Killers of the Deep

Sharks have been portrayed as evil and unpredictable killers for centuries. Sharks eat people and will swim to attack if they smell blood. The truth is, sharks are shy and hesitant. It is much harder to lure sharks in than it is to repel them.

Most sharks have teeth that are ineffective cutting tools, meaning they cant easily remove flesh from anything larger than their mouths. Sharks do not have what it takes to go after large animals, such as humans, and they know that. Sharks will rarely bite people because of hunger, but rather because they are curious and come close to examine swimmers. In almost every shark attack, flesh has never been removed. If the victim dies, it is often times due to blood loss and not because of a hungry shark. Considering that millions of people are in the water each year where sharks hunt, very 60-100 bites is a very small number. Seals are a common shark food, and have a silohuette similar to that of a human on the surface. Sharks look out for seals in distress; splashing and swimming in rapid movements on the surface. Considering how much alike humans look to seals, the small number of shark attacks each year is amazing, people just don take this into account. Shark attack means shark attack to them. Noone takes into mind the reality of it.

Sharks kill 5 people every year.

Elephants and tigers kill 100

Execution kills 2,400

Illegal drugs kill 22,000

Road Accidents kill 1,200,000

and

Starvation kills 8,000,000 people each year

In one year, crocodiles have killed as many people as sharks have in the past 100 years, and yet crocs are protected. Sharks are the most threatened group of species in the ocean, and yet no one is protecting them. Because of this many species of shark are declining rapidly, by 90%! Public pressure resulted in the 1986 international moratorium on whaling, but there is nothing protecting sharks.

Whales were once viewed as predators (Ex.Moby Dick), but are now seen in a different perspective; the Gentle Giants. There is a possibility that JAWS will become something more than a monster. People just need to know the truth.