Bull shark

Fitting that the following item should make the news during Shark Week on the Discover Channel.

From the Associated Press:

DAPHNE, Ala. (AP) — Biologists say they aren’t sure about the type of the sharks that have washed ashore at Montrose Beach in Baldwin County.

WALA-TV reports that more than 14 sharks washed ashore.

Biologist Chris Denson says the bodies are too badly decomposed to determine the type of shark.

Marcus Drymon, Fisheries Biologist with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, says there was a report of sharks on shore last month, and they turned out be bull sharks.

Researchers say the cause of death remains a mystery, but they say salinity has a major effect on the fish, and anything from a pulse of fresh water or extremely dry weather can change the amount of salt in the water.

If a lack of salinity really is the culprit, chances are the dead sharks are some species other than bull sharks, which have been known to survive in brackish water. In one infamous incident in 1916, a bull shark swam up New Jersey’s Matawan Creek and killed an 11-year-old swimmer and the 24-year-old man who tried to rescue the youngster.

No attack, but still too bold

Hold the phone.

Apparently yesterday’s Associated Press story about the bear that attacked two New Jersey youths was based hastily gathered information — too hastily, as it turns out.

In a follow-up, the New Jersey Herald quoted a Garden State wildlife official, who said the cuts and scrapes at first attributed to a camp-raiding black bear were not consistent with injuries commonly caused by bears’ teeth or claws.

Here’s the Herald’s story.

So the bear didn’t hurt anyone. Fair enough. It was, however, raiding a campsite in search of food — a campsite where humans were present.

With that in mind, I’ll stand by the underlying premise of yesterday’s blog post, which was that bears in New Jersey will continue to be unafraid of humans until they’re hunted enough.