Shark Attacks on the Florida Space Coast (Full Episode) | When Sharks Attack

Florida's Space Coast The only thing that Rivals the power of Its Rockets Is the terror of its depths In 2003 10 horrifying shark attacks Leave beachgoers reeling Investigators must uncover the cause Before it's too late In 2003 science writer James Hathaway Takes a business trip to Florida and Brings his family along we were here at Cocoa Beach we were here to watch a Launch for NASA it was a Mars launch and The kids were mainly here because of Course it was cool Beach Cocoa Beach lies south of Cape Canaveral Along a stretch of Eastern Florida Coastline dubbed the space coast Surf and Beach culture are here at the Space Coast it has a lot of history with A lot of contests a lot of Shapers and The reason why so many people do love The beach and the waves here is because It's warm it's Sandy Bottom each year Millions of tourists flock here for Sun Surf and rocket launchers But visitors looking up may miss a Threat down below When I am in the water I'm always aware That sharks are there I think they are out there and they Don't really want to be around people And they like to just stay on the Periphery they like to keep you guessing

But they're a hundred percent the boss I've seen guys with bites from their hip Down to their knee everybody surfs and The etiquette around sharks is pretty Much keep your hands and feet up and Wait for them to go away A lot of people can surf here their Whole life and never even notice a shark That doesn't mean that the shark's not Nearby but people who are watching for Them pretty much going to see one sooner Or later From species considered harmless to Humans like the nurse shark with Thousands of tiny serrated teeth the Basking shark with its wide open mouth And the lemon shark To some of the world's most dangerous Sharks Like the bull shark These species all swim here When you live along the coast in Florida Shark attacks come with the territory There are people today out swimming in The speech behind me and there are Probably sharks out there So you know we all take our chances It was a gorgeous day it was this Beautiful sunny beaches full of people And the kids were playing in the surf Splashing in the water are James's three Young daughters including 12 year old Hannah After 45 minutes James joins them my

Wife told me to go out and call him back Because they'd gotten a little ways out So I went out to get them and I said Come on guys time to go back but before James reaches the girls something else Does A big wave broke right over us and the Shark just literally was in the way it Was right in front of me it's about four Or five feet long it surprised me Because it was right in front of me I Went whoa James shouts to get out of the water his Older daughter's head for sure Hannah stays behind wanting to know what Her dad saw Hannah was very insistent About knowing and was jumping up and Down and just insisting that I tell her But it's too late Hannah obviously she goes out Something bit me Got close to her she lifted her leg up And blood was really coming off her It was streaming down her leg it was a Very clear bite-shaped Mark James gets Hannah back to shore Soon paramedics arrive you know how it Is with kids so you you don't want Anything ever bad to happen to them ever And because of all the people around she Said Daddy am I going to die At the hospital doctors use 13 Staples To close Hannah's wound And she makes a full recovery

I feel lucky that his live and okay After this because frankly she could Have lost her legs she could have it Could have hit her femoral artery and She could have bled out on the beach At no point did I ever even think that There would be a shark in the water you Like assume that you have to be deeper Like you have to be a surfer or swimming In the middle of the ocean you don't Think that there's going to be like a Shark in like shallow water To this day honestly every time I go to The beach It's like kind of always on the back of My mind that like there could be a shark In the water Hannah's frightening encounter makes Headlines Typically along Florida's Space Coast Attacks are rare but in 2003 she's not The first victim or the last 10 shock attacks in just eight months That's nearly the same number of attacks In the previous decade Combined Locals and visitors alike demand answers I do remember 2003 and I do remember There being many reports of shark Attacks that year I think sometimes There's more that happens that isn't Even reported 2003 was our year of the Shark because we had 10 recognized as Shark attacks which was the leader in

Florida at that time Suddenly reality breaks and you're Dealing with the fact that hey sharks Really do bite people people really do Encounter this this happened to my child What's behind this terrifying spike in Attacks Perhaps the identity of Hannah's Attacker holds a key to its motive It's about four or five feet long Couldn't quite tell brownish Dr Dan Huber of the University of Tampa Investigates Now we're looking at Hannah's scars here 18 years after the attack happened so we Have to try to make an inference from What the scars look like now to what the Damage would have been back then in 2003. now what we can tell is that these Are the teeth of the upper jaw of a Shark the teeth from the lower jaw of The sharks that live off the east coast Of Florida are much more needle-like They would have left individual puncture Marks whereas here we see more of these Slash marks which are the characteristic Of the upper jaw teeth the wound was Also described as being very very Symmetrical according to Dr Huber these Characteristics implicate one of two Possible Suspects First the bull shark bull sharks are Fast powerful and aggressive often Head-butting their prey before going in

