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  • Sharks Actually Don't Want To Bite You, But They Will on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#1) Sharks Actually Don't Want To Bite You, But They Will

    Contrary to popular belief, sharks are actually not mindless killing machines. Sharks have particular tastes, and while blood makes them a little nuts, their regular prey is seals, sea lions, fish, and lots of other things aside from humans. The fact is, we don't taste good, and neither do our wetsuits, our surfboards, or our diving gear, so it's very likely that if a shark bites you, it won't go back for seconds. They just give you an initial bite because they're confused. It's even less likely that the shark will actually try to eat you, which is why most deaths from shark attacks happen back on shore or in the hospital. 

  • It'll All Start With A Little Nudge on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#2) It'll All Start With A Little Nudge

    Before a shark bites, it tends to check out what exactly it's biting first. So, if you're on a surf board, you might feel a little bump from their nose. If you're swimming, you might feel something brush up against your legs. In some cases, it feels more like a sudden impact, even if there's no initial bite, sometimes hard enough to knock you off a surfboard. While one nudge might not signify danger, secondary bumps could spell trouble.

  • When You Start Bleeding, They'll Start Sniffing on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#3) When You Start Bleeding, They'll Start Sniffing

    So, if you're not a shark's ideal prey, why are they targeting you exactly? It's a common myth that a shark can smell one drop of blood from miles away, but it is a fact that blood drives these guys nuts. If they're hungry, even a little blood in their near vicinity can attract them, because it indicates that there may be a wounded or dead animal in the water.

  • They Might Just Be Trying To Show You Who's Boss on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#4) They Might Just Be Trying To Show You Who's Boss

    Some scientists believe that sharks will gently bite other animals as a show of dominance, rather than trying to eat them. In other words, the shark perceives you as a threat or as another shark trying to cut in on its turf, and is trying to tell you to get lost. Those kinds of bites aren't even really meant to kill, just to let you know they're there. Unfortunately for us, sharks have giant scary many-toothed mouths, and even a little bite can do some serious damage. 

  • You Won't See It Coming, But Others Probably Will on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#5) You Won't See It Coming, But Others Probably Will

    According to several people who have been bitten by sharks, they never knew there was a shark near them until they were being attacked. One attack victim from 2015, Hunter Treschl, said it happened like this:

    I didn't see it coming. I was just in about waist-deep water, playing with my cousin... and felt this kind of hit on my left leg... like it was a big fish coming near you or something. Then it just kind of hit my arm. That was the first I saw it, when it was biting up my left arm.

    He lost his arm in the attack. However, sharks that can kill tend to be pretty large. This means that those far away from you might see a shape in the water way before you do. 

  • You'll Feel Like You've Been Hit By A Truck on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#6) You'll Feel Like You've Been Hit By A Truck

    A shark that's big enough to probably kill you is going to be moving pretty fast when it bites you. In fact, one thing it will do is throw its body weight at you, both to stun and confuse you and also to sink its teeth in better. One swimmer in South Maui who was bitten by a shark in 2016 talked about the experience to the people trying to help him:

    "He said, 'It felt like a boat hit me. He was really a trooper. He wasn't screaming," reported TJ McGuire, one of the first responders after the attack.

    In other words, prepare to be in pain, confused, and unsure of what just hit you. 

  • You're Going Underwater, Even If You Punch Them in the Nose on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#7) You're Going Underwater, Even If You Punch Them in the Nose

    If a shark bites down and holds on, it's likely that the next they're going to do is drag you beneath the surface of the water. Remember, you're fighting a shark here, so if they decide you're going underwater with them, then there's not much you can do about it. Some say that when this happens, you should just punch the shark in the nose, but that's wildly inaccurate. Seriously, punching something underwater? Not easy. However, if you have the opportunity to try to poke it in the eye, that sometimes will make them let go of you, so that's the expert-recommended course of action. 

  • You May Hear Your Bones Breaking on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#8) You May Hear Your Bones Breaking

    Sharks have really strong jaws. Scientists have estimated that a great white can exert 4,000 pounds per square inch (psi) with a single bite, though it's never been properly tested. Because of that, when a shark bites you, it's going to do two things: try to gnaw a piece off of you, and bite down as hard as it possibly can. One surfer, Kenny Doudt, who was attacked by a shark and barely survived, knows exactly how that feels first-hand: 

    I was not yet fully aware of what was happening. I felt tremendous pressure on my chest and heard ribs snapping and the crunching of the underside on my board as it (the shark) turned out to sea. I felt totally helpless.

    So, imagine feeling your body being crushed and cut at the same time, and imagine feeling too confused and helpless to do anything about it. That's what it's like to be bitten by a shark.

  • Those Who Try to Rescue You Risk Being Attacked Themselves on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#9) Those Who Try to Rescue You Risk Being Attacked Themselves

    So, let's say you're a shark. You've got this seal (or so you think) that you're about to chow down on; you've already mostly disabled it; and you're ready for that well-earned meal. All of a sudden, another seal (or some such creature) steps in and tries to drag your dinner away! What are you to do?

    Well, of course, you're going to attack the thing stealing your kill! That is a serious problem for rescuers in the water during shark attacks. Not only does the shark see your rescuer as another prey animal, but it is also definitely willing to defend its kill. If you're lucky, the shark might just swim between you and your rescuer as a sign to say "back off" rather than simply attacking them.

