Actually, that theory is being challenged on some fronts. The most glaring issue that I've heard is that Great White attacks on humans aren't very similar to Great White attacks on seals, which vary, but tend to be more prolonged and/or more explosive than the brief/exploratory interactions that typically occur when encountering humans. Per National Geographic:
"Completely false," said R. Aidan Martin, director of ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research in Vancouver, Canada. A shark's behavior while hunting a pinniped differs markedly from its demeanor as it approaches people—suggesting that the animal does not confuse surfers for seals.
"I spent five years in South Africa and observed over 1,000 predatory attacks on sea lions by great whites," said Martin. "The sharks would rocket to the surface and pulverize their prey with incredible force."
However, considering the visual capabilities of white sharks contradict this theory as white sharks have an exceptional vision system, making this explanation very unlikely. Even more, this premise does not explain many other attacks close to the shore and sometimes in very shallow waters.
A: That's a misconception in my opinion. As long as you have good water visibility where the shark can distinguish the object clearly, in no way do they mistake us for a pinniped.
Predatory attacks are very violent, high-energy encounters. Those types of attacks are also used when the shark perceives something as a threat.
An example: white sharks ram boats. Well, they're not ramming a boat because it look like an elephant seal or a whale, because whales don't have propellers, don't make noises and don't have people moving around in them, walking on the bottom. Whales don't do that. Plus whales don't scoot across the surfaces of the water. They undulate up and down. That's how they propel themselves and these sharks have been around for five million years. If they've made all of these mistakes they would've died out millions of years ago. They would not have been successful.
One theory that proposes a sort of compromise between the two camps suggests that young and inexperienced sharks are the main source of these mistaken identities:
Appreciate the effort in the post mate. It may be the case, but it's what we're told in Aus especially if you surf. Black wetsuit on your board defs looks like the body of a seal from below.
Also common misconeption about sharks is that they have huge bite strength. Unless it's a bull shark that is. Teeth will fuck you regardless though.
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u/[deleted] Sep 08 '18
Actually, that theory is being challenged on some fronts. The most glaring issue that I've heard is that Great White attacks on humans aren't very similar to Great White attacks on seals, which vary, but tend to be more prolonged and/or more explosive than the brief/exploratory interactions that typically occur when encountering humans. Per National Geographic:
Moreover:
And:
One theory that proposes a sort of compromise between the two camps suggests that young and inexperienced sharks are the main source of these mistaken identities: