I thought I was having a nightmare and kept trying to blink my eyes open. The shark that attacked Hannah Mighall took an enormous bite out of her surfboard before it allowed her to bob back to the surface Credit: Malcolm Mighall. The shark pulled away from him and as it went underwater it let go of Mighall, lunging instead for her surfboard that was still attached by a rope to her leg. With the board in its mouth, the shark pulled Mighall underwater for a second time.
Moments later she popped back up to the surface with her damaged board. The animal had bitten clean through the fibreglass and foam. Mundy grabbed hold of his cousin, put her on his back and paddled frantically for the shore. Now she was doing it for real. The shark came with us all the way up to the beach as there is a deep gutter running up to it.
We could see its fin as it surfed in on the same wave. Luckily for Mighall, among the few people on the beach who witnessed what had happened that day were a doctor and a nurse.
They gave her vital first aid while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Her right leg is noticeably weaker than her left — so much so that she has to lift it with her hands when she wants to kick-start the dirt bike she rides occasionally.
Great white sharks typically attack their prey from below with great speed, delivering a single devastating bite Credit: Getty Images. Mighall was one of roughly 83 people around the world to be attacked unprovoked by sharks in It is a figure that has remained around the same level over the past decade. The average number of unprovoked attacks between , for example, was But recent research indicates that shark attacks in some parts of the world appear to be on the rise.
The eastern US and southern Australia have seen shark attack rates almost double in the past 20 years , while Hawaii has also seen a sharp increase. But why? This seems like an obvious point, but when you look closer at where attacks are taking place there are some clues as to what might be going on. The large human populations along the southern coast of Australia and the eastern coast of the US mean large numbers of people enjoying the water.
But southern Australia has also seen rising numbers of fur seals along its coastline, the favourite prey of great white sharks in the region. The resurgence in seal populations on Cape Cod on the east coast of the US has led to rising numbers of great white sharks in areas popular with people Credit: Getty Images.
This has led to increased numbers of great whites in the area too during the warm summer months as they look to feast on the seals that pull themselves out to bask on the beaches.
Sadly, last autumn, Massachusetts suffered its first fatal shark attack in 82 years and growing numbers of shark sightings have led to a string of beach closures. But there is no real evidence that sharks are actively hunting humans, according to the scientists who study them.
Great whites in the North Atlantic, for example, show seasonal movement patterns, migrating thousands of miles to warmer waters further south during the winter months.
Some mature adults will venture out into the open ocean for months at a time , covering tens of thousands of miles and diving to depths of 1,m as they seek prey. But despite being potentially such an easy meal, sharks are really not that interested in hunting humans. I think if people knew how frequently they were in water with sharks, they would probably be surprised.
However, Naylor believes that the official statistics on shark attacks are probably an underestimate. Most reports come from highly developed countries with large populations and highly active news media. Attacks on remote islands or in less developed communities probably go unreported.
Group Name: School, shoal. Size: 7 to Weight: to pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Near threatened. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Unknown. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city.
Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. The same year, swimming was banned, and tourists warned to be on their guard, at popular beaches in the south of France and Corsica for several days after blue sharks were seen in shallow waters. And earlier this summer, a pensioner was "mauled by a shark" as he swam off the coast of Ibiza.
According to Ph. It immediately let me go and swam down and toward shore. Sharks attacked migrants who fell from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean on November 25, it is claimed.
The Libyan Navy said 31 people were dead and another 40 missing when it arrived at the scene of two upturned boats that were headed for Europe. Many of the bodies had bite marks from deadly blue sharks with some of the killer fish spotted nearby, the navy said on its Facebook page.
The stranded migrants were found 40 miles off the coast of North Africa and were believed to be heading for southern Italy or Malta. Jump directly to the content. Both species can engage in river journeys of epic scale.
Bull sharks, for example, have been caught 1, miles 2, kilometers up the Mississippi River and 2, miles 3, kilometers up the Amazon. Neither species, however, lives in landlocked fresh water without ocean access.
Fins can sell for U. Known in China as yu chi or "fish wings," shark fins are used to make the traditional delicacy shark-fin soup. The culturally celebrated but controversial soup is found widely in Asia and will even be on the menu at Hong Kong Disneyland when the park opens in September.
Because of their dominant role, sharks have long life spans and don't reach sexual maturity until they are 12 to 20 years old. Even then, sharks have low reproductive rates. Such predator populations, once diminished, have a hard time bouncing back. Cartilaginous skeletons are lighter than bone and help sharks to remain neutrally buoyant able to float without sinking or rising. The summer of , for example, saw an explosion of shark-attack hype and was even heralded on the cover of Time magazine as the "Summer of the Shark.
The record-breaking film, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, grossed nearly million dollars U. The movie arguably made sharks public enemy number one. All rights reserved. Santa Catalina Island, California. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.
0コメント