How to Avoid Shark Attacks
Swim as Fast as You Can Getty Although Shark Attacks Are Very Rare, Beach Season Is Heating Up, and Already a 21-Year-Old College Student from California Was...
Swim as Fast as You Can
Although shark attacks are very rare, beach season is heating up, and already a 21-year-old college student from California was killed by a group of sharks while vacationing with her family in the Bahamas on Wednesday.
PEOPLE previously spoke with Larry Cahoon, professor of biology and marine biology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, about what do to if you come face-to-face with a shark.
"People say to swim slowly back to shore, but what is that going to do? Swim to shore as fast as you can. A shark that means to eat you will keep coming," Larry Cahoon, professor of biology and marine biology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, tells PEOPLE. "You need to call for help. People who survive all but the least damaging shark attacks got immediate help from others.”
Don't Aim for the Nose
According to experts, attempting to punch a shark in the nose could put you in an even worse position — closer to its teeth! Despite the popular believe that aiming for the snout is the best strategy, a shark's most sensitive areas are actually the eyes and gills. So if a shark does come for you, claw at its eyes and gills.
But as Cahoon says: “A 10-foot bull shark will weigh close to 500 pounds and is essentially all muscle. What chance would anyone have?"
Cahoon adds: "You won't be thinking rationally even if you have the opportunity to punch it, so just focus on getting back to land.”
Robert Thorne covers electric vehicle innovations, autonomous driving systems, global mobility trends, and automotive engineering developments.
