Latest news with #GlobalSharkAttackFiles
Euronews
26-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Some shark bites are ‘survival instinct', researchers say in defence of threatened predator
ADVERTISEMENT 'It's more scared of you than you are of it' is a refrain parents use to humanise spiders to their children. That's a little harder to believe of sharks, given their mighty appearance and characterisation in the media. But researchers have found that - like snakes and spiders - sharks do sometimes bite humans in self-defence. "We show that defensive bites by sharks on humans - a reaction to initial human aggression - are a reality and that the animal should not be considered responsible or at fault when they occur," says Dr Eric Clua, first author of the new study published in the Frontiers in Conservation Science journal. "These bites are simply a manifestation of survival instinct, and the responsibility for the incident needs to be reversed,' according to Clua, a shark specialist and researcher at Université PSL in Paris. Related Shark and ray populations have halved since 1970 and overfishing is to blame More than 80% of the world's coral reefs hit by worst bleaching event in recorded history What makes a shark bite in self-defence? Firstly, shark attacks are rare, occurring only 100 or so times a year. Just around 10 per cent are fatal; statistically , you are more likely to die in a lawn mower accident. To understand more about shark bite motivations, which are already known to range from competition to predation, the researchers focused on the territorial waters of French Polynesia. This 5.5 million square kilometre zone is home to more than 30 shark species, and has been a designated shark sanctuary since 2006, making it an ideal place to study shark behaviour. The team used shark bite data collected systematically over the past 60 years in French Polynesia to identify self-defence bites on humans. They looked for incidents where sharks bit in response to aggressive human actions, such as spear fishing or attempts to grab the shark. In contrast to 'feeding-motivated' bites, sharks acting in self-defence generally bite repeatedly and leave superficial, non-lethal wounds. This lower-grade violence matches the kind of defence-motivated bites inflicted by land predators like bears and large birds such as cassowaries, the researchers note. Related What are milky seas? 400 years of sailors' stories are shedding light on ocean bioluminescence How common are self-defence shark bites? Between 2009 and 2023, 74 bites were documented in French Polynesia. Four of them were likely motivated by self-defence, the study found, which may trigger 3 to 5 per cent of all shark bites. Collecting this data on a global scale is tricky, but the researchers made a start by applying their approach to the Global Shark Attack Files, which records almost 7,000 bites since 1863. This database categorises bites as 'provoked' or 'unprovoked'. The researchers focused on the former, and bites linked to activities that might put people in proximity to sharks. They found that 322 bite events could have been motivated by self-defence, a figure close to the percentage (around 5 per cent) of self-defence bites recorded in French Polynesia. "We need to consider the not very intuitive idea that sharks are very cautious towards humans and are generally afraid of them," Clua says. ADVERTISEMENT When sharks strike in self-defence, they might use disproportionate force and deliver greater harm than is threatened (not unlike humans). "The sharks' disproportionate reaction is probably the immediate mobilisation of their survival instinct,' adds Clua. 'It is highly improbable that they would integrate revenge into their behaviour and remain above all pragmatic about their survival." Related The climate crisis may cause more whale shark collisions with ships - here's why How can you avoid being bitten by a shark? To avoid being bitten by a defensive shark, people should steer clear of any activity that could be considered aggressive, the researchers advise. This includes attempts to help stranded sharks, which are liable to be misinterpreted by the big fish. "Do not interact physically with a shark, even if it appears harmless or is in distress. It may at any moment consider this to be an aggression and react accordingly," Clua cautions. ADVERTISEMENT "These are potentially dangerous animals , and not touching them is not only wise, but also a sign of the respect we owe them." Knowing your coastal sharks is important, too. For some species, such as the territorial-minded gray reef shark, a human merely intruding into their space is likely to trigger their survival instinct. Related Toxic dust and stressed seals: What the shrinking Caspian Sea could mean for people and nature Reviewing our view of shark attacks 'The existence of self-defence bites … calls into question the practice of labelling all shark bites as attacks,' the researchers conclude. The media plays a key role in this perception, tending to portray sharks as the aggressor even when people initiate the interaction. In April 2016, for example, reports on a bite incident involving two Polynesian fishermen who were aggressive a gray reef shark all had the word 'attack' in the headlines. ADVERTISEMENT 'This simplistic approach damages the image of sharks and, indeed, their conservation, which relies on public support,' the researchers add. With 'negative interactions' between humans and sharks on the rise due to our increased use of the sea, they hope their study will feed into a more sustainable style of wildlife management. As in other areas of the animal kingdom, a better understanding of what motivates endangered species to attack people can help develop non-lethal strategies.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Some shark bites are ‘survival instinct', researchers say in defence of threatened predator
