The Bahamas ranks 9th in the world in shark attacks. What’s the real reason sharks attack?

Following the shocking death of an American tourist in a fatal shark attack The Bahamas on Monday, experts contends that incidents like this are rare. However, the country has the highest number of shark attacks in the Caribbean region.

In the Bahamas, there have only been 33 confirmed unprovoked attacks since 1580, according to Gavin Naylor, the program director of the International Shark Attack File, a database which tracks such incidents.

The fatal death of newlywed American tourist Lauren Erickson Van Wart on Monday shined a spotlight on attacks in the Bahamas. The 44-year-old woman from Boston, Massachusettes was paddle boarding a mile off from the western end of New Providence when a shark attacked her, biting and seriously injuring her lower right hip and right arm.

She died in the water.

The type of shark in the attack has not yet been identified.

Van Warts’ death is particularly alarming since the country has seen a spate in shark attacks, in recent times. In September 2022, Caroline DiPlacido, 57, from Pennsylvania, was killed near Rose Island while snorkelling with her children on a week-long cruise.

In August 2022, eight-year-old Finley Downer of Great Britain was attacked by nurse sharks but lived to tell the tale. He was in a lagoon at Compass Cay when the shark bit his leg and underwent a three-hour operation.

And in June 2019, Jordan Lindsey 21, was killed by a group of sharks while on vacation in waters near Rose Island.

Why do sharks attack?

Following Van Wart’s death, shark experts have echoed that these incidents are rare, arguing that in most cases, it is a mistaken identity.

Nick Whitney, a senior scientist at the New Englan Aquarium said, “Humans just happen to be unfortunate enough to be swimming in the water in a place where the shark was feeding on something else and the shark accidentally bites the person or investigates the person and uses their teeth to do that investigation.”

Sharks are known by researchers to bite people when they are confused or curious, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For instance, if a shark sees someone splashing in the water, it may try to investigate, leading to an accidental attack.

“If people were targeted by sharks, we’d see 1,000 bites a day. We don’t,” Naylor, program director of the International Shark Attack File in Florida stated.

“In fact, humans and sharks do their best to avoid one another.”

Naylor said there is a strong correlation between shark attacks and the number of people and sharks in the water at the same time. He said that, while this may be an obvious point, it reiterates that sharks are not intentionally going after humans.

Why does it seem like there are so many shark attacks in the Bahamas?

Some experts say that because the Bahamas has a large tourist population, with lots of people in the water at a given time, and lots of visitors who view the sharks from fishing boats, or often dive with them, the sharks adjust and become less cautious with humans than they once were.

Between 30 to 40 shark species live around the Bahamas, although the Caribbean reef shark, the bull shark, the tiger shark and the black tip shark have the highest bite frequency, Naylor said.

“Usually, it’s an accidental bite. They think it’s something else,” he said. “Once in a while, they’ll actually single out people, and it’s very intentional.”

During the incident involving Erickson Van Wart, it is not known how many people were in the water at that given time and whether or not the shark mistook the paddle board for something else.

How often do sharks attack?

Only 5 to 6 incidents are reported each year with most attacks happening in Australia. In 2022, fifty-seven (57) cases were reported, with the majority in the USA.

The Bahamas ranks 9th worldwide, in shark attacks, marking the highest rate in the Caribbean.

Featured Photo credit: Reuters/Dante Carrer