Serial Killers and Sharks….Similar?
Stealthy stalkers: The sharks studied had a distinct mode of operation and were focussed.
Great white sharks have some things in common with human serial killers, a new study says: They don’t attack at random, but stalk specific victims, lurking out of sight.
The sharks hang back and observe from a not-too-close, not-too-far base, hunt strategically, and learn from previous attempts, according to a study in the Journal of Zoology. Researchers used a serial killer profiling method to figure out just how the fearsome ocean predator hunts, something that’s been hard to observe beneath the surface.
“There’s some strategy going on,” said study co-author Neil Hammerschlag, a shark researcher at the University of Miami who observed 340 great white shark attacks on seals off an island in South Africa. “It’s more than sharks lurking at the water waiting to go after them.”
The sharks feeding at Seal Island could have just hovered right where the seals congregated if they were random killers-of-opportunity, Hammerschlag said. But they weren’t.
Modus operandi
The sharks had a distinct mode of operation.
They were focussed. They stalked from a usual base of operations, 100 yards from their victims. It was close enough to see their prey, but not close enough to be seen and scare off their victims. They attacked when the lights were low. They liked their victims young and alone. They tried to attack when no other sharks were around to compete. They learned from previous kills.
And they attacked from below, unseen.
There’s a big difference between great white sharks and serial killers and it comes down to motive. The great whites attack to eat and survive, not for thrills. And great whites are majestic creatures that should be saved, Hammerschlag said.
“They both have the same objective, which is to find a target or prey or victim,” said study co-author D. Kim Rossmo, a professor of criminal justice at Texas State University-San Marcos. “They have to lurk. They want to be efficient in their search.”
The human criminal has to worry about being caught by police and thus is even more careful, said Rossmo, who was a police officer for more than 21 years in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The entire shark-serial killer connection is something right out of a crime novel.
R. Aidan Martin, a Canadian shark researcher who has since died, was reading a mystery that detailed the relatively new field of geographic profiling, which tries to find criminals by looking for patterns in where they strike. He connected with Rossmo, a pioneer in that criminal field, and they applied the work of tracking down criminals to sleuthing shark strategy.
“Fancy math”
Martin and Hammerschlag watched sharks from sunrise to sunset, applied the “fancy math” of geographic profiling and came out with plots that showed there was some real stalking going on, Hammerschlag said. Older sharks did better and were more stealthy than younger, smaller sharks, demonstrating that learning was occurring, he said.
The study focused on just one location, but the same principles are likely to be applied to other shark hunting grounds.
— AP
This article had a good explanatiopn relating sharks to serial killers. I found it very interesting that both creatures share similar qualities when it comes to “hunting” their prey. I would have never thought sharks and serial killers could be compared and actually have things in common. The big difference between the two, however, is that sharks do what they do to survive. Serial killers have nothing to gain from murdering people except thier own gratification. They do not need to kill to survive in the world.
I enjoyed reading this article and seeing a human world activity that also exists in the animal world as well. The correlation between the two shows that humans and animals are more related than we think, when comparing to other animals than monkeys.
I smiled while reading one paragraph because it said that sharks will kill out of necessity unlike humans that will kill other humans for thrill. The last sentence says that the sharks are majestic animals that should be saved, thus implying that serial killers should be killed for their killings.
The article is referring more to the attack methods that sharks and human serial killers have in common because other than that the psychology behind both of them are completely opposite. But when thinking more about the killing methods as a necessity we can see the same shark stealth methods used when humans just had a bow and arrow to kill their food. We too had to sneak up from behind and try not to scare away the animal so we could go in for the kill at that precise moment. But we have moved away from the game of killing to a more brutal method were the animals have no hopes of fleeing and are bred to be eaten.
I also agree with Chelsea when she states that serial killers only kill for their own gratification. It is a sick world we live in as humans but we have to make best of it and enforce rules as well as punishing wrong doings like killing.
I found it very interesting that great white sharks could be compared to serial killers. “They both have the same objective, which is to find a target or prey or victim.” (Dr. Kim Rossmo). I also found it fascinating that sharks learn from experiences and past kills, just as serial killers do.
There are five elements to Serial Murderers that the Homes text reviews on pages 30-31. I am going to compare these five elements of a Serial Murderer with great white sharks. The first/central element is repetitive homicide. Serial killers will continue to kill if not prevented. This is similar to sharks in one way and not the other. The similarity is in the fact that a shark will continue to kill their prey for survival. The difference here is the fact that sharks cannot commit homicide. Murder “is the unlawful killing of one human being by another human being. Animals do not commit murder; only human can do that.” (pg. 10, Holmes). The second element of a serial murderer is that most often serial murders are one-to-one killings, just like sharks. The blog states that sharks like their victims alone with no other sharks around, which minimizes competition. The third element of a serial murderer is the fact that there is usually no relationship between the killer and the victim. This also holds true for sharks. The forth element is that serial killers are motivated to kill. Although the motives of sharks and serial killers are completely different, this element also hold true for sharks. The final element of a serial killer is that the apparent and clear-cut motives may be unknown to outsiders/investigators. This is not true for sharks. We, as outsiders, do not have to question why sharks stalk and kill their victims/prey. As Hammerschlag said (from the blog), “There’s a big difference between great white sharks and serial killers and it comes down to motive. The great white sharks attack to eat and survive, not for thrills. And great whites are majestic creatures that should be saved.”
