nickmacuk wrote:
the savagery of the attacks indicated it had acquired a taste for human flesh
That is highly unlikely and I don't believe it for one second. It's more a sign of desperation or mistaken identity when hunting for prey. The shark species in question are piscivores, they don't have a taste for human flesh. No shark has as we aren't normally in their domain to be a part of their natural diet. It's a misconception of shark attacks. If that was the case, it would be more than a bite or two they'd inflict on their unfortunate victims. Sharks don't have hands, they can only explore something by biting it. Once they bite and realise it's not what they thought it was, they'll generally let go, which is pretty much what was seen. The trouble is, the wounds left behind are often severe.
This has got to be one of the most menacing members of the shark family to look it, the Ragged Tooth Sand Tiger Shark, also known as the Grey Nurse Shark or Sand Tiger Shark.

With a Nurse Shark swimming above
They aren't the best quality as they are stills from a video while I was filming them. With the look of it's teeth, you'd think it was a bully. However, even though they grow to in excess of 4m (the one in the still is approx 3.5m), they are actually quite dicile and shy. Back them in to a corner and they'll come at you but other than that, they're fine. Some of the other members of the
Lamniformes (Mackeral Sharks) such as the Great White and Mako are the more aggressive ones with the Mako being responsible for at least one of the attacks in the Red Sea. Then again the Sand Tiger (above and Basking shark), that are also part of the Mackeral shark family are amongst the tamest. It just shows how diverse an order they are and there's nothing to fear, unless provoked or their habitat is unbalanced in some way as is likely to have been the case in the Red Sea last November / December.
Darren