Why do sharks ‘attack’ humans? More than just mistaken identity…

When we hear of a human being attacked by a shark, the story usually involves the surfer losing a leg, or an arm. If death is a result, it is due to shock or loss of blood. So hang on a min, can that still be called an
‘attack’?

That to me sounds quite tame, when we compare that with whats happening to those poor seals!
If a great white shark, cruising along the ocean floor looks up, sees a surfer and mistakes him/her for a seal, then it makes sense for that shark to attack the surfer, like it would a seal, doesn’t it? If this was the method of attack used on surfers, it wouldn’t be the case of losing an arm or a leg, it would be ‘game over’ in a second. There’s simply no surviving that kind of force. Fortunately these kinds of attacks are virtually non existent, which in my view rules out the option of mistaken identity.

Once the shark has removed a limb from a human, it usually then disappears, showing no further interested in consuming their victim, which again shows the lack of interest they have in hunting us. We are simply not worth the effort.

There is another theory I heard from a scientist in Simon’s Town, South Africa, last January.
During the summer months the white sharks are hunting fish and rays in the shallows, bringing them much closer to shore. While hunting they might encounter another predator, a shark, or in another case, a human.

To a shark this is no big deal, they have very tough skins, however to a human, it is a big deal, again it can mean losing a limb and bleeding to death

The shark then gives a threat display, by lowering the pectoral fins and opening its mouth, this is to say, ‘you are on my patch, this is a warning’. Another shark sees this threat and gets out of there as fast as its tail can manage! However usually the visibility is low in these cases, and so the human doesn’t see the shark, and carries on with their swimming or paddling activities. The shark reacts to being ignored by swimming up and giving a warning bite. In Mossel Bay many sharks displayed evidence of shark bites, usually on the flank, these scars could have been made in this way. To a shark this is no big deal, they have very tough skins, however to a human, it is a big deal, again it can mean losing a limb and bleeding to death.

The interesting thing about this theory is the fact that these sharks, the apex predator in the oceans, are actually viewing us as another predator in the water. There is certainly lots of evidence to support this by the behaviour of sharks around the cage boat.
There is a respect shown to humans by sharks, and sadly a severe lack of respect shown the other way. There is a lot to be said of a white shark’s intelligence, when you consider how many thousands of people enter the water each day, and how few cases there are of shark encounters (yes, we will now call them encounters, not attacks).

Just one kilometre from Seal Island in Mossel Bay is a very popular tourist beach. There is no recorded attack on a surfer or swimmer by a shark on that beach.

It’s time to respect these animals as the supreme apex hunters they are.

Words by Dan Abbott

Join our shark research and conservation eco-program. White Shark Africa is a white shark cage diving operator based in Mossel Bay, South Africa.

Every month we run an eco-program for anyone interested in marine conservation.

On the rocks: Check out Mossel Bay here

The month includes:

• Working with great white sharks on our cage diving boat.
• Tagging other species of sharks including hammerheads, bronze whalers and ragged tooth sharks.
• Going on diving trips to Cape Town & Durban with Blue sharks, Mako sharks, Oceanic Blacktip sharks & Tiger sharks.
• Putting together and delivering educational presentations in schools and local groups. , -Running beach clean ups.
• Helping at a sea bird and penguin rehabilitation centre, feeding cleaning and releasing African Penguins.

To apply for this program, please email our program manager: [email protected] or visit www.whitesharkafrica.com