Why Sharks Attack: The Red Sea Tragedy

Overview

8 June 2023. A shark attacks a 23-year-old Russian man swimming just metres from the beach in the Red Sea vacation resort of Hurghada, Egypt. Horrified tourists watch from the shore. His injuries are so severe that he dies before help can arrive. Within hours, videos of the attack spread on social media. It comes less than a year after two women were killed by sharks in the space of two days on the same stretch of coast. A spate of killings like this is unprecedented in the Red Sea. What brought these sharks into the shallow waters of luxury holiday resorts, away from their natural hunting grounds in the open ocean? Could mounting pressure from humans – fishing, tourism and man-made climate change – be altering how these apex predators live and hunt?