My daughter was out wake boarding with friends yesterday in front of the Presidente. Her friend was in the water waiting to be pulled by the boat when she was bumped very hard by something and then she looked down and saw a huge shark. It swam back up around her and scraped along her back and under her bottom. The poor girl was very shaken but could not move and screamed and screamed and screamed. The shark swam off of course and probably never meant to scare anyone or do harm. Im glad I was not the one in the water as I may have suffered heart failure. My daughter is no longer going wake boarding!!! Take Care Tracey
Oh man! As much as my rational side tells me that the sharks in this area are harmles and as much as I like to see them when I am snorkeling, I would have had a poopy accident if that had happened to me in shallow waters off the beach unexpectedly! Should I post the articles about the three recent attacks near Acapulco? :lol: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=119493
For the link to a movie about sharks, worth checking out....go here and watch the trailer, it will start playing as soon as you reach the site and it uploads. http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38793 Michelle
Can you expand on that part of your remark? Having been in the water with sharks in many different locations, I have a great deal of respect for them, but have lost the primal fear of them. While I've encountered sharks in the Caribbean, I haven't in the water immediately off Cancun. The OP said this happened in front of the Presidente, which I believe is the "sheltered" side between Isla Mujeres and Cancun. What species constitute the local population and how often do they venture that close to the beaches.
I'm no expert on the matter, but from my understanding, the sharks on the reefs near Cancun and the surrounding areas are mostly nurse sharks. They rarely leave the reef though and stick close to the bottom, eating their shellfish and leaving humans alone. I had a guide in Belize who caught a small nurse shark for the group and we took turns petting "her" (he said he knew her and that she loved the attention, who knows right?) http://divercancun.com/2008/01/30/diving-among-nurse-sharks-in-cancun/ I know there are some tiger sharks, lemon sharks and bull sharks, but as far as I know, there has never been an attack on a human and they stick very close to the reefs and very close to the bottom. No great whites around here! Unless you are waving a dead fish at the lemons and bulls, they're not going to come anywhere near you. Of course, I am just hearing the words of my past snorkeling guides in my ears (and a bit of googling), if anyone knows something I don't, fill me in!
Here's an excerpt from an article from this page..... http://www.cancunexpo.com/Pages/dangers.htm "SHARKS 1-10 risk factor: "1" Bad news, good news. The bad news in that there are sharks in the waters off of Cancun. The good news? Carlos Fiesta has been swimming, snorkeling, Scuba diving, kayaking, boating and flying over Cancun's waters for over 25 years and has only seen one shark. And that was on a shark-searching Scuba diving trip. Sharks live in the ocean and Cancun is surrounded by oceans, so it makes sense that somewhere in those waters there are sharks swimming around. But these beautiful animals don't have much interest in the shallow waters near Cancun's coastline, so they are really a non-factor for Cancun visitors. There are reefs located well off of Cancun's coast where sharks congregate. In fact some of the locations are so predictable that dive groups actually arrange tours to these reefs so people can 'dive with the sharks'. Just in case you find yourself in the vicinity of a shark, don't freak out. Most sharks are relatively small and will leave you alone. As for larger sharks, stay calm, don't make any sudden moves, and if the big guy tries to take a bite out of you just punch him on the nose. Really. Most sharks have no Desire to take a bite out of a human being. Incidents where sharks have taken a bite out of people are often explained by the fact that the diver/surfer/swimmer was wearing a wetsuit, looked a bit like a seal (a tasty morsel for any shark!), and made movements that reinforced the idea that the leg/arm/torso in question might indeed be a seal. In short, you/ve got a much greater chance of getting hurt in your car on the way to the airport than you do of having a close encounter with a shark in Cancun. "
From below a person on a wakeboard or surfboard looks similar in outline to a turtle or a seal, which is what some sharks eat. Sharks don't see well, so if the basic high-contrast outline is approximately right they get interested. I'm glad your daughter is ok, what a creepy experience.
There are nurse sharks I have dove with them just of the point of Cancun in Cuevones and it is there that they hang out on the bottom were there is a strong curren tand they do not have to swim to have water pass throught there gills. There are other species of shark, Reeef, Bull, Blacktip are a few and they swim wherever they like, Cancun is not protected in any way from them there are 9 k between Isla and Cancun Sharks a free to swim there, So it does not surprise me to hear about a shark encounter. I have even seen Sharks in the Lagoon, several times, one was right next to our restaurant and appeared to be a Reef Shark. My Husband goes Fishing several times a week and at least one time every trip he has hooked Mahi or Bonitos and ended up with only the head in the end. I Have swam from Cancun to Isla Mujeres 4 times and never seen a shark but I know they are around and have lots of respect for them. I am actually more fearfull of stepping on the tail of a Stingray there are so many of them at Punta Norte and along the area from Punta Cancun to the Oasis Hotels by the Bridge. I have actually stepped on them but never on the tail thank God!