'It's more scared of you than you are of it' is a refrain parents use to humanise spiders to their children. That's a little harder to believe of sharks, given their mighty appearance and characterisation in the media. But researchers have found that - like snakes and spiders - sharks do sometimes bite humans in self-defence. "We show that defensive bites by sharks on humans - a reaction to initial human aggression - are a reality and that the animal should not be considered responsible or at fault when they occur," says Dr Eric Clua, first author of the new study published in the Frontiers in Conservation Science journal. "These bites are simply a manifestation of survival instinct, and the responsibility for the incident needs to be reversed,' according to Clua, a shark specialist and researcher at Université PSL in Paris. Related Shark and ray populations have halved since 1970 and overfishing is to blame More than 80% of the world's coral reefs hit by worst bleaching event in recorded history Firstly, shark attacks are rare, occurring only 100 or so times a year. Just around 10 per cent are fatal; statistically, you are more likely to die in a lawn mower accident. To understand more about shark bite motivations, which are already known to range from competition to predation, the researchers focused on the territorial waters of French Polynesia. This 5.5 million square kilometre zone is home to more than 30 shark species, and has been a designated shark sanctuary since 2006, making it an ideal place to study shark behaviour. The team used shark bite data collected systematically over the past 60 years in French Polynesia to identify self-defence bites on humans. They looked for incidents where sharks bit in response to aggressive human actions, such as spear fishing or attempts to grab the shark. In contrast to 'feeding-motivated' bites, sharks acting in self-defence generally bite repeatedly and leave superficial, non-lethal wounds. This lower-grade violence matches the kind of defence-motivated bites inflicted by land predators like bears and large birds such as cassowaries, the researchers note. Related What are milky seas? 400 years of sailors' stories are shedding light on ocean bioluminescence Between 2009 and 2023, 74 bites were documented in French Polynesia. Four of them were likely motivated by self-defence, the study found, which may trigger 3 to 5 per cent of all shark bites. Collecting this data on a global scale is tricky, but the researchers made a start by applying their approach to the Global Shark Attack Files, which records almost 7,000 bites since 1863. This database categorises bites as 'provoked' or 'unprovoked'. The researchers focused on the former, and bites linked to activities that might put people in proximity to sharks. They found that 322 bite events could have been motivated by self-defence, a figure close to the percentage (around 5 per cent) of self-defence bites recorded in French Polynesia. "We need to consider the not very intuitive idea that sharks are very cautious towards humans and are generally afraid of them," Clua says. When sharks strike in self-defence, they might use disproportionate force and deliver greater harm than is threatened (not unlike humans). "The sharks' disproportionate reaction is probably the immediate mobilisation of their survival instinct,' adds Clua. 'It is highly improbable that they would integrate revenge into their behaviour and remain above all pragmatic about their survival." Related The climate crisis may cause more whale shark collisions with ships - here's why To avoid being bitten by a defensive shark, people should steer clear of any activity that could be considered aggressive, the researchers advise. This includes attempts to help stranded sharks, which are liable to be misinterpreted by the big fish. "Do not interact physically with a shark, even if it appears harmless or is in distress. It may at any moment consider this to be an aggression and react accordingly," Clua cautions. "These are potentially dangerous animals, and not touching them is not only wise, but also a sign of the respect we owe them." Knowing your coastal sharks is important, too. For some species, such as the territorial-minded gray reef shark, a human merely intruding into their space is likely to trigger their survival instinct. Related Toxic dust and stressed seals: What the shrinking Caspian Sea could mean for people and nature 'The existence of self-defence bites … calls into question the practice of labelling all shark bites as attacks,' the researchers conclude. The media plays a key role in this perception, tending to portray sharks as the aggressor even when people initiate the interaction. In April 2016, for example, reports on a bite incident involving two Polynesian fishermen who were aggressive a gray reef shark all had the word 'attack' in the headlines. 'This simplistic approach damages the image of sharks and, indeed, their conservation, which relies on public support,' the researchers add. With 'negative interactions' between humans and sharks on the rise due to our increased use of the sea, they hope their study will feed into a more sustainable style of wildlife management. As in other areas of the animal kingdom, a better understanding of what motivates endangered species to attack people can help develop non-lethal strategies.
