The interactive shark ‘attack’ maps and stats created by floridapanhandle.com are pretty remarkable. They have taken all the stats from the last 47 years and put them together in an easy readable format, breaking them down by area, type of shark, impact and whether it was provoked or unprovoked.
“There is zero proof that sharks hunt people and we know that humans are not part of sharks’ natural diets. Typically, when a shark attacks a human, the shark is either confused or curious.’ say the curators
‘Contrast the gentle nibbles and slow approach of the curious or confused shark with the hunting shark. A shark that is hunting approaches at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, attacks from below and knocks the hunted animal into the air.
‘On average, there are 100 unprovoked shark attacks reported worldwide in an average year. “
Some interesting facts include that most ‘attack’s occur on Saturday afternoons in July!
Least attacks happen at dawn on Thursday in February!
The USA has most incidents at 720 and most fatalities as a result 43 deaths. Australia has had 216 ‘attacks; in 47 years with 60 fatalities.
6% of attacks are provoked!
Each year, worldwide, there are approximately 10 deaths attributed to shark attacks (in comparison to 150 deaths worldwide caused by falling coconuts). Source
15% of 1000 Survey respondents said they would agree to be attacked by a shark for the cool story. *If they knew they would survive without long-term damage or ill effects.
