Shark-Human Interaction and Body Language of Sharks

Follow Shark-Human Interaction and Body Language of Sharks
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

The ‘LetsTalkShark’ podcast offers thoughts and answers to all kinds of topics dealing with sharks, especially aspects on shark-human interaction. Some of the categories are e.g., Bite Affairs where every aspect of an incident is discussed; Anything but Bites highlights topics like how an approachin…

Erich Ritter

  • Aug 24, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
  • weekly NEW EPISODES
  • 9m AVG DURATION
  • 215 EPISODES


Search for episodes from Shark-Human Interaction and Body Language of Sharks with a specific topic:

Latest episodes from Shark-Human Interaction and Body Language of Sharks

Episode 216: Thrill seems more important than knowledge

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2020 7:44


Most TV shows on sharks keep portraying the rather well-known whites, tigers, makos, and a few more of the larger shark species. This biased viewpoint gives the impression that only a handful of shark species, led by these large ones, and not over 500 species. Discovery’s SharkWeek is a prime example of such a biased presentation. Why not go back to the roots and present knowledge instead of same o’, same o’?

Episode 215: 340 vessels too much

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2020 11:52


Outside the EEZ of Galapagos, a massive fleet of 340 Chinese longliners currently fishes in international waters. According to the law, nothing can be done against it, meaning that the law must be changed to prevent such fishing concentrations. The Galapagos will be depleted by life just because many of the animals migrate and eventually leave the Galapagos’ EEZ sanctuary.

Episode 214: Shark Week, really, again?

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2020 9:21


Another week of shark invested waters, aggressive sharks, human bait, and anything else that comes to mind when describing sharks the wrong way. Why not finally create the opposite, a shark plight week. Use the same famous people that appear in this year’s shows and let them carry the torch for a better world for these animals.

Episode 213: I have no clue, so it must be a mistake for sure

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2020 7:40


Whenever white sharks are involved in an incident, the first reason it happened was that a mistake was most likely. The only mistake most likely is that the consulted expert does not know what he is talking about. We have to get beyond this lame assumption when it comes to white sharks and learn to accept that one cannot just be in the field with sharks, and automatically assume that one is an expert too when it comes to bites. Two different pairs of shoes!

Episode 212: And then the dolphins heroically moved in

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2020 8:32


The only danger for a swimmer out there is the shark, and the only protector for the swimmer is the dolphin. Why has no dolphin ever helped who was drowning, drifting off, or being shipwrecked? The answer is simple: dolphins are not humans’ protectors out there and do not rush to the rescue.

Episode 211: Without approach patterns, you are nothing

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2020 8:25


Sharks are hard to read, but their approach patterns give them away. Once you understand the connection between an approach pattern, the shark’s motivation, its intensity, and the influence of the surrounding, a shark turns more into an open book than remaining an enigma.

Episode 210: Rogue sharks belong into storybooks

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2020 9:22


Once several shark bites occur within weeks or months in a particular area, the louder the voices get that there must be a rogue shark. Rogue sharks are a fantasy and do not exist. Still, as long as the public is not convinced, these sharks roam the oceans, and nobody seems safe. Chief Brody and Matt Hooper came to the rescue in JAWS; who else could we call?

Episode 209: Ignore your emotions when facing a shark

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2020 11:05


The less we give in in our feelings in a situation that scares us, the more we can focus on controlling the situation. The same is true when dealing with sharks.

Episode 208: Why care?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2020 8:39


Drone footage floods the internet and news media with sharks being in the vicinity of people, and nothing happens. However, the headlines try to create stories about what could happen. So why not use this footage and educate what not to do in the vicinity of sharks? Because debunking a seemingly monster is not a good salesmanship.

Episode 207: If you are in doubt, do nothing

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2020 10:02


The seemingly best response for an approaching shark ist to withdraw, hence turning out to be the worst. Sharks give off so many signs about their intentions, the moods there are in, they are like an open book, but one has to learn to read it.

