Less than 50 years ago wolves and cougars were "bad animals".  At one time, even
National Parks had a policy of eliminating them so the "good" species could
thrive.  Well, we are much more enlightened now aren't we.  Everyone knows they
are "good" animals.
Or are we so enlightened?  Ellen's story about the Health Food Hippy knowing that
sharks are "bad" animals is a good example.  I have heard that sharks are hunted
just for their fins, and that thousands of sharks are killed by having their fins
cut off and then tossed back into the water to die a slow and painful death.  I
hope this is not a common practice and I hope that it is at least illegal.  If
sharks were as cute as dolphins this would not be tolerated.
I've seen quite a number of sharks in temperate and tropical waters and have
never been threatened, but I could be, and I know it.  When I go hiking in the
mountains I know I really could have a close encounter with a grizzly.  There are
many in our mountains.
As modern humans we are not accustomed to not being at the top of the food
chain.  When we encounter an animal that could potentially eat us we must realize
that they are almost completely in control of the outcome, unless we are armed.
It is up to them.  We are not used to this in our lives.  I think it is good for
us to feel that way sometimes - it puts things in perspective! I have never armed
myself, except with as much understanding of the animals and their behaviour as I
can. This is my choice and I know I could still be eaten!
Concern for personal safety is valid, especially if one has children with them.
People who feel uneasy (often rightly so) around sharks or other large predators
should probably carry repellents and know how to use them.  The animals don't
care whether they are officially bad or good animals.  They will do what they
will do.

Ellen Bulger wrote:

> I’ve missed all those television documentaries about harmless sharks. It
> seems to me that every time the nature channels want to up their ratings,
> they run a shark week. The narration may be about conservation, but the music
> is always a thumping ominous Jaws score and the footage tight shots of
> gape-jawed great whites hurling themselves at boat transoms, shark cages and
> hunks of bait. How better to handle sweeps week? It’s like football and
> boxing rolled into one.
>
> If you often see sharks swimming along the beach and people are swimming
> every day, isn’t it likely that the sharks do not pose a serious risk?
>
> I can’t believe that shark attacks are routinely kept out of the papers. The
> media loves mayhem. In the Keys, if a barracuda so much as takes someone’s
> toe, it’s a headline. The story I remember from last year was about a nurse
> shark that clamped itself to some kid’s chest and wouldn’t let go. They had
> to cut the shark off in the emergency room. From what I understand, the kid
> was molesting the animal. Nurse sharks aren’t aggressive, but everyone has
> their snapping point.
>
> I don’t suppose it’s entirely fair to blame the boy. He may have been
> misinformed. This spring I was on a dive boat out of Key West (Southpoint
> Divers, if I remember right) and one of the dive masters said “The nurse
> sharks around here are real friendly. If you see one, give it a pat.“ Stupid,
> stupid, stupid.
>
> I’m have never been to the South Pacific, alas. The sharks there sound
> feistier. But along the East Coast and in the Bahamas and Caribbean sharks
> tend to leave you alone.
>
> In New Haven, we have a health food store called “Edge of the Woods”. It’s a
> nice shop, if a bit hippie-dippy. The bulletin boards are plastered with
> animal rights notices and the merchandise is strictly vegetarian, with one
> exception. They sell shark cartilage, lots and lots of shark cartilage.
>
> I asked about this once, and the woman behind the counter told me that sharks
> were bad. Why, I wanted to know. She lived on Long Island Sound, by the
> water, she said. So she knew sharks were dangerous.
>
> I spent my childhood on the Sound without ever even hearing about a shark
> attack, so I asked her to explain further. She described an incident in which
> she’d been swimming and had seen a shark. Did it attack her? Well, no. The
> upshot was her fear became proof of the danger posed by the shark. Talk about
> guilty until proven innocent.
>
> Too many people see animals through some sort of fairytale/ Disney filter, as
> good guys or bad guys. Fuzzy fur seal babies are innocent. Predators,
> especially non-mammalian predators, become villains. This is not irrelevant
> to Conch-Lers. If the public ain’t sympathetic to sharks, you can’t expect
> them to be concerned with mere slimey little mollusca and their habitats.