Would you rather...

**joesixpack** · 07-02-2009, 11:36 PM

I said I'd rather be eaten by a shark, but I see that many of the answers seem to be related to what sort of chance you'd have going against either one of these anamals.

Speaking as someone who is a non-expert, I will say this much. I would have absolutely no chance against a grizzly or Alaskan brown bear, but don't be so sure about a shark. I have read this about shark attacks, and have never had the opportunity to test it, but it make sense. If you are siezed by a large shark, simply (!) get your hand into one of the fish's gill slits and grab a hand full of gill material. This is the one weak part of a fish (and the quickest way to subdue a fish of any type, by the way). Without the gills, the animal will suffocate in a matter of seconds

**gssixgun** · 07-02-2009, 11:46 PM

Geez are you all from the CITY or what ??????

Tons of people survive bear attacks and shark attacks....

Bear / Shark-----------------Me

Ok besides all that, where is that sick puppy that thought of this question??????

I think that all those chunks you have been taking outta spines and tangs have warped yer brain

**JimR** · 07-03-2009, 12:01 AM

This question is POINTLESS without the third option.

Also

**McWolf1969** · 07-03-2009, 12:10 AM

My answer would be either. Ive eaten both, so i guess turnabout is fair play.
However, i can only hope that i taste as disgusting to them as they did to me.

Mac

**icedog** · 07-03-2009, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by joesixpack

Speaking as someone who is a non-expert, I will say this much. I would have absolutely no chance against a grizzly or Alaskan brown bear, but don't be so sure about a shark. I have read this about shark attacks, and have never had the opportunity to test it, but it make sense. If you are siezed by a large shark, simply (!) get your hand into one of the fish's gill slits and grab a hand full of gill material. This is the one weak part of a fish (and the quickest way to subdue a fish of any type, by the way). Without the gills, the animal will suffocate in a matter of seconds

What I witnessed was eight or ten sharks eight feet or longer tear one apart so fast that the victim (who by the way had four 7.62mm NATO rounds already in its head) had time to turn around and eat some of its own streaming intestines as it was mauled by the other fish. The blood flowed into the water so fast that about two minutes after the frenzy began, there was a half circle of opaque red separating about 300 feet of the black hull of my ship from the crystal clear blue Bahamian water. The surface of that red brine was boiling with ferocity and punctuated by fins and snapping jaws full of very white, very sharp teeth. I formed a great and indelible image in my mind that it would be impossible to even dip a toe into that bloody water and not be pulled to a violent, shrieking death. This was in 1978 or 79. I still can't swim for recreation, not even in a freshwater lake. Let me tell ya Joe, I don't believe for a minute that once a shark has torn six pounds of muscle from your thigh as it hit you at twenty knots from the unseen dark and your life is pumping with your panicky heart beat out of your freshly opened femoral artery that you or anyone will be thinking about sticking your little hand into the gills of a hungry ten foot fish, even if there is only one. But hey, keep it in mind if you are ever adrift in the ocean and keep your face in the water because they hit from below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZPhQewYf3c

**joesixpack** · 07-03-2009, 09:26 PM

It's funny the things our nightmares are made of. As a child, I remember seeing a photo of a man standing next to a stuffed Kodiak bear. It was in an article about kodiak bears and how dangerous they are. I was impressed (and a bit terrified, honestly) by how much bigger the bear was than the adult man. I think I was about 10 or 12 at the time, and I remember imagining what a bear would be able to do to me if he was hungry. Since then, the idea of a bear attack has always filled me with an unreasonable dread.

As an adult, I took up freediving and spearfishing and, probably consciously, have forced myself to minimize my fear of sharks. I have read a number of accounts of people who've survived shark attacks, and those are the stories I tend to try to remember. I suppose if I lifed in Alaska though, I'd have to try to talk myself out of a fear of bears, but my fear of sharks would probably grow disproportianatly.

I've been reading a really interesting book called "The Science of Fear", and it talks a lot about the how and why of human fears. It's been a very eye opening read so far.

**gregs656** · 07-03-2009, 10:43 PM

You do see stories with some frequency of people suviving shark attacks by thumping them on the nose. I have always remembered that, just in case!

**0livia** · 07-03-2009, 11:04 PM

We can practice with baby sharks and go from there, LOL
j/k... sharks are cool. Don't harm them and stick to swimming pools.

**Big Red** · 07-04-2009, 12:07 AM

I picked bear. and now my turn to explain!!

yes, most people survive both types of encounter, because we aren't really on their menu. bull sharks bite people because they're agressive, but seldom large and usually in shallows, so leg injuries but rarely fatality. bears normally attack when encroached upon at the wrong time or protecting cubs etc. not usually because they want to eat you.

that said, I immediately read it as A BIG shark, white tip, tiger, g. white. and read the bear as brown/grizzly/polar. I used to scuba dive, loved it, but fear sharks (and yet, do not condone the killing of them unless absolute necessary, they are critical to a healthy ocean) I fear sharks and snakes more than any other creature on earth. I don't want to die underwater, unable to breathe. simple as that. I want to be able to get air in my lungs right to the end. I don't like the sensation of being unable ot breath.

partial eating, I think better off with a bear. remember, most serious injuries from sharks, that don't kill the people, are because the shark was CURIOUS. yup, serious injuries from curiosity. lots of surfers are saved becasue that trial bite includes the board and takes some of the brunt. sharks are perfect machines of death. it is their sole purpose, clean the ocean of weak and unhealthy. Bears, while amazing and beautiful and very very dangerous too, I think do not inflict the same amount of damage on living creatures. and that is an important point, the bear will kill you if he's going to take it very far. sharks don't care, they'll just keep chomping off parts willy nilly regardless of your life status.

wait, I changed my mind on the live status. I can't believe we didn't catch it before!! bears usually go for the head and face!!! all scarred up straight razor shaves would be a PITA!!!! at least the shark is going for all the areas I'm not shaving.

Red

**xman** · 07-04-2009, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by Big Red

... bears usually go for the head and face!!! all scarred up straight razor shaves would be a PITA!!!! at least the shark is going for all the areas I'm not shaving.

This is a good argument, but it's a tough question. Sure a shark would likely be faster, but there's something so ignominious about being eaten by a lower order life form.

YouTube - Bethany Hamilton Tells Her Story....

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