Bonding with the Beast

Man is both a natural and an artificial creature. We disregard either aspect of our 'nature’ at our peril. We are fascinated by our fear of apex predators that visit us in our nightmares or through vicarious encounters – on television, in press reports about animal attacks etc. Craig Bovim has had an all too real encounter: he was attacked by the ultimate symbol of wildness – the Great White shark and lives to tell an extraordinary tale of survival and personal transformation. Those who survive attacks by apex predators go through deep emotional change. Bovim understands this relationship both experientially and intellectually. He suffered terrible post traumatic stress after his attack and should hate sharks. But he recognises that the ancient relationship between Great Whites and man is both valuable yet fragile. He thinks that they have developed a mutual respect for one another and mourns the fact that the relationship is changing – being dangerously distorted - as more people entice sharks to come to them in a growing commercial industry.