Shark Problems (from a human’s viewpoint) 173
All three species occur widely, are large, and frequent nearshore waters
where people swim and recreate. All three have teeth especially equipped
for shearing away flesh from the large animals they often eat. White Sharks
attack a variety of marine mammals, from sea otters to whales. Bull Sharks
eat sea lions, dolphins, sea turtles, and other sharks. Tiger Sharks eat sea
turtles, other sharks, dolphins, and dugongs. To these sharks, we are un-
doubtedly just another potential prey item of the right size, one that swims
slowly and awkwardly at that.
Bull Sharks, also known as Zambezi Sharks in South Africa, are cited
as the second most common perpetrator of attacks on people after White
Sharks, and the most common attacker in tropical and subtropical waters.
Bull Sharks frequent nearshore areas and commonly enter rivers, the same
places where people swim, bathe, and wash their clothes. Bull Sharks have
been or are suspected to have been responsible for attacks in rivers in the
United States, Australia, Iraq, Iran, India, and Nicaragua (in Lake Nica-
ragua and its outlet river), in a variety of marine habitats from reefs to
beaches. Pound for pound this may be the most dangerous shark in the sea.
Tiger Sharks are another tropical species that will also enter water
barely deep enough for them to swim. Surfer Bethany Hamilton was at-
tacked by a Tiger Shark off the island of Kauai, surviving with the loss of an
arm. Tigers are very active at night and are probably responsible for many
attacks on people swimming in the dark in tropical waters.
White sharks attack people: of this there can be no doubt. But do they
want to eat us? Surprisingly, the evidence strongly suggests that they don’t.
Most White Shark attacks on people (about 60%) involve a single bite, af-
ter which the shark leaves, suggesting an investigatory attack followed by
rejection. But perhaps we are better than seals at getting out of the water
before the beast returns for “seconds,” its natural feeding behavior. Many
attacks occur near seal and sea lion colonies, so it is possible that in such
attacks the shark mistakes the swimmer, diver, or surfer for another species.
Because White Sharks launch such attacks from below, the outline of the
This surfboard and its rider were
attacked by a White Shark near
Santa Barbara, California, in October
2012. The shark was estimated to
be around 5 m ( 15 – 16 ft) long. The
impression left by the shark’s initial
bite is obvious. Unfortunately, the
victim did not survive. Photo by Santa
Barbara County Sheriff’s Department