Attacks
The
worldwide occurrence of shark attacks are very low and attack number are
minutely small compared to other possible dangers. Around the world
approximately forty billion people go swimming each year. The probability of a
shark attack is thus about 1: 400,000,000.
Great White Shark Attacks while Swimming - Cape Town Informationen - South Africa
Whoever
goes to Africa on holiday should also be aware of coconuts. Related death tolls
by these nuts are far higher than with sharks. Another interesting comparison
which reveals sharks to be quite harmless, is the fact that about 50 people die
each year from dangerous jellyfish.
In the US
you are more likely to be struck by lightning than be attacked by a shark. If
one brings road accidents into the equation, then you have no need of
developing any form of fear for the sea or these predatory fish, as the car
ride to the beach is far more dangerous. There are up to 100 shark attacks
reported each year, with only about 5-10 of them being fatal.
Worldwide statistics
From 1990
to 1995 about 283 shark attacks have been recorded. Altogether 40 of them
(14.1%) were fatal.
Examples of
some regions:
Areas | Attacks | Deaths | Injuries |
Florida | 92 | 0 | 92 |
Brazil | 32 | 6 | 26 |
South Africa | 28 | 3 | 25 |
California | 20 | 1 | 19 |
Hawaii | 19 | 3 | 16 |
New Zealand | 8 | 3 | 5 |
Reunion | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Hong Kong | 6 | 6 | 0 |
Australia | 11 | 4 | 7 |
In most
cases, shark attacks are caused by humans. The construction of new harbours
deprives marine animals of their natural living conditions. Even in regions
completely unknown for shark incidents, attacks been heavily on the rise from
one year to the next. By taking a close look at the situation, researchers have
discovered that through the construction of new harbours, the sharks‘ prey
settle in areas close to the coast. It is no surprise that predatory fish have
followed to regions that had never previously been struck by attacks on humans.
Shark attacks in comparison to incidents with
other wild animals worldwide:
- Hippos 100
- Elephant
500
- Crocodiles
1000
- Scorpions 5000
- Snakes
100,000
- Sharks 10
The most
dangerous animal in the world is the Anopheles mosquito, spreading Malaria to humans,
causing 500 000 fatalities per year!
A tragedy occurred
a few years back in South Africa when marine biologists hired a boat to study the Great White sharks out at sea. They poured excessive amounts of blood into
the water in close proximity to a very popular surf spot in order to lure the
sharks to their boat. Unfortunately, a young surfer had to pay for this
ignorance with his life.
If you have
ever been cage diving before in and around Cape Town, you will know that a
large fish head is already more than enough to attract a Great White. The
sharks actually react more sensitively to vibrations in the water than blood.
Sharks can
pick up scents at a dilution of 1:10 000 000. This means that they can
sense one drop of blood in 10 million drops of water.
Media is
the Great White shark’s greatest enemy. With each shark attack, the ocean’s
largest predator becomes instantly portrayed as a merciless monster. Movies
such as ‘Jaws’ have entirely destroyed this predatory fish’s reputation.
He is by no
means a beast, but rather an exquisite being of evolution. The Great White has
been living in our oceans for more than 400 million years and is solely
ruled by instinct.
Should you
be keen to meet the King of all Oceans up close, we would love to hear from
you.
Your Cape
Town Shark Diving Team