More than a dozen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sharks">sharks</a> living off the coast of Brazil tested positive for cocaine, researchers shared in a report on Tuesday.
A total of 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks were tested by scientists who discovered the cocaine in both the muscle tissue and liver of the sharks, according to researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/23/science/cocaine-sharks-brazil-scli-intl-scn/index.html">CNN</a> reported.
The sharks were chosen both because of their small size and that they live in the coastal waters that are in close proximity to a significant contaminant discharge for their entire life cycle, according to the report. It is the first time the drug has ever been detected in free range sharks, the outlet noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sharks off Brazil coast test positive for cocaine <a href="https://t.co/bDMDjqqic7">https://t.co/bDMDjqqic7</a>
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1815731808161403321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
The study found that the cocaine levels in the 13 sharks had a concentration as much as 100 times higher than previously reported for other aquatic creatures, the <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/sharks-off-brazil-coast-test-positive-for-cocaine-13183543?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter">study found</a>.
And the cocaine concentration in muscle tissue was higher in female sharks than in their male counterparts. 
Researchers believe the rise in cocaine consumption around the world is most likely the cause, as around 22% of users of the drug users live in South America, with Brazil the second largest consumer market in the area, the paper found.
The report found that the increased consumption and poor sewage treatment infrastructure was the likely cause for the increased cocaine in the sea, rather than it being due to cocaine being dumped by traffickers, as previously suggested, study co-author Enrico Mendes Saggioro, an ecotoxicologist at the foundation, told CNN.
“We don’t usually see many bales of coke dumped or lost at sea here, unlike what is reported in Mexico and Florida,” Mendes Saggioro said, noting that the sea gets polluted by cocaine due to illegal laboratories producing the drug and along with the sewage discharges from humans users.
It is unclear at this point what kind of damage the cocaine may have done to the shark&#8217;s health, as studies have yet to be done. However, previous research on how the drug affects fish and mussels showed that it was harmful.
“It is probable, although not yet proven that exposure would have deleterious physiological effects on the sharks,” a joint statement from Mendes Saggioro and study co-author Rachel Ann Hauser Davis from the foundation, read.
Marine eco-toxicologist Sara Novais, from the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre of the Polytechnic University of Leiria, called the findings &#8220;very important and potentially worrying,” <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/cocaine-sharks-found-waters-brazil">Science magazine</a> noted.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netflix-film-crew-described-being-attacked-by-sharks-in-hawaii-like-something-out-of-jaws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netflix Film Crew Described Being Attacked By Sharks In Hawaii: ‘Like Something Out Of Jaws’</a>

One Giant Leap: Great White Sharks Breach In The South Atlantic Ocean

More Than A Dozen Sharks Test Positive For Cocaine

Brazil

Cocaine

Entertainment

News

Sharks

A film crew working on a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/netflix">Netflix</a> documentary in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hawaii">Hawaii</a> said they experienced a “horrific” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sharks">tiger shark</a> attack that had them racing back to the shore.
The crew was shooting a four-part documentary series, “Our Planet II,” when the incident occurred. 
“The original idea was to do an underwater shoot with the tiger sharks waiting in the shallows at [the Hawaiian island] Laysan,” series producer Huw Cordey told <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauramanske/2023/06/14/savor-extraordinary-journeys-wildlife-photography-with-netflixs-new-our-planet-ii/?sh=34c301293da9">Forbes</a> in an interview. “But the first day the tiger sharks were around, the crew got into these inflatable boats — and two sharks attacked them. It was like something out of ‘Jaws.’ The crew was panicked, and basically made an emergency landing on the sand.”
Show director Toby Nowlan described the sharks’ behavior as “extremely unusual,” per the publication <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/our-planet-ii-director-sharks-pumas-exclusive-newsupdate/">Radio Times</a>. “They were incredibly hungry, so there might not have been enough natural food and they were just trying anything they came across in the water.”
He described the attack similar to how Cordey remembered it.
“This &#8216;v&#8217; of water came streaming towards us and this tiger shark leapt at the boat and bit huge holes in it. The whole boat exploded,” Nowlan said. “We were trying to get it away and it wasn’t having any of it. It was horrific. That was the second shark that day to attack us.”
Earlier this month, graphic <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/12/body-parts-of-russian-tourist-found-in-shark-after-it-was-beaten-to-death/">video footage</a> of a Russian man being eaten alive by a tiger shark near an Egyptian resort started circulating online. Vladimir Popov, 23, could be heard screaming for help as people on the beach filmed the attack. One person can be heard saying, “It’s eating his remains now,” on the video recording.
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The Russian man had been swimming in the ocean with his girlfriend, who managed to swim away from the shark.
Onlookers caught the shark shortly after and beat it to death with clubs. They discovered Popov’s remains inside the predator’s intestines. 
White sharks, also known as “Great White” sharks, are the most feared species, thanks in part to the movie “Jaws.” But the tiger shark was ranked the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/five-most-dangerous-sharks-to-humans/">second most dangerous</a> breed to humans by the International Shark Attack File. They are known to attack people without reason or provocation.

