Page 50 - Shark
P. 50

Shark attack





                            Most sharks are not dangerous
                            and leave people alone. There
            AttAck At seA
         Prisoners, escaping from   are about 50 to 79 recorded
         Devil’s Island off Guyana,   shark attacks on people each
          are attacked by sharks.
                            year in the world, with up
        to 10 of these being fatal. People are more
        likely to die in car accidents or drown in
        the sea than be killed by a shark. It is
        dangerous to be in water where there may
        be sharks: if the water is murky, if you
        have cut yourself, or if bait has been
        put out for fish. Pay heed to local
        shark warning signs and try to swim
        in areas designated with shark nets.








                                       Wounded seAl
                                       Elephant seals are what many
                                       great whites on the California
                                       coast like to sink their teeth
                                       into. Unlike people, these
                                       seals have plenty of energy-
                                       rich blubber. The sharks
                                       usually grab their prey from
                                       behind. Sometimes the seal
                                       escapes and manages to
                                       reach the beach before the
                                       shark attacks again.



          FAtAl shArk AttAck
          Most fatal shark attacks     Each year on average 92                                       greAt White shArk
          occur where people surf,     people die by drowning in                                     Ever since the Jaws
          swim, or scuba dive, and     the sea off Australia’s coast …                               movies, the great white
            where there are large                                                                    has had a reputation as
             sharks, like the great                                                                  a blood-thirsty killer.
         white, swimming close to                                                                    They do attack and kill
           shore. Attacks can also     … while around eight                                          people, but this may be
         occur on people escaping      people die from scuba                                         because they mistake
        from sinking ships or plane    diving accidents …                                            them for their natural
         crashes far out to sea. Each                                                                prey. Surfers are at risk
            year the International                                                                   near breeding grounds
               Shark Attack File       … and fewer than                                              of elephant seals and
            records the numbers        one person dies                                               sea lions, where great
             of attacks reported.      from a shark attack.                                          whites like to hunt.

                             Bull shArk
                             Bull sharks are one of the most dangerous
                             sharks in the world, along with the great
                             white and tiger sharks. The bull shark lives
                             in the warm waters of the world’s oceans. It
                             is one of the few sharks that spends time
                             in freshwater, swimming far up rivers
                             such as South America’s Amazon
         WArning sign        and Africa’s Zambezi.
         To avoid being attacked   They can also enter lakes.
         by sharks, take note of   At 10 ft (3 m) long, they
         signs like this Australian   are large enough to tackle a
         one. Sharks attack people   person and are not fussy
         wading in shallow water.  about what they eat.

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