Sharks More Likely to Attack From Behind

Never turn your back to the ocean is a well known quote among surfers and swimmers, and now it might carry new weight. According to new research, shark encounters are more likely to happen when a person's back is turned. 

Never turn your back to the ocean is a well known quote among surfers and swimmers, and now it might carry new weight.

According to new research, shark encounters are more likely to happen when a person's back is turned.

Although it has been observed by divers and scientists previously, a study by the Shark Research Institute in Florida showed 80 percent of the sharks that came close to the volunteer subjects passed behind them.

Researchers told volunteers not to move so the sharks wouldn't have any indication of which direction they were facing, but the sharks seemed to know, and consistently approached from behind.

Erich Ritter, a scientist at the Shark Research Institute is quoted as saying: "They truly do swim up from behind, be it that they want to sneak up or they don't want to be seen. It doesn't mean they sneak up in a way of having a vicious thought; mainly, they are curious but at the same time cautious."

According to the International Shark Attack File kept by the Florida Museum of Natural History, 80 unprovoked shark attacks were reported in 2012.