IS THIS THE WORLD'S MOST STUPID MAN? -

Western Daily Press - UK ^ | September 20, 2003

[UnklGene]

IS THIS THE WORLD'S MOST STUPID MAN?

20 September 2003

Tv cameras have captured the agonising moment when a 350lb bull shark attacked a man convinced "yoga" would protect him from one of nature's most dangerous predators. The shark's razor-sharp teeth tore a chunk out of scientist Erich Ritter's leg as he stood in waters off a Bahamian beach that had been heavily baited with fish parts, it was revealed yesterday.

He suffered massive blood loss before being attended by first aiders and flown to hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida for treatment in intensive care.

The Discovery Channel will broadcast the incident on Sunday next week, claiming it as the first TV footage of a shark attack on a human being.

They say his brush with death has provided a unique insight into how and why different breeds of shark bite.

Dr Ritter's terrifying ordeal was filmed from above and below the water as he stood bare-legged in the shallows trying to attract sharks for a scientific study.

He had persuaded himself that special breathing techniques would safeguard him from an attack.

He practised yoga to reduce his heartbeat when swimming with sharks to make them believe he was a fellow predator and not prey.

Before the attack, he claimed that because of his ability to understand the sharks' body language he had never even been "nipped".

But the 43-year-old behavioural scientist badly miscalculated when a remora, a semi-parasitical fish associated with sharks, swam between his legs in search of shelter.

One of the sharks pursuing the remora missed the fish in the low visibility and sank its teeth deep into his left calf.

Dr Ritter, who spent six weeks in hospital, admitted he was lucky to be alive.

"When my conscious mind finally kicked in, I had the impression everything had slowed down around me. The pain was excruciating, but there was something else.

"I was not angry, upset or anything like that, but I just understood what had happened, and what had to be done," said Dr Ritter.

"On my way to the hospital I started to get cold, and I felt disconnected to what had happened to me. Then I found some form of peace and acceptance that I may die."

The two-hour documentary, Anatomy of a Shark Bite, sets out to discover whether all species of shark bite the same way and examines the amazing strength of the shark's powerful jaws.

Dr Ritter was bitten while carrying out research on the island of Walker's Cay, famous for its large population of sharks.

Unless provoked, the bull sharks of Walker's Cay are generally placid and conservationists have even used them as evidence that sharks are not the indiscriminate killers many people suppose.

The documentary is being screened on 'Shark Sunday', when the Discovery Channel is also showing Great Whites Down Under (8am), Ancient Sharks (5pm), Top Ten Shark Encounters (6pm) and Air Jaws 2 (8pm).

[Cheapskate]

Shark Deeply Saddened In Accidental Attack On Yoga-Master

Great white sends card and flowers.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Unfortunately, this man is not a candidate for the Darwin Award. To win that you must remove yourself from the gene pool. He needs to return to shark-infested waters and either let a shark kill him or, shall we say, bite a little higher-up...

[Norman Conquest]

And yet he resorts to cold, dead, racist Western surgery instead of holistic herbs and aura balancing when faced with a severed artery. Sellout.

[JennysCool]

Ping!

[festus]

Does this guy have a brother named Scott. Scott Ritter ?

[Trust but Verify]

I believe she lost one of her legs.

She didn't lose it, the shark bit it off. ;}

That was one of the most scary, intense things I have ever seen. To have witnessed it in person would have been horrifying.

[festus]

Shoulda used the force luke.....

[Arpege92]

Thanks for clearing that up! You're right, the shark did bite it off as people were trying to pull her into the boat. It sent shiver's down my spine. :-}

[baseballfanjm]

I believe they made an exception for a guy who tied weather balloons to his chair, and ended up floating up incredibly high. He lived though.

[meyer]

"I was not angry, upset or anything like that, but I just understood what had happened, and what had to be done," said Dr Ritter.

"Its just a flesh wound - I've another leg..." :)

[meyer]

Sharks are the pitbull/rottweiller/Muslims of the sea.

ROFL - that may have costed me a keyboard. :)

[Thumper1960]

Unless provoked, the bull sharks of Walker's Cay are generally placid and conservationists have even used them as evidence that sharks are not the indiscriminate killers many people suppose.

That's funny! Sharks are built for killing! They're half mouth and stomach, fer pete's sake! As for being "provoked"....what idiot would stand in the middle of bloody fish parts and think he'd be safe from an eating machine!

Oh...yeah...the idiot "Doctor"!

[Willie Green]

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread....

[Graybeard58]

"I believe they made an exception for a guy who tied weather balloons to his chair, and ended up floating up incredibly high. He lived though".

My personal favorite was the guy who smeared himself with moose urine to attract a moose and had his wife video tape the moose attempting to stomp him to death.

[Porterville]

Yoga is good, but only Christianity will save you from a raging shark... You see, pride is something you must be broken from before you can achieve new heights. Many people who practice yoga are far too proud…. Sad, so sad.

[Porterville]

Once upon a time in Avila,
Sociology lesbian found a utopia,
With a pod of seals she went out to sea,
Because she believed herself better then you & me,
When she was bitten- by great white and teeth,
A yoga man thought she lacked the religion of inner peace,
So he stood in a puddle of chum, blood, and mackerel,
On the shores of some beach with himself as the tackle,
He attacked a fish far bigger than expected,
His Eastern philosophy now mixed with sinew, ejected...
Liberal, liberal, don'tcha learn,
Bulldozers & sharks, you should discern,
That they have no bother with socialist tripe,
For crushing your bones is much more to a destroyers delight…

[Sapper26]

I believe you might be thinking of Darwin Award Honorable Mentions. They're for people that survive monumental acts of stupidity.

[baseballfanjm]

Yes, that must be it.

[ladyinred]

He understood. How special. How progressive.