what to do if a shark bumps you

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Sharks rarely attack, but when they practise, astringent and sometimes fatal injuries commonly result. Scientists do not believe sharks set on humans to consume us; rather, they bite into our flesh because they are curious to find out what kind of animal nosotros are; kind of like how dogs similar to sniff new friends, simply a lot more deadly. Staying out of shark habitats is the surest way to avoid getting hurt. If you have accidentally wandered into shark-infested waters, however, you need to have a plan in place.

1. one

   Practice not take your eyes off the shark. ^[1] Sharks have several different attack methods. Sometimes they swim right up and charge, sometimes they circle for a while earlier lunging, and sometimes they sneak up from backside for a surprise assault. To be able to defend against the shark, you must know where it is, so make every effort to watch the animal, fifty-fifty as you lot are working out your escape.^[two]

2. ii

   Stay at-home and do not brand sudden movements. When you first spot the shark, chances are information technology will swim away without bothering you. Yous cannot out-swim a shark, so trying to sprint to rubber may not be your all-time option, unless you are already very close to shore. It is important to keep your wits about you, and so you can continuously appraise the situation and figure out how to get to safety.^[3]

   • Move slowly toward the shore or a boat; choose whichever is closest. Do not thrash your arms or kick or splash while you swim.
   • Do not block the shark's path. If you are continuing between the shark and the open ocean, move away.^[4]
   • Exercise not turn your back on the shark as you lot movement. Remember, it is important to keep the shark in view.^[5]

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3. 3

   Get into a defensive position. If you cannot get out of the water right away, try to reduce the shark'southward possible angles of attack. If yous are in shallow enough water, go along your feet on the ground. Slowly support confronting a reef, piling, or rock outcropping or whatever solid obstruction so that the shark cannot circle around behind y'all. This way you only have to defend attacks in front end of you.

   • If yous are diving near the shore, you may demand to descend to find cover. Expect for a reef or stone on the bottom of the ocean.
   • In open water, get back-to-dorsum with some other swimmer or diver so that you can encounter, and defend against, an attack from whatsoever direction.

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1. i

   Hitting the shark in the face and gills.Your best bet, if attacked, is to brand the shark see you lot as a strong, credible threat. Usually, a difficult blow to the shark's gills, eyes or snout (cease of its nose) will crusade information technology to retreat.^[6] These are really the only vulnerable areas on a shark.

   • If you have a spear gun or pole, use it! A abrupt object is a adept manner to inflict plenty hurting to scare away the shark. Aim for the head, specifically the eyes or the gills.^[7]
   • If yous practice non have a weapon, improvise. Use any inanimate object, such every bit a camera or a rock to ward off the shark.
   • If you lot accept cypher effectually y'all, use your own body. Aim for the shark'southward eyes, gills, or snout. Fight with your fists, elbows, knees, and anxiety.^[8]
   • Sharks have surprisingly rough and sharp skin, different the smooth scales of other fish, then exist aware of this.

2. 2

   Continue fighting if the shark persists. Hitting the eyes and gills repeatedly with hard, sharp jabs. Do not wind upwardly earlier hitting, since this does not provide extra force underwater. You tin also claw at the eyes and the gills. Go along doing this until the shark lets you go and swims abroad.^[nine]

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1. 1

   Become out of the water. ^[10] Even if the shark swims away, yous are non truly safe until you are out of the h2o. Sharks may exit temporarily and and then come up back to go on the assault. Get back to shore or back on the boat as quickly as possible.

   • If a boat is nearby, phone call out calmly, but loudly, for them to come to y'all. Stay every bit still as possible while waiting, as long equally the shark is non actively attacking you; and get into the boat as quickly equally possible, once the boat reaches you.
   • If yous are near shore, swim quickly, but smoothly. Thrashing will attract the shark's attention again and disperse your claret, which could describe more sharks. Do the smooth reverse breast stroke, which requires less splashing than other strokes.

2. 2

   Go medical attention. If you lot have been bitten, go treatment as before long as possible. Massive blood loss could occur, depending on where yous take been bitten, so immediately have appropriate steps to stop the haemorrhage. Even if your wounds announced small, it is essential to become yourself checked out. Remain at-home until y'all become medical care, and so that your claret does not pump faster through your torso.

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Add New Question

• Question

  How would it aid to stay nonetheless? If the shark thinks I am dead, it will attack anyway, won't it?

  

  Information technology is erratic movement, such equally swimming, that is a bad idea. Floating every bit if you lot were dead in the water is non a good idea either - the shark may still exercise a "trial seize with teeth" to determine whether or non you're food. The all-time matter to do is stay calm and hover in the h2o. Pond will alert the shark because they have a sensor along their torso that detects panicked movement. If you stay calm, the shark may be uninterested.

• Question

  What if I scream at the shark? Will it do annihilation?

  

  Screaming at the shark will take absolutely no result, except perhaps annoying and angering the shark.

• Question

  What practice you do if the shark's oral cavity opens when you are planning to strike the eyes or gills?

  

  If the shark manages to take hold of your arm as y'all intend to strike, use your other mitt to punch the other side. Generally, most sharks' reaction times aren't so fast they can encounter you swinging and open their mouths first, but if they're already coming at you with an open mouth and you can't avert them, try aiming with the other hand.

• Question

  Practise you get dorsum in the h2o if you're not attacked, after a shark attack has happened?

  

  After a shark assault, and then it'due south not safe, as there is probable a decent food source that attracted that shark, and probably more than sharks, to the expanse. Which ways the sharks are still there. So no, until the relevant government declare that it is safe, y'all do not become back in the water, fifty-fifty if you weren't attacked.

