by There is something with sharks. Of all the massive, deadly, fascinating creatures roaming through our planet, sharks stand out how much they catch our imagination and cause our fears. There is no Beerweek or Snake Week or Elephant Week. There is only Shark week.
Good Eason is for that. Sharks are remarkable animals. They have been around for hundreds of millions of years and have survived five mass extensions. Their surprise attack hunting tactics and cold, expressionless faces make them ideal food for cinematic horror stories.
It is therefore no surprise that a majority of Americans have an important fear of sharks. In a recent poll by Chapman University, more people said they are afraid of sharks than said the same about earthquakes, hurricanes and even murder.
Sharks kill people, but the number of fatal attacks is much smaller than you might think. According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), a database of SAAI meetings from researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History, only four people died of Shark Bites last year. Of course not all shark bites are of course deadly. There were not 47 -led shark bites worldwide in 2024.
Only one person in the US was killed last year by a shark, an experienced surfer and lifeguard who died after surfing during surfing in Hawaii last summer. But a majority of the Sharks -Beten of the world (60%) in 2024 took place in the waters of the US. That is consistent with long -term trends. The United States consistently sees more shark bites than any other country.
The researchers with the ISAF followed shark attacks until the 16th century. According to their database, there have been nearly 1,700 registered shark attacks in the US since the 1500s, more than double the number in a different nation and slightly less than half of the total attacks worldwide. However, when it comes to fatal shark bites, the US is far behind Australia, which has seen more than 250 fatal attacks in its history.
Why do the US have so many shark attacks?
The answer is more about circumstances than on something else. Simply put, the US has many places where people can come into contact with sharks and a lot of people for sharks to bite.
The US has almost 100,000 miles of coastline (almost 70,000 if you don’t record Alaska). Only a few countries have more and some, such as Canada and Russia, bump into ice -cold Arctic seas where you will not find many people or sharks in the water. The US also has a much larger population than other countries with large coastlines, which leads to many more opportunities for sharks and people to get in touch. It is estimated that 3.4 billion trips have been made to American beaches every year. That is more than 100 times as much as Australia, the place with the second largest number of shark attacks always.
Finally, the oceans around the US happen to be part of the habitat of the “big three” sharks (large whites, tiger sharks and bull sharks) that are blamed for the most deadly attacks.
America’s shark bite capital
Shark Bites are also not evenly distributed over the US. While California, Hawaii and the Carolinas see their share, Florida is undoubtedly America’s shark-attack capital.
Half of all shark bites in the US last year – more than a quarter of all bites worldwide – took place in the Sunshine State. In the past two centuries, Florida has seen four and a half times as many shark attacks as any other state. If Florida was his own country, the number 1 would rank on the list of countries with the most total shark attacks.
Even in Florida, attacks are concentrated in certain areas. Volusia County, the home base of Daytona Beach, is where most of the bites of the state takes place, thanks to the high population of sharks and popular surf spots. Fortunately, the area is mainly the home base of spinner sharks and black tip reef sharks, which are much smaller and less dangerous than their deadly family members.
How to make the risk even smaller
The chance that a person is killed by a shark is extremely low, much lower than the chance of being killed by a dog, fireworks or lightning.
But if the fear of attacking still pursues, there are things you can do to further reduce your risk. Here are the top tips, according to Gavin Naylor, research director of the ISAF:
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Do not go into the water alone
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Do not go into the water at sunrise or twilight
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Do not go into the water where there are many fish
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Do not wear reflective jewelry in the water
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Try to prevent you from splashing on the surface
