White Shark

The shark is one of the best known animals in the world.
The question: What do over 80% of people “know” about this animal?

 It eats people!
 It is an animal like any other!

Scientists differentiate between genetic fears and the fears that we learn in the course of our lives.
The question: What percentage of our fears are learned fears?

 30%
 50%
 70%

Most people have never experienced a shark in the wild.
The question: Where does this fear of sharks come from?

 A lack of knowledge about the animal
 Media reports
 Horror films
 A combination of all three points


 

STRANGER SHARK

Shark – the fearscination

No other animal in this world is as feared as the shark. At the same time, we find these animals incredibly fascinating. Maybe the unique relationship between humans and sharks should be called fearscination.
People flock to the shark aquariums to see the animals close up, but they leave the beach screaming as soon as they see a fin.
What we believe to know about these animals usually comes from sensational newspaper articles or horror movies turning the shark into a monster of the seas. Lack of knowledge and prejudice go hand in hand here.


Photo: G.Wegner





“If you are afraid of an animal, you will always see something threatening in its behaviour!”

The relationship between man and shark can hardly be described better than in this statement of Nobel Prize winner Bertrand Russel.

Most people just know too little about sharks to lose their fear.