Are Sharks Really Dangerous - Truth behind Shark Attacks

I'm sure most of you have watched the movie “Jaws” or at least have heard about the same. Sharks have been a symbol of fear and terror since time immemorial, but are sharks are really so dangerous or is it just a myth surrounding the elegant creatures of the marine world. We also learnt about the Loch Ness monster in a previous article but of course there is an obvious difference for the simple reason that sharks are present day creatures which can be seen without much difficulty. So let us learn something about these marine animals in the following sections.

The shark is a particular type of fish which has a streamlined body and its skeleton is like a cartilage. They used 5 to 7 gill slits for the respiration and have a set of replaceable teeth. The range of these sharks is from 17 cm the smallest one which is dwarf lanternshark and the largest one is 12 meters i.e. Rhincodon typus.

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As far as the question of these creatures being dangerous for human life is concerned, let me tell you that there are around 375 species of sharks available in all the oceans. Out of these, only about 30 species are responsible for the human attacks which are very dangerous for human kind.

Generally there are three classes of dangerous sharks

1. Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)
2. Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo Cuvier)
3. Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

All these sharks are to be treated with respect when it comes across to us. The reason behind is very common like any animal who will be threatened if someone comes near to it , so in order to protect themselves these sharks is prefer to attack .However when these sharks are starving they will surely eat whoever comes near to them. The chances of attacks on human beings are less than those who drowned in the oceans. It is believed that sharks won’t feed for human beings and it happens only if there is any mistaken identity.

There is an average 40-50 attack of sharks on human beings all over the world. However these numbers of attacks are increasing as the population is growing rapidly along with increase of usage of oceans for recreational purpose. These attacks will continue as long as the human beings will involve themselves going in the shark’s environment. Any shark which is more than 6 feet is always a threat to human being as they are big developed jaws and teeth.

There are two types of attacks on human beings Provoked and unprovoked attacks ,

Provoked attacks are generally happen because of human touching in which various divers are attacked after grabbing or feeding in under water.

Unprovoked attacks are occur when the shark make the first touch and these can be divided further into three types.

• Hit and Run attacks where normal injuries happen and deaths are rarely occur.
• Sneak attacks will takes place in deeper water in which severe injuries and deaths can occur if sharks will attack continuously.
• Bump and Bite attacks are the third type of unprovoked attacks, in which shark will bumps the person’s head and body which is quite severe and can occur death.

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We have already seen in another article about a different type of danger while swimming in the sea which is rip currents. Sharks can be equally dangerous but following are a few steps you can avoid shark attacks to a great extent. These tips have been listed as follows.

• Generally it is said, like we have to be in a group always in order to be in safe side.
• We have to avoid getting into the ocean during darkness and twilight hours as sharks are very active and excellent sensory advantage in this time.
• Do not enter into the ocean with any shine jewelry as it refers a small fish which the sharks prefer to feed.
• The most important thing is to follow all the precautions of that particular oceanic spot and make sure not to disturb the sharks from our own because life is always precious for both the human beings and animals.

Happy Swimming and do not get into man-overboard situation.