Eugenie Clark
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Dr. Eugenie Clark, (born May 4, 1922), popularly called the Shark lady, is an American ichthyologist known for her research on poisonous fishes of the tropical seas and on the behaviour of sharks.
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[edit] Personal life
She was born 4 of May 1922 and was raised in New York City. She has 4 children; Hera, Aya, Tak and Niki. Her interest in fish began when she was nine and visited the aquarium [1].
[edit] Academic life
She earned her Ph. D. degree from New York University in 1950 for her work on the reproduction of species of platys and swordtail fish [2]. She is the founding director (1955 to 1967) of the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida[3]. She joined the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1968, she still holds the title of Senior Research Scientist and Professor Emerita even though she has retired from teaching. She has studied the behavior, ecology and taxonomy of fishes for over 50 years, especially that of sharks. She have received three honorary D.Sc. degrees and awards from the National Geographic Society, the Explorers Club, the Underwater Society of America and the American Littoral Society.
[edit] Bite incident
While working at the Marine Experiment Station in Sarasota Dr. Clark investigated a shark biting incident. Eight-year-old Douglas Lawton was viciously attacked by a shark while playing with his brother who was twelve at the time. The two boys were merely ten feet from shore on the Gulf side of Longboat Key near Sarasota. This was on July 27, 1958 at 4:10 P.M.
Douglas screamed and was almost dragged beneath the water while his brother grabbed him and his parents, an aunt, and an uncle raced to rescue him. The water quickly turned red with blood and Douglas' relatives saw the shark distinctly. It was gripping the boy's left thigh. The shark was described as being five feet in length, a blue-gray color, with a slender and streamlined physique.
The shark refused to let go of the boy in his jaws even when the four adults dragged the boy to the very shallow water of the beach. Becoming quite agitated Douglas' father pulled the shark by the tail while the uncle pounded on its head. The shark finally released its jaws and disappeared in the shallow water of swash channel closeby the beach. The boy was quickly transported to a local hospital. Here his leg was amputated close to the hip.
Dr. Eugenie Clark conducted thorough questioning of the witnesses and a close inspection of Douglas' amputated leg. She believed the attack was made by a young tiger shark. Her conclusion was confirmed by comparing the wounds with preserved jaws of tiger sharks. It was clear that the teeth had been strongly asymmetrical.
[edit] The Shark Repellent
She once noticed that if you touched a flatfish called Moses sole, milky white liquid would ooze out and it felt tingly on your fingers. When she discovered this she started testing the liquid with other types of fish.
After many tests she decided to test it with sharks. She found a Moses sole that still had some liquid and tied it with string and lowered it into the water. She watched as the shark same towards the fish but stopped abruptly in front of it and looking as if its mouth were frozen. After a moment, the shark swam away from the poisonous fish. As a result she performed more experiments with the fish and the sharks and finally confirmed that the poisonous substance would "repel" sharks.
She then decided to test this with sharks out in the ocean. She tied many varieties of fish each to a line and cast them into the water. One by one, the fish were eaten but the sharks kept avoiding the Moses sole fish.
[edit] Miscellanea
- She has written 12 articles for The National Geographic magazine.
- She has conducted 71 deep submersible dives.
- Her favorite dive spots are the Red Sea and Papua New Guinea.
[edit] Awards and Honors
- Women of Discovery Award (2006), WINGS WorldTrust
[edit] References
- Short Resume
- Long Resume
- Helm Thomas, Shark, Unpredictable Killer of the Sea, Collier Books, 1961, Pages 92 & 93.
[edit] External links
- Shark lady's home page
- Mote Marine Laboratory
- Eugenie Clark - The Shark Lady In depth profile of Eugenie Clark.
