Sharks - What Are The Real Facts?
Due to hollywood movies about sharks many people think of them as predatory creatures that will hunt down humans due to be blood thirsty. On the contrary sharks, don't even like eating humans. The blood of humans doesn't taste the same as the food they actually eat which is why when a person is attacked it usually just one bite.
The hunter satisfies its voracious appetite with seals, fish and other animals found in the sea. To capture these animals it has developed the necessary qualities of speed, strength, agility and a mouth armed with many, many teeth. This is a prime reason we humans perceive them as so very frightening.
People are most likely to be in danger of a shark attack when they inadvertently mimic the behavior of a shark's prey. For example, a surfer who has swum far out from shore and is thrashing around, trying to get into position to ride a big wave, may seem like an injured seal to a shark. The surfer is has no idea that their behavior is attracting the shark. In a way, it's like a hapless swimmer who gets caught in a riptide and pulled out to sea. It's just an unfortunate coincidence.
Although many millions of people visit beaches every year, only about twelve are actually killed by sharks. Out of the approximately ninety shark attacks each year, most are not vicious and result in only a bruise. Although this is not negligible, these bumps and nudges are mostly accidental, not purposefully vicious, and should not be taken out of context.
Strange though it may seem, falling coconuts actually cause 10 times as many injuries to humans as sharks do. The Tiger shark and the great white shark may be the most aggressive of sharks but they very rarely attack humans. You'll find yourself more at risk whilst you drive to the beach, bearing in mind that driving kills more than 40,000 people on the US each year.
When a person is bitten by a shark, of course the victim deserves sympathy. But so the hundreds of sharks that will be hunted and killed in revenge. The sharks have no idea what they have done or why we are trying to kill them; unlike humans, they can't be told why they are being subjected to a punishment. We have only two choices: to kill sharks, or to live with them peacefully. Killing them hasn't made us safer, so perhaps we should try the second option.
About the Author: Strange though it may seem, falling coconuts actually cause 10 times as many injuries to humans as sharks do. The Tiger shark and the great white shark may be the most aggressive type but they very rarely attack humans. You'll find yourself more at risk whilst you drive to the beach, bearing in mind that driving kills more than 40,000 people on the US each year. It is only human to feel compassion for anyone who suffers a shark bite. Unless we eradicate them all, we are going to have to learn to live alongside them.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 45 views | May 02 2008
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