Your chance of seeing a large shark that could injure you is much lower than having a traffic accident on your way to the dive site. Because shark attacks occur so infrequently, the media portrays them much more dramatically than traffic accidents. Many divers pay substantial amounts of money to go on diving trips specifically to see sharks, because sighting one on an ordinary dive is so rare. Barracuda are large, curious fish with a menacing appearance (figure 8-17). These fish occasionally attack divers if they feel cornered. They can cause a painful bite, but there has never been a recorded case of a barracuda injury killing a diver. Barracudas will follow divers for long periods. Bright, shiny objects, such as jewelry, attract them. In most cases, barracuda will turn away if you swim directly towards them. Eels are long, snakelike fish that live in rocks and crevices (figure 8-18). They have a menacing appearance and long sharp teeth. They breathe by opening and closing their mouths to flow water over their gills and might look as if they are readying to bite you. Unless you stick your hand near or in a hole containing an eel, they will not normally attack you. Freshwater also contains hazards, such as alligators in the southeastern United States, crocodiles in Africa and Central America, muskrats, snakes, and even snapping turtles. It is rare for a diver to have a negative encounter with these animals. In most cases, they avoid divers. Animals With Barbs In salt water, the most common form of hazardous marine life is probably the sea urchin (figure 8-19). These are small creatures covered with sharp spines. They are found in almost every ocean. Sea urchins are extremely slow-moving creatures and they do not attack divers. Divers are injured when they bump into or step on these creatures and impale themselves on the spines. You can usually avoid this type of injury through good buoyancy control. Stingrays are one example of marine life with an external body spine that can cause injury (figure 8-20). Most fish with defensive spines such as these introduce a toxin into the wound they make when they respond to a threat. Like most of the other fish with spines, stingrays are docile creatures that spend much of their time lying on the bottom. They will attack only when they are provoked, usually because a diver has stepped on them. The best way to avoid this type of injury is to look carefully at the bottom before putting your hands or feet down and shuffle your feet when walking in the shallows, rather than stepping up and out. Cone shells are an example of a mollusk that has a spine and a venom sac. Cone shells eat other mollusks, worms, and small fish. They inject their prey with a toxin to stun them and then consume them. If a diver picks up a cone shell and is injured by the spine, they will also have the toxin introduced into the wound. This NAUI Scuba Diver 186 Diving Environment FIGURE 8-17. BARRACUDAS LOOK MEAN, BUT ARE ONLY CURIOUS. HOWEVER, THEY STILL NEED TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT. FIGURE 8-18. EELS LOOK MENACING BUT WILL USUALLY ONLY BITE IF YOU REACH NEAR OR INTO THEIR HOLES.
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