shark attacks

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Statistics show that there are an estimated 41 people killed from lightning in only the Coastal U.S. alone each year, there is less than one shark attack fatality every two years. (Shark facts: attack stats, record swims, and more 1). So what is the fear of sharks really? Isn’t there more logic to fearing a car crash or lightning striking? Many people have seen the movie Jaws, a movie based mostly around sharks attacking and fatally wounding people. This is not an actual shark obviously, it is a crudely animated animal made to strike you with fear. This movie among others is a main cause for people being fearful and not respectful of sharks. The reasons for shark attacks are often given as the animal being overly aggressive and having a taste for human blood; this has been proven to be a false accusation. The more reasonable explanations for shark attacks are: an increase in people going to beaches, mistaken people for seals, and divers being disrespectful. There are also different kinds of attacks for different circumstances; these are known as “unprovoked or provoked attacks”
As the population of the world has increased, so has the amount of people that go to a beach for vacation or who live by beaches, has the population has increased so have the amount of shark attacks, this can be because of the fact that people are also going out into the ocean deeper, and sharks are said to be able to sense fear, like many other animals. If they know that you are fearful, the chances that they will “attack” are far more likely. The odds of a shark attack are about 1 in 11.5 million and a shark attack fatality is about 1 in 570 million. No one is suggesting that we all just stop going to the beach, they are suggesting though that you know a...

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... to go up and touch and be close to. While researchers do not encourage that all contact with the animals ends, they do believe that you should not be able to touch them as it can be seen as a sign of disrespect or a challenge to the animal.
In conclusion, sharks should be respected and not feared, many of the reasons that there have been an increased amount of shark attacks is the amount od people going to the beach increasing, mistaking people as seals, and divers being disrespectful. And remember, “ Nothing has pre-pared sharks’ squid’ krill and other sea creatures for industrial-scale extraction that destroys entire eco systems while targeting a few species” Sylvia Earle.

Works Cited

news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0613_050613_sharkfacts.html flmh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf2013Summary.html news.softpedia.com/news/Top-10-Deadly-Sharks-81429.shtml

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