Led by a dominant male, Chimpanzee family groups travel during the day and build nests to sleep in at night.
General Information
Worldwide estimates state that 30 to 100 people a year are attacked. Analysis of over 1,000 case histories world wide, from the International Shark Attack File suggests an average of 30% are fatal.
This is consistent with Australian figures of 28% fatal.
Earliest Australian recorded attack was in 1791, an indigenous female on the North Coast of NSW (fatal).
The following statistics are the compilation of reported shark/human interactions for over 218 years and are a combination of 'provoked' & 'unprovoked' cases.
| State | Total cases | Fatal | Injured | Uninjured | Last Fatality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 277 | 70 | 148 | 59 | 2008 Ballina, Lighthouse Beach |
| QLD | 245 | 72 | 150 | 23 | 2006 North Stradbroke Island |
| WA | 99 | 15 | 63 | 21 | 2008 Port Kennedy Beach |
| SA | 52 | 18 | 27 | 7 | 2005 Glenelg Beach |
| VIC | 50 | 9 | 26 | 15 | 1977 Mornington Peninsula |
| TAS | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 1993 Tenth Is, Georgetown |
| NT | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1938 Bathurst Island |
| Total | 754 | 191 | 428 | 135 | (as of 27/7/2010) |
As of June 2009 for all Australian States combined:
In the last 20 years, there have been 24 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.2 per year. In the last 50 years, there have been 52 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.04 per year.
Shark Attacks In Perspective:
There is an element of risk in any activity we undertake. To put the risk of being killed by a shark attack into perspective the following statistics illustrate the number of deaths associated with water related activities in Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
| Total Accidental Drowning & Submersion | Surfboard Riding | Rock Fishing | Skin Diving | Drowned while swimming at an ocean beach, a river, lake, & SCUBA harbour, estuary, bay, or lagoon. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 419 of which | 3 | 14 | 27 | 79 were FATAL |
| 1995 441 of which | 2 | 13 | 14 | 68 were FATAL |
There were no recorded fatalities from shark attack in Australia in 1994 and 1 in 1995.
Compared to fatalities from any other forms of water related activity the number of fatal shark attacks, from all reported shark encounters in Australia, is extremely low.
During the period 1969-2000, in NSW alone, 218 rock fishermen were swept off the rocks and drowned. In that same period 40 shark encounters were recorded with only 2 fatality reported. On average there are 80 drowning deaths each year (ref Beachsafe Newsletter, Issue 16, 2009).
Diving related deaths in Australia 1945 - 1987 = 292 (quote from Diving Accident Management in Australia, 1988). "Eleven Australians were killed by lightning in the years 1983 to 1986", (John Sedgwick, Lightning Natures Terrible Swift Sword, Readers Digest, January 1990).
On average there are 2-3 deaths per year from Bee stings in Australia (Dr van Nunen Royal North Shore Hospital Allergy Unit. Feb 3rd 1989. Manly Daily). Three people died from bee stings in 1995 (Aust. Bureau of Statistics). On average, there is around one person per year killed by shark attack in Australia over the last 218 years.
Any use of this information in any publication must be authorised by Taronga Zoo Public Relations Dept and contain appropriate accreditation to Taronga Zoo and the Australian Shark Attack File. Note: This document is regularly updated and revised, therefore numbers of recorded attacks and their outcomes are subject to change reflecting the new information available.
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