Episode 206: ‘Shocking two-minute shark attack’–yeah right

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2020 10:48


As long as the news feels it worthy of twisting facts to make sharks look bad, their survival will get more and more uncertain.

Episode 205: Let’s face it, they are not simple creatures

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2020 10:37


Shark bites are always downgraded to the seemingly most apparent reason why it happened, ignored the mind of a shark. It is essential to try to understand each incident from the viewpoint of the shark in question and compare it to the complexity of the wound caused the animal.

Episode 204: Stupidity aims at sharks again

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2020 9:28


Could it be possible that the media dropped so low that there was a need to interview a lifeguard about the increased stress that will come from upholding social-distancing while looking for sharks? Yes, the media can drop that low.

Episode 203: What would have happened if white sharks never existed

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2020 9:58


Sometimes it is worth imagining situations without the leading player and see what would have happened for all the involved parties. When it comes to white sharks, we would still be in the very same situation we are now, with or without them.

Episode 202: Could “see, aim and damage” genuinely happening?

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2020 8:30


Once in a while, people tell that the shark came out of nowhere, rushed in, and bit. Such explanations only show that those scenarios may appear that way but do not exist.

Episode 201: Getting an idea at first sight

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2020 9:27


Whenever facing a shark, it is crucial to get a first impression of the shark and its eagerness to investigate. Determining angle, speed, and level of the approaching shark, together with the surrounding and its potential limitations when it comes to escape routes, offers a well-rounded idea.

Episode 200: You must go against your nature, when you face it

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2020 8:20


There is only one rule when it comes to facing a shark. The only problem with that rule is however, that it goes against human nature not to follow the urge to do what feels best but follow a rule that goes against it.

Episode 199: What we see is not always true when it comes to nature

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2020 8:16


The interpretation of a situation between a shark and a human being is strongly affected by a person’s biased emotions. Although nature shows us more often than not that our way of thinking is erroneous, we keep giving our opinion more weight than nature’s contradiction.

Episode 198: Is COVID-19 a shark repellent?

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2020 7:26


When disasters strike, the media solely focuses on those events, leaving otherwise newsworthy events untouched, and that includes shark bites. All of a sudden, shark bites do not seem to happen anymore. Finally, sharks get a break. At least something positive can be linked to the pandemic.

Episode 197: The USS Indianapolis did not proof it

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 9:00


Sailors seemingly died due to sharks after the sinking of the warship USS Indianapolis. But there are many arguments against that killing by a shark was then the main reason that about 600 sailors died during their four-day ordeal on the water.

Episode 196: Respect is the only way to face nature

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2020 8:29


Facing unfamiliar animals can be a worrisome task and should always be handled with the unconditional acceptance of nature’s laws and one’s position in it. Ignorance or arrogance to comprehend or accept this position inhibits any interaction success with any inhabitant.

Episode 195: Why does it get so dusky all of a sudden?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2020 9:15


Dusky sharks are among the largest Carcharhinus species with the most prolonged gestation period of them all: 2 years. Due to that long period, reproduction is slow, and mating occurs only every three years, and should it not happen, a female can fertilize her eggs due to sperm storage. Insight into the life of this remarkable species is given.

Episode 194: A fish, a shark, a ray? What is it?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2020 7:31


If it has a saw, it is either a sawfish or a sawshark. But is a sawfish a bony fish? Then there is the guitarfish, the same problem, what is that? As with most animal species, knowing a few features makes it easy to understand what is what.

Episode 193: How about those power plants

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2020 9:04


Rumor has it that shark bites occur more often around power plants, seemingly because of the release of warm cooling waters. Although the idea is tempting that this brings in more sharks during colder water temperatures, the connection between a higher water temperature around the plants and an increase of bites cannot be made.

