Shark Attacks - Strategies
Sharks come silently and without warning. There are three ways they
strike: the hit-and-run, the bump-and-bite, and the sneak attack.
The hit-and-run is the most common. The shark may see the sole of
a swimmer's foot, think it's a fish and take a bite before realizing
this isn't its usual prey. It swims away, leaving the bleeding victim
in need of stitches. As Peter Benchley, author of the book Jaws, says
in his article Misunderstood Monsters, "of course, if a three-thousand-pound
shark chooses to sample a scuba diver, believing it to be a sea lion,
by the time it realizes its mistake, apologies may ring a bit hollow."
(Benchley, 32-34)
The bump-and-bite is far more serious. The shark bumps the victim,
testing if he is prey-worthy. It may decide he is and repeatedly
attacks again, biting bit by bit. And then there is the sneak attack.
The shark is in the right place to find its prey, it is the right
time to feed, and the target is the right size. Dusk is one of the
shark's feeding periods. The sharks sneaks in closer to the target
and pounces at it. (McCarthy, http://www.time.com/time/2001/sharks/cover.html)
The Human Toll
Shark attacks have been on the rise in recent years, but for all
the horror they stir, their numbers remain minuscule. Worldwide,
there were seventy-nine unprovoked attacks last year, compared with
fifty-eight in 1999 and fifty-four the year before. Two-thirds were
in U.S. waters. The higher number of victims in the United States
reflects more surfers, boogie-boarders and open-water swimmers in
these areas. Volusia County, Fla., holds the state record for attacks
because of its long coastline and packed beaches.
(McCarthy, http://www.time.com/time/2001/sharks/cover.html)
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Great whites are the most lethal to humans. According to statistics
compiled by the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum
of Natural History, since 1876, two hundred and fifty-four confirmed
non-provoked attacks on humans took place, sixty-seven of which -
fatal. Over the same period, tiger sharks attacked eighty-three times
with twenty-nine fatalities, and bull sharks - sixty-nine times with
seventeen fatalities. Great white attacks on humans generally involve
just one bite. Most researchers believe the shark's sensory organs
quickly differentiate between humans and the blubber-rich seals it
prefers, so it effectively bites and spits out humans.
(International Shark Attack File - http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm)
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Tiger attacks on humans have been on the rise in Hawaii, and one reason,
says John Naughton of Hawaii's Habitat Conservation Program, may be
the increase in seagoing green turtles since they were protected in
the 1970s. "Turtles come close to the shore, and the tigers follow
them to prey on them. That puts them in the same area as swimmers
and surfers." Tigers swim more slowly than great whites and do
not excel at surprising their victims. Human victims often notice
the shark before it closes in to attack. However, tigers hunt persistently.
"If you are bitten by a tiger, you have a good chance of being
chewed up. They come back," says John McCosker, a scientist at
the California Academy of Sciences. (McCarthy, http://www.time.com/time/2001/sharks/cover.html)
Some precautions that humans must take before entering the ocean:
don't swim at dusk or dawn; avoid murky water and steep drop-offs;
and shed all jewelry.
Many scientists, who work with sharks, express their criticism
of the guided shark-feeding tours that are proliferating in Florida
and the Bahamas. Sharks there have begun to associate the sound
of an outboard motor with food, and there have been attacks by sharks
apparently impatient to be fed, according to George Burgess, head
of the International Shark Attack File. Only two Florida cities
have made shark feeding illegal, but a campaign to ban it statewide
is ongoing. "When you are training animals, you are changing
their basic behavior and their respect for human beings," says
Burgess.
(McCarthy, http://www.time.com/time/2001/sharks/cover.html)
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