It is well known that when you enter the ocean, you run the risk of encountering a shark and other wildlife. Granted that risk is relatively small, but there is always the chance. After all, you are entering their home. However, certain factors increase or decrease the likelihood that you will encounter one of these apex predators. Similar to humans, sharks seem to be particular about locations - favoring some more than others. Here are the world's top shark attack hotspots that you should know about.
The World's Top Shark Attack Hotspots That You Should Know About
Image via Shutterstock
The NY Post shares that the survey was conducted by the forecasting site Tideschart. If you live in America, you may not like the results that the survey yielded. The data proved that the good old United States "leads the world when it comes to shark attacks." Surprisingly, it had "nearly twice as many as runner-up Australia."
Additionally, the U.S. had "over four times as many as third-place holder South Africa," a known shark attack hotspot. These three countries combined "accounted for more than half of all recorded shark attacks in history." However, don't be fully disheartened yet, as I said before, not all places are shark-favorites. Therefore, the entire United States is not a top shark attack hotspot, even if it is filled with them.
In the U.S., the preferred state for the sharks is Florida. In Australia, the sharks seem to prefer New South Wales. Over in South Africa, you can find the most attacks in KwaZulu-Natal. What do all of these places have in common? Founder of Tideschart, Tyan Blundell, has the answer. "Each has warm, productive waters, consistent surf, and lots of people in the ocean," he shared. "That combination naturally leads to more encounters."
The Details:
In case you are a numbers person, here are some of the details surrounding the top shark attack hotspots across the globe. The U.S. had an astounding "2,473 recorded attacks since 1624." Of those attacks, 1,151 happened in Florida. The remaining happened in Hawaii (328) and California (316).
Runner-up Australia had 1,453 recorded attacks, with New South Wales taking all of those close encounters. Finally, and a bit surprisingly, South Africa came in third. Although this is basically ground zero for great whites, South Africa only had 593 attacks. The Post shared that "over a third of these attacks occurred in the nation's KwaZulu-Natal province."
