Thursday, February 04, 2010

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Water


A kiteboarder was killed in Florida, a shark attack.


I found the stats interesting: 1032 recorded shark attacks in the U.S. since 1690. Only fifty fatalities.

But on a different site, the international numbers were addressed:

The International Shark Attack File has confirmed 137 unprovoked fatal shark attacks since 1580. (I wonder what is considered a "provoked attack?")

Great Whites have been responsible for 65, tiger sharks for 27, and bull sharks for 25. In Florida, there have been 610 shark attacks since 1882, 13 of them fatal. Today’s attack was the first fatality since 2005.

More people die from bee stings and falling in the bathtub, though it does give one pause. I can swat a bee, and watch my footing climbing out of the tub. A twenty-foot long Great White shark is more of a problem. Especially if he has friends.

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