Sharks don’t really have the best reputation in the eyes of the public. If you’ve seen Jaws, or any other shark movie, your first thought about these guys is that they’re bloodthirsty monsters of the deep with a hunger that can only sated by consuming human flesh, not unlike that of a zombie, just more fish-like. They supposedly attack indiscriminately and won’t stop until they’ve eaten every human they can find.
And the news reports don’t help either. For instance, this news story talks about a surfer that was attacked by a great white shark, wherein she was surfing with her partner only to have one of her legs bitten by a shark, severing the nerves located right below the knee of the leg, while taking a chunk out of the calf in the process. The attack has led her to losing her sensation on her affected knee, but they are hoping that their recovery efforts will help her nerves recover.
But then, when you look at the statistics, you see a different story. While the the movies and media portray shark attacks as common as crocodile attacks, the numbers instead say that shark attacks are actually extremely uncommon. To give a specific example, in 2020, there are a total of 129 cases of a shark attack worldwide. Not just in one country, but the entire globe.
So, what gives? What’s the truth about these predators of the deep? Are they as dangerous as they appear to be?
Shark aggression
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Do sharks primarily target humans?
The answer is no.
Surprisingly (or not), shark attacks on movies and television are exaggerated. At least in the case that all sharks are maneaters and hunt humans indiscriminately. The shark attacks that media outlets write about are still very much real in terms of being a threat and being very dangerous or even deadly to a human.
But when we talk about their general aggression to humans, they’re not as aggressive as they might seem. In fact, the majority of shark species prefer eating fish or invertebrates like clams or squid, which a human certainly looks nothing like.
To add on to that, there are different species of shark in the world, and not all of them are big, threatening, or even have teeth! In fact, not all of them actually even target fish. For instance, the whale shark is actually a shark, but they don’t eat fish or squid. Instead, they feed on plankton as large filter feeders.
So how many species of shark are known for attacking humans then? Surprisingly, only three: the great white shark, the tiger shark, and the bull shark. This, by the way, is out of more than 489 shark species. That’s one heck of a ratio difference.
Do sharks kill their targets?
But let’s say that a shark grabs you while you’re out in the deep blue ocean. Does that mean it for you as you’re now going to become the shark’s lunch?
Actually, it is unlikely. The pain will be intense, and you should be trying your hardest to get away while driving the shark away as well, but you are unlikely to die in the hands (or rather, jaws) of a shark. When a shark realizes that what it’s biting at isn’t actually one of its prey types, it will usually let go and swim away from you.
But you’re not out of the woods yet – the injuries that you can get from a shark attack can be devastating or even fatal. You see, people who die from shark attacks die due to the blood loss from their body. When a shark sinks its teeth into something like a human leg, it’s highly likely that it will cause many puncture wounds and cause massive bleeding, meaning that a human will need immediate medical assistance to save them.
Unfortunately, people who are in the middle of the ocean with no one to assist them will have a considerably hard time being able to get proper medical aid in time, especially since more people are venturing further into the ocean or more secluded spots. This not only increases the chances of encountering sharks out in the deep, but also makes it considerably harder for you to make it back to shore where you can get proper medical attention in time if something goes wrong.
Why do sharks target humans?
If sharks don’t usually attack humans, then why do these attacks happen? It’s because sharks are apex predators, and thus have little to no fear of whatever creature they cross paths with.
When a shark encounters a human, more often than not, it is curious, as you aren’t something that a shark expects in its territory. And when a shark is curious, it of course wants to learn more about an object. Since the shark lacks appendages like arms or feet, they can only do so with their bite. These bites are called test bites, and when they bite once, they usually swim away afterwards. Sharks may also mistake a human or the surfboard they’re using as prey, causing them to bite.
These instances are purely accidental on the shark’s part, as they mistake a human for something that they eat, like a seal. In reality, humans never really are on the menu for a shark. Shark attacks happen almost always due to mistaken identities or out of their curiosity.