A blacktip reef shark. In rare circumstances such as bad visibility, blacktips may bite humans, mistaking them for prey. Under normal conditions, however, they are harmless and often even quite shy.

A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, a number of people are attacked by sharks, although most survive. Despite the relative rarity of shark attacks, the fear of sharks is a common phenomenon, having been fueled by the occasional instances of attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, and by sensationalized fiction and film, such as the Jaws series. Many shark experts feel that the danger presented by sharks has been exaggerated, and even the creator of the Jaws phenomenon, the late Peter Benchley, attempted to dispel the myth of sharks being man-eating monsters in recent years. Shark Attack is a 1999 television film directed by Bob Misiorowski and starring Casper Van Dien and Ernie Hudson. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x517, 319 KB) Snorkeler with Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x517, 319 KB) Snorkeler with Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). ... Not to be confused with blacktip shark. ... For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation). ... The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the capture of a man-eating shark off the Jersey Shore after the attacks. ... Jaws is a 1975 thriller/horror film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on Peter Benchleys best-selling novel inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. ... Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 11, 2006) was an American author best known for writing the novel Jaws and co-writing the screenplay for its highly successful film adaptation. ...

Statistics

In 2000, there were 79 shark attacks reported worldwide, 11 of them fatal. In 2005 and 2006 this number dropped to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities dropped to only four per year. Of these attacks, the majority occurred in the United States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005 and 38 in 2006).^[1] For the same period, the Global Shark Attack File records 69 unprovoked attacks of which five were fatal.^[2] Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Florida Museum of Natural History points out that these numbers should be compared with the much higher deaths from other, less feared causes; for example, several hundred people die annually from lightning strikes.^[3] The Florida Museum of Natural History is located at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. ... Not to be confused with lighting. ...

2008 attacks

An Austrian tourist died February 24, 2008 after being bitten by a shark while diving near the Bahamas in waters that had been baited with bloody fish parts to attract the predators.^[4] is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... [--168. ...

A 16-year-old Australian boy died on April 8, 2008 after being attacked by a shark in the coastal town of Ballina, on the mid-coast. The boy died whilst bodyboarding when he and a friend were taking advantage of a teacher's strike; the teenager's friend is now being considered for a bravery award. The shark responsible was thought to be a bull shark.^[5] Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Ballina may refer to: Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland Ballina, County Tipperary, Ireland Ballina, New South Wales, Australia Electoral district of Ballina is an electoral district in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, based around the area. ...

A 66-year-old man died on April 25, 2008 off the coast of the Southern California city of Solana Beach. The species of shark was a great white shark. ^[6] is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Solana Beach is a city located in San Diego County, California. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Range (in blue) For other uses, see Great White (disambiguation). ...

A 25-year-old man died on April 30, 2008 off the coast of Mexico. The species of shark was a nurse shark. is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

Species involved in incidents

Contrary to popular belief, only a few sharks are dangerous to humans. Out of more than 360 species, only four have been involved in a significant number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, tiger, oceanic whitetip shark^[7] and bull sharks.^[8] These sharks, being large, powerful predators, may sometimes attack and kill people; however, they have all been filmed in open water by unprotected divers.^[9][10] Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Range (in blue) For other uses, see Great White (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tiger shark (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (Poey, 1861) Range of oceanic whitetip shark Synonyms Squalus maou, Lesson 1822-1825 Squalus longimanus, Poey 1861 Pterolamiops longimanus Carcharhinus obtusus, Garman 1881 Carcharhinus insularum, Snyder 1904 Pterolamiops magnipinnis, Smith 1958 Pterolamiops budkeri, Fourmanoir 1961 The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, is a large pelagic shark of tropical... Binomial name (Müller and Henle, 1839) Range of bull shark The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull whaler, Zambezi shark or informally Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. ...

Modern day statistics do not show the oceanic whitetip shark as being involved in unprovoked attacks very often. However, there have been a number of such attacks in the past, particularly during World War I and World War II. A possible explanation is that the oceanic whitetip lives in the open sea and rarely shows up near coasts, where most incidents occur nowadays. During the world wars many ship and aircraft disasters happened in the open ocean, and due to its abundance the oceanic whitetip is often the first species on site when such a disaster happens. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Infamous examples of oceanic whitetip attacks include the sinking of the Nova Scotia, a steamship carrying 1000 that was sunk near South Africa by a German submarine in World War II. Only 192 people survived, with many deaths attributed to the oceanic whitetip shark.^[11] Another example was the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis on 30 July 1945, giving a minimal figure of 60–80 killed by oceanic whitetips.^[12] Some survivors stated that tiger sharks were involved too. For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy. ...