Tiger Shark

Netflix Film Crew Described Being Attacked By Sharks In Hawaii: ‘Like Something Out Of Jaws’

Netflix Film Crew Described Being Attacked By Sharks In Hawaii

Documentaries

General

Hawaii

Netflix

U.S.

Family members of a man who reportedly went missing earlier this month in southern <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/south-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Argentina</a> allegedly identified his tattooed dismembered arm that two fishermen discovered inside a captured school shark.
According to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-law-enforcement-fish-news-media-4568b7e30da640bb1bee8f10783c3219" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local media</a>, Diego Barría, 32, an oil worker and father of two children, was last seen driving an ATV along the coast in the southern Chubut province on February 18. Two days later, authorities located the damaged vehicle on a beach near Rocas Coloradas.
Barría was nowhere to be found.
Daniela Millatruz, the leading law enforcement officer in charge of the search, told local media that two fishermen alerted coast guard authorities after catching three school sharks nearby where authorities had located Barría’s ATV.
“When they were cleaning them, they found human remains in one of them,” Millatruz said, adding that Barría’s family members were able to identify they belonged to their kin “due to a tattoo that appeared in one of those remains.”
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/28/dads-remains-found-inside-shark-family-ids-him-by-tattoo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> hours before authorities were notified of Barría’s remains, a pair of sunglasses were discovered near the area where the ATV was found, which Barría’s mother confirmed belonged to her deceased son.
Millatruz said authorities have begun investigating if another vehicle was involved, presuming Barría was involved in an accident.
José Mazzei, a Civil Protection spokesperson, told local media the agency has two hypotheses about Barría.
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“One, that he was injured,” Mazzei said. “And the other, which has more weight to it, is that due to the damage to the quad, he was knocked unconscious on the coast, and the strong high tide dragged him away.”
Comodoro Rivadavia Police Chief Cristian Ansaldo told local media that the shark carrying the human remains measured around 4.9 feet, and he hypothesized Barría “had an accident and was dragged.”
&#8220;One of the strongest hypotheses is that it collided with a rock and the body was carried away by the sea, but we are going to handle all the hypotheses with the evidence found in the place,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.adnsur.com.ar/policiales---judiciales/una-busqueda-desesperada-por-7-dias-y-el-macabro-final-de-diego-barria--su-muerte-conmociona-al-pais_a63fcab219799590a89c945bb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Authorities will conduct an official DNA test of the remains to confirm they belong to Barría.
Virginia Brugger, Barría’s widow, wrote on Facebook Sunday, “My heart went with you!”
“I love you forever,” she said.
The investigation into the accident is ongoing.