For the kill They're found in Shallow warm Waters Like Florida But one key detail points to another Attacker the symmetry of the wound makes Us lean in the direction of a black tip Shark Black tip sharks often feed in small Groups and are easily identified by Their black tipped fins They attack with speed and can grow up To eight feet long Now one of the most interesting things That we find about blacktip sharks is That they're involved in these large Migrations up and down the east coast of The United States in order to stay in Water of a preferred temperature Shark expert Dr Stephen kajura has been Studying black tips for more than a Decade each year he Witnesses this Species take part in one of the most Awe-inspiring Marine phenomena on the Planet every winter down here in South Florida we have an annual influx of tens Of thousands of black tip sharks that Migrate down here and spend the winter From January through March This is the largest shark migration in U.S Coastal Waters as many as 12 000 Blacktips swim from Coastal North Carolina down to Southeast Florida to Spend winter in warmer water and in March they begin their Journey North

Again And the Space Coast is directly along Their path Here we have a map of satellite Detections from black Dev sharks that Have been instrumented down here in South Florida in the wintertime and in The winter months down here you can see That the sharks are off uh Southeast Florida and then in the spring March and April here in the light green you can See them off the Space Coast Area here Different shark species migrate in Search of food warmer Waters or a mate And typically they do so in deep Waters But the potential problem for beachgoers Is that the black tips prefer the Shallows These sharks hug the shoreline they stay Right up against the beach right where The people are and as a result you've Got the potential for a lot of Interactions between these sharks and Humans Anytime there's an influx of sharks in An area The chance of encounters with humans Also increases what's interesting is You've got this strong spike in Abundance of these sharks off Central Florida to Northern Florida in April Which corresponds to the time when you Have this spike in in bites as well In 2003 simply the result of this large

Influx of sharks The answer comes down to timing The migration passes the Space Coast in The spring and again in the fall But only eight of the ten attacks took Place during that time period this alone Cannot explain the spike There must be more to the story Perhaps the answer lies not in the water But in the skies above it three two main Engine start zero and liftoff Thank you We were there to see the Mars River Launch 2003 was an eventful year for NASA From April through July when eight of The ten attacks took place Eight Rockets blasted off from Cape Canaveral That's more than the number of launches That took place the previous year during These months Could this human space exploration have Unintended consequences for sharks Dr Huber believes the answer relates to How a shark uses its sense of hearing Even though you can't see external ears On a shark like we have they have Internal ears just like we do the Hearing mechanism is buried into the Base of the skull and in this Central Area right here the skin isn't quite as Tightly attached to the skull and that Basically acts like an eardrum that's

How the sound waves are going to enter Into the shark's head when sound waves Reach the inner ear tiny hair cells Vibrate sending signals to the brain for Interpretation Sharks use their Keen sense of hearing To hunt Some species can even detect sounds from Several miles away but not just any Noise sharks are able to hear Particularly at low frequencies Sharks are sensitive to low frequencies The sounds that are made by their prey But can sharks confuse certain sounds Made by humans with those of a fish and Come looking for a meal The sounds that would be given off from The rumbling engines of rockets being Blasted into space is low frequency Sounds Could the sound of rockets Unintentionally attract sharks and lead To the attacks Dr Stephen kajura explores this Frightening possibility right now we're Off the coast of Southeast Florida today We're going to be playing some low Frequency sounds in the water this these Would be the same sorts of sounds like You would get for instance if you had a Rocket launch And here's the amplifier that I will use To power the speaker And now it's ready to deploy

As the speaker begins to broadcast A drone Scouts for sharks when we see Sharks getting close to the speaker We're going to turn on the speaker play An underwater sound a post low frequency Sound and the Drone is going to film The Response of the Sharks when they detect That sound That they're attracted to it or repelled By it or whether they just ignore it When we put low frequency sounds into The water we would expect the Sharks to Probably be attracted to them but Dr Kajira's research reveals something Surprising when playing those sounds the Sharks typically are startled by the Sound and will jump and swim away from It the reason it seems is volume Though rocket launches are low frequency They're also incredibly loud a rocket Launch that's so much louder so much Beyond the realm of what a typical sort Of struggling prey would sound like that It would probably have the opposite Effect it would startle the sharks get Them away from the area So they're nowhere near the source of That sound A rocket launch would have no impact on These sharks biting people Something else is behind the 2003 Spike Maybe it's not about what sharks are Hunting but rather what's hunting them The attack on the space Coast's first