Episode 192: On bite infection

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2020 8:23


Sharks have a palette of bacteria in their mouths, which can get transferred into a wound during a bite. Still, with over the counter antibiotics, an infection can likely be controlled. Still, a medical doctor should be consulted. But then there is also MRSA, how about those bacteria?

Episode 191: It happened, now what do you do?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2020 8:33


There is glaring ignorance of what to do underwater when an incident with a shark happened. How to read the situation, the wound, the victim, and then proceed accordingly? The only answer is to learn how to act in such a case. Without having participated in such a workshop, you are likely doomed.

Episode 190: What’s next? Shark intestines?

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2020 7:47


The latest suggestion to go after sharks is using their livers to produce biodiesel. Proponents talk about that there would be less waste when sharks get finned, but the truth is that more sharks would get killed because of the livers and its demand. One should not try to utilize more parts of a shark but look for solutions to not kill them in the first place.

Episode 189: We should give nurses more credit

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2020 7:34


One of the most underrated shark species out there is the nurse shark. A mighty powerful and intelligent animal to interact with. Hardly any other shark species offer so many intriguing features as this one.

Episode 188: Réunion, we have a problem

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2020 8:08


Several years past since the island of Réunion suddenly suffered an increase in shark bites that led to chaos and a massive drop in watersport oriented tourism. The understandable but still rather short-sighted reaction was to shut down beaches and keep them closed. So far, paid research has not given any promising lead to explain what happened. Why not? Because the answer does not lay in migration patterns of the local bull and tiger sharks, and their seasonal increase in numbers.

Episode 187: Sharks like artificial structures

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2020 7:59


Buoys, oil platforms, shipwrecks, and other human-built structures attract marine animal life and eventually sharks, as well. Be it for protection, food, or pure curiosity, animals find their niche around and within them for a variety of reasons.

Episode 186: Is there a difference between a zebra and a leopard?

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2020 11:02


The leopard shark is a very distinctive shark species along the West coast of North America. Although very common, there are still many question marks about their biology and behavior. Once you start researching the internet or observing this species in the water, it gets intriguing very quickly.

Episode 185: Surfers play in two worlds

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2020 9:45


As with some other watersport activities, surfing is part of two environments, water, and air. For any shark, this boundary is intriguing and strange at the same time. The more a surfer is aware of the limitations while stuck there, the easier any dealings with sharks will get.

Episode 184: Right in between is not easy to deal with

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2020 9:03


Probably the most difficult surroundings for a diver when dealing with sharks is the surface. An inflated BC makes it challenging to keep the head below the surface and observe or look for sharks, likewise maintaining a vertical position without moving the legs too much. Such a situation can get worse, should there be waves or boat traffic. Having a dedicated diver who stays right below the surface until the dive boat arrives, is the best way to make the waiting period safe.

Episode 183: Just let go

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2020 8:14


Spearfishing is the most exposed activity in the ocean when it comes to close encounters with sharks. Although there are pretty straight forward recommendations of what to do during an encounter, or even prevent one, headlines still pop up regularly where sharks and spearfishers had a slight disagreement.

Episode 182: All of them disappear and reappear within minutes

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2019 9:22


Caribbean reef sharks are unique in many ways, but one thing is mind-boggling, entire groups of those sharks can disappear within a minute form a site and reappear shortly after, maybe one minute or two later, but from different directions.

Episode 181: Who is the most flexible among the large ones out there?

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2019 8:20


Sphyrna mokarran, the so called great hammerhead, is a hammerhead species of the superlative, and that in many aspects. Probably unknown to most, it is also the most flexible species by far when it comes to being able to turn in tight spaces.

Episode 180: Reference points are essential when encountering at a shark

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2019 9:03


The first moment during an interaction with a shark offers the most information. Unfortunately, this is also the moment where many people freeze because of the sheer presence of the animal. This moment can get worse, should the shark be a species that has been misrepresented by the media. Following some rules, divided by reference points, helps to get a clear(er) idea about the present moment with the animal, independent of species.

