Marine Biologists: "frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads"

To start, I used the search function and didn't see this anywhere and mods if this is in the wrong forum please feel free to move it to the appropriate one.

Finally, a Shark With a Laser

Relax, Dr Evil. Your inspired request for “sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached” has finally been fulfilled in the real world.

Marine biologist-cum-TV personality Luke Tipple attached a 50-milliwatt green laser to a lemon shark off the coast of the Bahamas in late April. The escapade was sponsored by Wicked Lasers, a consumer-focused laser manufacturer based in Hong Kong that produces some of the most brilliant — and potentially dangerous — handheld lasers in the world.

A video of the experiment can be found at the bottom of this story.

“This was definitely a world first,” Tipple told Wired. “Initially, I told them no. I thought it was a frivolous stunt. But then I considered that it would give us an opportunity to test our clips and attachments, and whatever is attached to that clip, I really don’t care. It was a low-powered laser that couldn’t be dangerous to anyone, and there’s actually useful applications in having a laser attached to the animal.”

Source

I would personally prefer this thread in the joke and prank section. I think it is unnecessary to add those to sharks, it is merely a way to get publicity from kids and childish adults at the expense of the sharks.

Originally posted by OwenGP185
I would personally prefer this thread in the joke and prank section. I think it is unnecessary to add those to sharks, it is merely a way to get publicity from kids and childish adults at the expense of the sharks.

...But wouldn't it only be a joke or a prank if it weren't real--say if it were only a joke and/or a prank?

“The shark didn’t really like it when I initially deployed the clamp,” says Tipple, “but after a few seconds it returned to normal behavior. The clamp itself isn’t strong enough to cause any pain, and the dorsal fin is actually not very sensitive due to it being composed primarily of cartilage.”

Right. I'm sure it doesnt have any effect on their navigation abilities. Just like if you strapped a giant camera or laser to your head and tried walking around, you wouldnt notice it a bit.

bullocks

Originally posted by OwenGP185
I would personally prefer this thread in the joke and prank section. I think it is unnecessary to add those to sharks, it is merely a way to get publicity from kids and childish adults at the expense of the sharks.

Take it easy mr. grumpy pants. This is pretty awesome, at least in a "ha, they actually did it" sort of way.

So thanks to the OP for posting.

Edit: and you can see that they used non invasive clamps and took it off the shark. It's not like there is some poor widdle shark saddled with a 5 lb laser drilled into his back.

Neat,...

If this actually made anybody interested in purchasing a laser pionter, i just ask one thing....

Please for the love of everything you hold dear please do not buy from wicked lasers. They are very low quality and they have terrible customer service.

how these movies effect people is starting to freak me out a bit.
every little thing that people love from movies becomes a reality these days.

reply to post by yourmaker


Although I agree that sometimes things can be a bit unnecessary from tv/movies... However you still have to think of the things that have been inspired by them and brought to reality;

Star Trek alone inspired the following;

- Personal computer
- Tablet
- Portable Memory
- Biometrics
- Wireless Earpiece
- Remote Location Finding
- Sliding Doors
- Tricorder
- Large View Screen
- Communicator

www.filmjunk.com...

reply to post by MeesterB

Sure it might be harmless but would you not care if I decided to clamp something onto you for the sake of a joke. I just see it as another one of those sad things humans do and seem to enjoy. I do not even agree with animals being put caged up in zoo's for the sake of entertaining people and this is the same to me

* Then again it is just an animal I suppose. *

reply to post by OwenGP185


Just to be clear this wasn't a joke or prank, maybe a bit of a publicity but there is some scientific merit to it;

Finally, he said the experiment was helpful in measuring a shark’s velocity and trajectory in real time. “We were able to see how their body positioning relates to a target,” he said. “You can get a very clear description, via the laser, of what the shark’s body is doing.”

Also he didn't intend to hurt the shark or any other aquatic life and has a foundation that decreases shark mortality rates;

During our interview, Tipple went to great lengths to explain that neither the shark, nor Caribbean sea life, nor his team of divers were at ever at risk from the laser. “The laser we were using wasn’t strong enough to cause ocular or thermal damage to other sea life,” he says. What’s more, his credentials as an animal rights advocate are strong. He holds a degree in marine biology from James Cook University, and is the managing director of the Shark-Free Marina Initiative, an organization dedicated to lowering worldwide shark mortality rates.

To those who claim that this particular event has no research value, I protest at your willfull ignorance of the facts laid before you. For a start, this event allowed for the testing of a clamp intended for placement on the dorsal fin, which apparantly was an unqualified success. Second it also suggests that sharks, or at least the shark species involved with the event, are attracted to laser light.

If it is true that sharks can be attracted toward laser beams, then this could have interesting implications for areas where mankind and sharks come into unfortunate contact. The coast of South Africa for instance, the beaches of Australia and New Zealand, and many other tourist destinations, could use laser attractant emplacements, to draw sharks that stray into areas where swimmers and boarders are present, away from the human beings there, thus reducing the risk of shark attack.

This possibility would never have come to light but for this seeminly silly event.

not matter what you think , there's still an element of "no way, really, that's crazy" that crosses your mind! lol!