Why a Shark may Attack

What kind of an attack will a person suffer when attacked by a shark? The common notion of shark attack involves fins and bloody water accompanied by the Jaws theme.  The reality is actually very different often the result of curiosity or self-defense of the shark that results in the victim surviving the attack. A recent online article by Dr R.A. Martin states that from the International Shark Attack File 96% of all sharks attacks result in a single strike. Most of these attacks result in bites of a flailing appendage followed by immediate release. Attacks are also classified as, when a shark comes into contact with a human being and potentially grazes them in a bump manoeuvre without even drawing any blood.

Sharks themselves are more than capable of killing and eating a human being in the water yet as the statistics prove almost all attacks result in the victim escaping with their life.

This curiosity and investigation of a weird animal in the sea that is obviously not adapted to the marine environment is probably the most common cause for a shark attack. Sharks often approach an unknown object and if it is unfamiliar with their senses they will rely on a mouthing type action with which they can receive a large amount of tactile information. This is paralleled in humans when we touch something to find out what it is. Only sharks have no hands. This investigative mouthing or gentle biting is capable of inflicting life-threatening wounds on humans especially when caused by some of the very large shark species such as the Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) and White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias).

Mistaken identity is one of the major theories on why an attack takes place and commonly attacks take place in the surf zone where people are. A shark that is hunting in these areas sees or senses a flash of something and snaps at it resulting in a ‘shark attack’. This is also widely reputed to be one of the major reasons of attacks by larger species, i.e. our silhouettes match those of natural prey such as turtles and seals at the surface.

Research into sharks retinas and behavioral evidence have largely suggested that species such as the Tiger and White shark have extremely high visual acuity and as a result to insinuate that they mistook a human with flailing limbs and an unnatural water motion as one of their natural prey of seals. An animal so agile it can out swim a white shark in the water forcing the shark to rely on the well publicized ambush methods. This theory makes out that sharks are less intelligent then they probably deserve.

In addition to curiosity, there may be an element of defence in many shark attacks similar to the stingrays ‘attacks’ that occur when someone steps on them. Often if there is a school of baitfish that is being harassed by a shark or other predator and a human steps in or near the shark as an instant response the shark will snap at the leg resulting in an ‘attack’.