Episode 179: In-transit shipments are more than a grey zone

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2019 9:09


The US is a significant transit hub for shark fins originating from Central and South American countries. Although many regulations are in place, still plenty of those fins made to their Asian destinations. Which are those US ports used for transit, what are the laws, why is it so hard to confiscate these shipments?

Episode 178: Degrees and cereal boxes

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2019 7:06


Even among some shark scientists, there is the opinion that sustainable shark fishing can work. This erroneous assumption gives commercial fishing fleets carte blanche. In a time where it is more than obvious how nature is mistreated, no scientist should side with damaging parties.

Episode 177: Using the OODA-loop to understand shark encounters

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2019 8:05


Whenever facing a shark, every little information helps to understand a situation better. Although the OODA-loop was developed for tactical purposes, its meaning can also be applied to shark encounters. Here, a comparison is given between the commonly used system within ADORE-SANE and OODA.

Episode 176: About oceanic whitetips-again

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2019 8:01


The Brother Islands in the Red Sea had their share of bad publicity when it comes to negative interactions with oceanic whitetip sharks, and the government has not learned to improve the situation. But that does not mean one cannot enjoy hanging out with these beautiful sharks when out there.

Episode 175: What if a shark species turns out to be two?

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2019 7:19


Taxonomy has its problems, especially when it comes to sharks. What if some of these shark species out there turn out to be more than one species? Could what we call ‘white sharks’ represent two or even three species? Who knows.

Episode 174: Do they sniff with that thing?

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2019 7:15


Nurse sharks have so called barbels, and the prevailing opinion is that these appendices are somehow used for smell, or then to pick up vibrations from the ground. Neither makes much sense. Some possible ideas are explored.

Episode 173: More scouts needed

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2019 7:32


How can we be more sensitive to nature? It does not take much, and it can start with just the simple encounter of a scout.

Episode 172: The killing of sharks is still glorified

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2019 7:00


CNN posted that a kid caught a record-sized shark. Is this news worthy? It is if one is outraged against this senseless killing, but that is not the core of the posting. The whole message revolved around the glorification of just killing another shark.

Episode 171: Sharks swallow humans, yeah right

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2019 7:59


Even today’s scientific papers claim that up to 25% of all shark bites are hunger-related. This assumption is entirely wrong and lacks any understanding of bit motivations.

Episode 170: Argumentation is key

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2019 8:38


The problem with any discussion where two opposite parties participate is the proper foundation of one’s opinion. But what if the opposition does not have such and insists without being able to defend its idea? That is what happened in the last podium’s discussion on the pro and cons of shark feeding.

Episode 169: Now that the hurricane is gone…

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2019 9:08


Hurricanes leave misery and destruction. What happens to sharks during such storms? Do they leave before? Where do they go? How can they sense a looming storm? What happens to shallow-water nursery grounds and their shark pups…?

Episode 168: What happens to all the white sharks…

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2019 8:23


Less and less white sharks show up in Guadalupe. Granted, they are still more abundant than anywhere on this planet, but most of them only show up for a few years and then are gone for good. Where do they go? Are they still alive? With a bit more sophisticated satellite tags, the answer could be found. The Mexican government gets enough park fees from divers who want to see the white sharks. So money should not be a problem. Aren’t we all curious what happens to them once they are not coming back to the island anymore?

Episode 167: What is the shark’s intention

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2019 8:09


What is more important than to get an idea what a shark’s intention is when it first appears? Hardly anything. So it is crucial to get as much out of the first few seconds as possible. Level, angle, and speed are it.

Episode 166: Sharks have no mean bone in them

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2019 6:51


No shark wants to hurt us; they most often merely try to figure us out using their teeth as a holding tool. It is never their intention to cause harm, a fact that is hardly ever discussed when it comes to incidents with them.

Claim Shark-Human Interaction and Body Language of Sharks

In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

Claim Cancel