the next time you’re doing a shark dive and decide that you need a shave, remember to use you Gillette Proglide. If not, quick edits and ominous music are sure to follow.

You can also check out the Gillette ProGlide – Shark Teaser for more of the “scariest shave” campaign.

The footage above features Mark Addison of South Africa’s Blue Wilderness free-diving with tiger sharks at Aliwal Shoal. Admittedly, I’m more of the no-touch diving mindset, so I’m not a big fan of the shots of “shark riding” seen in the video. That being said, the video does a good job of illustrating that tiger sharks aren’t mindless eating machines that will attack anything they see.

According to Sky News a rescue helicopter crew filmed the video of above in a stretch of coastal area off of Teewah, Queensland. The Sky News article identifies the species as tiger sharks and reports that over a hundred sharks were spotted in the area when the video was shot. The sharks were encircling fish along the coast, according to the helicopter crew.

Thanks to Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills Blog for the heads-up on this video.

According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the search for a missing California man who disappeared while surfing at Laniakea Beach, HI has been called off. Fire Captain Terry Seelig said, “We feel we’ve done everything we can,” after having searched for the man by air, land, and sea.
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Perth Now is featuring a special report about Leon Deschamps a “Western Australia conservationist” who can be seen in images and video petting tiger sharks while sitting on the carcass of a whale that the sharks were feeding on. The images and video were shot in Shark Bay. Deschamps said that he hopes the images will help dispel misconceptions about tiger sharks. DeSchamps was quoted as saying…

“Tiger sharks are not aggressive, and I thought the most effective way to demonstrate that would be by throwing ourselves into the middle of a feeding frenzy.

They were sedate in their movements and far from aggressive, despite it being a time when they are supposed to be at their most ferocious. I think they enjoyed the experience.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Conservation has condemned the act, citing that touching whales was illegal and that interfering with the sharks, is “highly irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.”

Despite Deschamp’s actions in the video and photos, he also warns people to leave sharks alone especially while they are feeding, according to the PerthNow article. Go figure.

While I’m all for raising awareness for RESPONSIBLE shark conservation, I’d have to say that this particular act doesn’t fall anywhere under the responsible umbrella. Attempting to physically interact with any wild animal, while it is feeding, is not a good idea and shows a lack of respect for the animal.

Acts like riding sharks, petting sharks, etc. might be a good way to draw attention to one’s self, but then again, so is robbing a liquor store (another act I strongly discourage). Often times, these kinds of stunts can end up doing more harm than good. There is plenty of footage of divers swimming in the midst of non-aggressive tiger sharks out there. Does climbing on a dead whale carcass and petting sharks really do anything to help dispel myths about the species or is it just a good way gain publicity?

PS The statement made in the video that tiger sharks are scavengers and not predators is utterly false. They are most certainly a predatory shark, in addition to being scavengers. One can’t “dispel myths” by creating new ones.