When you think of a shark, a giant-sized, aggressive fish-type animal comes to mind, and the rest of the horror associated with it has been incorporated into your minds through movies. Despite being crucial for oceans and helping promote ecotourism, sharks are being killed in large numbers every year. Aggression toward humans is one of the reasons, although there are many other elements involved too.
Shark attacks
Though shark attacks might be common in some places, when you look at the data and figures, it tells you a different story. When you look at the number of people killed by a shark, it’s negligible as compared to the number of sharks killed each year.
Having said that, not all sharks are aggressive. There are over 500 species of sharks found around the oceans, and each one has unalike characteristics. Find out the number of different types of sharks and what the 15 most popular types are.
Moving forward, the sharks that are considered aggressive generally do not attack unnecessarily, but they are provoked.
Provoking means disturbing the shark in one or another. It may include touching or harassing a shark or when you unhook the shark from the fishing net.
Those shark bites that occur naturally in a shark’s habitat without the presence of any human provocation are defined as unprovoked bites. We will be seeing the statistics below and will find out how many cases are caused due to provocation.
Shark attacks are not common when compared to the global population, however, it is important to note that the number of shark attacks in any given year or place is heavily impacted by the figure of humans accessing the ocean.
Shark attacks are far less common than one might expect based on the global population, but one should note that the number of people who enter the water in any given year, region, or country has a significant effect on the number of shark attacks.
There are numerous recreational and professional activities that take place in marine habitats, so shark attacks occur in a wide array of circumstances.
Which shark is considered to be the most dangerous to humans?
In general, any shark with a relatively large size poses a threat to humans. Despite being not aggressive in nature, provoking them might result in confrontation. In fact, it is possible for a bite to cause injury, even if it’s not a deliberate feed attempt on a human.
With that being said, out of all species, the three are considered to be the most dangerous. These comprise the great white shark, the bull shark, and the third one is known as the tiger shark. They are typically large in size and can cause serious injury to a person. Rather than gripping, their teeth are meant to shear a person apart.
Talking about the facts, you might be astonished to know that these 3 sharks are responsible for the most unprovoked fatal shark attacks of all.
Besides, if you look at numbers, the great white shark has the highest number of confirmed unprovoked attacks around the world, with 354, a total of which 57 are proved to be fatal. Following which, the tiger sharks hold 138 attacks in total, where 36 are rated as fatal. Then comes the bull shark with 121 cases in total, where 26 unproved fatal cases are proved.
How many humans have been eaten by sharks?
As per the records of the State of Hawaii, six to eight humans at max are slain by sharks annually. When we look at the data provided by ISAF (International Shark Attacks File), it reports that the Shark attacks claimed the lives of an average of 4.3 people a year between 2001 and 2010, out of which most of the attacks happened in the United States. See where sharks are mostly found in Florida.
Nevertheless, every human life matters, and even a single tragedy should be avoided if possible. Thus, you should take preventive measures and not try to provoke any shark, no matter whether they are naturally aggressive or not. Furthermore, sharks also need to be treated with care as they are vital for the health of blue oceans. Without sharks, maintaining a healthy marine population would not be possible.
Conclusion
If you justify killing sharks because they eat humans, it’s not a valid point since we can see from the reports that only a handful of people have died because of sharks. Whereas on the other hand, millions of sharks are killed by humans every other year. If you are from the Key West area, do check out if shark attacks are common there or not.
