(ORDO NEWS) — On July 1, in the Red Sea, in Egypt, near Hurghada itself, a shark bit off a woman’s arm and leg, because of which she died in the hospital.
According to the Shark Lagoon website, there is only anecdotal evidence of shark attacks in the Red Sea, but it is believed that there are 10 to 20 attacks per year, including fatal ones. Sharks love warm seas, which include the Red Sea, which connects to the Indian Ocean.
The most dangerous sharks in the Red Sea: tiger shark, blacktip reef shark, hammerhead shark. They are quite aggressive and can be dangerous. Most often, sharks attack divers if they swim too close to their territories.
1. Do they just attack?
The international organization ISAF (The International Shark Attack Files) collects statistics from around the world. And the numbers are:
* Provoked attacks – when a shark is caught or attracted by spearfishing (baited by the blood of fish). 20 to 30 attacks per year.
Unprovoked attacks are more likely to occur along coastlines in murky waters, where sharks can mistake humans for fish. Or at a depth where, again, they can be confused with prey.
At depth, these are surfers, whose boards and protruding limbs are very similar to turtles – a favorite prey of large sharks. Or divers, whose flexible bodies resemble seals – the food of great white sharks.
Most often, realizing the mistake, the shark swims away, and the person is left without a foot or arm. After all, even after “tasting” the prey, the shark easily bites a fragile limb.
But if you are unlucky enough to stumble upon a hungry shark or tiger shark, which is extremely illegible in food, then the chances of survival are sharply reduced – the predator will attack again and again.
From 60 to 90 unprovoked attacks are registered per year. About 10 of them are fatal.
But this is only official statistics, which does not take into account water areas and islands. And our resorts do not send data about attacks there.
2. What species are the most dangerous
According to statistics, four types of sharks are usually “guilty” in attacks: great white, bull, tiger and long-winged sharks. Most of the killings of people are on their account.
This is understandable: there are many of them in all seas and oceans, they are taken in quantity. They are very large, so that a person for them is quite a tolerable prey. They have very powerful jaws and even one bite can be fatal. They are hunters and they know no fear.
At the same time, about a third of attacks worldwide are made by less “famous” blue and reef sharks.
3. Does a shark become a cannibal by biting a person?
Sharks are omnivores, but mostly fish eaters.
Humans are far from being the healthiest treat in the shark food chain. Their diet is mainly aquatic: fish, sea turtles, whales (there are cases of shark attacks on whales), fur seals and sea lions.
Compared to the meat of sea dwellings, people do not have enough calories. We don’t have the high-energy fats to provide the muscled sharks with the energy they need.
Usually all sharks act in the same way: attack, bite, realize that this is not it. Then the predator swims away. True, one bite is enough.
4. What sharks are there in the seas of Turkey
In addition to Egypt, shark attacks also occur in other popular resorts. For example, in Turkey, whose shores are washed by the Black, Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara seas.
There are currently 47 species of sharks in the Mediterranean Sea, 15 of which may pose a danger to humans. They swim from the ocean.
There are not so many fish in the Aegean Sea due to the lack of plankton, so sharks periodically swim on the coasts of Turkey and Greece. There are more than 30 shark species in the Aegean Sea. Seven of them are potentially dangerous to humans.
Sharks are extremely rare in the Sea of Marmara.
In the Black Sea, since it is almost isolated from the ocean, there are only two sharks – this is the Black Sea katran and the cat shark. Their length is from 60 cm to 1.3 m, they feed on fish, they can attack dolphins. Not dangerous for humans.
5. Are we afraid to visit the beaches?
Usually sharks have enough depths of the seas and oceans. But there are too many types of sharks, and some circumstances, such as hunger or protecting their possessions, can change its behavior and provoke aggression.
The experts of the Shark Lagoon website state that, alas, the number of shark attacks is growing from year to year. And all because a person invades their territory, where they have been living for millions of years.
Usually, in America and on popular island beaches, attacks are recorded on weekends (when there are a lot of people) and in the late afternoon, when hungry sharks swim into coastal waters. Therefore, it is still not worth taking the threat from the depths lightly.
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