Attack Survivors Snap Up Chance to Save Sharks

(NEWSER) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Discovery Channel, Shark Week is back. The channel's wildly popular annual look at the predators returns next week with six new documentaries, including a look at the deadly 1916 shark attacks off New Jersey that inspired Jaws. Channel execs say they're trying to mix entertainment with a serious conservation message, USA Today reports. More»

New study finds sharks much closer to extinction

(NEWSER) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...it probably is. Great White sharks are now even more endangered than tigers, according to a new study. Researchers who tagged and tracked the sharks determined that their numbers have fallen below those of the 3,500 tigers estimated to still exist in the wild, the Telegrap h reports. Their number has dropped an estimated 90% in 20 years. More»

Series of attacks mars Australia's summer

(NEWSER) - A series of shark attacks in Australia has triggered a summer of terror and a national debate over whether it makes sense to continue to protect one of nature's most implacable predators. Three people were attacked in a single 48-hour period last month, reports Time. All that was found of one recent 51-year-old victim were tattered pieces of his wet suit. The killer shark was located by authorities but left unharmed. More»

Growing human presence in water will keep encounters rising, scientists say

(NEWSER) - Shark populations are way down, but attacks on humans are up, LiveScience reports. There were 71 shark attacks worldwide in 2007, continuing a four-year upswing, says shark expert George Burgess, although populations of the fish have shrunk 50% during the past 20 years. Even so, as human populations expand rapidly, so does beach-going—and the chance of encounters spikes accordingly. More»

Shark attacks twice before mom yanks her daughter away

(NEWSER) - A Florida teen nearly lost all the holidays of her life when a shark dragged her from her surfboard. Sydney Levy, 15, suddenly slipped from her board as she paddled with her mom in the Atlantic off New Smyrna Beach. When she managed to climb back on, she noticed her right leg was bloody. Then, the shark struck again, and mom went into action. "It was like a scene out of Jaws where the girl is getting sucked under. I said there is no way this thing is going to kill my daughter,” Valeh Levy told WESH-TV . “I grabbed her shoulders and I pulled her up and threw her on the nose of my board.” More»