Victim holds a clue Damien Cher is a local artist he's been Surfing these waters for more than 30 Years if I had to describe the culture In this area I'd say that everybody Surfs So catch the waves learn the etiquette And have a good time But in 2003 Damien's good time comes to A halt I got to the beach was actually around Seven o'clock in the evening there's a Lot of daylight left and the wind of the Day had died down so caught a few waves And was paddling out with one of my Buddies a few feet away there is a huge Splash I've noticed behind him the tail end of A truck just go like this as fish Scatter in both directions I told him Zach I better stop paddling That thing just went right under you he Didn't see it and he kept paddling I saw The shark go under his board Give me an acts quickly to save his Friend I slapped the water thinking I can just Distract the shark for a moment and make It not notice him And I distracted it but the relief is Short-lived It hit me like a lightning It felt like somebody hit me with a Baseball bat

The shark just raked his teeth across my Arm opened it up wide the force of the Impact was amazing and it just knocked My arm out of the water I looked down and I saw a hole in my arm And that's when it started to bleed so I Hollered Zach it got me I knew I needed to get out of the water Because I was worried that this Blood Would attract more sharks And we rode the next wave into the beach Together Back on Shore Damien grabs a towel I Knew I needed to compress to control the Bleeding and I grabbed the towel and cut My arm up you know above my heart Damien Is rushed to the emergency room where Doctors use more than 40 stitches to Close his gaping wound here's my Shark Scar starts this far down my wrist and Works its way up just about to my elbow I could have lost my arm I could have Lost my life Damien becomes the first of 10 shark Attack victims along Florida's Space Coast in 2003. an alarming Spike over The previous decade But the species behind Damien's attack May provide a break in the case I saw the whole tail end of thing come Splash out of the water so there was no Mistaking what kind of shark was in in My presence This shark was around seven feet long

The batter is really tight and it's Beautiful it looks like a tropical fish I could see the pattern of a tiger shark Dr Huber investigates Damien scar to Confirm the ID Now independent of his observations when We look at the scarring on Damien's arm There's also evidence of it having been A tiger shark because the scar is very Very flat different sharks have Different shaped Jaws some sharks have More curved Jaws but as it turns out Tiger sharks have very very flat Jaws at The front of their mouth and this rather Straight scar that we see right here is Really a type of Scar that could only be Left behind by a tiger shark People who spend their entire lives Swimming tend to know the sharks that Are in the waters that they swim in so There's a decent chance that he Correctly identified the attacking Species Tiger sharks are named for the vertical Stripes found mainly on juveniles With their sharp serrated teeth they can Easily rip through turtle shells and Discarded tires If a tiger shark bit Damien that at Least two species are responsible for The spike including the black tip for Bull shark that bit Hannah There's all kinds of sharks in the water Here you can be out there not see any

Sharks and then all of a sudden you've Got sharks sometimes more than one all Around you When you're in the water you realize Just how it the whim of sharks you are And where sharks would be chasing one Another away or if multiple species got Into the same area they might get into Some kind of turf war Is it possible that different shark Species are in direct competition for Food and humans are simply caught in the Crossfire Dr Michael hydehouse of Florida International University is determined To find out if an inter-species Turf War Exists in Florida we're heading offshore Of Palm Beach Florida so we can try to Find multiple shark species in one spot To just see how they behave when you mix More than one type of shark Within members of the same species Sharks seem to coexist peacefully For example black tip sharks tend to Spend their time with the same group Each day And even work together to hunt But does this civility hold true between Species Dr height house and marine biologist Francis farabaugh dive deep to find out Florida is an amazing place for sharks Because there's so many species we might See here you might see black tips Bonnet

Heads lemon sharks great Hammerheads Tiger sharks bull sharks so this is an Area where all of those might mix Over a dozen lemon sharks swarm the Researchers Named for their pale yellow skin lemon Sharks congregate in large groups and Can grow up to 10 feet long You see they have no sense of personal Space they kind of nudge into you but Never any aggression But when a bull shark arrives Will the lemons defend their turf and Cause an undersea brawl We had a big bull shark just kind of Come up out of the depths do one Circle No Behavior change in the lemon sharks The bull shark kind of shrugged its fans And said uh this is not worth it and Just sunk back down into the Merc Throughout the experiment the lemon Shark's Behavior remains consistent While they were excited and curious and Maybe up in your personal space they Weren't aggressive or territorial they Never bit us or any other sharks even Though there were plenty of sharks in The water and more than one species The thing that we saw today that really Fits with everything I've seen Throughout my career with sharks is that They tend to be very calm Big sharks will eat small sharks but When it comes to that kind of fair match

