Sometimes, though, they mistake us, humans, for their normal prey, and this can result in attacks that threaten our health and even our life. Professional surfer Mick Fanning has recently escaped such a dangerous attack – he managed to fight off the attacking predator by serving it with a series of punches before being fished out of harm’s way, but a less trained individual might not be so lucky.
The best way to avoid being attacked by sharks is staying out of their way, playing online on the beach until the danger is gone. This is a trick I actually found on the blog of the Royal Vegas, a provider of exciting real money games through the internet, which offers great promotions and nice winning opportunities to its players all summer long. Their desktop and mobile casino offer is vast – you could play online games for days at Royal Vegas Casino without returning to the same game twice. Not to mention the exciting casino promotions offered by the Royal Vegas each month to its loyal players and new customers.
Of course, this is a good way to avoid being attacked by a dangerous sea predator if you like to spend your time on the beach. But if you prefer to venture into the sea, here are some tips to help you avoid being targeted by this dangerous sea creature.
Know your foe
First of all, I would like to point out that sharks are not our enemies – humans are usually not on their menu. But they act as predators normally do, which makes them dangerous to us. According to scientists, most shark attacks happen because sharks mistake surfers for seals, among their preferred prey – indeed, surfers rowing on the surface waiting for the wave to come look a lot like a seal floating on the surface. And an individual animal separated from the herd is an open invitation to predators like the shark.
Sharks are said to have poor vision, but this is far from being true. They rely on their eyes and noses to locate their prey even in the dark, murky waters. To avoid being attacked by them it’s best not to attract their attention – don’t wear shiny jewelry when entering the water, as flashes of reflection can attract them toward you. Also, it is not a good idea to be in the water while bleeding – sharks have an excellent sense of smell, and a bleeding human might strike them as pray…
When sharks attack
Scientists differentiate between two types of shark attacks – provoked and unprovoked, with the culprit for the first type usually being the human getting up close and personal with the dangerous animal.
While sometimes sharks simply ignore scuba divers, other times the unwanted attention can trigger a more aggressive way of saying “leave me alone”. To avoid being attacked by a shark while diving simply stay out of its way, don’t try to touch or feed it. You wouldn’t try to pet a wild lion on a safari, would you? Then why risk the same while underwater?
Unprovoked attacks are usually the result of sharks mistaking humans for food. Let me repeat: they are not out for our blood – they are sea predators trying to feed, which sometimes leads to serious injuries or even death. Sharks are not something to take lightly – when they appear around, it’s always the wisest to leave their habitat.
We are more dangerous than they are
Although they are often considered bloodthirsty monsters hunting for soft human flesh, sharks are responsible for a surprisingly low number of attacks. In 2014 there were 72 unprovoked shark attacks recorded by specialists, and only three of them ended with the human being killed by this dangerous sea predator. In contrast, humans kill around 20 to 30 million sharks each year, some by accident, but most of them for food. Some shark species have reached the brink of extinction due to overfishing – which makes humans much more dangerous to sharks than the other way around.
