They Follow Ships.

Opunake Times, Volume XXI, Issue 750, 23 June 1905, Page 4

They Follow Ships.

Whales are not the only creatures that accompany ships. Sharks are the best-known followers. Their motive is, however, purely a mercenary one. They are the scavengers of the ocean, and swallow everything that is dropped overboard, including such trifles as feathers, ashes and old boots. The ferocity of the shark has been greatly exaggerated. They are as cowardly as wolves. You may swim in perfect safety in shark-infested waters if you make plenty of splashing. Almost as common a ship-follower as the shark is the porpoise. In the clear, green waters around the West Indian coasts shoals of porpoises—sometimes two or three hundred in number—will gather roond a ship, darting up and down, and constantly throwing half their length out of the wave-tops. The speed at which they swim is simply amazing.