Copyright dailyrecord
A man died after being savaged by a species of shark previously considered to be harmless. The holidaymaker was swimming and recording footage roughly 100m from the shoreline in Hadera off Israel's coast, when he was suddenly encircled by dusky sharks . Onlookers at the scene reported a shark seemed to dart towards his GoPro camera before he was then heard screaming: "Help... they're biting me ". He then vanished from view as the water became crimson, with shark fins clearly visible breaking the surface reports the Mirror . Tragically, by the time rescue vessels could reach the area, local reports say the man had disappeared. "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 appear like formidable predators given that they reach approximately 3m (10ft) in length. But they're generally timid and cautious around humans. Experts have suggested that the extraordinarily rare dusky shark assault is likely due to a mixture of factors, including animal instinct during a feeding frenzy, the warm water flowing out of the coast's desalination plants, and plentiful food waste discharged into the region. Humans have also started feeding the dusky sharks in the area, which has led to an increase in their numbers. Local boat operators, catering to tourists, have been throwing fish scraps into these waters to keep the sharks nearby for their customers. This has caused the sharks to associate humans with food, leading to a new behavioural pattern known as "begging", according to scientists. Several sharks have been observed swimming directly towards divers, sometimes even brushing against them, in search of food handouts. Scientists theorise that the competitive food environment created off Israel's Hadera coast has led to the dusky sharks exhibiting a frenzy behaviour during feeding times. "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 also emphasised the importance of taking measures to prevent future dusky shark fatalities." 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.
