Sunday, March 30, 2014

US GRANT And The Bull Shark Attack.



       US GRANT                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                           
       Telling stories about dolphins and video can change the way people treat them and think about them. Dolphins are among the smartest creatures on the planet and they merit not just our attention but our care and protection. Bubble play dolphins apparently learned the habit of entertaining themselves by blowing bubble rings from their blowholes bares all the hallmarks of the expression and transmission of culture. Dolphins seem to have some grasped the physics behind the bubbles. From the earliest records of civilization humans have felt a deep affinity with dolphins this affinity reached its zenith in ancient Greece where dolphins were considered messengers between  humans  and the gods, closer than any other creature.

     Evidence suggests that another animal as far back as the Upper Pale Olithic Era, some 30,000 years ago, was the bear.  No longer considered an animal like other animals, it occupied a special place between the worlds of beasts and men, and that it served as mediator with the beyond. The bear cults existed throughout northern and western Europe for millenniums. As late as the early middle Ages, the bear, not the lion, was considered king of the beasts. Which reminds be of
a  bite I received from King of the ocean. On Aug. 21,when I was 35, I was fishing off  San Francisco bay with my friends and family. On the ride back we  jumped in the water to cool off.
 
     The eight of us boarded the Sea Juke, my 26 foot boat, at 8:30 am.  I’m not a big fisherman, but this trip is an annual tradition for my sons Donnie and Buck, and we always enjoy it. An hour later, we reached an offshore wreck and started fishing. The fishing  was solid all day. We pulled in a mixed bag of cobia, grouper, and some other fish and planned to cook some of them for dinner. During the boat ride back, one of my boys asked me if I would stop for a quick swim. We’d been in 90-degree heat for six hours so I cut the engine 2 miles from the wreck, and then checked the fish finder. I didn’t see anything in the water so the boys jumped in. I teased them from the boat. We’d been watching Shark Week just the week before, so that was on our minds. Then I jumped in. I didn’t want to be the only one out of the water. The water did feel good.
         was swimming 15 feet from the boat when something slammed into my right leg. Then a Bull shark attacked me.The hit sent a shock wave all the way up my spine. I tried to figure out what it could have been: One of the boys jumped on me. But no one surfaced. Stan is playing a trick on me, but neither he nor the other boys were within 8 feet of me. It felt like a dream. That didn’t just happen. Did it?

     “Get out of the water!,” I shouted. “Now! I just got bit by a shark!”

      A cloud of blood began to rise around me as I struggled toward the boat ladder. When I got on board, I saw a 12-inch gash running down my right leg. I settled into a corner of the transom and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to worry the boys. “A couple of stitches,” I assured them. “We’ll still have our fish fry tonight.” They tied a T-shirt around the wound and Jay tightened his belt above my right knee as a tourniquet. We looked back at the blood stained water and here, slashing the surface, was a half dozen 8 to 10 foot bull sharks. I held the tourniquet tight. Stan radioed the local police and Coast Guard. We picked up an escort at the marina and flew through the no-wake zone.

       When I got to the hospital, Dr. Friden told me right away that I’d need more that a couple of stitches. The shark had done serious muscle damage. He also told me the tourniquet could’ve cost me my leg. As they worked on me that night Dr. Friden found a tooth that the shark had left in my leg when it hit me. I asked to keep it.

        My leg has healed nicely. By the next time we went to the beach, I had sold my boat. I stayed on land. I had no desire to be in the ocean again. None.

             Survival Analysis: The fishing party drove 2 miles from the wreck before cutting the motor and checked the sonar before diving overboard. They also did an exemplary job of rescuing U.S. Sure, they could be cited for applying tourniquet, but all in all, they did everything right with one small exception: They jumped into shark-infested water!  San Francso and in particular Bay County where they were fishing, ranks among the most dangerous place in the world. Last year, more squash in North California were victims of shark attacks than in any state except Florida. In the past decade 333 squash have been attacked resulting in 30 fatalities. I was the third person attacked in just over a month.

      If like U.S., you choose to roll the dice, keep these don’ts in mind: Don’t swim in murky water or if you have a wound. Don’t swim in low light or in the drink with bait fish. Don’t swim with your dog or cat. Don’t swim with jewelry on. Don’t swim in or near river channels, drop-offs or anywhere abrupt changes in salinity water or currents debts are.

DR.KARL WALLACE  

To read more of my writings please go to: 
                                                               
w.w.w.karlwallaceblog.blog.com                                                                                                                                

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