• Question

  Why don't nosotros just get rid of all sharks so that nosotros don't accept to worry about attacks?

  

  For one matter, sharks are the apex predators of the oceans - they help keep other marine life in healthy balance and regulate the oceans. Additionally, information technology would be cruel to eliminate a whole species simply considering they're inconvenient for us. Sharks live in water because it's the but way they tin can alive; humans simply become in there for fun. Nosotros are the ones invading their territory - doing that to any species, or even beau humans, is always risky.

• Question

  What is their greatest weak betoken: eyes, nose, or gills? I like to have a atypical focus when defending myself from apex predators.

  

  Though nose and gills are sensitive, they are nearly protective of their eyes.

• Question

  What happens if I lose sight of the shark?

  

  Outset pond to safety while keeping an centre out around you lot for the shark. Every bit the article says, sometimes sharks will swim away for awhile, only they will come dorsum, so you tin apply that time to try and go to a safe area on country or a gunkhole.

• Question

  Should you lot await into the shark's eyes?

  

  The shark won't discover the difference. Middle contact is neither ambitious nor non-aggressive in sharks. In other words: they won't care less. Trunk linguistic communication is more important to a shark.

• Question

  Tin can a shark strike a specific target more than once?

  

  Absolutely. In fact, this is the normal way they consume. Swim in, take a bite while thrashing its head side to side, and swim off to consume. Swim around and repeat.

• Question

  At what fourth dimension of the 24-hour interval are sharks more probable to appear?

  

  Sharks tend to come up out during dawn and dusk, so avoid pond early in the morn (5-6 AM) or tardily at night to avert sharks.

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• Exist aware of your surroundings. Sharks usually hunt at drop-offs or near banks. If you see fish continuously jumping out of the water, it probably ways in that location is a predator around, which may be a shark.

• Avoid splashing, kick, or thrashing nearly in panic, as this may encourage the shark to assault.

• Do non go swimming at dawn, dusk or at night because these are the times when sharks feed.

• Do not exist too scared of sharks. Normally, they are non trying to hurt y'all. If there is a shark swimming calmly nearby, exercise non effort to attack; more often than not, they hateful yous no impairment.

• If you are bleeding, avoid going in the water.

• Exercise not give up. Equally long as you lot proceed fighting, there is a adept chance the shark will eventually give up and search for easier prey.

• Stay out of shark infested waters. If there was a shark attack a week ago or a day ago, practise not go into the water, until the lifeguard tells yous that it is okay to do so.

• Do not wear bright jewelry or watches. Information technology attracts sharks. Instead, choose nighttime, apparently colors.

• Exercise not cut off a shark's path to the ocean. It will feel threatened and may go on the offence.

• Endeavour to wear dark dress if you are going under h2o.

• Do non swim lone, no matter what the time is. Sharks yet chase during the day.

• Always be aware of the shark. Practice not play dead every bit an ambitious shark volition go for y'all.

• Even if information technology is unlikely it will occur, you should e'er be alarm in instance it happens.

• To divers, if you are getting followed by a shark, you should have a knife on you or a spike. If the shark is waiting for a time to strike, however, endeavor to expect information technology out. You are safer virtually cover and underwater with proficient sight so you are going up to the surface and losing sight of the beast.

• Never get on acme of a shark. Sharks are flexible and they can turn their caput and hands attack.

• Remember to breathe every bit you fight. Y'all need adequate oxygen to finer defend against an assail in order to brand a quick getaway and retreat to safety.

• Stay calm. Keep calmly pond to shore or to anything about you lot that you could rest on, without being in the water, and so call for help.

• Recall not to make any sudden movements. This will attract the shark, equally it will be able to sense your movement.

• If yous are attacked while in a grouping, form a circle and defend yourselves from the circle. Kicking and dial outwards from the circle.

• Sharks tend to thrash prey around and to tear chunks out of their casualty, so if the person bitten essentially "hugs" the shark (latching onto information technology), they sharply reduce the risk of having big quantities of skin or limbs altogether ripped off of their body. Also, doing this prevents the bitten area from being stuck fifty-fifty more in the shark's oral fissure, as shark teeth are pointed inward to lock in their prey..

• If going for a swim in the ocean, bring others along as you lot are always safer in a group, and bring a diving knife.

• Never play dead around a shark. This will only brand them fault y'all for complimentary prey. They will assail and your chances of survival will be limited.

• If yous have been bitten and if you are bleeding subsequently the bite, try and keep that area out of the water.

• Shark scales are very rough and can cut mankind quite hands. If y'all are free swimming (no wet-suit or gloves) exercise non effort to grab a shark fin or back, (grey areas) these spots can cut yous or rub your skin off, causing you to bleed and most likely triggering a sharks blood lust.

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• Never provoke a shark or intentionally put yourself in a position in which you are probable to be attacked.

• Do non swim away from shark at any state of affairs. The shark moves much faster than you.

• Do not hit the nose of shark, aim to strike the eyes. You tin not just striking the eyes but also its gills. Hitting the nose will cause shark to bite.^[11]

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Article Summary X

If a shark attacks you lot, fight back past hit the shark as hard as you can in the eyes, gills, or on the end of its snout. If you tin can, use a sharp or heavy object to striking the shark, such as a spear, rock, or even a camera, but if not, you lot tin can use your fists, elbows, knees, or anxiety. If the shark retreats, move slowly and calmly towards the nearest prophylactic surface area, but do non brand whatsoever sudden movements and do not turn your back on the shark as you are swimming. To learn more virtually how to go far a defensive position to prepare for the attack, keep reading!

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