Influencers ‘are to blame for rise in shark attacks’: Scientists say they ‘can’t believe we have to tell people not to grab an 18-foot predator’

Influencers are to blame for a recent rise in shark attacks, according to scientists who say they ‘can’t believe we have to tell people not to grab an 18-foot predator’.

Social media posts encouraging tourists to stroke the creatures have led them to be poked and prodded by ignorant travelers in pursuit of the perfect selfie.

It comes after a Russian influencer was left covered in blood and needing hospital treatment following a shark attack earlier this year. 

Experts say that despite often being depicted as bloodthirsty predators in films, sharks are not naturally interested in humans.

Their encounters with people are often described as ‘vicious attacks’, implying unprovoked aggression and demonizing the species.

But, a new study suggests that frequently these so called ‘attacks’ actually involve panicked sharks acting in self-defence after being overwhelmed by ignorant humans.

Professor Eric Clua of PSL University in France, who led the research, told The Times that social media appeared to be playing a role in encouraging humans to overstep the boundary between observing wildlife and disturbing it.

‘I don’t encourage, as many influencers do on social networks, [people] to cling to a shark’s dorsal fin or stroke it, under the pretext of proving that they are harmless and [those people are] supposedly working for their conservation,’ he said.

He suspects that some humans are less cautious with sharks, especially smaller ones, than they would be with an unfamiliar dog.

Influencers are to blame for a recent rise in shark attacks, according to scientists who say they ‘can’t believe we have to tell people not to grab an 18-foot predator’. Pictured: The moment blogger and singer Nastya Vitonova, was bitten by a shark while on holiday in the Maldives

Social media posts encouraging tourists to stroke the creatures has lead them to be poked and prodded by ignorant travelers in pursuit of the perfect selfie. Pictured: Travel influencer Lilian Tagliari who was swimming among a group of 50 nurse sharks in The Maldives early last month when one suddenly took a bite out of her right leg

Despite often being depicted as blood-thirsty predators in films, sharks are not naturally interested in humans, experts say. Pictured: Blogger and singer Nastya Vitonova

Famous faces pictured having close encounters with sharks include actress Bella Thorne, and actors Zac Efron and Will Smith.

Videos of divers manhandling sharks have gone viral online, with accounts dedicated to this specific content boasting thousands of followers.

Ocean Ramsey, a Hawaii-based conservationist who runs one such account, said: ‘We love to share rare moments of physical connection.’

But, despite their popularity, Ramsey’s videos – including one in which she strokes a massive great white – have been criticised by scientists. 

David Shiffman, a marine biologist who studies sharks, told The Washington Post at the time: ‘I can’t believe that ‘please don’t grab the 18ft-long wild predator’ is something that needs to be explicitly said out loud, but here we are.’

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation, examined records of shark encounters in the waters off French Polynesia between 2009 and 2023. 

Of the 74 bites recorded in this period, about 5 per cent were found likely to have been defensive, happening immediately after a shark felt under threat from a human.

Crazy footage – viewed more than 18 million times – shows Lilian screaming in pain underwater

Nastya Vitonova was transported to the nearest island to receive medical stitches for the shark bite

To assess the broader relevance of their findings, experts trawled through a global database known as the Shark Attack Files.

It holds records dating back to the 1800s, allowing researchers to identify more than 300 incidents that fit the same defensive pattern. 

In French Polynesia, most of the bites were from small and medium-sized sharks, including grey reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, lemon sharks and nurse sharks.

Larger species, such as great whites, also bite in self defence – but humans usually don’t approach them due to their imposing appearance.

The defensive responses were typically sudden and involved several bites, but the injuries to humans were usually superficial. 

Famous-faces pictured having close encounters with sharks include actress Bella Thorne (pictured), and actors Zac Efron and Will Smith

Will Smith attempted to overcome his long-held phobia of sharks. The actor co-hosted Shark Week and was filmed diving with the creatures while being surrounded by shoals of colorful fish

In 2015, Zac Efron shared a video of himself hitching a ride with a tiger shark. He gently stroked the head of a tiger shark as it swam by and then reached out for its dorsal fin for a slow rid

Unlike predatory attacks, in which a shark often follows a recognisable pre-strike sequence, defensive bites usually happened without warning.

It comes after in 2020 Will Smith attempted to overcome his long-held phobia of sharks.

The actor co-hosted Shark Week and was filmed diving with the creatures while being surrounded by shoals of colorful fish.

During the show he blamed film director Steven Spielberg for his fear of sharks, referring to the classic 1975 film Jaws. 

‘I was literally scared in the bathtub. I literally felt like a shark could come out of the spout.’

But, Will wasn’t the first celebrity to have a close encounter with a shark.

Five years earlier, in 2015, Zac Efron shared a video of himself hitching a ride with a tiger shark.

The actor, now 37, had been spending time with sharks while filming Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates in Hawaii with co-star Adam Devine.

Zac jumped into the water with a mask and snorkel as several sharks circled nearby.

He gently stroked the head of a tiger shark as it swam by and then reached out for its dorsal fin for a slow ride.

The Neighbors star later held on again for another short shark ride and afterward flashed the familiar Hawaiian shaka sign underwater.

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