How to survive a shark attack?

Study reveals what contributed to the megalodon’s extinction 0:41 (CNN) — There are a number of steps you can take to increase your chances of surviving a shark attack (which remains highly unlikely), according to Richard Peirce, an expert in sharks and former president of the charity Shark Trust in the United Kingdom. Before you get in the water… 1. River mouths might not be the best place to swim Peirce recommends avoiding estuaries, particularly where there are bull sharks which, along with whites and tiger sharks, are the most likely to swim. attack humans. “A lot of attacks are at the mouth of rivers, where there’s sediment and other suspended material in the river — people washing their clothes, people bathing,” says Peirce, who has spent a lot of time in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, where several attacks have been recorded. 2. Avoid the fishing boats Before jumping into the sea, take a look over the horizon. What do you see? If you see fishing boats, Peirce says, “Forget it.” “If fishermen are catching fish or fighting them in the water, that’s one of the main factors that attracts sharks,” he says. “When you hook a fish and before it’s even landed on the boat, the whole time it’s struggling in the water and it’s probably giving off fluids, leaking blood and acids… all signs that attract a shark.” The size of the catch doesn’t matter. “Whether they’re commercial fishermen or recreational fishermen, they’re frequently dumping material into the sea, whether it’s fish they don’t want or the entrails of fish they’re going to take. So they’re throwing bait into the water and that attracts sharks.” 3. Misidentification Swimming early in the morning or late at night can be beautiful, but those are the times when a shark attack is most likely. “A lot of shark attacks are cases of mistaken identity,” says Peirce. “Due to the decreased visibility and identification capacity of the shark.” 4. Blood and urine Sharks have an extraordinary sense of smell and can detect a drop of blood in several hundred million parts of water, according to Peirce. Blood indicates the presence of something to eat and can attract sharks, says Peirce. “But what’s often overlooked is that urine has exactly the same effect. And if you’re sitting on a surfboard in the water all day, you’re peeing all day through your wetsuit.” Peirce says menstruating women should consider staying on the beach, and people who cut themselves while swimming should get out of the water. If a shark attacks you… 1. Don’t panic A shark is circling you. Okay, it’s not the best thing that’s ever happened to you, but the worst thing you can do right now is panic. “Don’t stir the water: all you’re going to do is excite, incite and stimulate the sharks’ interest,” says Peirce. Human beings, monkeys, dogs and cats all have legs and hands. If we want to explore something we touch it, we feel it, we put it close to our nose. “A shark doesn’t have legs or hands, so if you want to explore something, all you can do is put it in your mouth,” says Peirce. “That’s why exploratory bites that aren’t fatal and sometimes don’t even result in serious injury are common. If you go swimming and splash the water, you’re basically inviting the shark to come in for an exploratory bite, or attack”. 2. Maintain eye contact As the shark swims around you, try to keep your head afloat facing the shark and maintain eye contact. “Sharks are ambush predators,” explains Peirce. “If you’re facing him the whole time while circling, he’s not going to feel as comfortable attacking as if he can sneak up behind you.” 3. Stretch… or curl This is where it gets tricky. If a shark is clearly in attack mode, you have to make yourself look as big as possible in the water, says Peirce: “The bigger he sees you, the more respect he will have for you.” But if the shark seems to be just passing through, Peirce’s advice is to curl up. “If a shark sees you as a competitor for its food source, it will most likely attack you,” he explains. “If I don’t want to be seen by a great white shark as a competitor – and if it’s not showing enormous interest in me – I’d curl up so it’s not interested. 4. Don’t play dead It’s not a bear, it’s a shark “If you’re in the middle of an attack, hit him with everything you’ve got: punch him, kick him, hit him in the hot spots. But be careful where you aim. “There’s a lot of talk about punching a shark in the nose. That’s fine, but remember that just below the nose is the mouth,” says Peirce. close to the mouth.” A gill swipe can achieve the goal: “Gills are very sensitive – giving a shark a gill smack is not a bad idea.” Do you have anything with you? a gun.”If you’re a diver with the camera, shoot him with that, if you have a snorkel take the tube and sting the shark with that,” says Peirce.”I’ve had a lot of sharks get too close to me and I’ve used a ‘billy’, a small metal rod of just under a meter, with which I hit them on the nose. That’s usually enough.” 5. Find a position If you’re a diver and get into trouble, try to get into a position where the shark can’t get behind you, says Peirce. “Keep your back against, say, a coral reef. This way you will be protected from the back and you can keep the shark in sight in front of you and maybe swim to the top of the reef slowly towards the boat.” 6. Back off slowly This goes back to the first point: displace as little water as possible , don’t splash or splash, and slowly swim backwards away from the shark and toward shore.”You should try to keep the animal in sight and very slowly and gently try to swim backwards and into shallow water. Again, you have to be careful as large sharks can attack very shallow.” Doing the above can help to some degree, but Peirce says the chance of escaping a large shark attack unscathed is slim. “If a white shark is in full attack mode, there’s not much you can do,” he says. Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in 2016