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Travel
Safety - Shark Attacks information
There
are approximately one hundred reported cases of shark incidents
and around five resulting fatalities each year worldwide, though
the true figure is likely to be higher since such attacks are
bad for tourism and records in third world countries are unreliable.
However,
this figure is still far less than the number of fatalities ascribed
to other dangerous animals such as bee stings, scorpions or crocodiles.
The bottom line is that these animals have an unfairly dangerous
reputation - thanks to Hollywood - and your chances of being wacked
by a great white are smaller than being killed in a household
accident.
Facts:
- You have more chance of being hit on the
head by a coconut or bitten by a New Yorker than being bitten
by a shark.
- Sharks prefer eating fish or seals
to humans. A human bite is usually a mistake.
- They don't
usually assault something bigger
than themselves.
- If it circles you it is probably just curious, not hungry.
- Millions of sharks are killed every year just to provide
the fins for shark fin soup. We should be enjoying viewing and
protecting these animals, not eating them!
Dangerous
Sharks:
The sharks most likely to go for humans are the larger mammal
eating variety as they have the biggest bite - and humans look
far more like seals than fish. 45% of attacks are on surfers.
These are the most dangerous:
Bull, very nasty, probably
more dangerous than the Great White, it likes murky water. A big
body and big mouth, it attacks more or less anything. More testosterone
than a bull elephant and more attacks on humans than other sharks.
They often swim into fresh water rivers such as the Mississipi
and the Ganges.
Tiger, also very dangerous; up to
6m long; usually likes deep water in the daytime and shallow water
at night; feeds mainly at night.
Great
White,
the species portrayed in the film 'Jaws', this is the biggest
shark in the sea that doesn't eat plankton, growing up to thirty
feet and dining mostly on seals. Dangerous mainly because one
mistaken bite is enough to kill.
Oceanic
Whitetip, not to be confused with the White-Tipped Reef
Shark; very dangerous; prefers deep water; unpredictable behaviour,
will attack anything indiscriminately.
Three
kinds of attack:
1]
Hit and run: usually a single strike in a surf area as a result
of mistaken identity or territorial dominance. Injuries are minor.
2] Bump and bite: the animal is hungry and surveys the prey in
decreasing circles, bumping it to get an initial flavour. After
the bump comes the bite, if you're tasty enough. Neoprene probably
wouldn't fit the bill. Repeat visits are common and injuries severe.
3] Sudden strike: often by the Great White. Repeat visits are
common and injuries severe.
Advice
on avoiding an attack in shark waters:
Don't go alone
- these animals tend to go for lone prey as their senses can tune
in better on the target.
Furthermore, since great whites and tiger sharks tend to retreat
after the first bite it's useful to have victim assistance nearby.
Don't
go
in deep
- while it is true that some attacks happen in shallow water,
more often sharks travel around steep drop offs or near river
mouths, as that is where their natural food congregates.
Don't
swim or surf in
murky water
- mistaken identity is generally the reason that people are attacked
and in surf and/or murky water hungry critters can see you less
well. Then again, you can't see them at all!
Don't
go for dawn/dusk/night swims
- the favoured hunting time and poor vision time for you.
Don't
go in if there's blood -
sharks can smell it many miles away so don't enter the water with
open wounds, near where people are fishing/spear fishing, or near
ocean garbage, and ladies should not go in during their monthly
cycle.
Don't
wear jewellery -
a shark's vision is not that great as they rely on vibrations
or electrical signals in the water. However they do pick up on
contrasting tones of dark and light very well which help them
catch shiny fish.
Highly contrasting wetsuits [e.g. black and white], swimsuits
or jewellery may get part of you mistaken for a fish.
Don't
go bare
- wear a wetsuit, nothing like the taste of neoprene to put you
off your dinner!
Don't
panic
-
if you see a shark, leave the water as quietly and quickly as
possible, or stay still and vertical [i.e. unlike a seal]
Don't
swim where others have been attacked
-
sharks do strike twice, unlike lightning.
The
recreational groups most attacked are
surfers, with bathers second. Surfers splash a lot in surf conditions
which making it easier for sharks to mistake their identity. Surfers
also spend the greatest proportion of time in the water. Since
1980 over 300 surfers worldwide have been mauled by sharks.
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Advice
if you're being circled or otherwise hassled:
Swimmers
and surfers
- if the shark is circling you it may be just curious and checking
its territory but if it continues circling and seems hungry try
to look the opposite of its regular entreé - a seal. In
other words don't splash and get/stay vertical.
