First Evidence of Individual Sharks Involved in Multiple Predatory Bites on People

ABSTRACT It is widely accepted that populations of terrestrial predators sometimes contain “problem individuals” that repeatedly attack humans, yet this phenomenon has never been demonstrated in sharks. Here, we present photographic and genetic evidence of individuals in populations of tiger Galeoce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation letters Vol. 17; no. 6
Main Authors: Clua, Eric E. G., Meyer, Carl G., Freeman, Mark, Baksay, Sandra, Bidenbach, Hadrien, Haguenauer, Anne, Linnell, John D. C., Séguigne, Clémentine, Surina, Steven, Vely, Michel, Vignaud, Thomas, Planes, Serge
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.11.2024
Wiley
Subjects:
Agonistic behavior
Animal attacks
Animal biology
Animal bites
Carcharhinus longimanus
Case studies
Ecotourism
Fatalities
Foraging behavior
Galeocerdo cuvier
Genetic testing
Hypotheses
Identification
Life Sciences
Marine environment
people
Population genetics
Populations
Predators
Recreation
Sharks
Swimming
Cocos Island
Red Sea
St Kitts & Nevis
ISSN:1755-263X, 1755-263X
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Summary:ABSTRACT It is widely accepted that populations of terrestrial predators sometimes contain “problem individuals” that repeatedly attack humans, yet this phenomenon has never been demonstrated in sharks. Here, we present photographic and genetic evidence of individuals in populations of tiger Galeocerdo cuvier and oceanic whitetip Carcharhinus longimanus sharks that (1) demonstrated atypical behavior compared to the rest of the population, (2) engaged in repeated agonistic behavior directed toward humans, and (3) bit, or attempted to bite humans in probable foraging attempts. These case studies provide some of the first evidence for the existence of “problem individuals” among sharks. The percentage of fatalities due to the same shark individual are not known, so we recommend systematic swabbing of shark bite victims wounds to better understand the importance of this phenomenon and the possibility of identifying these animals. Environmentally conscientious management options for problem individuals range from prohibiting ocean activities (e.g., swimming and surfing) in their habitats to selectively removing the individual, although the latter would be challenging in the marine environment.
Bibliography:The authors received no specific funding for this work. C.G.M.’s involvement was facilitated by the French LABEX CORAIL funding. Involvements of E.E.G.C., C.G.M., S.P., C.S., T.V., and J.D.C.L. were facilitated by the funding of ANR‐21‐CE03‐0004.
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ISSN:1755-263X
1755-263X
DOI:10.1111/conl.13067