To a juvenile white shark, humans swimming and paddling on surfboards bear striking similarities to seals and sea-lions, the results showed. This included cameras that were motionless and travelling, directed at the water surface.Īt the lab, the group relied on substantial shark neuroscience data to apply filters to the video footage, then establishing modelling programs to simulate how a juvenile white shark would interpret the movements and shapes of different objects. The team involved in the study did a comparison of underwater video of rectangular floats, seals and sea lions swimming, humans swimming in different patterns, and humans paddling on surfboards of distinct sizes in a sizable aquarium at Taronga Zoo. The latest study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, was a hands-on experiment developed on years of work by the researchers to understand how sharks see - by investigating the neuroscience of white sharks’ visual systems, Ryan said. The findings have prompted scientists at the Neurobiology Lab to develop non-invasive, vision-based devices as possible protectionary tools for surfers and swimmers from shark bites. Ryan, an avid surfer, stated the study will help scientists gain a better understanding of what provokes certain sharks to bite humans. "Surfers are the highest-risk group for fatal shark bites, especially by juvenile white sharks." “We found that surfers, swimmers and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) on the surface of the ocean will look the same to a white shark looking up from below, because these sharks can’t see fine details or colours,” said lead author Laura Ryan, a postdoctoral researcher in animal sensory systems at Macquarie University’s Neurobiology Lab, in a press release. SEE ALSO: Why more great white sharks are showing up in Atlantic Canada New research from Australia's Macquarie University has indicated that numerous shark bites by great whites could be a case of mistaken identity because of how close surfers, paddle boarders and swimmers on the ocean’s surface resemble seals and sea lions.Īccording to the research, white, bull and tiger sharks account for - by a large margin - the most bites on humans. The long-believed theory of why some sharks bite humans may actually ring true after all.
Scientists may have solved mystery of why some sharks bite humans
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