shark attacks plague Gulf beaches, ruin summer vacations
Summer in the United States means not only celebrating Independence Day but also enjoying the beaches by the oceans. However, not everything is as idyllic as it appears in beach movies. In Florida, sharks are attacking people who enter the water, and the footage is terrifying.
9:31 AM EDT, July 5, 2024
Poles by the Baltic Sea complain about dirty sea water and cyanobacterial blooms. Meanwhile, residents and visitors of the United States face a much more serious problem: in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, sharks are turning beachgoers into what seems like a drive-thru restaurant — only instead of driving cars, sharks swim up and feast on unsuspecting individuals in the water.
sharks attack in the Gulf of Mexico
As many as four shark attacks occurred on Independence Day, July 4, 2024, on the beach in the city of South Padre Island, which is practically on the border of the USA and Mexico. Currently, authorities do not know whether the attacks were carried out by one or several sharks, or which species the fish belonged to.
Experts assure that shark attacks are not related to aggression but rather to a mistake while searching for food. These fish, which have an exceptionally bad reputation partly due to the "Jaws" film series, likely thought they were attacking other marine organisms, not humans.
woman loses calf in shark attack
Footage from the beach at South Padre Island shows the moment when people pull an attacked woman from the water. The water around her is brownish, but initially, the source of the bleeding is not visible. After a moment, everything becomes clear: the woman bends her leg at the knee, revealing a massive wound with a distinctive bite mark. Her calf is practically non-existent — the shark left shreds of skin and muscle, but most of it was bitten off. The injured woman was taken to the hospital where the medical staff is trying to save her leg. The attack victim faces months of rehabilitation to be able to walk again.
The aggressive shark swam into the open ocean. The fish was chased away by helicopters and coast guard boats. Authorities assure that they do not intend to take action to find and kill the fish.
