Happy Shark Week, everybody!
Despite the fact that they’re basically remorseless eating machines with gills, shark attacks are actually pretty rare. In 2013, there were only 72 unprovoked shark attacks reported in the entire world. Because they’re actually so rare, any time there’s footage of an actual one occurring, it captures a lot of attention. Generally, though, if they aren’t hungry and you don’t try to poke it in the eye with a stick, most sharks will just leave you alone.
That being said, we dug up four YouTube videos of shark attacks for you to enjoy. There’s a lot of fake ones floating around out there — and that’s not including the ones clearly ripped-off from some Syfy movie. So, we did our best to make sure these were all the real deal. Also, some of these are graphic and gross, so… viewer discretion and all of that. Seriously.
A pregnant sand tiger attacks a vet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCzWeQkQ2Fw
We usually envision shark attacks occurring off a beach somewhere with those relentless chomp monsters looking for some surfer limbs to munch on. But let’s not forget, however, that sharks at aquariums are still sharks. In this 2011 video by Darroll Williams, doctors at a South African aquarium were attempting a routine procedure on a pregnant sand tiger when… well, you can go ahead and see what happened.
This great white shark doesn’t care much for tourists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=523KJ8pp8DU
This group of German tourists nearly became shark food when a shark attacked their rubber raft. It’s believed the shark mistook the raft for a dead whale, which are also known to frequently have German tourists on top of them [citation needed].
Sometimes shark attacks are adorable.
It’s not just the big sharks out to get us. In this clip, a tiny nurse shark latches onto the trunks of a swimmer… in a fairly precious spot. Thankfully, everyone (including the shark) survived.
Henri Bource is kind of a badass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ibhE9JquY
In 1969, Australian Henri Bource was filming an underwater dive with some friends. Things got a little tense when the group of playful seals he was swimming among suddenly bolted away. In his own attempt to escape, a great white took his leg off. According to a 2011 piece in The Standard, he told his companions to keep filming. The video above is actual footage included in the documentary Savage Shadows.
Oh, and six weeks later, he went back diving in the exact same spot.