Its large size, proclivity for freshwater, abundance and proximity to human populations, particularly in the tropics, makes it more of a potential threat than is either the White shark or the Tiger shark
A mural on a bridge in the Matawan Creek area of New Jersey, where 3 of the 5 Jersey Shore Attacks took place. Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 It was on February 14 that Vikas Suresh Gowari, a 34-year-old fisherman from the village of Manor-Dongripada in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, was attacked by a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) in the Vaitarna river. It is an attack that may have surprised many. But to those who know these animals, the attack is not at all out of the ordinary.
The Vaitarna river originates in the Trimbakeshwar Hills of Nashik. In fact, its origin is hardly 2 kilometres away from the Godavari, India’s second-longest river.
However, while the Godavari turns southeast towards the Bay of Bengal, the Vaitarna turns southwest. After flowing through Nashik and Palghar, it flows into the Arabian Sea near Mumbai.
According to media reports, the shark that attacked Gowari was a 7-foot long female, pregnant with 15 pups. The reports have quoted experts as saying that the fish may have swum upriver to give birth.
That may be true, for bull sharks are unique in the shark world in that they can live in three types of water: fresh water of rivers and lakes, the saline water of the oceans and the brackish water of estuaries, where rivers meet the sea.
“Bull sharks occur in tropical to subtropical coastal waters, worldwide. They also occur in a number of river systems and some freshwater lakes,” the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, United States, states on its website.
Bulls have a habit of turning up in the most unusual places.
“They have been reported 3,700 km (2220 mi) up the Amazon River in Peru, and over 3,000 km (1800 mi) up the Mississippi River, in Illinois. A population in Lake Nicaragua (Central America) was once thought to be landlocked, but it was subsequently determined that they gain access to the ocean through a system of rivers and estuaries,” the Florida Museum article on the bull shark adds.
This is something that makes them dangerous to humans.
The bull shark name derives from its stout appearance and reputation for aggressive behavior, according to the article.
“Its large size, proclivity for freshwater, abundance and proximity to human populations, particularly in the tropics, makes it more of a potential threat than is either the White shark or the Tiger shark,” the article notes further.
Since the bull shark occurs in several underdeveloped regions of the world including Central America, Mexico, India, East and West Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific, bites often go unreported, it says.
One of the most famous shark attacks in history, which is now known to pop culture is the Jersey Shore Attacks.
Between July 1 and 12, 1916, a series of five attacks took place at three locations on the coast of the US state of New Jersey — Beach Haven, Spring Lake and Matawan Creek.
“A 7.5 foot (2.25 m) white shark was captured two days after the last attack, 4 miles (6.4 km) from the mouth of Matawan Creek, and allegedly contained human remains in its stomach. A 9 foot (2.7 m) bull shark was also captured a day later only 10 miles (16 km) from Matawan. This has been a topic of controversy for many years, and there is evidence that points to the involvement of both the bull shark and the white shark. It has not yet been conclusively resolved,” the article observes.
The Jersey Shore Attacks influenced Peter Benchley to write Jaws which was eventually published in February 1974 (This year marks 50 years of its publication). The novel was made into a movie the next year by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and the rest is history.
The bull shark is also responsible for attacks on Allied soldiers during World War II in the Karun river at Ahwaz, Iran. The river flows into the Shatt Al Arab (Or Arvand Rud) waterway formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Allied soldiers also recorded sightings of bull sharks in the Shatt Al Arab at the Iraqi city of Basra.
“…bull sharks are historically responsible for at least 100 unprovoked attacks on humans around the world, 27 of which have been fatal. However, it is likely that this species may responsible for many more. It is considered by many to be the most dangerous shark in the world. The Bull shark is also not as readily identified as is the white shark or the tiger shark, and so may be responsible for a large fraction of the of the attacks that go unassigned to species,” according to the Florida Museum.
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