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Two late shark attacks on a beach in Florida led to a deluge of societal medium rumors linking the casing to the presence of orcas in the Gulf of Mexico . But this " does n’t make any sense , " marine biologistJesús Erick Higuera - Rivas , told Live Science .
On June 7,three citizenry were hurt in two shark attacksoff the seacoast of Walton County , between Destin and Panama City Beach . victim let in a 45 - year - old woman who was bitten near Watersound Beach , as well as two teen who were injured later the same day , around four miles east of the first onset .
A bull shark underwater off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The same bull shark ( genus Carcharhinus leucas ) was probably creditworthy for all three attack , Walton County Sheriff ’s Office voice Corey Dobridniatold USA Today .
Recent sighting of orcas ( Orcinus orca ) in the same region contribute some people to speculate that the killer whales were driving bull sharks nigher to the shoring , where they were attacking people . Orcas had beenseen on June 4 just to the south of Destin , about 75 miles ( 120 km ) from where the shark tone-beginning occurred .
However , Higuera - Rivas suppose that the two events are " not connected . " Higuera - Rivas study orca doings at the Pelagic Protection and Conservation Civil Association in Mexico , including their interactions with shark and light beam .
It’s unlikely orcas played a role in the recent shark attacks in Florida, experts say.
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Despite reflection of someorcas hunting great blanched sharks(Carcharodon carcharias ) off the coast of South Africa and pursuing bull shark in the Gulf of California , Higuera - Rivas says that the latest tone-beginning are more probable due to the addition in human action near where bull sharks feed near shore .
Similarly , the sighting of orcas in the realm are also due to the rise in eco - touristry . " You see more images online about orcas being in [ the Gulf of Mexico ] , but it ’s not because the killer whale are appearing more and more often , " he enjoin . Rather , they ’re just being observe more .
Because orcas have probably always been in the realm , but are only now being snap more , Higuera - Rivas consider the Florida attacks are improbable due to their presence .
Gavin Naylor , the Director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida , also agrees .
Naylor told Live Science that orcas sometimes target shark , but this tends to happen quite far off - shoring . " There are so many places for shark to hide off from orcas along the coast , " he state , adding that it ’s unclear why the shark would be driven to human - populated coast , specifically . It seems peculiarly unlikely that bull sharks would collect near the shoring due to orca activity because the sharks also have the ability to hide in freshwater ecosystems .
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Instead , Naylor suggest that thebull shark attacksare in all probability due to the bait Pisces locomote nigher to the shoring , thus draw the sharks in .
late hot , teetotal weather in Florida may mean that fresh water output signal from estuary has fallen . " When there ’s less estuarine end product , then the seawater can come closer to the shoring than it would usually do , and that bring with it the plankton and the bait Pisces that deplete them , " he said .
With the bait fish arrive the bull shark , Naylor said .
