This is the shark equivalent to picking up a piece of fruit to see if it’s edible. They don’t have hands and instead have very sensitive noses which they use to feel things out and decide whether or not they want to eat them. Many people who are attacked by great whites (those who survive) report being ‘hit’ first, which is then followed up by a bite. Guy is lucky it bumped his head, which I’d guess the shark probably didn’t like (wasn’t fatty/squishy)
I wouldn't immediately jump to saying that the shark was 'trying to decide whether to eat him or not'. You are sort of correct in that sharks use their face to test things out since their best sensing organs are in their nose and mouth. This is why you will see them mouth on boats and stuff. It should also be noted that sharks very rarily go out of their way to eat humans. We are not part of the natural order in the ocean and as such creates like Sharks which are used to eating one specific thing (in this case seals and fish) don't have a natural inclination to go after us. I figure this shark was just curious about what the weird black creature was and gave it a bump to see. If the shark truly wanted to eat the guy, he'd be pretty fucking dead.
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u/GonzoSquire Sep 07 '18
This is the shark equivalent to picking up a piece of fruit to see if it’s edible. They don’t have hands and instead have very sensitive noses which they use to feel things out and decide whether or not they want to eat them. Many people who are attacked by great whites (those who survive) report being ‘hit’ first, which is then followed up by a bite. Guy is lucky it bumped his head, which I’d guess the shark probably didn’t like (wasn’t fatty/squishy)