  • Other Sharks Will Come And Try To Join The Fun on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#10) Other Sharks Will Come And Try To Join The Fun

    Remember how hungry sharks really dig the scent of blood? Well, when you're bitten by a shark, you bleed. A lot. So other hungry sharks in the area are going to get a whiff of your plasma, cells, and platelets as they leave your body, and they are going to be very interested in coming by to check if there are any leftovers. Sharks have no problem chomping down on a severed limb while another shark gets the main kill, so within minutes, you might spot more than one shark in the water around where you're being attacked. 

    In what is known as one of the worst shark attacks in history, the crew of the USS Indianapolis came up against this in the worst possible way. After their ship went down, there were a lot of injured men in the water, and that meant blood everywhere. Hungry sharks in the area smelled this and came out in force. They swarmed groups of survivors waiting for rescue and began to pick off the injured one by one. By the time help arrived, sharks had killed possibly over 100 men. 

  • You Might Lose A Limb on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#11) You Might Lose A Limb

    When a shark bites, they don't just clamp down. They tend to bite and tear, trying to take a chunk of flesh out of you in order to eat. Sometimes, this means you lose a hunk of flesh, but more likely they'll have caught ahold of one of your legs or arms. Given the strength of a shark's jaws, that means that your arm or leg is leaving with the shark, and it'll depart in seconds. 

    A 16 year old who was attacked and maimed by a shark in June 2015 said he didn't see the shark coming until it was actually biting him: ... the shark bit my arm - off. That was the first time I saw it, when it was biting up my left arm," Hunter Treschl told reporters.

    Seconds later, the shark swam away with said arm, and that was that. His life was saved, but in the blink of an eye, he lost a limb to a hungry predator. 

  • Even If The Shark Lets Go, It Might Come Around Again on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#12) Even If The Shark Lets Go, It Might Come Around Again

    Assuming the shark lets you go at all before you die, you might think you have a chance to swim to shore or reach out for help, but the moment the shark releases you, it might be preparing for another attack.

    In 2015, a 10-year-old boy was saved from the water in Florida after he was attacked by a shark. What's particularly noteworthy about this is that the boy had at least two distinct bite marks on his leg. This means that the shark attacked not once, but twice. 

  • Thrashing To Get Away Will Only Make It Worse on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#13) Thrashing To Get Away Will Only Make It Worse

    Your initial instinct in trying to get away from this attack is probably to fight back, swim vigorously, and thrash about to get attention from potential help. Well, that's not always going to help. Fighting back might be your only choice if you're mid-bite, as is swimming away if you're not, but those behaviors signal to the shark, as well as other nearby sharks, that you're injured and panicking.

    Instead, you can try calm movements, nothing sudden or splashy.

  • Your Body Temperature Is Going To Drop on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#14) Your Body Temperature Is Going To Drop

    The good news here is that sharks rarely consume people. In most attacks, several bites are the worst of it, and maybe a missing limb. However, after you're bitten, you're going to be bleeding, and you might go into shock. The open ocean is not an ideal location for this to happen. Seeing as you're in water that's most likely somewhat cold, your body temperature is going to start to drop. Part of that is going to be the blood loss, and many shark attack victims quickly develop hypothermia.

    But sometimes hypothermia can work to your advantage: cold temperatures help your blood clot faster, and when every drop counts, hypothermia can actually save your life.

  • You Might Start Bleeding Out on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#15) You Might Start Bleeding Out

    Most shark attack victims don't die from blunt-force trauma, spinal injury, or drowning. Instead, they die from exsanguination, also known as bleeding to death. And all it takes to do that is a single bite. After you're bitten, especially if you've lost a limb, you're going to have damaged arteries, bones, and maybe even internal organs. Even if you're not missing a limb, many shark bites are several inches deep, and can span massive areas on your body. Because of that, you're going to start bleeding a lot, and fast. You might not feel it because you're in shock, but chances are you'll pretty quickly be feeling woozy. 

  • It Could Take Minutes To Get You To Shore on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#16) It Could Take Minutes To Get You To Shore

    Minutes don't sound like much, but they can feel like a very long time when you're bleeding out in the middle of the ocean. Assuming your rescuers can get to you, assuming more sharks don't come in for the kill, assuming you're not dragged underwater again, and assuming you're still alive when they reach you, many times the people trying to help are just swimmers. This means they have to swim you all the way back to shore. If you're lucky, there might be a boat or a jet-ski in the vicinity, but even then, it might seem like an eternity.

    If you're very lucky, you might be able to swim some of the way yourself, but after you're back on land, it could still take you half an hour or more to even get to the hospital.

  • Even If You Make It To The Hospital, Infection Is Still A Concern on Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark

    (#17) Even If You Make It To The Hospital, Infection Is Still A Concern

    So, let's say you survived the incident. You didn't bleed out, the shark didn't crush you, you didn't drown, and the shock didn't kill you. Well, there's still one more way a shark attack can take your life; a shark bite is a perfect breeding ground for infections.

    In fact, scientists are still working on better antibiotics to keep serious infections from taking down shark attack victims after the fact. 

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About This Tool

In the past 20 years, shark attacks have become more frequent in more areas. A large number of people enjoy the happiness brought by the sea, surfing, diving, and other water sports are becoming increasingly popular, but people ignore the potential threats in the beautiful sea. Although humans are just a simple meal for sharks and they are not interested in hunting humans, their attacks are deadly.

In recent decades, there have been a series of complicated reasons for the increase in unprovoked shark attacks on human beings, except for the increase in the population on the coastline, but also habitat, water quality, and climate, all may cause shark attacks. The random tool explained 17 details about how it is like to be attacked by a shark.

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