Sharks are the most misunderstood animals in the world
Have you ever interacted with sharks? Does the thought of it scares you? Have you ever wondered why are you scared of a thing that you haven’t ever seen?
We are here to elaborate this fear and tell you sharks are not as scary as you think!
Why are we scared of sharks?
We can say the main reason that we are scared of sharks is because of the media. There are so many movies that shows how dangerous and vicious these animals are just to attract more audience but the reality is something absolutely different. Here’s why:
There are more than 400 species of sharks.
there are more than 400 different shark species, ranging from the dwarf lantern shark (a species smaller than the human hand), to the whale shark, an ocean giant that can grow to over 40 feet/ 12 meters in length. The majority of shark species are considered harmless. In fact, most are smaller than humans and instinctively avoid contact with them.
Among all these species only a few of them are super big and attack humans. These are the great white, the bull shark and the tiger shark. All three are large, predatory and occur globally in areas shared by human water-users, increasing the likelihood of an encounter.
Shark incidents usually happens where there are more people
Yes! we do not deny that there are shark incidents but we should consider one important factor, where they usually happen? shark attacks usually happens where there are vast majority of humans sharing the ocean with sharks and by chance those places are filled with seals and other preys for sharks so it is pretty normal that sharks confuse humans with them.
Most records of shark attacks are recorded in areas with powerful media so they become noticeable news for their audiences, only one shark attack with one death rate is not even close to hundreds of deaths by car/motor accidents, but we got used to these death tolls and we focus on one abnormal incident, death by shark, So we need to open our eyes and be smart from now on.
The chances of shark attack
Your chances of being the victim of an unprovoked shark encounter are lower than your chances of being struck by lightning, injured in a hunting accident, or even attacked by a domestic dog. Even though the odds are in your favor, sharks are wild animals that must be respected when encountered.
You are much more likely to be killed by a car or bicycle accident, a fall, a mishap with fireworks, or even a bad case of the flu than by a shark attack.
They are just confuse
When a human is swimming in the ocean he exactly resembles seals, when we move our leg or hand in the water it resembles seals or other marines fin, so sharks can get confuse and attack us by mistake. Humans are slower than seals or penguins or have less meat than other animals so basically we are not a suitable prey for them.
We are more dangerous to them than they are to us
It is estimated that 90% of the world’s sharks have disappeared from our oceans in the last 100 years. This is a direct result of human activity, including climate change, habitat loss and most importantly, overfishing. Every year, humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks — an average of 11,417 every hour. The majority of these are destined for markets across Asia, where shark fin soup is valued as a delicacy and a sign of wealth.
Shark finning is an infinitely cruel practice, with many sharks finned at sea and tossed back into the ocean to drown. Because fins account for less than 5% of an average shark’s body weight, it is also incredibly wasteful.
Conclusion
Sharks are not as dangerous as we thinks and not all of them look like the big white shark in JAW movies. Stereotypes just made sharks to what we think and fear. instead of letting the media and movies affect us we should seek for truth and see the numbers and study the real facts. After that we realize that not only we should not fear sharks but also we should help them and protect them.
credits to:
www.pbs.org
https://ocean.si.edu/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
https://www.tripsavvy.com/
