Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Don't Go Into the Water


 

            When the movie Jaws came out in 1975, it terrified the country and created a long-lasting fear of sharks. It portrayed these animals as blood-thirsty killers that would attack anything they saw. The fear that Jaws created still exists, and many people are afraid to swim in the ocean. The fearsome reputation that sharks have obtained is undeserved and causes unnecessary problems on trips to the beach.

            Although sharks do occasionally attack humans, the event is very rare. Usually when this happens, the shark has mistaken a surfer or swimmer for one of its favorite meals, the seal.  Once the shark has tasted the human, it usually will not continue to attack. It recognizes that the person is not its normal food source and swims away. Contrary to what many believe, sharks do not even like the taste of human blood. Sharks prefer to hunt animals with good sources of fat, which provides twice as many calories as muscle. Humans do not offer enough fat for the sharks to be interested. Also, sharks use their teeth like humans use their hands. When they are curious to what something is, they will often bite it and then swim off. Despite what many think, sharks do not attack humans deliberately.

            The shark attacks that do occur are rare. A person is more likely to win the lottery twice than be attacked by a shark. More people are killed each year by dogs, deer, bees, and lightning. Also, each year, more people get injured by their toilets than by sharks.

            After Jaws came out, the shark population was decimated. Rewards were offered for dead sharks and people killed them by the millions. Shark populations in some areas dropped 90 percent. Even today, when the wave of fear has been over for years, 100 million sharks are killed each year by humans. Humans are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. So, the next time you go to the beach, don’t be afraid to get in the water.

 

 

“Interesting Facts” February 20, 2013.

<http://library.thinkquest.org/J001458/facts.htm>                                                                                                                                           

      

4 comments:

  1. It's crazy that movies have such a great impact on society. I agree that humans are more dangerous to the sharks than the sharks are to them. Humans are dangerous to all animals. I personally think that the people that surf and get bitten or attacked should blame their selves. I also read somewhere one time that sharks attack the humans and after they taste them and realize they aren't what they expected leave them be. I think this whole matter is just another case of humans trying to take over ever aspect of the world.

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  2. If sharks attack prey that has more fat, does that make your chances of getting attacked higher if you are obese than if you are skinny? If so, I'm going to go home and work on my beach body before this summer...

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  3. Wow I never knew all of these facts about sharks. It is very interesting that shark attacks are so unlikely. I am always nervous about going into the ocean because I don't want to be eaten. Great job including statistics about how likely or I should say unlikely it is to be attacked.

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  4. I had no idea the movie had that much of an affect on people! If you are wearing darker swimming attire are you more likely to be mistaken for a seal by a shark?

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