Posted by Ken Kurtis on October 27, 2002 at 13:13:31:
In Reply to: Leopard sharks, are they dangerous? posted by secondhand on October 27, 2002 at 11:30:23:
In fact, I've had maybe half a dozen of them swarming over me at one time, biting away. And it's happened on more than one occassion. In fact, it happens SO regularly, that you can set your watch by it - Thursdays, at 9:46AM.
Of course the fact that I'm in the Blue Cavern exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and I have a bucket of fish in my hand probably has something to do with all this . . .
Seriously, I wouldn't worry about it. The shark you saw was just doing his normal patrol and is probably more worried about you than you should be about him.
And even at AoP, we feed the leopards by hand (wearing gloves, of course) without problem. Their teeth are very small, unlike what you may perceive "shark" teeth to be.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA