CNN published a video on January 30,
2016, with the headline: ‘Shark eats shark in aquarium "turf war."’ What does ‘turf
war’ mean? What does turf (on land) have to do with sharks in water?
The Free Dictionary defines turf war as ‘a dispute between criminals or
gangs over the right to operate within a particular area’ or ‘any dispute in
which one party seeks to obtain increased rights or influence.’ It adds that
turf war ‘is a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights.’ It
could be a conflict, struggle, or battle. This seems to be about the ‘war’ part
of turf war – but where is the turf?
Specifically, Oxford Dictionaries defines turf as grass, lawn, a horse
racecourse, or ‘an area or sphere of activity regarded as someone’s personal
territory.’ Cambridge Dictionary defines turf as the ‘area that a group
considers its own.’ Home turf is regarded as home ground.
Turf war is therefore a battle over space or territory that a person or
animal regards as its own and is therefore defending its territory.
The commentary during the video says a larger
eight-year-old female shark ate a smaller five-year-old male shark. It took about
21 hours to devour it. The female shark was a sand tiger shark, about 2.2
metres long (7.2 feet), and the male was about 1.2 metres (3.5 feet) long.
The public relations manager, Oh Tae-youp, at Coex
Aquarium in South Korea, said that sharks have their own territory. He added,
‘However, sometimes when they bump against each other, they bite out of
astonishment.’ The CNN commentary added that Coex Aquarium staff thought the
attack had been caused by a turf war.
There are contradictory scientific views regarding
whether sharks are territorial or not. The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) is also known as a bull
shark or grey nurse shark – very common around the world and well known in
Australian waters. It is not related to the tiger shark. The sand tiger shark
is quite placid and is slow-moving. It is one of the most popular aquarium
sharks due to its calm temperament. They are not known to attack humans or
other sharks, but may compete and attack for food.
Scorecard for the CNN headline is 95%. The term ‘turf war’ was mentioned
in the video. As with all animals, shark behavior can be unpredictable. Perhaps,
as the aquarium’s public relations manager indicated, the female may have been
‘astonished’ by the male’s sudden appearance. In any case, the male shark got a
little too close to the female shark – and the female shark’s personal space
was compromised. Although turf is a plot of grass or land, the generalized
interpretation was used in this video to indicate that the territory in the
seawater tank – in terms of personal space – was an issue. It was not quite a
conflict, struggle, or battle, and more like an astonished reaction that
involved a fast but fatal bite.
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/01/30/shark-eats-shark-south-korea-coex-aquarium-sot-nr.cnn
MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:-
The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends
(2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan
Curse (2009).
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