Are there Sharks

[Sheils65]

We are doing the Stingray excursion with the snorkeling in the reef, I am just curious if anyone has ever seen a shark? My son is a bit apprehensive about doing this excursion because he thinks he will find himself amongst sharks. Can anyone out there help me to ease his mind, or let me know if there actually are sharks?

 

Thanks

[drew sailbum]

Those with a phobia about what might be under the sea with them may never be comfortable.

 

Stingrays are a part of a natural food chain. Hammerhead sharks are the primary predator species, and are commonly in the shallows at night to feed. Hammerheads are shy creatures, and generally flee from human interaction. They typically clear the area around dawn and head outside the barrier reef seekign deeper water.

 

There are resident nurse sharks at a few of the reefs which are commonly used as a second stop for snorkeling on the various Stingray City tours. Nurse sharks are often likened to overgrown catfish, and are quite docile. They tend to hide under coral outcrops and are less often seen free swimming.

 

Sharks are a natural part of the marine environment. They could be in the water anywhere around Cayman, but this island is not particularly known for frequent shark encounters.

[BettyInToronto]

I worked with a chap from Barbados who was telling us about taking swimming lessons with his young daughter. I was shocked. I said "you're from Barbados???? How can you NOT know how to swim?" Know what his answer was?

 

"the ocean has no back door" :) I love that!

 

We flock from Canada to the Caribbean especially to swim in the beautiful ocean and here is a local saying that! It was about sharks for those that don't get the connection. ;)

[woodofpine]

I was in Belize a couple weeks ago and the nurse sharks there (at Shark-Ray Alley) took off as soon as someone entered the water. They're shy. Hammerheads have no predatory interest in humans either (nor do most sharks).

 

The only shallow water sharks with a deserved BAD rep are Bull sharks. They've become increasingly plentiful in the Gulf of Mexico and I imagine they're around Cayman too.

 

Realistically though, as far as actual risk goes, I'd much rather be in the water with sharks in the vicinity than on land with what I know with certainty about car drivers!

[Choozin Croozin]

I'm so glad this question was posted. I have often wondered why this has never been mentioned before. It has always been a concern of mine though has never stopped me from entering the waters.....back door or "no back door";) Just hope I never see one in the water with me :eek:

[Sheils65]

Thanks so much for the reassurance. I am sure there won't be any problems, just something my son was concerned about. I have to admit it was in the back of my mind as well!! :o

 

Happy cruisin' everyone!!!

[woodofpine]

With the amount of commotion surrounding the boats that frequent stingray city, I can't imagine a shark venturing in (generally, they're as scared of us as we are of them) and the shallows of the sand bar aren't shark countryu for problem species (Bulls notwithstanding).

 

In Belize though there was a HUGE barracuda standing off 25-30 feet from where we were fooling with the rays. He was very impressive; but he was also unwilling to come in closed although I sensed that he really wished a chunk of uneaten squid would drift off... Keep in mind that in Belize the rays are pretty close to the reef so there is more "otehr stuff" nearby.

[Dgonza]

I went scuba diving this past march at coki beach in St Thomas. While diving we saw a 6ft long barracuda with teeth about 3 inches long. He didnt even move he just stayed there and looked at us. I saw a foot long leopard shark off the coast of California while scuba diving too. As someone already said, sharks are just as scared of us as we are of them.

[Las Vegas Non Rev]

There is a nurse shark that hangs out with the sting rays. You can see it is small and harmless. this is not my vidio but a great one!

 

http://www.chesterh.com/stingray.htm

[Sheils65]

Las Vegas,

 

Thats a great video!!! That shark looked harmless, lol.

 

Haven't talked much, did u ever book Valor?

 

Take care..........

[Las Vegas Non Rev]

Sheils65 my vacation bid is suposed to be out tonight. I am betting monday.. Still like the 15th the best.

[Sheils65]

Las Vegas,

 

Crossing my fingers for ya!!!

[HurricaneAus10]

Realistically, no one needs to worry about nurse sharks. Yes they are very common and yes there are bites, but 99% of the bites aren't serious. Nurse sharks are amongst the most docile sharks. To put this in perspective, I have been scuba diving on a shark feeding trip. Even with buckets of fish in the water the nurse sharks were very docile. We were able to go up to the guys with the buckets and they would lift the shark up and push it towards us and we could pet and hold it. Some people even kissed the sharks on their heads. I never felt threatened. Several times they even rubbed against me as if petting me. It was a blast.

 

The sharks that would be around the sand bar would be so used to humans I highly doubt any would be agressive. Like most people said they are just as scared of us as we are of them.

[Sheils65]

Hurricaine,

 

Thank you for the post. I showed my son the post....he feels a bit better about it. I have to admit I was also nervous about it.

 

The video that Las Vegas posted showed the Nurse Shark very docile so that was also a comfort.......Thanks for the great Vid and posts.......

[KC Bahama Mama]

I was just in Cayman on the 12-6-06. We did the stingray and snorkel trip. We had a 5 foot nurse shark visit us on the reef while snorkeling. Our guide, William from Moby Dick's, got him to come in closer so that a few of us adventurous snorkeler's could pet it. It was very cool. My 11 year old neice loved that she was able to take pictures of a shark with her underwater camera.

 

I've also snorkelled with reef sharks in the bahamas. I think they are amazing, graceful creatures and love every opportunity I have to see them.