Credits: Social Media
Man from Shark capital of the US issues scathing warning�over the toothy predators
A man from the US shark capital has issued a reality check to his fellow Americans after a series of reports came out about a string of shark attacks in Florida.
With the weather finally starting to warm up across the globe, more and more people are heading into the water on vacations, day trips, and swimming excursions. While suncare is usually focused on hot topics like the correct amount of sunscreen to wear, one TikTok user offered a public service announcement on the topic of sharks.
Sharks are predators, in case you didn’t know
Although more people should be afraid of dolphins, films like Jaws and Deep Blue Sea have created a population terrified of sharks. Don’t get us wrong, the enormous toothy predators are terrifying, but you’re more likely to be killed by a flying champagne cork or a bolt of lightning.
TikTok’s Cody Jacob (@imcodyjacob) took to the platform last week with a reality check for some of his fellow Americans. After a flurry of shark attack stories coming out of Florida, he simply couldn’t stay quiet.
“The news, you guys have to chill out,” he told his followers, adding that it shouldn’t be a shock that sharks are in the water. After all, they live there. “When you, meat, jump in the water and [paddle] with your meat sticks. I can’t even walk by this donut box without getting a little bit tempted to bite the box.”
As a resident of Cape Cod, a Peninsula in Massachusetts, Cody felt educated enough to talk on the topic of sharks. Though the reasons for their massively high shark population vary, one of the biggest is due to the flourishing seal population. After it was made illegal to hunt the mammals in 1972, their numbers grew massively.
Now, it’s estimated that around 300 Great White Shark adults are swimming off the coast.
Cody continued to explain that dark water means deep water, and there is no such thing as “empty” water. You just can’t see what’s hiding below.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve had a conversation with people on the beach,” he said. “To say, actually your kids shouldn’t be swimming after the seals and sea lions because A) Not their friends, they will attack them and pull them out deeper into the water, and B)What do you think those seals and sea lions are swimming away from?”
Get out of the water!
Despite the signs on the beach, people will continue to get into the water for as long as it’s wet and the weather is hot. Potentially dangerous situations are not completely avoidable, but some Americans have clearly got their heads screwed on.
“I vacationed on Cape Cod and had a fire on the beach at sunset. I literally WATCHED a harbor seal get eaten by a shark RIGHT OFFSHORE. People need common sense,” one person wrote.
“For Florida here its the sandbars, our attacks are mostly bull sharks as people swim through their territory to try and get onto the sandbars,” another person wrote, while a third added, “I think people get vacation brain and forget the sharks LIVE there. More people need to watch Shark Week.”
Florida took the top spot in shark bites last year, with the Sunshine State seeing 16 in 2023, representing 44% of the total in the US and 23% around the world, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF).
Last month, Volusia County was named the top spot for the highest number of unprovoked shark attacks on record. The county has recorded 351 attacks since 1882, when records began. The state itself has seen 928 since 1837.