Watson and the Shark by J.S. Copley, based on an attack on a swimmer in Havana in 1749

In addition to the four species responsible for a significant number of fatal attacks on humans, a number of other species have attacked humans without being provoked, and have on extremely rare occasions been responsible for a human death. This group includes the shortfin mako, hammerhead, Galapagos, gray reef, blacktip reef, lemon, silky, and blue sharks.^[8] These sharks are also large, powerful predators which can be provoked simply by being in the water at the wrong time and place, but they are normally considered less dangerous to divers and swimmers than the previous group. A few other shark species do attack people every year, producing wounds that can potentially kill, but this occurs either specifically because they have been provoked, or through mistaken identity due to water conditions or the like. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (791x621, 54 KB) Description: Title: en: Watson and the Shark Technique: en: Oil on canvas Dimensions: en: 72 x 90 1/4 (182. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (791x621, 54 KB) Description: Title: en: Watson and the Shark Technique: en: Oil on canvas Dimensions: en: 72 x 90 1/4 (182. ... Watson and the Shark is the title of a 1778 oil-on-canvas painting by John Singleton Copley. ... Portrait of Copley by Gilbert Stuart. ... Binomial name Rafinesque, 1810 Range of shortfin mako shark (in blue) The shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, (sharp nose) is a large shark of the Lamnidae family. ... Species See text. ... Binomial name Carcharhinus galapagensis (Snodgrass & Heller, 1905) Range of galapagos shark The Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis, is a species of requiem shark. ... Binomial name Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Bleeker, 1856) The Gray Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) is one of the most common sharks found around coral reefs of Indo-Pacific waters. ... Not to be confused with blacktip shark. ... Binomial name Negaprion brevirostris (Poey, 1868) The lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris, is a well studied shark belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. ... Binomial name Carcharias falciformis (Müller & Henle, 1839) The silky shark (Carcharias falciformis) is a large pelagic shark of tropical and warm temperate seas. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Range of blue shark The blue shark, Prionace glauca, is a carcharhinid shark which is found in the deep waters of the worlds temperate and tropical oceans. ...

Reasons for attacks

While one should be very cautious with great white sharks, it does not target humans as prey.

There are many theories about why sharks sometimes attack people.^[13] Some species, such as the great white shark, may sometimes confuse humans for seal or other prey animal; this would be typical when a shark attacks a surfer. The shape of a surfer lying on a board closely resembles a seal from beneath the surface. Also, sharks have sensory organs on their nose to pick up electrical signals, such as those generated by muscles when moving. Often a shark attacking a human bites once and swims away. This behavior has many possible explanations, such as the possibility that humans do not taste good or are lacking the necessary fat. Another theory is that sharks normally make one swift attack and then retreat to wait for the victim to die or exhaust itself before returning to feed. This protects the shark from injury from a wounded and aggressive target; however, it also allows humans time to get out of the water and survive. Another theory is that the electrical receptors, which pick up movement, do not pick up the same signals from a wounded human as they do a wounded seal, and so they are more cautious. In fact, it has recently been shown that surfers do not give off the same electrical signals as seals, and it is thought that if they did, there would be far more attacks.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 557 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 835 pixel, file size: 655 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Update is higher resolution and removed some artifacts, original at en:image:Whiteshark-TGoss5b_hf. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 557 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 835 pixel, file size: 655 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Update is higher resolution and removed some artifacts, original at en:image:Whiteshark-TGoss5b_hf. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Range (in blue) For other uses, see Great White (disambiguation). ... Families Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Pinnipeds (fin-feet, lit. ...

Dolphins' protection

There are many stories that tell of dolphins protecting humans from shark attacks. This phenomenon was declared "plausible" by the team of Discovery Channel's Mythbusters, where it was shown that a shark will attack no creature when a dolphin is around. However, in spite of years of scientific study, there has been no conclusive explanation given for this behavior. In some cases, sharks have been seen attacking, or trying to attack dolphins. For other uses, see Dolphin (disambiguation). ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ... The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives tales, and the like. ...

See also

• 1992 Cageless shark-diving expedition
• List of fatal, unprovoked shark attacks in the United States by decade

A great white shark The 1992 Cageless shark-diving expedition that was led by Ron and Valerie Taylor contributed to changing public opinions about the supposed ferocity of great white sharks. ... This is a list of fatal, unprovoked shark attacks that occurred in United States territorial waters by decade in reverse chronological order. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A great white shark The 1992 Cageless shark-diving expedition that was led by Ron and Valerie Taylor contributed to changing public opinions about the supposed ferocity of great white sharks. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikinews has related news:

Man attacked by shark now safe in hospital

• Map of Shark Attacks updated regularly
• Shark Attack Survivors Shark Attack Education and Prevention
• - All Australian shark attacks on record. Open data base.
• International Shark Attack File
• Global Shark Attack File
• Shark attack information, statistics, and pictures
• How to fend off a shark
• Shark Attack - Why sharks attack, types of shark attacks, and how you can avoid a shark attack.
• Shark Attacks Underwater Photographer