Be excited by the find on Thursday of a 16-foot great white shark about five miles off Mallorca’s southern coast.
For a start, it has been a long time since a great white was found in this area of the Mediterranean Sea. My marine biologist brother, Andy Rogan explained that white shark “population levels have crashed over the past few decades, so if this sighting represents this species beginning to re-colonize its former territory it is very exciting.”
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But what’s also exciting is the fact that white sharks are apex predators which require considerable food supplies. That this shark obviously has enough food to eat would seem to suggest an improvement to the western Mediterranean bio-habitat. That’s good news not simply for Europe and North Africa, but for wildlife in Earth’s struggling oceans per se.
What of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flock to Mallorca each year? Do they need to fear the presence of the shark which starred in the movie series, “Jaws”?
No. Research has shown that great whites are unlikely to attack humans in their proximity. Were the opposite true, we would see weekly great white attacks on surfers off the coast of California. We’re just a poor food source (insufficient fat) for such large animals. In addition, great whites lack the testosterone-induced aggression of other man-eaters like the bull shark. So as long as you are not an idiot, you should be safe from great whites, at least.
