Eh, we see lots of people infested places and they can also live there. The two things can both be true. (Granted the number of sharks needed for this title is a bit low).
this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026
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On a related note, the “Cities” episode of Planet Earth is an interesting one. Human cities are the fastest growing ecosystem on Earth, so why wouldn’t our fellow planetary inhabitants want to take our shit when we’ve been taking theirs?
Human infested cities. Cat infested cafés. Cattle infested farms.
We also kill millions of sharks per year, while they're responsible for maybe 10 human deaths per year (worldwide).
Actually marinas like the one pictured or "canal estates" often create environments that become "infested" with pests and predators. Some of which for example contain bull sharks in plague proportions. Yes sharks live in the ocean but anyone living next to a canal teaming with them would conclude that there is an "investation".
Bull sharks are unique in that they can somehow retain salt from ocean / salt / brackish water which allows them to operate in fresh water. They're also more aggressive than other species, or perhaps just more likely to grab at movement in murky river water.
I remember watching a documentary suggesting that bull shark attacks might have been the inspiration for the Jaws series, after a spate of attacks in estuaries in the US in the years prior.
Jeremy Wade on River Monsters TV series also had an episode about them.
I just watched a movie last week where these people where exploring a freshwater cave and then became trapped by a shark. I thought it was some stupid movie detail, didn't know it might actually be possible.
I'm taking this far too seriously for a meme, but I already looked it up out of curiosity so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
To inhabit a place in unpleasantly large numbers; to plague, harass.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infest
Interestingly (at least to me) it looks like it's related to "manifest'.
Ah so i can say "human infested planet" then
"Welcome to my me-infested home."
Yep
Puts a new spin on Manifest Destiny.
One man's infestation is another man's colonisation.
Isn't that usually how infestations work though?
Humans infest shark habitats. You don't see sharks coming into your gated community, do you?
Would be a rad way to thin out the herd of xenophobic rich people, though 🤔
No, sharks rarely infest gated communities. The point was that infestations usually consist of animals that live in the place they are undesired.
A zoo is a gated community
Damn snobbish animals living in gated communities.
And sharks regularly infest zoos?
Wouldn't you if you were a shark? It's a whole smörgåsbord
Valid point. Although that's without their consent, whereas most humans infesting the ocean are choosing to remain there, USS Abraham Lincoln sailors notwithstanding.
No, the point is that indigenous populations are not infesting their own natural habitats.
For example, "Native Americans" did not "infest" the United States. White people did.
So the right phrasing would be "no, it's their natural habitat", not "no, they live there", since, and this was my point if you go back, if an animal infests something it usually lives there, making the point in the post redundant.
Yes the white folks came and made a mess of the place. Which, if sharks chose to move into your house, they would also do. Probably leave the taps running all over the place too
That's a different point though. If you have a termite infestation, you might say that they're invasive to the house and it's not their natural element. However you might also say that they live there, which is equally true.
If you have a termite infestation, you might say that they're invasive to the house and it's not their natural element. However you might also say that they live there, which is equally true.
But the post is about sharks in the ocean. It is their natural habitat, they live there, but because they're sometimes inconvenient to humans, humans sometimes use the phrase "shark-infested waters", which can be damaging because it frames disrupting the ecosystem as some kind of defensive act.
And my point was it's the humans that don't belong and cause damage and yet there have been humans infesting the oceans since time immemorial and it's only getting worse.
Right, I agree with you. I was responding to gjoel's comments.
Aren't infestations about something that wasn't there before and doesn't actually belong there?
No, it is about their presence being wanted or not. I don't want to go to a swamp because is infested with mosquitoes for example, mosquitoes were always there.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/infestation
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/infest
I saw both links pop up as well. I opted to go with the first, standard, book— webster’s instead of cherry picking.
The problem is, both meanings are correct. However, the “troublesome” definition is primary.. and look at the example given:
1 to spread or swarm in or over in a troublesome manner
shark-infested waters
2 to live in or on as a parasite
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This is why festivals are called that all teeming with wretched humans and their various parasites
Infest-ivals?
infest verb in·fest in-ˈfest infested; infesting; infests Synonyms of infest transitive verb
1 : to spread or swarm in or over in a troublesome manner shark-infested waters
2 : to live in or on as a parasite
Oktober-fest;
1 : to spread or swarm in or over in a troublesome manner buxom-waitress-in traditional-dress infested waters
2 : to live in or on as a completely smashed parasite
Shut up! Germans just live there!
Yeah, it's just their lebensraum, nothing to be concerned about at all.
Shut up! Termites just live there!
then what does ever infest anything
Bedbugs, human habitations.
Not like this Palestinian infested west bank!
It's time to play "Is this Fascism or Bad Sarcasm?"!
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