On Sunday, police in Western Australia called off their search for the body of a 52-year-old surfer, two days after he was seen being attacked by a shark. This puts the yearรขโฌโขs shark attack tally at sixรขโฌโthe highest number of people killed in unprovoked attacks since 1934.
This number is well above Australiaรขโฌโขs 50-year average of 1.02 deaths a year. Yet while fatalities are at an 86-year high, the number of unprovoked sharkรย bites, 17, is more or less in line with the average over the past decade: meaning itรขโฌโขs not the number but rather theรย natureรย of the attacks thatรขโฌโขs contributing to the uptick in deaths.
รขโฌลIn some of the cases this year it sounds like the shark hung around and bit more than once, which is unusual behaviour for great white sharks,รขโฌย Dr Blake Chapman, a marine biologist who examined shark neuroscience for her PhD, toldรย Guardian Australia. รขโฌล[And] when they bite more than once itรขโฌโขs more likely to be fatal as thereรขโฌโขs more blood loss.รขโฌย
Dr Chapman noted that multiple bites could suggest the apex predators are starting to treat humans as prey. Another factor could be the weather.
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