[FrankR]

An example of "unintended consequences" for enviromentalists banning the killing sharks.

Note to environuts and the media - the sharks don't give a damn what you say about them, when they are hungry, they'll eat...why don't you all go out and swim amongst the otters and try "peace talks" with the sharks?

[max americana]

I’ve been praying that one PETA idiot jumps into a lion’s cage to defend the animal...

[spawn44]

There should be 500 more sea otters. The other 500 were probably scared off from all the environmental scientists floating around in their kayyaks taking measurements. Mr. Rogers, it’s not hard to make people believe the sun is going to disappear during an eclipse. The problem for the scammers is when the sun starts to reappear. The release of the climategate emails has caused the sun to reappear big time.

[Ozymandias Ghost]

First of all, I am not one who believes that Great White Sharks (GWS) “mistake” humans or sea otters for some other “desirable” food item. GWS are both curious and opportunistic predators and it is laughable when scientists categorize normal shark behavior as some kind of “mistake.”

That said, from what I have read about GWS “attacks” on sea otters; the current theory is that these incidents are likely to be investigatory bites; or, possibly, territorial behavior. This is because most of the evidence for these “attacks” on sea otters consists of the decapitated carcasses found floating w/no evidence of the shark having fed upon the otter. (Of course, who knows how many otters may have been consumed whole and left no evidence of the attack.)

Bottom line: Who knows why a GWS “attacks” a sea otter ...or a human??? Maybe GWS just “think” we're some sort of chewy “shark toy” and it's a fun game!

Finally, the obligatory: “You're more likely to be killed driving to the beach than to be bitten by a GWS.” (Yeah, but, if you go swimming or surfing near a dropoff where GWS are known to feed on pinnepeds the odds go up substantially!!!)

...and, no, I don't want to exterminate GWS; they're fascinating animals; just advocating a little common sense and greater objectivity in the science surrounding these magnificent marine predators.

[LibertarianLiz]

An example of "unintended consequences" for enviromentalists banning the killing sharks.

Didn't the same thing happen in Florida when they decided you couldn't hunt crocodiles anymore? They ended up with a lot of them.

I suppose it is too much for the enviromentalists mind to cope with, that we humans are also a "natural predator". And, we too, contribute to the balance of nature.