The National
25-04-2025
- Health
- The National
Jaws legacy: When people, not sharks, are at fault for attacks
Jaws turns 50 in June but its legacy of invoking a fear of sharks remains as strong today as it did in the 1970s. However, a new study shows it is sometimes the person, and not the shark, who is the aggressor. Only this week the potential dangers were highlighted when a swimmer disappeared after an apparent shark attack off Hadera in Israel. Despite the shark's fearsome reputation, self-defence is behind some incidents, according to findings based on decades of data on bites in French Polynesia in the South Pacific. In a new paper published on Friday, scientists revealed that about five per cent of shark bites were probably motivated by self-defence, with the animal perceiving that the human was a threat. The data recorded the type of shark involved, the circumstances, the injuries and the location. The person might have been, for example, trying to grab the shark, such as when a 12-year-old boy was bitten when he tried to pull the head of a tawny nurse shark out of the water to show it to tourists. Self-defence bites have also taken place when sharks have been unwittingly trapped in fish pens, while other incidents have involved people spearfishing underwater. These incidents typically involve non-lethal force and multiple bites and, while the victim usually needs surgery, little tissue is removed. 'The motivation for these defensive bites can be distinguished from other drivers, such as the predation motivation on humans, which involves heavy loss of tissue,' the researchers wrote in Frontiers in Conservation. The scientists looked at nearly 7,000 incidents from 1863 to 2024 in a database called the Global Shark Attack Files and found that 4.6 per cent were prompted by self-defence. They generated this result by searching for bites that were linked to fishing or spearfishing, and where provocation was thought to have been involved. The first author of the study, Prof Eric Clua, a veterinary surgeon and marine ecologist at France's Centre for Island Research and Environmental Observatory (CRIOBE), told The National that he was 'not really' surprised by the findings. 'My impression was that this type of incident was probably present to the tune of five to 10 per cent,' he said. 'At five per cent, we're at the low end of the scale, but nonetheless significant in drawing the attention of sea users to the need not to interact with sharks or risk being bitten. It seems obvious but is probably worth recalling.' The risk means that the public should not come to the aid of a shark that appears to be distressed, Prof Clua said, because 'it will not necessarily perceive this action positively and may react aggressively'. Instead, professional help for the animal should be sought. Anyone fearing that a shark could bite them should, Prof Clua said, not lose sight of the creature, 'and above all not to try to interact with it by touching or handling it'. Even approaching the animal is not advised, he said, because reef sharks have a 'very present' notion of territoriality. To avoid the risk of a predatory bite, which is much more likely to prove fatal than a self-defence bite, people should not be alone in the water. 'Two people can deter the shark from biting and, in the event of a bite, the second person can come to the victim's aid and deter the shark from biting again, bearing in mind that sharks, whatever their species or size, are generally afraid of humans,' Prof Clua said. A victim should always defend themselves, because advice to stand still – given to protect against attack by land predators – 'doesn't work in the water with sharks'. Jaws is blamed for ushering in a wave of mistreatment of sharks that was so severe that numbers of the animals off the east coast of the US reportedly fell by half. Steven Spielberg, the director, told the BBC in a 2022 radio interview that he 'truly' regretted his film's apparent impact on sharks. Aware of the threats faced by sealife, Peter Benchley, the author of the novel on which the film is based, became a campaigner for marine conservation. Prof Clua indicated that there was 'an incredibly negative perception bias towards sharks', especially given that 'they are responsible for less than 10 human deaths a year worldwide'. 'Dogs are responsible for more than 10,000 deaths yet are perceived positively by the public, no doubt because they are land animals and people know the difference between a Yorkie and a pit bull, whereas they don't know the difference between a blacktip reef shark and a bullshark, which are their marine equivalents,' he said. In the study, the scientists said that the media 'often sensationalises' self-defence bites by describing them as attacks, and could help by 'more objectively reporting the culpability of humans in triggering them'. The other authors of the study were Dr Thomas Vignaud, of the Mayotte Integrated Innovation Hub, a centre in a French Indian Ocean archipelago, and Prof Aaron Wirsing of the University of Washington's college of the environment.
