“Every snake can bite you – but not all snakes can kill you. Sharks are the same: not all sharks are the killers they are perceived to be,” says shark specialist Steven Mabugama.
“Every snake can bite you – but not all snakes can kill you. Sharks are the same: not all sharks are the killers they are perceived to be,” says shark specialist Steven Mabugama.
He lays a nearly two-metre-long tiger shark on a table outside the Monument in Grahamstown, as he explains different shark species and their behaviours.
Mabugama comes from the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board and was giving a lecture to school children at the Monument at Scifest Africa 2015. He not only teaches about this creature’s behaviour, but involves pupils in dialogue about their understanding of these monsters of the deep.
How they mate, what food they eat and what makes them attack humans are some of the questions that spring from the large audience.
Mabugama recruits Grade 12 pupil Yamkela Mlisi, from Mthatha’s Zimele High School, to help him dissect the shark so the audience can have a look at its innards.
One by one, Magubama carefully removes and holds up each organ, explaining its function.
He talks about how these species have been wrongfully labelled as killing machines.
He says sharks are naturally curious: they sample-bite, then release their victims.
People are never on the menu of these underwater giants, Magubama says. Humans are not their natural prey.
Sharks prey on other water species like seals. Their eyesight cannot distinguish between a seal and a human being. Like a person. their vision can be affected when looking towards sunlight.
Mabugama will continue his shark demonstration throughout Scifest, and can be found at different venues daily.
To see the Shark Exhibition visit Water World at the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity in Somerset Street.
For details about Scifest workshops and lectures, visit scifest.org.za