-NW
I really enjoyed this article. I am fascinated with sharks and never thought of comparing serial killers and sharks. It is interesting that they both “prey” on young alone victims. It was also stated in the article that the older the shark was the better it was at hunting and you could probably say the same thing about a serial killers because most are not serial killers when they are young. It would be interesting to see what other serial killer traits are in the animal kingdom. Marissa also made some good points about why sharks and serial killers kill and that is what is important so that there is not another negative stereotype placed on sharks.
I’m glad you enjoyed the article, Kyle. I thought it was pretty interesting too and had never quite drawn the parallel. Great blog.
Wow, Nicole. Excellent blog and application of the reading material. Great job!
I agree that sharks and serial killers may share some similar typologies. Both seem to be acting on pure animal instinct when committing the kill and in doing so learn different techniques from attack to attack. They both seem to stalk their “prey” and suprisingly enough, seem to have a pre-determined subject in mind. I enjoyed this article and would like to look into the serial-killer vs shark relationship more in depth.
This is an interesting parallel between sharks and serial killers. I would bet that it extends to other animals that have to hunt for survival. I believe that serial killers do not have the ability to filter their animal instincts. As we discussed in class, this could be from the malfunction of the frontal lobe, genetics, or lack of parental love and support. Whatever the reason, serial killers’ animal or barbaric desires dominate their logic and morals. Humans have evolved over time. We no longer have the need to HUNT our prey for survival. Yet serial killers still have this need. I believe this is a great start to determining what is “missing” in the minds of killers.
I found this article rather interesting because usually researchers are comparing human behaviors to that of chimpanzees. I never thought to compare the nature of serial killing to sharks preying on those who fall victim to their hunger.
Both sharks and serial killers silently and skillfully stalk out their target before making their attack. Their methods are similar. The difference appears in the reasoning behind their motives. Sharks kill out of necessity; they need to eat. Serial killers don’t kill out of necessity, but for one or many other reasons, thrill, pleasure, control, or power.
The article states that researchers found that older sharks seemed more successful than younger sharks with taking their targets by surprise for a successful kill. This is just like the older, more experienced serial killer. Just like with everything in life, you learn with experience.
I will have to agree with everyone and say that this article is sad but very interesting. One of the best words to describe serial killers and sharks is prey. The researchers did a good job pinpointing the aspects of serial killers to the great white sharks. From class and outside research I feel like I have gotten to be more familiar with the behaviors of serial killers. According to the article, the only difference between serial killers and sharks are their motives. While sharks kill for food and survival, serial killer motives varies from money to the thrill, some even like sharks eat their victims. They first stalk their victims, usually having a preferred target. They like their victims alone making them an easy target. Sharks like serial killers are very deadly creatures. If a shark was to be a certain type of serial killer I would categorize them as of course extrinsic but also mission oriented. This was a good comparison of the two species.
Very interesting article! Enjoyed it very much! I found it fascinating that the biggest predator of the sea is so similar to a serial killer. Not once has it crossed my mind how much a like they are. Just as the great whites, serial killers choose “easy” targets when they strike. The main difference is that great whites (and animals in general) kill for food and survival, while serial killers kill for the thrill.
Being a marine biology major, the word “shark” caught my eye right away. After trying to satisfy my intrigue of serial killers, this seemed like the perfect article. At a first reading I wasn’t convinced of anything stated in the article and a little defensive. Such magnificent creatures (the sharks, not the humans) could never be painted as the psychotic weirdos like so many serial killers are. Then again, while I feel the comparison is unfair, I do see the relations between the two. Sharks do hunt out their specific prey, they learn after each “kill”, and they do keep a distance that is just enough pre-attack.
While the author of the article pinpointed many facets that are similar between shark and serial killers, it was made sure to point out the differences as well. Sharks are not thrill or pleasure seekers during the “murder”. To survive they must hunt and eat their prey, unlike serial killers. I was also captivated by the thought of having to “hide out”. This notion is a main difference found among the two. When you are the ruler of your world, of your food chain, there is no need to fear capture.
Researchers have linked the behavior of sharks to the behavior of serial killers. Makes sense right? Both stalk out and target their victim and strike at the perfect moment. The most successful are those who are older and more experienced. Simple.
Can researchers link violence and aggression between human and sharks as well? It has been suggested that all violent behavior is aggressive but not all aggressive behavior is violent. Violent acts between humans can most certainly be aggressive on more than one level. There is passive aggression and active aggression, as well as physical and verbal aggression. More often than not (and there are times when there is no intent) any one type of aggression inflicted by someone upon someone else was done with intent to hurt or destruct them in some way, whether physically or emotionally.
Sharks have an aggressive nature. They stalk and kill prey. But what are their motives for such behavior? The sharks main motivation for targeting their victims then making their kills is hunger. Sharks kill out of necessity. They kill to keep themselves alive, although this behavior is aggressive, I don’t think it would be fair to say that it is violent. It is a part of nature, part of the “food chain” if you will. Like the article states, sharks tend to attack when no other sharks are around to avoid competition. I think, like serial killers, aggression in sharks can be compared to aggression in humans.