The people of Korcula were surprised to see a two-metre shark swimming off the shores of Kneze on Korcula. The viviparous animal was photographed and, despite belonging to a species popularly feared around the world, there is no reason to be scared, as marine biologists made sure to point out. It was a blue shark, and they very rarely attack humans, reported likemetkovic.hr.
It may be easier for people to deal with sharks if they know that the probability of being attacked by them is one in 11 million.
The blue shark in Korcula fidgeted and wagged his tail as it approached the shore. Despite this not being a frequent occurrence, blue sharks have reached the shores before and, unfortunately, many people still fear an attack or hostility from them.
Photos: Franka Oreb (video screenshots from Twitter)
”They rarely come to the shoreline, but there are a few reasons for them to swim into the shallows. One is to feed, the other to get clean from parasites. Also, it should be borne in mind that this is the time when they reproduce and get closer to the coast,” Petar Kruzic, a marine biologist, told RTL.
Shark fins were also seen circling around on Vis last April. And while a blue shark attracted by the blood of a fish can accidentally attack, it remains very unlikely.
Kruzic explained that the modrulj (blue shark in Croatia) belongs to the more dangerous species, and it very rarely attacks humans. They are dangerous when there are more of them, in a school of about five or six individuals.
“Like this, one or two of them will usually swim quickly from a human”, he adds. So there is no reason to fear the blue shark in Korcula, or any other.
About 50 species of sharks are present in the Adriatic sea, and blue sharks usually feed on plankton, fish, seabirds, and crabs.For more, follow our lifestyle section.
