Is nature fighting back? Experts warn shark and gator attacks will increase

By William On Jul 9, 2023

A spate of alligator and shark attacks in the US has prompted warnings that humans are putting themselves at risk by encroaching on the predators’ territory.

Last week, as America celebrated the 4th of July weekend, a New York beach was whipped into a frenzy when a 15-year-old was attacked by a shark.

The attack took place on the same part of the Long Island coast where six shark attacks occurred over the course of just three weeks last year.

The latest incident, which the teenage girl survived, happened on the same day as a near-miss at Navarre Beach near Pensacola, Florida — complete with footage of a shark fin circling ominously in azure waters as frightened eyewitnesses yelled at people to get out of the water. .’

But sharks aren’t the only predator terrifying Americans as they go about their business.

Florida beachgoers were seen running out of the ocean shouting “get out of the water” as a huge shark stalked the shallows in the run-up to Independence Day

A spate of blood-curdling gator attacks — some of them deadly — has also made headlines in recent months, and experts warn more are sure to follow.

Gator attacks in Florida have increased 66 percent in recent years, from six per year between 1971 and 1986 to ten per year between 1987 and 2017.

One of the recent victims is Gabriel Klimis, 13, who was mauled by an alligator in Orlando last month.

And on Tuesday, a 69-year-old woman was run over by a 10-foot-long alligator on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, while walking her dog.

The woman, whose name is unknown, was found mutilated next to the alligator guarding its prey.

Last August, 88-year-old Nancy Ann Jackson Becker was killed by an alligator in the same area after she slipped in a pond while gardening.

And in February of this year, Gloria Serge, 85, was grabbed and killed by an alligator while walking her dog in Fort Pierce, Florida. Horrifying images show how the beast rushes out of the water at high speed to kill its victim.

Gloria Serge, 85, was walking her dog along the lake in the Hispanic Lakes Fairways community in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Monday when an alligator attacked and dragged her into the water

Serge (pictured) was a grandmother living in the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community in Fort Pierce, Florida, when she was killed by an alligator on Monday

And while crocodiles and sharks make headlines, experts say the animal most likely to injure or kill you is a bear, despite their sometimes cuddly reputation.

They have warned that more attacks are likely to follow as humans continue to encroach on the animals’ natural habitats.

Last month, 66-year-old Arizona resident Steven Jackson was run over by a bear while drinking his coffee in a wooded area of Groom Creek, Yavapai County, while building a cabin.

The danger posed by bears is evident in a recent study published in PLoS Biology, which tracked and analyzed animal attack statistics over a 70-year period.

It found that from 1950 to 2019, not only did attacks increase over time, but poorer residents in low-income regions were more likely to be ambushed.

The study, which tracked 5,440 incidents, concluded that while different species and habitats made a difference, “factors driving large carnivore attacks on humans depend largely on socioeconomic context.”

This includes a striking statistic that found 48 percent of victims in wealthier countries were attacked during recreational activities, such as hiking and fishing.

In comparison, 89 percent of poorer victims were targeted during their daily lives, such as farming.

Vincenzo Penteriani, an ecologist who contributed to the study, pointed to rising populations and the inevitable expansion of cities into natural habitats as one of the driving factors behind the increase in attacks.

“If you combine the reduction in natural habitat with the expansion and spread of human settlements, it’s almost normal for the encounters between large carnivores and humans to become more frequent,” Penteriani said. NBC news.

“It’s just a matter of probability.”

In the case of bears, scenic forestry projects have brought residents of those areas into the animals’ natural habitat.

Despite warnings, many will fail to properly seal their bins – and some people will even leave out food for wild animals, including the bears themselves.

This behavior will return bears to what the animals know is an easy food source, and endangers the safety of anyone who eventually crosses their path.

Last year there were six shark attacks in New York in just six weeks – last week a 15-year-old was targeted again

While attacks from sharks and alligators capture the public’s imagination, experts say bears are the predator most likely to attack and kill humans

It’s a similar story with alligators. While the reptilian predators don’t have the same cutesy cachet as bears, violent attacks on humans stem from humans encroaching on spaces that have long been the creatures’ natural habitat.

Shark attacks especially capture the public’s imagination — probably thanks to the 1975 Steven Spielberg thriller Jaws. But conservationists are at pains to point out that the creatures generally want to avoid human contact, and any attacks likely result of a shark mistaking a human for one of its other prey sources, such as a seal.

In Hilton Head Island — the South Carolina enclave where a 69-year-old was killed by an alligator this week — the warm weather and humidity that attracts people to live there is what has long made the island an alligator hot spot. .

Hilton Head’s human population exploded by 88 percent between 1990 and 2010, and has continued to rise since then, putting human residents on a collision course with long-standing animal residents.

Gabriel Klimis (pictured right), 13, was playing with friends at Howell Creek near Orlando earlier this year when he was attacked by the alligator, pictured here

The bloodied remains of the alligator are depicted as it was hunted down and killed

Magnolia Woodhead suffered more than 100 stab wounds to her leg when she was bitten by a shark last month (pictured)

Magnolia Woodhead (pictured right) was nearly killed by an alligator attack off the Florida coast last month

Florida has seen a similar explosion in its human population, which means an inevitable increase in interactions between humans and its iconic alligators.

Last month, a 12-year-old girl was nearly killed when she was attacked by a shark off Cocoa Beach, near Orlando.

Magnolia Woodhead was left with over 100 stab wounds to her leg, but miraculously survived.

The crisis in the Sunshine State also extends to gator attacks, which have increased from about six a year from 1971 to 1986 to nearly 10 a year from 1987 to 2017, according to Fish and Wildlife data.

Experts said the spike is due to the state’s drive in recent decades to boost construction developments and population.

Frank Robb, an alligator researcher, told Fox35, “The more Florida expands, the more people we get into Florida, the more people we keep locked up here. We build on many areas that surround wetlands and wild areas.

“These kinds of conflicts are becoming more and more common, but it’s not the alligator’s fault. The alligator doesn’t want to do this, and of course people don’t want that kind of interaction,” he added.