Saturday, April 11, 2009

Animal Planet - F@#$%ing Morons!

Here we go again.

All over the Globe, we are finally, and thankfully witnessing a tenuous consensus that the Ocean's Apex Predators are not just some superfluous vermin, but essential and fragile cornerstones of the Marine Ecosystem that need to be protected.
And yet, in this day-and-age, the morons at Animal Planet see it fit to publish the following description of Bull Sharks, yet again a threatened species (read the link - very nice!).

“What is it that turns these fish into vicious, murderous killers? That is what I want to find out,” says Wade. “

No fish inspires the same terror as the shark, a creature with an insatiable hunger for brutal violence. But at least these killers are confined to the oceans. Or are they? Expert angler Jeremy Wade investigates the deadly bull shark.

A Freshwater Nightmare: The bull shark is a river monster of nightmares — it is a sea creature that can tolerate fresh water, allowing it to travel far up rivers and close to contact with humans. Its tendency to dwell in shallow coastal waters and rivers ranging from the Atlantic to the Indian to the Pacific Ocean, coupled with its unpredictable and aggressive behavior, lead many scientists to label it as the species responsible for the majority of shark attacks on humans.

Bad to the Bone: The bull shark gets its name from its stocky build, its broad snout and its aggressive nature. It is known to make sharp, unpredictable bursts of speed and often utilizes the "bump and bite" technique to capture prey, during which it first head-butts prey before attacking. Bull sharks have been known to attack large animals, including one account of an attack on a racehorse in Queensland, Australia. They regularly prey on dolphins, other sharks, and have proven themselves more than willing to attack humans — sometimes simply out of curiosity. Their speed, strength and agility — not to mention sharp, heavily serrated teeth — make such attacks potentially deadly.

To demonize an animal like they have done, is Evil.

Sadly, I'm not surprised.
Like their idiotic brethren at Discovery, they have obviously thrown overboard any resemblance of being ecologically minded in favor of pandering to the basest of emotions.

Enough said.

2 comments:

OshkoshEvan said...

I'm so glad to see that someone else feels the same way about this ridiculous show. Sharks have already gotten a bad name from movies like Jaws, Deep Blue Sea and Open Water. We don't need channels that are supposed to have accurate, educational information on them telling the world that they are dangerous man-eaters who will kill any human on sight. Just when I started to see a fairly accurate representation of sharks on many shows on tv, one like this comes out and completely negates any positive information that has been shared on sharks. F***ing morons is right, I wish these shows could manage to come up with an exciting, audience grabbing way to display sharks without incorrectly labeling them as man-eaters and vicious monsters.

DaShark said...

Thank you Evan - just saw your comment today. Well said!

I'm sure you've seen the latest fiasco by Discovery in Fiji - aided and abetted by local operators.
We sure seem to have a long, long way to go!

But hope, as they say, springs eternal.