If you're being attacked and fighting back, try to avoid the dangerous mouth and go for the gills behind the mouth near the pectoral fins. A good shot to the gills can also do the job: “The gills are very sensitive – giving a shark a whack in the gills isn't a bad idea.” Are you carrying anything with you?
Hit the shark in the face and gills. Your best bet, if attacked, is to make the shark see you as a strong, credible threat. Usually, a hard blow to the shark's gills, eyes or snout (end of its nose) will cause it to retreat. These are really the only vulnerable areas on a shark.
There have been cases where punching a shark has caused it to cease attacking someone, but often the person being attacked has still sustained terrible injuries as a result of the initial attack.
Despite the old saying that aiming for the snout is the best strategy, a shark's most sensitive areas are really its eyes and its gills. Aiming for the nose, which is not known to be a weak spot, is generally considered a bad idea.
If, by any chance, you do encounter a shark, remain calm and avoid panicking. Show the shark that you're not docile and can defend yourself. Remember to target the shark's eyes, nose, or gills if attacked, and seek immediate medical attention for any injuries. Having a weapon like a knife can also be helpful.
It didn't hurt at all. I often say to people, “It doesn't hurt to get eaten by a shark.” There's no pain, initially, because their teeth are so sharp that you don't feel the bite. It was like if someone puts their hand around your wrist and gives your arm a shake.
Popping a shark on the tip of its nose should make it retreat, at least temporarily. “An aggressive shark often will return, however, and each subsequent hit to the snout will be less effective,” warns the Florida Museum of Natural History.
What does a shark attack feel like? While each survivor describes the experience differently, a common description from shark attack survivors is the attack feels similar to being punched or bumped. Some survivors have even recounted no pain at all!
Screaming will not deter the shark much and may provoke it further.
Most sharks are not dangerous to humans — people are not part of their natural diet. Despite their scary reputation, sharks rarely ever attack humans and would much rather feed on fish and marine mammals.
Sharks and dolphins are two of the most formidable creatures in the ocean, but while sharks are often seen as fearsome predators, they are known to be intimidated by dolphins.
Human Encounters. Because of these characteristics, many experts consider bull sharks to be the most dangerous sharks in the world. Historically, they are joined by their more famous cousins, great whites and tiger sharks, as the three species most likely to attack humans.
It is prejudice. Sharks do not circle in the water before they attack, it is simply their way of trying to form an image of what they are confronting in the water. According to my own numerous observations this motion is a sign of pure curiosity and not an incentive to circle its prey and feed.
For those who still fear going in the water, Bangley suggests looking out for the following: Keeping an eye on birds/fish: If you see birds diving or fish jumping, that could be a indicator that a larger predator, perhaps a shark, could be attempting to prey upon a school of fish.
“I could feel the vibration of this entire shark gnawing into my skin,” he said. “You could feel the whole body shaking as it's digging into my torso.” The burning sensation of the bite is hard to forget. “The bite mark's like a jellyfish sting that just keeps penetrating deeper and deeper into the bone,” Robles said.
Shark skin feels exactly like sandpaper.
These scales point towards the tail and helps to reduce friction from surrounding water when the shark swims. Because of this, if someone rubbed the skin from the head towards the tail, it would feel very smooth. In the opposite direction it feels very rough like sandpaper.
Their ability to sense these movements may lead people to believe that they can sense fear but ultimately the movements help them locate their prey while they're hunting. Sharks can sense the earth's geomagnetic field, but they can't sense fear.
“If... a shark bites you, what we recommend is you should hit the shark in the eye, in the nose, or stick your hand in the gills,” says Chris Lowe, of the California State University Long Beach Shark Lab, in an instructional video. “Those are all sensitive tissues and quite often it causes the shark to release.”
Be aware that activity which might imitate a prey animal in distress — such as splashing, slapping the water, and screaming — might attract sharks.
Shark studies have even found that touching a shark's snout can cause it to halt mid-motion and not attack. The reason could be the tiny electrical receptors called ampullae of Lorenzini that speckle the area around sharks' noses and mouths.
Most people do not know a shark is nearby before an attack. Some people receive only a bump from the shark, which likely occurs when the shark is only investigating what is going on at the water's surface.
Bump-and-bite attack – the shark circles and bumps the victim before biting. Great whites are known to do this on occasion, referred to as a "test bite", in which the great white is attempting to identify what is being bitten.
A shark's sense of smell is powerful – it allows them to find prey from hundreds of yards away. Menstrual blood in the water could be detected by a shark, just like any urine or other bodily fluids. However, there is no positive evidence that menstruation is a factor in shark bites.