Shark attacks drone in shocking moment
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Shark attacks are a fairly rare event all things considered. In 2020, for instance, the International Shark Attack File investigated only 129 shark attack reports globally. Only 57 of these were confirmed as unprovoked attacks and even fewer, 39, were provoked bites.
Put into perspective, data collected in the US between 1959 and 2010, showed twice as many people were struck by lighting than were attacked by sharks.
The Florida Museum of Natural History said: “Bees, wasps and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year.
“In the United States deaths occur up to 30 more times from lightning strikes per year, than from shark attacks per year.”
Marine researchers attribute fears of an attack from the depths to Hollywood and widespread media coverage every time an incident occurs.
But on the list of things people fear most when they enter the ocean, sharks did not even make it into the top three, it has been revealed.
According to new research published by the University of South Australia, jellyfish stings, crabs and drowning are perceived as much bigger threats than an encounter with Jaws.
The University’s researchers surveyed 400 people, asking the participants what scared them the most about going into the ocean.
The marine predators came in fourth behind drowning and other creatures such as jellyfish and stingrays.
The study’s findings were published in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences.
Dr Brianna Le Busque, UniSA Online course facilitator for psychology, was surprised by the study’s results.
Based on how sharks are portrayed in the media and popular culture, the psychologist expected sharks to top the polls.
She said: “We’ve all seen Jaws and read the sensationalized headlines about shark ‘attacks’ – given sharks’ representation in the mass media, it would be easy to assume that everyone’s biggest fear is an encounter with a shark.
“In reality, our study found more people fear drowning than sharks when it comes to swimming in the ocean.
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“It’s promising to see that people’s fears are actually aligned with the statistical chance of these threats, given many more people drown per year compared to fatal shark interactions.”
The researchers found about 22 percent of those questioned had already experienced a shark encounter – although it is worth considering this is far more likely to happen in Australia than it is, for example, in Austria.
But what does this mean? For one thing, Dr Le Busque added, it is good news for marine conservation efforts.
Many species of shark worldwide are on the verge of extinction and their reputation of being cold-blooded killers always on the prowl for a human snack does very little to sway the public in their favour.
If perceptions about sharks change for the better, Dr Le Busque thinks more will be done to protect the animals.
She said: “Even though many shark species are at risk of extinction, mass media still tends to focus on threats from sharks to humans, rather than from humans to sharks.
“This can have devastating consequences for the world’s shark population with effects we will all feel.
“Sharks play an integral role in our marine ecosystem.
“They have been around for more than 400-million years keeping our ocean habitats intact, which is important as oceans provide much of the oxygen we need to live.”
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