18. The Sharm El Sheikh Attack – the latest chapter in the sharks versus humans story.
Human’s fear of sharks is unlikely to go away anytime soon, especially when headline-making attacks keep on happening right around the world. And when attacks happen in popular vacation destinations, they just add to the worries that it’s never completely safe to go into the water – as the 2010 attacks in Egypt demonstrated. Even though people now know how rare it is to be attacked by a shark, the handful of attacks that took place in the resort city of Sharm El Sheikh had a major impact on the country’s tourism industry, while once reinforcing the unfair stereotype of sharks as remorseless man eaters.
On 1 December 2010, a shark attacked four tourists in the space of just a few minutes. All victims were seriously injured, though all of them survived. But just four days later, a German tourist snorkeling in the calm waters of the Dead Sea was attacked and killed. The attacks made front-page news right around the world. People stayed away from the beaches and many cancelled their planned vacations to Egypt. At the same time, the attacks fascinated shark experts, with many calling the incidents unprecedented.
According to local experts, an oceanic white tip shark – regarded as the most dangerous to humans – was responsible. It’s possible the animals was drawn close to the shore by fishermen, though others have blamed illegal dumping of animal carcasses in the Red Sea for attracting deadly sharks. It may also be that rising temperatures of these waters led to a rise in the number of sharks present – meaning that attacks could become more likely in the future.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Sharks and Humans: A Love-Hate Story.” Smithsonian Magazine.
“Top ten most infamous shark attacks.” The Daily Telegraph.
“Yearly Worldwide Shark Attack Summary.” International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum.
“Sharks Were Once Called Sea Dogs, And Other Little-Known Facts.” Smithsonian Magazine.
“Julia Child and the OSS Recipe for Shark Repellent.” The Central Intelligence Agency.
“USS Indianapolis sinking: ‘You could see sharks circling.” BBC.
“How Jaws misrepresented the great white.” BBC News Magazine.