Going to the beach?
Here’s how not to get eaten by a shark!
11 - Don’t Go to…….
So it’s summer and you wanna go out in the ocean but you’re not trying to get eaten.
As with many things in life, when it comes to not getting attacked by something, that
means to not be where they are.
Sounds simple right?
This means doing your research and staying up with the latest news on shark alerts before
going to swim at a certain exotic beach.
The mouth of rivers after a heavy rain is also a shark hot-spot.
Fish and other animals are swept out to sea and sharks are all too willing to go fishing
there.
Avoid their natural habitats such as murky waters, harbor entrances, rocky underwater
cliffs and other places where sharks may go feed.
When in doubt, just ask the locals!
They’ll probably be willing to help out and tell you about the frequence of sharks
in the area.
10 - Bring the squad Sharks are known to have very poor eyesight,
so you should do everything you can to avoid being confused with prey.
In fact, sharks don’t particularly like the taste of humans, so most attacks are actually
caused by sharks mistakenly biting a human believing it was a seal or other big prey.
For example, a surfer on their board looks pretty much like a sea lion from below the
water.
What really helps is swimming with other people.
Shark attacks are mainly committed against individuals, not groups.
Try to always swim with a friend, and obviously if you’re with a group don’t stray away
from the group!
Keep yourself relatively close to your friends and everyone’s chances of being attacked
if a shark is around will diminish greatly.
Also, avoid swimming at dusk, dawn or at night.
Sharks don’t have the best sight, so there’ll be a slightly higher chance of a shark mistaking
you and your friends for a delicious meal.
9 - Bruises okay, Cuts, no This one might just be too simple, but it’s
worth repeating: NO BLOOD NEAR SHARKS.
This includes everything from fish blood, to a small cut or scrape.
If you see yourself or others bleeding while in the water, just GET OUT.
If for some reason you’re near a bleeding fish and you can actually see it, yeah, your
day’s done.
If there’s blood in the water, and there are sharks, they WILL get to you.
Because sharks don’t see all that well, they have a fantastic sense of smell instead.
Some of them can even smell blood even at one part per million!
Moreso, shark’s senses are specially attracted to oils released by injured fish; some sharks
can even detect one drop of fish oil at one part per 25 million!
That’s about one drop in a regular Olympic-sized pool!
Of course, as a human you don’t release those yummy oils, but if you find yourself
near dead fish or fish bait, you should get out of the water ASAP.
8 - But I love seals!
This should also be considered common sense, but it’s worth stating again: avoid being
near shark food.
This means large groups of fish, seals, sea lions, but also areas with fish bait in the
water.
You should also keep an eye out for bizarre movements in the water.
For example, if you see large groups of dolphins and seabirds in the water, they’re probably
feeding... and they’re attracted to the same kind of food sharks like.
Don’t think that only because dolphins are present, then there won’t be any sharks
around.
Dolphins are also known to be a prey for large sharks and can attract them.
This also applies to fishing boats: sharks are attracted to easy prey, and the confusion
that fishing causes attracts shark lurking close by waters.
The blood and fish oils will attract sharks quickly.
7 - Black, black, and more black?
We’ve already learned that sharks suck at seeing things.
While their poor eyesight is useful for swimming around them without them noticing, what it
doesn’t mean is that they can’t see you if you’re wearing bright colors.
Sharks see contrast very well, meaning that they’ll see you from a mile away if you’re
wearing bright swimwear while on the ocean.
Colors such as orange or yellow can be especially easy for sharks to see.
You should also stay away from shiny jewelry, because in the water with the sun shining,
those things look A LOT like fish scales.
But really though, why would you wanna wear expensive jewelry in the ocean anyways?
Stick with dark-colored swimwear: blue, green, black and brown might not be the colors you
had in mind going on a beach trip, but if your destination is known for shark sightings
and you wanna get in, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Save the bright colors for the beach bar at night!
6 - Keep an eye on other prey This one ties in with what I said earlier.
When you’re swimming in areas where sharks have been seen or has a history of attacks,
you should be very careful and keep an eye on other animals that could become prey.
Animals in general know much more about their environment than what we’ll ever know, so
definitely keep an eye on them.
If you see turtles or fish freaking out and behaving erratically, take that as a sign
and get out of the water while you can.
Of course, to know whether or not other animals are behaving in a weird way, you should know
how they behave when they’re relaxed.
If you’re new to water activities, it’s better to keep yourself on the safe side and
ask the locals for tips and what to look for.
