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DO BULL SHARKS ATTACK HUMANS OFTEN? While humans are not a part of the bull shark’s typical diet, they will not hesitate to attack if they feel that they (or the environment in which they will give birth to their pups) are being threatened. Since

bull sharks swim near coastlines, they do encounter people more often than other types of sharks would encounter people. Bull sharks are most likely to attack humans in turbid waters, as they may become disoriented and mistake humans for an animal that they enjoy eating. Bull sharks have also been known to attack simply out of curiosity. Often, bull sharks will do a test bite when attacking to see if the prey is something they’d be interested in eating. It’s rare that they return for a second bite after taking a taste of humans. According to the International Shark Attack File, bull sharks have been responsible for at least sixty-nine shark attacks around the world, and seventeen of those shark attacks resulted in death. It’s likely that bull sharks are responsible for even more attacks than those reported. Since many shark attacks happen in murky waters, it’s sometimes difficult for attack victims to describe the type of shark that bit them. The bull shark’s tendency to swim in shallow waters, along with its aggressive nature, make it probable that bull sharks are responsible for the vast majority of shark attacks that happen along coastlines. The only way to truly tell whether a bite came from a great white shark or a bull shark is to examine the bite marks. Bull sharks and great whites have similar but slightly different teeth, and the shape of the bite often makes it possible to figure out which shark was responsible for the attack. SIDEBAR

Bull sharks will wait at the river mouth for fish to swim out to sea.

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