🦈 Why Scientists Are Blaming Influencers For Rise In Shark Attacks

French scientists have attributed the spike in shark attacks to selfie-taking influencers encouraging tourists to pet the toothy predators.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
And Amanda jam Nation. That's an interesting story in the
New York Post. There's been a space of shark attacks
overseas and a big increase in the numbers and horrendous
stories of people being chomped. And you know what they're
putting this down to is influencers taking risks for photographs.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh yeah, they go for a swim with a lamb
chop around their neck so they get the likes.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
What would you think in Australia, we know sharks are dangerous.
Maybe do they not know that overseas because these attacks
have been in places like turks and cowcults. Where's that
cake anyway? That's European rules.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
In the bloody overseas.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Certainly is something happened in Israel a number of shark bites.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Shark attack in Israel. That was that was a little
alarming because you don't usually get sharks around them parts. Well,
this may be a Mediterranean you don't get. You don't
get because I got overfeished.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
And so why is that?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Well that's why the Mediterranean, you know, the weeks detains.
All those guys just went crazy and overfished the.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
And so why sharks coming in there?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (01:07):
That was unusual.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, there was. Well I don't know if there's been
any shark attacks in the Mediterranean. I don't have.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Well, that's that's why I think that's where turks and
k grew. I should be a traveling Asian, I really should.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
You should.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
But they're putting this down to tourists who are being
encouraged as by other influencers to get up close and
personal and all this stuff. Jaws is celebrating its fiftieth
year in cinemas, et cetera, so right, fifty would be,
wouldn't it. So they're saying that many of these sharks
will ignore.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
You, they wreck.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
This is what researchers say. But many of these attacks
were defensive responses from the shark to being poked and
prodded by these influencers looking to get a good shot.
So this is the problem. As I said, a Canadian
tourists lost her hands after being bitten by a six
foot shark she was trying to get a photo with.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
He does that selfie.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
And this is the man who died in Israeli far
of four, who's trying to film sharks in the water.
So five percent of these these recent spate of bites
have been attributed to influencers and been attributed to sharks
acting out in self defense, hence being prodded by influences.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Our influencers could be on the endangered list if.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
They come to Australia. We've got so many things that
can kill them. Imagine if influencers became endangered, what will.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
We do without influences?

Speaker 1 (02:24):
I know, good luck everybody,