That or binge watch Animal Planet documentaries.
5 - Know Your Sharks After hearing all this, you’re probably
a lil scared to get in the water, but let’s be for real, your risk really isn’t THAT
high!
It really isn’t necessary to ban all water activities for fear of sharks.
If you’re really worried about high risk activities, look for ways to stop riding in
a car!
Anyways, only three species of shark are the ones responsible for most human attacks: tiger
sharks, great white and bull sharks are the usual culprits.
To stay safe, be hyper vigilant when you’re swimming in their habitat: bull sharks are
usually found along coastlines, bays and harbors in north and south America, and they also
frequent an uncommon place for sharks: freshwater rivers.
One of them was spotted 2500 miles up the Amazon River!
Great white sharks also live in coastal waters especially along the US, South Africa and
Japanese coasts.
Finally, tiger sharks are known to thrive in Hawaii and the Atlantic coast: from cape
cod to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
4 - If you see a shark…...
So you’re at sea, underwater, and you see a shark.
It’s possible.
True story, it’s happened to me before, buuuut it was just a little 3 foot shark and
it left me alone.
If you see a shark-shaped fin on the ocean’s horizon, let everyone around you know about
it.
Or not.
I guess it depends on how much you like them.
Okay okay, I’m playing, definitely shout to let people know there’s a shark.
The more people know there’s a shark around, the safer you all are.
Obviously, the next step is to swim to shore as if your life depended on it.
However, if you aren’t able to get to shore for some reason after seeing a shark, and
it starts swimming in your direction, DON’T PANIC.
Try to just stay afloat and be quiet as crazy as that sounds.
Most of the time the shark isn’t swimming specifically for you, but just in your general
direction.
As I’ve probably said for the 100th time, sharks can’t see very well, so if it doesn’t
see you, it won’t eat you! 3 - Things are getting real?!
Okay.
If the shark is swimming straight towards you, evaluate its stance.
If it’s swimming slowly in your general direction, you still have the chance of not
being headed towards an attack, and only being in their way.
Test that theory by moving slowly away from the shark’s course.
If it doesn’t change its direction, you’re good.
Obviously you should still try to slowly get to safety, without splashing!!
If you’ve moved a couple feet from where you where, and the shark has changed course
and there’s no doubt that he’s coming for you, that shark is in attack mode so you
should be prepared.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T PLAY DEAD.
If a shark has already classified you as prey, you should NEVER make it easy for it.
If you find yourself moments before an attack, make it harder for the shark to attack you
by looking it straight in the eye.
This is gonna make it more difficult for it to ambush you, and it just might get bored
and leave you alone.
2 - It’s happening!!!
What do you do?!
Okay, you’rel faced with a deadly shark that wants to bite you.
First of all, wow, that’s some sh*tty luck!
Second of all, DON’T PANIC.
If an attack is coming, you should be mentally ready to fight back, so arm yourself with
whatever you can.
Experts say you should try to avoid using your bare hands or feet whenever you can.
A camera, a surfboard (even if it’s broken) or any other piece of equipment could be the
difference between life and death when faced with a shark.
If you’re being circled by a shark, don’t panic and look around.
Is there something against which you can back up?
If there is, put your back to it and be ready to strike.
Sharks circle their prey in order to better calculate their position, so if you manage
to avoid them circling around, they’ll probably lose interest in you.
After all, there are tons of other easily available prey for them in the sea.
If you have a coral reef, a rock, or something big around you, you should swim towards it
and rest your back against it.
Again, don’t splash.
Splashing only excites the shark even more.
Carefully swim towards the rock with slow movements, and hope the shark swims away.
1 - Punch it in the face.
So you’re moments away from a shark bite and you have nowhere to hide.
Let’s face it, you’re gonna have to fight.
Give it h*ll!
Punch it in the face, kick it, and poke at it with whatever you have.
If you’re unarmed, you can still make it unappealing to eat your arm off: scratch it
and target the most sensitive parts of its body.
Sharks are especially sensitive in their faces and gills.
If you have a clear shot at hitting a shark in its nose, go for it!
Buuuut, obviously really close to that nose is a mouth that could rip your arm or leg
off.
If you’re not as confident at hitting it right there, then you’re better off targeting
the eyes and gills: scratch its eyes with your nails, whack it with your leg or arm
in the gills.
Even if you only have a small snorkel, it can be enough to make a shark go away: poke
it hard on its gills or eye, and if you’re not bl33ding, it could be enough for it to
get annoyed and go on its way.
Here’s what´s next!