Battle they're not really territorial You didn't see two species come together And their behavior change and they got More aggressive towards people that just Doesn't happen When you think about Predators on land Mammals like big cats wolves coyotes we Think about territories you know they're Set areas on the land that are kind of Defended from other Predators it's their Spot that really doesn't happen as often For sharks in the ocean Um And part of that is why would you bother Defending a fish school that by the time You've defended it some other Predators Come in and eaten it so you don't tend To see that territoriality A turf war is not what caused this spike In attacks in 2003. Strange spike is linked to a different Mysterious incident from 2003. Another attack is about to unravel a Mysterious clue In 2000 here on the Space Coast we Started kind of documenting the shark Attacks in 2003 Wyatt werneth is the Ocean rescue chief for Brevard County 2003 was our year of the shark because We had 10 recognized as shark attacks Which was the leader in Florida at that Time But for Wyatt one attack stands out He was a surfer that I knew

So that made it a little bit more Intimate I knew the guy The 21 year old Surfer prepares to catch A wave But his ride is cut short Clamps down on his left foot and shakes Back and forth The surfer manages to break free and Head for sure But the damage is severe So when I got down to the scene They were applying a tourniquet with the Rash guard Blood everywhere The rash guard started out white and was Red by the time we got to the ambulance The surfer's left foot is seriously Injured But after surgery he recovers The pain that he was exhibiting that Still resonates with me I swim in these Oceans all the time and I flash back to That episode where that guy someone that I knew all the pain still is in my mind To this day But there's something Serving about that day that Wyatt can't Forget And the two events may be related In 2003 on the Space Coast during the Time that we're having all the shark Activity we were trying to figure out Why and how what was causing this And we did discover just before the

Attack that there was an orange slick in The water something that we hadn't seen Around here before this so it was very Uh mysterious to us This so-called orange slick was a patch Of discolored water a few yards from Shore The nature and source of the Slick are Unknown Causing officials to temporarily close The beaches What is this suspicious orange slick and How might it affect sharks Wyatt wonders if the unusual occurrence Could be linked to a red tide Red tide is what we would consider an Algae bloom and that algae bloom does Have a negative effect on marine life as Well as humans Florida red tide is triggered by an Algae that can cause Coastal Waters to Appear reddish or brown Is an orange slick the same as a Florida Red tide Dr Tracy fanara who studies algae along The Space Coast investigates Florida red Tide is endemic to the Gulf of Mexico It's only made its way up to the east Coast about nine times throughout History in 2003 was not one of those Years The fact that an orange slick was seen Before one of the shark bites could be a Huge clue but this was not a Florida red

Tide bloom Not red tide what caused the orange Slick This outsized question might have a Microscopic answer I just took a sample Of water from the Indian River Lagoon We're going to look for algae The Indian River Lagoon is an estuary That because of currents and water Movement can bring nutrients pollutants Sediments and harmful algae into the Coastal Waters of the Atlantic Ocean Today the water sample shows a healthy Lagoon 2003 data reveals that this same area Was teeming with pyridinium Pyridinium now this is a harmful algae Species it's responsible for Bioluminescence people come from all Over the world to see this algae because At night it actually looks like a blue Glow but during the day it looks like an Orange slake And this algae does more than just turn The water Orange Pyridinium bahaments releases a toxin Called saxotoxin which is a neurotoxin That impacts fish including sharks This neurotoxin can have serious Consequences for any animal or human who Consumes it Foreign People were getting sick from eating Puffer fish that were plagued with

Saxotoxin from the Indian River Lagoon And there aren't many species that can Actually consume puffer fish One of those species though is sharks If consumed by a shark could this toxin Potentially affect the Predator's Behavior some fish aren't affected right Away but eventually with enough toxin They start to swim in a circle kind of Like they're losing their ability to Navigate Could sick sharks have lost their Ability to navigate And accidentally swim in Shore Where they encountered people Is this the cause of the 2003 spike in Attacks Something doesn't add up There was only one orange slick reported It's very unlikely that it was the cause That they increased and shark bites Perhaps the answer to why the sharks are Biting can be found by analyzing the Nature of the bites themselves you can See where the teeth kind of like sunk in It's in the shape of a mouth Hannah Hathaway was just 12 years old when she Was attacked by a black tip or bull Shark off of Cocoa Beach It was really crazy because the shark Literally just came and just bit me and Then swam away and I hadn't even been Doing anything Dr Huber revisits the bite mark photos