Another preventative measure is to join hands with another person,
making your combined profile much bigger than the shark will wish
to attack. Japanese pearl divers used to take off their loincloth
and trail it in the water, increasing the apparent size of the
swimmer.
Advice
if you're attacked:
Swimmers
and surfers
-look around the surface and below for a shadow, punch and kick
at the animal's nose and eyes if a repeat attack occurs*. Shout
for help and if you think surf savvy bathers or lifeguard are
present, the sign that you are in trouble is one arm raised high
- do not wave with one arm, you may just get greeted back.
If you need to wave use both arms or try the international divers
shark sign of finger tips together - like a dorsal fin.
Get out of the water as fast as possible but without panicked
splashing; swim smoothly and you will go faster.
Your flippers will work best and attract fewer predatory fish
if they don't splash, so learn how to use them properly.
*Yes
really! Some surfers at a competition in Florida 2001 were attacked
repeatedly by several sharks. They literally punched and kicked
the menacing fish away from their boards because they wanted to
get on with the competition. Some lacerations resulted but all
the surfers lived to tell the tale. 2005 Great White update! A
British surfer was attacked by a whitey in South Africa, it grabbed
his leg and dragged him along, however he punched and kicked the
beasty, and so lived to tell the tale on national television!
Give
a helping hand:
If you see someone under attack, go to help them. It's unknown
for a shark to go for the help, they like to focus.
Scuba
divers
- If you have weapons, use them. If not, try to hit the shark's
eyes or nose with anything - your camera, a rock or your fist.
Look Great Whites in the eye. Really! They prefer to attack things
that are not looking at them!
These animals like to attack from the side or below so you could
find cover protected by rocks.
If you see the shark going around in ever decreasing circles,
and even brushing you, expect an attack. If it then heads for
you, twitching and jerking - unlike the usual smooth glide - make
yourself into a small ball. When the big fish is closer, suddenly
snap into a maximum size starfish shape. This apparently confuses
the fish's primitive visual apparatus.
If you have a dive buddy - which you should have- holding him/her
gives the beast the impression that you are bigger than it.
Remain calm and remember a panicked resurface could give you the
bends and kill you.
The
most reported attacks information:
1. The USA has the highest incidence of shark incidents in the
world but one of the reasons for this is the large amount of recreational
marine activity that goes on in the region.
Florida is worst affected with around 60% of all cases in the
country; the entire east coast has a growing problem with aggressive
sharks. California follows at around 15%.
2. Africa
3. Central and South America
4. Australia and the Pacific Islands
Some
'unprovoked' Shark Attack Stats:
2000 - 78 attacks, 11 fatal.
2001 - 68 attacks, 4 fatal.
2002 - 63 attacks, 3 fatal.
2003 - 57 attacks, 4 fatal
2004 - 61 attacks, 7 fatal.
Some
2004 fatalities information:
April; Maui, Hawaii. Surfer.
July; Perth, Australia. Surfer.
August; San Francisco, USA. Diver.
November; Fish Hoek, South Africa. Swimmer.
December; Cairns, Australia. Spear Fisherman.
December; Adelaide, Australia. Surfer.
2005
fatalities information:
March; Abrolhos islands, 300 miles north of Perth, Australia.
Snorkeller.
Diving
with sharks:
Half a million people dive with sharks every year, some in cages,
some in chain mail, some in nothing at all. The #1 spot for shark
diving is South Africa [especially Great Whites], though Australia's
Barrier Reef or the Ningaloo Reef [especially good for massive
Whale Sharks] on Australia's west coast are also excellent.
A British shark cage tourist in Hermanus, South Africa, March
'05, had a narrow escape when a 20ft Great White did a good job
of dismantling his cage and almost got to the main course.
There is some concern among local people and conservationists
generally that sharks are associating the bait used to attract
the big fish with the humans that hang around in the vicinity.
In other words sharks are being trained to recognise this equation:
easy food =
humans.
For
more information the best source you will find is the authoritative
International
Shark Attack File from the University of Florida, USA.
For
the latest information on shark attacks, including victim stories
and pictures [not for the faint hearted] try Shark
Attacks.
Other
Travel Safety - Dangerous animals information:
Crocodile
and Alligator Attacks
Blue-Ringed
Octopus and Stonefish
Jellyfish
Stings
Scorpion
Stings | Snake Bites
Spider
Bites | Bee and Wasp Stings
Lion
Attacks | Bear Attacks
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