Sharks have gotten a lot of bad rap over the years (thanks to a particular movie from the 70s). Though attacks are rare, would you be able to fend one off with a quick punch to the snoot?
PETALING JAYA: In the movie Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, there is a scene where the titular character, played by Angelina Jolie, punched a shark to avoid getting eaten. Another movie - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - also depicted its protagonist punching and hitting a shark on the nose with a briefcase during a shark attack.
Will this method save your life if you ever encountered a shark?
VERDICT:
It depends (But is not advisable)
Though sharks are fairly common in the seas of Malaysia, the likelihood of you ever encountering one in the wild is low. Being attacked by one is even lower.
While there have been real-life cases of people fighting off sharks by punching the animal's nose, according to zoologist R. Aiden Martin, aiming for the nose is generally considered a bad idea.
"If you miss the snout its mouth is unfortunately very close by," Martin, who is also the director of the Reefquest Center for Shark Research in British Columbia, was quoted saying in the New York Times.
Martin also noted that a shark's most sensitive areas are really its eyes and its gills.
He noted that most attacks, studies suggest, can be divided into two groups - the first is attacks by great whites, which because of their size are particularly dangerous and known to attack without provocation.
The second is attacks by all other sharks. Often, these occur when the animals feel threatened, for instance when a swimmer unknowingly wades into a feeding area near a school of fish, Martin said.
He also noted that in both situations, the attacks are rarely deadly.
There's even an episode by Mythbuster, which saw the crew attempting to recreate the situation (spoiler warning - it's plausible, but striking the gills would be much more effective) but the sharks swam away when attempted to be provoked.
If ever you are in the sea, and there is a shark (of any species) approaching you - fighting it should not be the first option.
What you should do is get out of the water without inciting the shark in any way. Stay calm, maintain eye contact and slowly get back to the shore.
And only if the shark becomes aggressive, the best thing you should do is hit it where it is high sensitivity - its gills and eyes.
On a side note, researchers are also looking into the use of electronic devices to repel sharks, which could save people from being bitten by one, especially in regions where shark attacks are relatively common.
Stay safe in the sea!
Source:
2. https://sharksinfo.com/does-hitting-a-shark-in-the-nose-work/
3. https://www.thehealthyjournal.com/faq/does-punching-shark-nose-work
