Hideous Shark Monster Pulled from Sea of Cortez?

File this under "Montauk Monster," and we predict that this single image will soon become the summer shark freak-out image of 2011.

Hat Hip to Peter Thomas Outdoors for the find - actually we kinda wished he didn't find it.

What you are looking at is a "one-eyed bull shark fetus," pulled from a pregnant animal somewhere off La Paz Mexico.

The eye is the freaky part and we might have called "Faux Shark" on this one until word that renown shark scientist Dr.Felipe Galvan had seen, studied, and produced an initial paper on this otherworldly animal.

Dr.Galvan in tandem with Dr.Mauricio Hoyos are the lead shark researchers at Isla Guadalupe studying white sharks with CICIMAR.

Sharks and Idiots - A Dark Nexus

You have to read the news of a recent bull shark attack in the Bahamas this week twice. At first this is your standard story of a speereo who had unwittingly brought on a 7 foot bull shark with a freshly speared grouper (ambrosia for sharks). This is a typical shark/human story that usually resolves its self without anyone getting hurt.

Then Mr. Luis Hernandez went on to recount what happened to him, telling a local reporter the circumstances that lead up to his unfortunate mauling:

Luis Hernandez, who was in the mood for fish, had just speared a grouper at a local reef when he spotted the shark.

"The first thing I thought was, 'Wow, nice shark!" he said. "So I swam a little closer and thought about spearing it, but decided to let it go. I just poked it so it would get out of my way."

But the shark wouldn't leave. It eventually lunged at him, sinking its teeth into his arm.

Clearly his shark tale puts this encounter back on Mr.Hernandez who, after spearing a grouper, decided to engage a 7 foot bull shark. In the realm of good ideas, with wetting your finger and applying it to a light socket being say, a "one" - Mr. Hernandez executed a perfect "negative 20" with his shark stunt and paid the ultimate price.

Sharks are not playthings. They are predators. Your first reaction to a wild, baited bull shark, should never be "Wow, nice shark!". Sadly this is not the first time someone has made a miscalculation with a baited bull as this video from You Tube reminds us:

The Zambezi Question - South Africa

A horrific shark attack in Port St.John, South Africa has prompted calls for the installation of shark attack prevention facilities or shark nets.

The animal identified in this attack was a Zambezi or Bull shark, common to the area. South African authorities continue to be mired in a 1970's attitude towards their near shore sharks species regarding them as a "problem" with shark nets being a "solution".

Shark nets have been roundly condemned worldwide with many anti shark netting programs being likened to the clear cutting of rain forests. Sharks and many other animal species ranging from dolphin to whales are trapped by these 24/7 killers of wildlife.

Right now government officials in Port St.John are also wrestling with the cost of such a project without first taking lessons from other sites world wide where "solutions" to shark "problems" are less intrusive for sharks and in most cases less expensive for authorities:

1. California-Since the early 80's California has gone against the conventional wisdom of shark nets in high traffic areas where both White sharks and people mix. Instead California instituted protections for white sharks, and began a long term education of local populations towards these animals. Today, even after rare shark attacks on humans, the sharks are not demonized but understood to also have a natural stake in the waters as well as humans. Beaches with sharks feature year round warnings and the public is educated.

2. Australia-In Queensland, Australia where Box Jellyfish sometimes kill humans beach side playpens are set aside. These are often large net enclosures that allow swimmers full access to the ocean in set areas with life guards, ceding the natural ocean to wildlife. This would be the optimal solution for Port St.John's waters.

A combination of education, and set aside swimming zones that were netted would work in a cost effective manner for both the government of Port St.John and for oceanic wildlife.

Cost effective shark programs require a willingness to see sharks as proper stake holders in waters where humans and sharks mix. For too long many South African authorities have seen their sharks as "others" to be managed and eradicated. Let's look at this entire issue from the flip side and manage human populations first. A win for all.

When "measuring tape" will not do

Found in our inbox this morning-thanks Erica!

You're walking down the beach and a local surf fishermen catches a shark. The guy turns to you and says proudly, standing in a pile of empty Coors Light cans, "So, how big d'ya think that sucker is?"

And you reply "I dunno, my kids two feet long..."

Classic. The kids face pretty much sums up the entire encounter.