Initial Results
Motionless Dummy
During two weeks of continuous experimentation we managed to attract up to 10 white sharks per day to the motionless dummy in the water. However, only in rare cases did they bite the dummy, and then only very reluctantly and never with the force and speed observed when they pursued seals. The sharks always approached the dummy from behind - swimming directly on the surface - or vertically from below. At no time did the sharks accelerate their speed as they normally do with real prey. At high speeds, sharks can even jump completely out of the water.
It thus appears that sharks do not mistake this dummy for a seal, otherwise they would have directly attacked it. Only the silhouette appears to have aroused their curiosity because it resembled the familiar search image of a seal, an image which predators have to help them concentrate on a target and react very quickly.
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