Sharks rarely bite humans in the first place. And in a new study Friday, researchers have found that some of these bites are wholly defensive.
Sharks might not be as responsible for rare human bites as we assumed. In a study released today, scientists argue that at least some shark bites should be considered a form of self-defense.
Marine biologists from France led the research, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science. After analyzing shark bite data from throughout the world, they estimated that about 5% of shark-on-human bites are wholly defensive, rather than sharks trying to catch their next meal. The findings should help inform shark bite prevention efforts, the researchers say.
Lead researcher Eric Clua, a shark specialist at PSL University, was inspired to look into the topic by observations he had made during his field studies in French Polynesia.
He often heard about fishermen who systematically slaughtered sharks that had unwittingly become trapped in fish pens. These sharks would sometimes bite the fishermen if they were initially unsuccessful in killing the animal. He also heard reports of accidental shark bites on underwater spearfishermen where the sharks appeared to only attack because they wanted the fisherman to stay away from their prey.
“On closer examination, the opportunity arose to model this self-defense mechanism described in the study, which insists on human and not shark responsibility in this type of accident,” Clua told Gizmodo in an email.
The researchers first analyzed data from recorded shark bites in French Polynesia—specifically, incidents that contained at least some information on the possible motivation behind the bites.
