Shark attacks sharply decline in Florida and the United States last year
March 1st, 2010Multimedia: Shark attacks sharply decline in Florida and the United States last year
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Despite last month’s fatality off the Florida coast, the number of shark attacks in the United States continued its downward trend by taking a plunge in the latest recorded year, according to a new report from the Florida Museum of Natural History.
There might not be a sea change in the violent encounters because attacks worldwide edged up from 60 in 2008 to 61 in 2009, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum.
“The big story is that the number of attacks in the United States dropped dramatically from 41 in 2008 to 28 in 2009,” he said. “Considering there were 50 attacks in 2007, we may have a bit of a trend, but only time will tell.” (more…)
New forensic technique gives clues about sharks from bite damage
December 1st, 2009GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Hit-and-run attacks by sharks can be solved with a new technique that identifies the culprits by the unique chomp they put on their victims, according to a University of Florida researcher and shark expert.
In a method analogous to analyzing human fingerprints, scientists can make identifications by precisely comparing shark bites to the jaws and teeth of the powerful predators, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, which is housed at UF’s Florida Museum of Natural History.
“Every time we investigate a shark attack one of the pieces of information that we want to have is what species was involved and what size it was,” he said. “Because I’ve been looking at shark attack victims for 30 years I can estimate what did the damage, but I have never been able to actually prove it.” (more…)
Florida Museum shark exhibit that began in High Springs traveling far and wide
November 2nd, 2009Photos available
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — From its humble beginnings at Archie’s Welding Services in High Springs, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s “Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Lived,” exhibit has traveled many miles since its debut in June 2007.
After its display at the Florida Museum in Gainesville, the exhibit made a trans-pacific journey to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu where it was well received by more than 50,000 visitors from Oct. 11, 2008, to Jan. 11. The Miami Science Museum displayed the exhibit from Feb. 21 through Sept. 13 to an audience of more than 60,000.
“I would venture to say that the full-scale model is one of the most favorite parts—it’s definitely mine,” said Adriana Marin, Miami Science Museum marketing manager. “It’s really impressive because you can see it in comparison with your own size.” (more…)
Preserved shark fossil adds evidence to great white’s origins
March 12th, 2009GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new Florida Museum of Natural History study could help resolve a long-standing debate in shark paleontology: From which line of species did the modern great white shark evolve?
For the last 150 years, some paleontologists have concluded the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, is a smaller relative of the line that produced Carcharodon megalodon, the largest carnivorous fish known. Other paleontologists disagree, arguing the great white shark evolved instead from the broad-toothed mako shark. The second group contends megalodon, which grew to a length of 60 feet, should have its genus name switched to Carcharocles to reflect its different ancestry.
The study in the March 12 issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology falls squarely into the mako camp. It concludes megalodon and modern white sharks are much more distantly related than paleontologists initially believed. (more…)
Shark attacks decline worldwide in midst of economic recession
February 19th, 2009GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The recession may be responsible for a slump of a different sort: an unexpected dive in shark attacks, says a University of Florida researcher.
Shark attacks worldwide in 2008 dipped to their lowest level in five years, a sign that Americans may be forgoing vacation trips to the beach, said George Burgess, ichthyologist and director of the International Shark Attack File, which is housed at UF.
According to the latest statistics released today, the total number of shark attacks declined from 71 in 2007 to 59 in 2008, the fewest since 2003, when there were 57, said Burgess, who works at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus.
“I can’t help but think that contributing to that reduction may have been the reticence of some people to take holidays and go to the beach for economic reasons,” Burgess said. “We noticed similar declines during the recession that followed the events of 2001, despite the fact that human populations continued to rise.” (more…)
Endangered sawfish focus of national collection and recovery efforts
December 1st, 2008Photo available at: http://news.ufl.edu/2008/12/01/sawfish-multimedia/
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida, keeper of the world’s shark attack records, is also now overseeing a national records collection for another toothy marine predator: the sawfish.
Distinguished by a long rostrum or “saw” that makes it a popular curio item and gives it its name, the sawfish has become a historical and cultural icon that is rapidly disappearing, said George Burgess, a UF ichthyologist and curator of both the International Shark Attack File and the newly expanded National Sawfish Encounter Database.
“Postcards from the turn of the 20th century often depicted this so-called monster that inhabited Florida waters, and if one goes back and looks at newspaper accounts from places outside Florida, every time a sawfish was caught it made the papers,” he said. “Today, it’s difficult to find a bar in South Florida that doesn’t have a sawfish ‘saw’ hanging on the wall.” (more…)
Fla. Museum shark expert called to Mexico after third attack in four weeks
May 30th, 2008GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Museum of Natural History shark expert George Burgess was summoned to Mexico Monday by the State of Guerrero after a third shark attack off the Mexican coast in a month. The attacks April 28 and May 23 and 24 killed two surfers, alarming government officials in the resort area.
Burgess is working with scientific colleagues and public officials to determine the potential reasons for the increased frequency of attacks and help calm the fears of locals attempting to catch as many sharks as possible from the beaches to eliminate the threat.
“Setting baited hooks to kill sharks only attracts them into the area and thus is counterproductive,” Burgess said. “We want to let people know what factors influence these events and educate them on what they can do. There is a lot of reaction to these attacks specifically because of their frequency.” (more…)
Human deaths from shark attacks hit 20-year low last year
February 12th, 2008GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Fatal shark attacks worldwide dipped to their lowest levels in two decades in 2007 with the sole casualty involving a swimmer vacationing in the South Pacific, according to the latest statistics from the University of Florida.
Except for 1987, when there were no fatalities, the last year a single human death occurred from a shark attack was in 1985, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File housed at UF’s Florida Museum of Natural History. By comparison, there were four deaths each in 2005 and 2006, and seven in 2004.
“It’s quite spectacular that for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide spending hundreds of millions of hours in the water in activities that are often very provocative to sharks, such as surfing, there is only one incident resulting in a fatality,” he said. “The danger of a shark attack stays in the forefront of our psyches because of it being drilled into our brain for the last 30 years by the popular media, movies, books and television, but in reality the chances of dying from one are infinitesimal.” (more…)
Visiting fossil shark paleontologist to give Megalodon exhibit talks Dec. 26-Jan. 1, 2008
December 21st, 2007GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Museum of Natural History will host a fossil shark paleontologist from London during the holidays to give gallery talks in the “Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Lived” exhibit on display through Jan. 6
Emma-Louise Nicholls, who is pursuing her doctorate in paleontology at the University of London and visiting the Florida Museum to supplement her studies, will lead discussion groups and tours of the Megalodon exhibit at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 26-29; at 2 p.m. Dec. 30; and at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 31 and Jan.1, 2008.
Talks and tours will include information on shark anatomy, diversity, conservation and habitat loss, and Nicholls’ research regarding the role of sharks in the food web during the mid-Cretaceous Period, about 100 million years ago. She also will answer visitors’ questions concerning other aspects of vertebrate paleontology. (more…)
Fla. Museum ‘Mega-Shark’ home school class for ages 7-11 begins Oct. 15
October 5th, 2007GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Museum of Natural History is offering a home school class “Mega-Shark” for ages 7-11 starting Oct. 15. Participants will investigate interdisciplinary principles of paleontology, marine biology and ichthyology in a search for the largest shark that ever lived, the 60-foot-long Megalodon.
Pre-registration for the four-day home school session is required. The cost is $72 for Florida Museum members and $86 for non-members. Classes run from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Oct. 15, 22, 29 and Nov. 5. For more information call (352) 846-2000, ext. 248. (more…)