A surfboard with a shark bite in Binalong Bay, off the Tasmanian coast in Australia's far south, on Jan. 12 Tasmania Police / Reuters
Swimmers at Australian beaches are usually reassured by statistics that indicate they are more likely to be struck by lightning than chomped by a shark. But after three non-fatal shark attacks in the country in less than 48 hours and a deadly one last month, some are wondering if the odds have changed — and whether Australia’s efforts to protect sharks are to blame.
Australia’s summer of shark terror began on Dec. 27, when local banker Brian Guest went missing while snorkling off a beach south of Perth in Western Australia. A search located a few tattered pieces from a wet suit belonging to the 51-year-old. Authorities concluded that he had been killed by a large white pointer shark spotted near the beach.
That attack was followed by several more. On Jan. 11, a man surfing near Fingal Head in northern New South Wales was bitten on the thigh. Jonathon Beard, 31, made it to shore and survived after his friends used the leg rope from his surfboard to stem the bleeding.
The same day Hannah Mighall, 13, was surfing in Binalong Bay off the Tasmanian coast in Australia’s far south when she screamed and was dragged under the water by what authorities suspect was a large white pointer. Her cousin paddled to the injured girl and dragged her to safety while being circled by the shark. On Jan. 12, a man snorkeling in a tidal lake in New South Wales was bitten on the leg, probably by a bull shark. Authorities reported that the man punched the shark in the nose and made it to shore with about 40 puncture wounds. All of the victims are recovering.
According to records kept by Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, 193 people have been killed by sharks in Australia over the past 200 years, averaging about one per year. [TIME Magazine]
I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m sure not worried about getting attacked by a shark while swimming in the ocean. One person a year on average gets killed by a shark out of all the people who go swimming in the ocean every year, those are odds I like.
Here is the best explanation I have seen for the recent number of shark attacks:
Researchers play down the significance of the unusual spate of attacks. They point out that more people are entering the ocean, increasing the chances of an encounter. “The human population is expanding at a rate of knots,” says Rory McAuley, a senior research scientist with the West Australian Fisheries Department. “Not only is it getting larger, it’s getting more dispersed, so people are getting into the water over a greater area of the shark’s range. It’s probably likely to expect to see an increase in shark sightings and attacks.”
So I am not about to stay out of ocean out of fear of being attacked by a shark, what about everyone else?
