Why do sharks attack humans?

Shark Attacks

During the World War II, American pilots carried a substance that allegedly would avoid shark attacks, although lately was proved that it worked completely opposite, encouraging more shark attacks than preventing them.

There are many theories about why shark attack humans.

Some scientists think that sharks confuse humans with some other marine animals like seals or sea lions as sharks do not think of humans as a prey.

This is the case of white shark attacks on surfers, where images from the bottom of the sea of a swimming surfer clearly resemble a seal.

However, analyzing the visual capabilities of white sharks contradict this theory as white sharks have a exceptional visual system, making this explanation very unlikely.

Even more, this premise does not explain many other attacks close to the shore and sometime in very shallow waters.

There is another postulate which states that the super sensitive nose of sharks, can detect electrical impulses common of muscle moving and such signals make them interested in tasting.

Some other theories introduce the idea that sharks are curious by nature and taking a small bite of a human is simply a way to satisfy their curiosity.

This explanation came from the fact that most of the time sharks attack humans giving a quick bite and then swimming away.

This behavior is very convenient for humans as sometimes people can survive the attack leaving the sea while the shark retreats.

The real truth is that while there are many theories and research about why sharks attack humans, there is not a sound answer yet.

By Laurent Mikhail

VIDEO of shark attacks

Analysis of a shark attack to a surfer