Are Sharks that Dangerous?

Are Sharks That Dangerous?

By Paige Shellhammer '21

March 2019

Sharks are made out to be one of the most dangerous predators in the world, but are they really that dangerous? There are about 500 species of sharks, yet only about a dozen of them are actually dangerous towards humans and even that dozen doesn’t prefer humans as prey. Instead of playing dead or punching a shark in the nose, if it is swimming towards you researchers say you should go for the eyes which can surprise them. Shark encounters are very rare, despite the media and all the bad things that are shown in movies. So, is it really sharks we should be fearing, or each other?