Of the Spike's youngest victim Hannah Hathaway In Hannah's case the scarring is Consistent with a grab and release sort Of attack because there's one series of Bite marks so the teeth sank into Hannah's leg a single time there's no Evidence of repeated biting there's no Real evidence of head shaking back and Forth to try to remove a chunk of Flesh It was a single bite the teeth went in And then apparently that was the extent Of the attack Based on this single bite Hannah's father has a theory to explain Her attack it was a big enough shark if It was hungry for what it was attacking That it really could have taken the Chunk out of her it's very clear that The shark just tasted her does taste Really factor into why a shark would Attack And could it be that they simply Disliked the flavor of human flesh The Predator's Anatomy suggests it's Possible It's been suggested that sharks may be Tasting their victims and then deciding About whether or not to continue the Attack While humans have taste buds that are Concentrated on our tongues sharks Actually have taste buds that line the Entire inside of their mouth the tongue

Area as well as up through the roof of The mouth and even onto the gills in Some cases though numerous these taste Buds are incredibly small If we look inside the spiny dogfish's Mouth really really close we can see There's a series of little bumps that Line the roof of the mouth and also the Floor of the mouth and each of those Little bumps is a taste bud But before a shark tastes it will try to Smell hear and see its prey Sharks use a lot of different sensory Information before they take a bite out Of a prey item in order to decide Whether or not to eat that particular Thing And when they eventually do take a bite That bite is that last piece of Information that they'll use to decide About whether or not to eat that Particular thing now whether or not Taste really plays a role in that Decision making process is a bit unknown To attempt to find out Dr kajura put Shark taste to the test what we're going To do is we're going to present to the Sharks a couple of different food items We're going to present to them fish that They would typically normally eat well They're also going to present to them Some pork which is visually similar but It's not something they would ever Typically encounter in this experiment

The pork simulates human flesh The reason we're testing with pork is Because apparently Pig tastes very Similar to humans based on what Cannibals have told us and so we want to See what the sharks are actually able to Consume the pork or they in fact bite in And spit it out The sharks in the tank include sand bars Black tips black noses and nurse sharks To my knowledge no one has tested Whether sharks are able to distinguish Between a fish and a piece of pork it's Going to be interesting to see what they Actually do The food is offered to the Sharks Through small feeding holes in a safety Wall First up Fish Without hesitation the sharks eat the Fish Having the Sharks literally feeding Right out of your hand that was uh that Was incredible Dr kajura next offers the Pork but will the sharks bite I think that we saw a couple of the Sharks actually consume the pork and Then spit it out But uh whereas one shark would spit it Out another shark would then consume it For the most part the sharks ate Everything they were not picky at all They would eat the pork and the fish it

Really didn't matter The test provides no clear answers about The taste preferences of sharks I think one of the factors to consider Here is that these are captive animals And they're accustomed to being fed Anything they're fed is something good For them basically and you contrast that Out in the wild what the sharks are Probably much more particular about what It is that they're eating out there they Are probably not accustomed to certain Things and when they encounter them it Makes sense that they would spit them Out and ignore them Scientists draw a firm conclusion about The role of taste in the spike In response to a shark attack people are Going to fight back we're going to punch And scream and kick and it's most likely That the reason the shark went away was Because of Hannah's reaction to it and Not because the shark had tasted Hannah And decided that it didn't want her Cannot explain the surge in shark Attacks along the space coast But one thing this Theory suggests is That sharks are heavily motivated by the Presence of potential prey and one of The victims in the spike witnessed Exactly that We noticed there was a lot of bait in The water you could see birds diving out Of the sky chasing the fish could see

Big fish jumping after smaller fish The ecosystem was alive I think my arm just looked like another Fish jumping in the water If a shark's already in a frenzy chasing The bait and you paddle in there that Your arm just looks like a fish jumping Could the shark have mistaken Damien's Arm for a fish Dr Hubert takes a closer look Right now we're looking at a slide of a Mouse's eye because we can use the Retina of the mouse's eye to have a Better understanding of how shark Vision Works as we zoom in on the retina at the Back of the eye we can see what are Called rod and Cone cells now the rods And cones are the photoreceptors which Are actually responsible for absorbing Light and then activating the nervous System so that the brain can interpret That as images Cells that give the human eye the Ability to see in color But in a shark's eye something is Missing in order to have color vision You need multiple types of cone cells Now sharks typically only have one type Of cone in this layer which means that They typically don't have color vision So sharks generally speaking have black And white vision and they use that black And white Vision to see their prey items In contrast to the surrounding light

