In honor of Shark Week I want to share something of interest. To learn more click on the links here:
Statistics about SHARKS
22 -- Number of years the Discovery Channel has aired Shark Week
29.1 million -- Number of viewers Shark Week 2008 attracted
450 -- Known species of sharks
244 -- Number of documented unprovoked shark attacks worldwide since 1876 (65 of them fatal)
100 -- Number of documented unprovoked shark attacks in the United States from 1916 to the end of 2008 (12 of them fatal, and 8 of those in California)
90 --Percentage that the hammerhead shark population has dropped in the last 20 years
63 -- Average number of shark attacks a year
56.6 -- Percentage of all shark attacks that involve surfers and windsurfers
3 -- Species of shark considered deadly (great white, tiger and bull)
250,000 -- Number of sharks being killed every day by targeted fishing and bycatch (sharks accidentally caught in nets trawling for other species)
1 in 264 million -- Odds of being killed in a shark attack
1 in 9 million -- Odds of being killed by a dog
Sources: International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History, the National Aquarium in Washington, D.C., the National Safety Council, Nielsen Media Research and the Discovery Channel
