Shark attacks plague Florida's beaches, panic grips residents
5 July 2024 11:58
Summer in the United States means celebrating Independence Day and, above all, enjoying the beaches. However, not everything is as idyllic as it seems in beach films. In Florida, sharks are attacking people who enter the water. The footage is truly alarming.
People in the Baltic Sea complain about dirty sea water and cyanobacterial blooms. In contrast, residents and visitors in the United States face a far more serious issue: sharks have turned beachgoers into drive-thru restaurants in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean—only instead of driving cars, sharks swim up and attack unsuspecting individuals in the water.
Sharks attack in the Gulf of Mexico
As many as four shark attacks occurred on Independence Day, 4 July 2024, on the beach at South Padre Island, practically on the border of the USA and Mexico. Authorities are unsure whether the attacks were perpetrated by one or multiple sharks or which shark species was involved.
Experts assure us that shark attacks are not due to the sharks' aggression but rather a mistake in their search for food. These fish, which have a terrible reputation partly due to the "Jaws" film series, probably believed they were attacking other marine organisms rather than humans.
Woman loses calf in shark attack
Footage from the beach at South Padre Island shows the moment when people pull an attacked woman from the water. The water around her is brownish, but initially, the source of the bleeding is not visible. After a moment, everything becomes clear: the woman bends her leg at the knee, revealing a massive wound with a characteristic bite mark. Her calf is practically non-existent — the shark left shreds of skin and muscle, but most of it was bitten off. The injured woman was taken to the hospital, where the medical staff tried to save her leg. The victim faces months of rehabilitation before she can walk again.
The aggressive shark swam back into the open ocean. The fish was chased away by helicopters and coastguard boats. Authorities assure that they do not intend to take action to find and kill the shark.
