50 year old man beheaded by shark

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Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,461
4
81
Morbid question...

Why did the shark only eat the head? There is not really much meat on it compared to the rest of the body.

The severing of the head would have produced a prodigious amount of blood as well which would have sent the shark in a feeding frenzy....Come on a 16 foot shark being satisfied with a bony head...something is not right here.
 

Jzero

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
18,834
1
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Morbid question...

Why did the shark only eat the head? There is not really much meat on it compared to the rest of the body.

The severing of the head would have produced a prodigious amount of blood as well which would have sent the shark in a feeding frenzy....Come on a 16 foot shark being satisfied with a bony head...something is not right here.

Sharks rarely "eat" people as much as they just bite them because they thought they were something tasty like a seal.

My guess would be that the shark bit the guy's head off, easily severing it with his huge jaw and multitude of teeth, realized it was not something very tasty, and went on its way.
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
57,529
3
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Morbid question...

Why did the shark only eat the head? There is not really much meat on it compared to the rest of the body.

The severing of the head would have produced a prodigious amount of blood as well which would have sent the shark in a feeding frenzy....Come on a 16 foot shark being satisfied with a bony head...something is not right here.
Sharks often will bite an object just to determine what it actually is. When it determined that the victim wasn't one of it's normal prey it probably lost interest in the rest of the body.
 

Mookow

Lifer
Apr 24, 2001
10,162
0
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Morbid question...

Why did the shark only eat the head? There is not really much meat on it compared to the rest of the body.

The severing of the head would have produced a prodigious amount of blood as well which would have sent the shark in a feeding frenzy....Come on a 16 foot shark being satisfied with a bony head...something is not right here.

Sharks are sort of like toddlers. If they arent sure what something is, there is a chance they'll bite it just to see if it is edible. Of course, they differ from toddlers in that their jaws are some of the most powerful in nature (are they the most powerful?), and they are constantly growing new teeth to replace those that break/fall out, so between that and their immune system, there isnt much of a penalty for being wrong. Great whites in particular have been caught with all sorts of inedible things in their stomach (I know at least one was found to have eaten a license plate, for example).
 

Carbo

Diamond Member
Aug 6, 2000
5,275
11
81
Great whites in particular have been caught with all sorts of inedible things in their stomach (I know at least one was found to have eaten a license plate, for example).
Please. You've watched Jaws too many times.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
That head to hurt ...

But why would a shark bite the head ? That's gotta be the least meaty part on anything... stupid fish...

I sometimes wonder why God put sharks on the Earth... they are simply killing machines. Are they equal to bears on land ? I'd take my chances with a bear anyday.
 

Mookow

Lifer
Apr 24, 2001
10,162
0
0
Originally posted by: rh71
That head to hurt ...

But why would a shark bite the head ? That's gotta be the least meaty part on anything... stupid fish...

I sometimes wonder why God put sharks on the Earth... they are simply killing machines. Are they equal to bears on land ? I'd take my chances with a bear anyday.

If you dont understand the necessary role that predators have in nature, you may also love Michael Moore :p. Seriously, take a look at what happens to an area when the natural predators are removed from the area.

Besides, there are not very many quicker ways to die than decapitation.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
Originally posted by: Mookow
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Morbid question...

Why did the shark only eat the head? There is not really much meat on it compared to the rest of the body.

The severing of the head would have produced a prodigious amount of blood as well which would have sent the shark in a feeding frenzy....Come on a 16 foot shark being satisfied with a bony head...something is not right here.

Sharks are sort of like toddlers. If they arent sure what something is, there is a chance they'll bite it just to see if it is edible. Of course, they differ from toddlers in that their jaws are some of the most powerful in nature (are they the most powerful?), and they are constantly growing new teeth to replace those that break/fall out, so between that and their immune system, there isnt much of a penalty for being wrong. Great whites in particular have been caught with all sorts of inedible things in their stomach (I know at least one was found to have eaten a license plate, for example).

Hmm, is that a car or a sea lion? I guess I'll bite it and find out!!!

Seriously though, I surf every weekend here in SoCal. Even though these attacks are very rare it is still in the back of my mind when I paddle out.

I try not to think about things like this when I'm out in the water though.
 

CVSiN

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2004
9,289
1
0
haha omg.. talk about unlucky.. usually Whites go for to torso or limbs...
this has to be a 1 in a million hit...
I was always very interested in Sharks and thier behavior (big fan of books and sharkweek on discovery)
and I dont think I have ever read of a clean decap on an attack..

rare and pretty scary.. just in time to add hype to Open Water =P