That comes through the water This means that a shark's vision is Highly dependent on the clarity of the Water If it is murky minimal light is able to Penetrate the water resulting in a Blurry image This is key because the waters where Damian and the others were attacked can Be murky Foreign The answer for the 2003 Spike suddenly Becomes clearer Ocean scientist Dr Tracy fanara Demonstrates how murky water could have Played a role in the Space Coast attacks Aquarium tank we have clean water Aquarium tank we have water taken from The coastal Waters around Cape Canaveral Now this water is colored and turbid Because we have organic matter coming Into our Coastal waters on top of that We have a lot of sediment close to the Shore making this water really dark or Murky Here we have two swimmers this one in a Monotone gray and this one with high Contrast in this experiment the high Contrast swimmer represents Damien's arm In the water or a shark's prey many Bait Fish have different contrasts they'll Have a white underbelly and a colored Body or different colored fins or they Might even be striped and sharks have

Evolved to be attracted to this contrast To be better predators So as you can see right now you can see Both very clearly in the clean water but When we bring it over here to the murky Water you might be able to see the Swimmer with the high contrast a lot Clearer than the monotone Gray In the case of Damien's attack his arm Could have appeared high contrast Similar to bait fish So it's very possible that a shark might Have misidentified Damien's arm swimming Through the water as bait fish Especially if he was swimming through a Group of bait fish In addition to blending in with the bait Fish Dr Huber believes Damien's actions Confuse the shark when a shark came to Investigate those Bait fish Damien Became concerned that his friend was Going to be attacked so he slapped the Water and in this benevolent action to Draw the shark's attention away from his Friend he drew the shark's attention to Himself which is what led to the attack This Theory May hold water But when the data is analyzed Investigators find that Damien is the Only victim who reported fish nearby at The time of the attack There has to be more to the story Perhaps the answer lies not in what the Sharks were doing at the time of the

Attacks but rather what the humans were Doing Investigators are about to crack the Case I got to the beach caught a few waves And was paddling out with one of my Buddies Analysis of the data reveals that like Damien 70 of the victims were surfing When attacked The activity that I would most associate With shark attacks on the Space Coast Would have to be surfing Coincidentally a huge surfing Festival Was held in April of 2003. the same Month that six of the attacks occurred This Drew large numbers of visitors to The area And that's not all We were in Cocoa Beach We were there to see the Mars River Launch The increased number of rocket launches In 2003 also Drew hordes of Spectators To the area further crowding the beaches You know having big events like rocket Launches or surfing competitions can Bring more people to the beach and put More people in the water more people Coinciding with an annual Springtime Shark migration Could these events have put sharks and Humans in the same Waters at the same Time along the Space Coast you have not

Only these seasonal pulses of migratory Sharks moving by North and South but you Also have residents who are there year Round so you have black tips you have Spinners you have Dusky sharks you have Sandbar sharks there's a large number of Sharks in that area so as a result you Have large numbers of sharks in the Water at the same time you have a bunch Of people in the water Anytime there's an increase of humans in An area The chance of an encounter with sharks Also increases Is this the final piece of the puzzle Look around the world really the Shark attacks is the number of people in The water The 2003 Spike comes down to a Convergence of events that puts more People in the water It's all about that random Collision of Sharks and people and bad luck A long-awaited answer for residents and Survivors alike I feel like every day I Wake up I'm lucky to be alive especially Participating in a sport that has its Own risks and having an incident where a Shark actually touched me definitely Feel lucky to be alive for sure I I'm Definitely grateful that my dad came out There I think it just the entire Experience felt a lot safer knowing that He was there if something worse had

Happened I don't know how I would have Gotten out of the water the wall is Really unusual and unlucky situation to Have this happen once it did happen I Think we really lucked out and that it Wasn't much much worse this was one of Those moments where everything could Have changed in an instant These are rare events but when you have Rare events sometimes you know you flip The coin and you get all heads other Times it's 50 50 or all tails and I Think you know sometimes that's what Explains years that have more bites I Know it's the most boring answer of all Time but bad luck happens Spikes and shark attacks can often Indicate something that has changed in The ocean which often has to do with Human impacts we can use these attacks To better understand our impacts on Ocean systems and as more people crowd The beaches around the world Investigators worry shark incidents will Increase as well