This whole shark attack thing going on in Egypt has caught the world's attention, and will surely, as usual, mean bad news for sharks at the hands of hunters.
But, to be fair, the ones locally that have killed a German woman after mauling four Russians in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, well, they are a problem that needs to be dealt with. And did you notice we said "ones", rather than "one"? That's right, a US investigator has declared that more than one shark is behind the spate of attacks, and more than that, the second attacker is a different species.
In an interview with the BBC, marine biologist George Burgess said that photographic evidence proves that this is not the work of one "deranged" shark, but that environmental effects had caused more than one species to attack, in what he called "rational attempts by a predator to find food". The first shark – a White Tip – is still at large, while the authorities have caught a Mako (species pictured) that they say attacked at least one of the Russians.
One possible cause was the dumping of animal carcasses in the water by a cargo ship last month, which attracted sharks to the area.
In the meantime, if you are visiting and won't consider staying out of the water, you're advised to swim in groups inside the reef, and to NOT go in at night.
