PBS
"NOVA" investigates the great white, tonight at 8.

When a shark bites you,
it doesn’t really mean to

California great white sharks and Hawaiian tiger sharks are known to prey on sea turtles, but the ancient Hawaiians knew they, too, could end up as shark bait. They came up with the word "niuhi" to describe man-eating sharks.

This week, "NOVA" explores our coastline, as well as California's, in an attempt to determine why there aren't more shark attacks against humans.

"Shark Attack!" airs at 8 p.m. today on PBS, dispelling a number of shark myths.

For instance, contrary to the popular idea of a feeding frenzy, after an initial violent attack, sharks feed in a controlled, almost calm manner. A 400-pound meal will be finished in five to 10 bites.

When people are bitten, they are rarely consumed. Researchers believe this may be due to the shark's practice of taking a bite and allowing its victim to weaken through bleeding before eating it.

Human victims and their rescuers perhaps cause more of a commotion than a shark can deal with.

In the case of California great whites, a shark that bites a human may be expecting 6 inches of sea lion blubber, not a mouthful of bones. More than likely, the attacker is a juvenile who simply made a mistake.

Kim Holland of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology offers some parting food for thought, that is, "If these powerful, adaptable hunters wanted to eat people, nothing would stop them."

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Reported by Star-Bulletin staff