DAHLAK KEBIR, DESERT IN THE SEA 77 



head. If the prey is floating in half-depth they snatch it with 

 an impetuous leap, preferably still from above. If it is floating 

 on the surface, they stick their muzzles out of the water a 

 second and swallow it in one gulp, never turning upside-down 

 as tradition has it. Finally they do not chew their food, or 

 break it up ; if they can, they swallow the mouthful whole ; if 

 it is too big they slice it in half with one bite and return in a 

 few seconds for the other half 



We noticed that the sharks we met preferred to eat on the 

 sea-bed or in half-depth; they rose to the surface only if there 

 was nothing to be had elsewhere. It may also be said that 

 sharks are more at home in deep water, from thirty to two 

 hundred feet; they come to the surface mostly at night, to 

 hunt for tunny and other large fish. But like any other animal 

 on earth the shark has his own personal vagaries and may 

 quite easily be found playing out at sea among the waves in 

 full daylight. It is rare and strange that man should visit the 

 sea-bed, but he does. 



The danger from sharks, then, is more a possible one than 

 a probable one. A much more real, but less storied, danger is 

 that of the moray, which in the Red Sea can reach a weight 

 of some dozens of pounds. The burst of explosive had no effect 

 on these beasts whatsoever. They just withdrew into their 

 dens and remained unscathed. Thus when our hands went 

 fumbling in their homes to recover small fish, it was pure 

 chance that saved us from disaster. We certainly got some 

 nasty shocks. 



The shark is the subject of a vast literature, as vast almost as 

 the literature of the lion. Adventure stories, comic strips, 

 boys' books, newspaper articles, pseudo-scientific writings, 

 fishermen's tales, magazine illustrations, and every kind of 



F 



