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from the i-think-we're-gonna-need-a-bigger-boat dept.
The Washington Post reports that this is becoming another Summer of the Shark as there have been seven recent shark attacks in North Carolina and scientists are looking for what might be luring the usually shy sharks so close to shore and among the swimmers they usually avoid. North Carolina's seven shark attacks is an unusual number for a state that recorded 25 attacks between 2005 and 2014. Even with the recent incidents, researchers emphasize that sharks are a very low-level threat to humans, compared with other forms of wildlife. Bees, for example, are much more dangerous. And swimming itself is hazardous even without sharks around.
George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History, speculates that several environmental factors could be pushing sharks to congregate in the Outer Banks. It is a warm year, and the water has a higher level of salinity because of a low-level drought in the area. Also, a common species of forage fish — menhaden — has been abundant this year and might have attracted more sharks to the area. Burgess also says some fishermen put bait in the water near piers, which could lure the predators closer to shore; two of the encounters took place within 100 yards of a pier. "That's a formula for shark attacks," Burgess says of these conditions, taken together. "Now, does that explain seven attacks in three weeks? No, it doesn't."
Burgess says not to swim near seals, where fishing is occurring, or near other things that sharks find tasty. Sharks can sniff out blood, so don't swim with open wounds. And leave your bling on the beach -- sharks are curious about bright, shiny objects, so don't lure them with baubles. Also avoid swimming at dawn and dusk, when sharks tend to feed. Stick together in groups and stay out of the water during and after storms. Aside from dangerous surf and rip currents, decreased water visibility can confuse sharks, prompting mistaken-identity bites. "Always remember," concludes Burgess. "They have bigger teeth, but we have bigger brains."
Original Submission
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 05 2015, @09:39AM
When the number of attacks was still at 6, I theorized that only two sharks were responsible for all the attacks. One of the web sites published a map, with dates on it for each attack. One migrating male, headed out into the northern Atlantic could have performed all of the attacks in North Carolina. He was in no great hurry, he found something tasty, and lingered, while still moving northward.
Attack in S. Carolina would have to be a different shark, of course, unless that first shark were a fast, powerful swimmer.
Two more attacks since then don't seem to support my theory a whole lot. Ehhh - Why do sharks bite? Because they need to eat. They don't see people routinely, and pretty much anything in the water is food, if the shark can just catch it. An apex predator doesn't need a reason to attack something that it considers to be prey. Nor does it need a reason to investigate potential prey.
Stay out of the shark's dining room, and chances are, you won't be dined on!