A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide. Despite their rarity, many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the

Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 The Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks along the coast of New Jersey, in the United States, between July 1 and 12, 1916, in which four people were killed and one injured. The incidents occurred during a deadly summer ...

, and horror fiction and films such as the '' Jaws'' series. Out of more than 489 shark species, only three of them are responsible for a double-digit number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: the

great white Great White is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records '' Once Bitten'' (1987) and '' ...Twice Shy'' (1989), and those albums ...

, tiger, and

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species '' Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, incl ...

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Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark
/ref> The oceanic whitetip has probably killed many more castaways, but these are not recorded in the statistics.

Terminology

While the term "shark attack" is in common use for instances of humans being wounded by sharks, it has been suggested that this is based largely on the assumption that large predatory sharks (such as great white, bull, and tiger sharks) only seek out humans as prey. A 2013 review recommends instances where a shark clearly predates on a human should the bite incident be termed an "attack," implying predation. Otherwise, it is more accurate to class bite incidents as "fatal bite incidents". Sightings do include physical interaction, encounters including physical interaction with harm, shark bites include major shark bite incidents, including those that require medical attention, and fatal shark bite incidents result in death. The study suggests that only in a case where an expert validates the predatory intent of a shark would it be appropriate to term a bite incident an attack.

Statistics

According to the