Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
(TNS)
An astounding three shark bites in just two hours quickly ignited talk of a “territorial rogue shark” prowling Florida’s Panhandle, but marine biologists say that’s highly unlikely.
The truth isn’t so comforting, however.
Multiple sharks were surely involved in the June 7 attacks off Walton County and they were likely bull sharks, a species known for being tenacious, according to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
“Whenever this happens, everybody says it’s the same individual shark with a taste for humans: A rogue shark. It’s rubbish,” Naylor told McClatchy News.
“It’s highly unlikely the same shark was involved in biting all three people. Scientists never say never, but the chances are astronomical. People jump to that conclusion. People like to be scared.”
The trio of attacks involving two teen girls and a 45-year-old woman occurred about four miles apart, South Walton Fire District Chief Ryan Crawford said at a news conference. The woman lost her lower arm and one of the teens is in critical condition with wounds to the upper leg and one hand, officials said. The third girl had minor injuries to her foot.
A fundraising campaign identified the woman as Elisabeth Foley, who was vacationing with her family from Glen Allen, Virginia.
The victims were bitten because they stood in shallow water as the passing sharks were chasing something else, shark experts suspect. Bull sharks have a sweet tooth for bait fish, and large schools of menhaden were drawn close to shore that day by warmer waters and plankton, Naylor said.
As the menhaden raced through channels between sandbars, bull sharks followed — and collided with summer tourists.
“Sharks are chasing food and it’s very competitive with a lot of sharks. They see something and they sample it. … A bull shark can weigh 500 pounds so a nibble can be devastating,” Naylor said.
“If it’s not what the shark was expecting, it frightens it. There was probably a lot of screaming and commotion and the shark was confused and released (its grip).”
Bull sharks average 10 to 11 feet in length and “cruise through shallow waters with quick acceleration and high aggression,” experts say.
“They are known for its unpredictable, often agile and aggressive behavior,” according to a report by Lamar University. “They are believed to be responsible for most attacks on humans much more than great white and tiger sharks.”
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of sharks in waters off the Panhandle, but most stay far from shore, Naylor said.
If there is a lesson to be learned from the three attacks, it’s that coastal communities should issue warnings if drones show bait fish are gravitating toward beaches, he said.
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