Twelve Days Of Terror, The 1916 Shark Attacks

The Shark Attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks from July 1 through July 12 1916. And it is where the inspiration for the movie Jaws came from. It was probably a Bull Shark though and not a Great White Shark that was responsible for the attacks. It could possibly have been several Bull Sharks.

Four people were killed and one was injured badly in the 1916 Shark attacks. The attacks occurred during a really bad heat wave that struck the northeastern USA in July of 1916. Authorities say that the high number of extra people in the water is the reason there were so many shark attacks in the summer of 1916.

And its a fact that the 1916 shark attacks inspired Peter Benchley's 1974 novel Jaws. If you watched the movie Jaws you probably gave it a thought or two the next time you went to the beach.

Marine Biologists say that most shark attacks are by mistake. They say that quite often when a surfer is attacked by a shark that the shark mistakes the surfer for a sea turtle which is their favorite prey. Though that really doesn't help the poor unfortunate surfer laying there on the beach bleeding from the shark attack.

The 1916 shark attacks caused a panic and many sea side cities with beaches sent shark hunters out to hunt down the man eaters. Even today many piers along the beaches of America's east coast have a strict policy against shark fishing and the main reason for that though most won't admit it is they don't want the tourists knowing there are large hungry sharks there just beyond the surf. They don't want the tourist scared away. But the sharks are there and often they do bite humans.

One interesting thing is that some of the 1916 shark attacks took place on Matawan Creek 16 miles inland. Its also the reason that many Marine Biologists today think it was the ill tempered Bull Shark that was the shark doing the attacking in Matawan Creek in July of 1916. The Bull Shark can and will swim up stream into brackish and sometimes even fresh water.

And today even though several Great White Sharks were caught and killed in 1916 most Marine Biologists agree that it was most likely a Bull Shark or several Bull Sharks that were responsible for the 1916 shark attacks.

But I know that every time I hear that music from Jaws I think of that Great White and how terrifying it would be to be in the water being hunted by a Great White. Every year in the USA however there are several shark attacks and a lot of time it is the Bull Shark doing the attacking.

Did you know that the 1916 Shark Attacks which also came to be known as , 12 Days of Terror was the first documented shark attacks in the United States. While approx 56 percent of all shark attacks in the USA happen to surfers sharks do attack other people from time to time and the ill tempered Bull Shark has been known to hunt humans.

USS  Indianapolis Shark Attacks

The shark attacks on the survivors of the USS Indianapolis was the worst documented shark attack ever. If you watch the below video you will learn all the details of the shark attacks on the survivors of the USS Indianapolis. And it tells you what blood in the water can do to sharks. In case you don't know it drives them into a feeding frenzy.