Shark attacks have been on the rise around the globe, but when the water started sloshing and frothing near the surface by this Florida beach, swimmers managed to avoid being on the menu.
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Here we see sharks large and small feeding off the coast of Panama City Beach. Some witnesses reported that there were 50-60 sharks in the group.
A family from Huntsville, Alabama was startled to see a large group of sharks in the beautiful blue-green water in Panama City Beach, Florida. Tyra Whitlow was on vacation with her husband Blake and their four children when they made the sighting. “The oldest three were in the raft when we first saw the sharks off shore,” Whitlow told a local news source. The video she made shows a crowd gathering as the sharks swim toward the shore.
She said the children were afraid at first, but found the whole incident very exciting once they were safely out of the water. One man tried to help a smaller shark back into the water when it ran aground.
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest bodies of water in the world, and it is home to nearly fifty different types of sharks. Considering how many sharks there are, relatively few ever get involved with humans. Florida led the nation in shark attacks last year, according to a report which determined that there were more attacks in the US than years past, but fewer fatalities.
All told, there have only been about 100 shark attacks reported along the Gulf Coast since 1865, which is less than one per year. So enjoy your swim and stay away from sharks if you see them. Your odds are pretty good.