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Shark Week Makes Jaws Drop

Bethany Hamilton won a national award in surfing despite the loss of her arm as a result of an attack by a fourteen-foot tiger shark.

Rodney Fox, a spearfish champion, was caught between the jaws of a great white shark, which required 360 stitches.

Jersey Shore, a popular tourist destination, is the site of some of the most famous shark attacks.[su_pullquote align=”right”]

“Each year there are about fifty to seventy confirmed shark attacks…”[/su_pullquote]

Shark attacks have impacted the lives of many surfers, swimmers, and vacationers over the years.

This summer, Shark Week is keeping the public informed about, and intrigued by these sharks.

“Each year there are about fifty to seventy confirmed shark attacks…” and five to fifteen shark attack fatalities around the world,” according to nationalgeographic.com.

With shark attacks becoming frequent this summer, Shark Week is catching the eye of Americans across the country.

One week each summer, Discovery Channel dedicates its time to profiling shark attacks and tracking different species of sharks; one to two of these episodes airing each day of the week.

When viewers tune in to one of these shows, experts inform them about many different species of sharks, and how the shark types have affected that land.

For example, one episode, Tiburones: Sharks of Cuba, featured a great white shark that previously lived in the Cuban water and terrorized the fish and other sea creatures. The shark experts were sent out to these waters upon being notified that this problem was occurring. They tried to tag the sharks and gain insight into their motives for migrating to certain parts of the world. Sometimes, the experts even put GoPro cameras on the shark fins to see what the sharks do away from boats.

As an extension to the information provided in each episode, The Shark Week website includes not only the schedule of when each episode airs, but also live cameras focusing in on sharks across the world.

Many of these sharks swim in warm, tropical waters. This would explain why some vacationers may be afraid of shark attacks.

According to Discovery.com, “Most shark species avoid contact with humans.”
So, then, why do they attack?

[su_pullquote]

Why do sharks attack?[/su_pullquote]

Discovery’s website explains that when sharks attack, it is mostly the case of mistaken identity. When the shark bites a human, expecting for the human to be a seal, it is surprised by the difference of taste and texture. It then tries to leave the human alone. But, one bite into a human can cause him or her to bleed to death, because of the shark’s many rows of teeth.

Because of this danger, there are many precautions to take in avoiding a shark attack. These include: do not wear shiny, flashy objects in the water, do not swim during early or late hours in the day, do not splash excessively, and do not go in the water if you are bleeding, because sharks can detect the blood from far away.

With new knowledge of shark species, locations, precautions, and motives for attacks, Shark Week leaves viewers more knowledgeable and prepared for this summer.