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A 40-year-old man has died after being attacked by a species of shark previously thought to be harmless. The tourist was swimming and filming about 100m from the shore in Hadera off the coast of Israel , when he was suddenly surrounded by dusky sharks. Witnesses at the scene said that a shark appeared to lunge at the man's GoPro camera before he was then heard to be shouting: "Help… they're biting me". He then disappeared from sight as the water turned red, with shark fins visible on the surface of the water. Sadly, by the time rescue boats could arrive, the man was gone, local reports stated. "The day after, searches at sea recovered human remains (in very small quantities) that allowed the forensic confirmation of the victim's identity, but also led to the conclusion that he had been devoured by 'several' sharks during this incident," according to a report, published in the journal Ethology. Dusky sharks might seem like imposing predators given that they grow to about 3m (10ft) in length. But they're typically shy and wary of people. Researchers have said that the incredibly rare dusky shark attack is likely down to a combination of factors, including animal instinct during a feeding frenzy, the warm water coming out of the coast's desalination plants, and abundant food waste dumped into the region. In addition, humans have taken to feeding the dusky sharks in the area, which has served to attract bigger numbers. And local boat operators catering to tourists will throw fish scraps in these waters to keep the sharks in their vicinity for customers. It has led the sharks to associate humans with food, and resulted in a new behavioural pattern called "begging", scientists explain. A number of sharks have been seen swimming straight toward divers, sometimes even brushing against them, looking for meal handouts. Scientists theorise that the competitive food environment created in the sea off Israel's Hadera has led to the dusky sharks exhibiting a frenzy behaviour at the time of feeding. "The competition for access to the food resource overrides the species' usual behaviour, including the intrinsic non-instinctive nature of the (human) prey," the report states. "The situation likely occurred via a process of juxtaposition bites, with two distinct motivations: the first, a (probably single) reflex/clumsiness bite driven by food begging, and the second, several predatory bites triggered by a feeding frenzy. The scientists have also said it's important to take action to prevent dusky shark fatalities in the future. "The central objective is to eliminate the begging behaviour in sharks, and this can only be achieved by establishing and enforcing a complete and total ban on all artificial feeding of sharks by the public. "Any other measure could be complementary, but undeniably less relevant than this approach," they concluded.
