Last year, one of the most popular articles we shared was a video posted by Scott Haraguchi. The viral clip shows the moment his kayak was attacked by a tiger shark. Now, Haraguchi has returned to break down his encounter off the coast of Oahu and understand why the tiger shark may have taken a lunge at his boat.
Why did a tiger shark attack this kayak?
Haraguchi is quick to point out he had caught a peacock grouper just minutes prior. He placed it into his fish bag but did not bleed it. So Haraguchi does not believe its scent was in the water to attract the shark.
When the shark approaches, the angler notes he believes it came toward his kayak as if to ram it or scare it, not eat it. In the video, it looks as if Haraguchi kicks the shark out of reflex, but he’s not sure whether he actually did.
The shark retreats and doesn’t not encounter the angler’s boat again. Haraguchi is not fishing alone. He and his fellow angler stay in the channel continuin to fish and are careful not to dangle any limbs overboard.
Thirty minutes later, Haraguchi points out a wounded seal. He believes the shark was likely chasing the seal, and saw his kayak as competition to push away from its meal.
There doesn’t seem to be much observation reported on whether this is a behavior tiger sharks are known to display. However Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources shares, “For years tiger sharks were believed to be territorial in nature. Individuals were thought to remain for the most part in a fairly limited area. Recent evidence suggests this is not the case. Tiger sharks have been found to navigate between the main Hawaiian islands, and thus appear to occupy home ranges much larger than had been previously suspected.”
Feature Image: Scott Haraguchi / YouTube