Curious shark

Family Members Of Missing Man Identify Tattooed Arm Found Inside Shark

Argentina

Nature

World

The producers of Sci-Fi cult favorite &#8220;Sharknado&#8221; have a new creature feature in the works — featuring a drug-addled alligator: &#8220;Attack of the Meth-Gator.&#8221;
The low-budget production company behind the project, The Asylum, specializes in what they refer to as &#8220;mock-busters&#8221; — movies that mock the larger-budget blockbusters in both title and plot. For example, 2009&#8217;s &#8220;Transmorphers: The Fall of Man&#8221; was a callback to &#8220;Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen&#8221;; and the company released &#8220;Titanic II&#8221; in 2010.
The new project, scheduled for release over the summer of 2023, gives a convenient recall to the recent hit film &#8220;Cocaine Bear&#8221; — but the production company says they already had &#8220;Meth-Gator&#8221; in the works prior to its release.
&#8220;Hold our bear &#8230; I mean, beer,&#8221; The Asylum tweeted on Friday. &#8220;Coming for your life this summer.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hold our bear… I mean, beer. 
Coming for your life this summer. 
🧪🐊🌨️🧸 <a href="https://t.co/8V0WlPq8GY">pic.twitter.com/8V0WlPq8GY</a>
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629195412036014080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The promotional imagery showed a large alligator with razor-sharp teeth and wild, glowing red eyes. Behind the monster stood several tall buildings and a few palm trees. The movie apparently centers around an alligator that was exposed to the drug through the fresh water supply.
&#8220;Please tell me this is real and not a joke,&#8221; an entertainment blogger begged, prompting a response from The Asylum confirming that the project was, in fact, real.
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&#8220;This is real! We’re pumping the meth into Floridas fresh water reserves as we speak!&#8221; they said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is real! We’re pumping the meth into Floridas fresh water reserves as we speak! 😍
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629197292766126082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Responding to a comment from a fan, Asylum CEO David Michael Latt said that a sequel would be titled &#8220;Crackodile.&#8221;
&#8220;For everyone peeing in their panties over Crackodile. Dad said yes,&#8221; Asylum tweeted back. &#8220;And @DaivdMLatt NEVER breaks a promise.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
For everyone peeing in their panties over Crackodile. Dad said yes 🥹🥳😍 
And <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidMLatt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidMLatt</a> NEVER breaks a promise <a href="https://t.co/DeS6eszd14">https://t.co/DeS6eszd14</a>
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629371969039929345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Asylum offered one more teaser tweet on Saturday, showing some of the cast members complaining about one of their fellow actors being a difficult. &#8220;There&#8217;s that one drugged out diva on set that&#8217;s always late, ate half the crew, and leaving teeth all over the place.&#8221;
&#8220;We’ll give you no guesses to figure out who the cast of #MethGator is complaining about,&#8221; the tweet read. &#8220;Last day on set of Attack Of The Meth Gator! Our star will be entering rehab immediately after we wrap. We appreciate all your thoughts &amp; prayers for his full recovery.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We’ll give you no guesses to figure out who the cast of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MethGator?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MethGator</a> is complaining about 👀🧪🐊💅🏼
Last day on set of Attack Of The Meth Gator! Our star will be entering rehab immediately after we wrap. We appreciate all your thoughts &amp; prayers for his full recovery 🥹🙏🏼🧪🐊🚑🏥 <a href="https://t.co/xdCPEniXs1">pic.twitter.com/xdCPEniXs1</a>
&mdash; The Asylum (@theasylumcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/theasylumcc/status/1629663535826599936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Honda Classic – Round Three

‘Sharknado’ Producers Will Bring Drug-Addled Killer Reptile To Life In New Summer Flick

'Sharknado' Producers Will Bring Drug-Addled Killer Reptile To Life In New Summer Flick

Drugs

Horror Movies

Methamphetamine

The first recorded fatal shark attack of 2023 was recorded in Mexico this month after a great white shark reportedly decapitated a man who was diving for mollusks.
Manuel Lopez was diving in the Gulf of California when a nearly 20-foot great white shark attacked him while he was roughly 50 feet below the surface.
The attack happened back during the first week in January but was only recently recorded as shark attack death.
Witnesses who were fishing with Lopez said that the great white shark literally ripped his head off his body.
&#8220;He was diving when the animal attacked him, impressively ripping off his head and biting both shoulders,&#8221; a translator for the fisherman said, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/great-white-shark-decapitates-mexican-diver-marking-first-fatal-shark-attack-2023">Fox News</a>.
A seafood shortage in the area has reportedly forced some to go to more dangerous lengths to find food, thus putting them in contact with apex predators like great white sharks.
Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/diver-decapitated-19-foot-long-great-white-shark-mexico-2023-1">reported</a> that divers have been warned about the shark infested waters and that most were staying out of the water.
Divers have also been warned against wearing black wetsuits because it can reportedly make the divers look like seals to the sharks, the report said. Instead, some of them have been advised to paint white stripes on their wetsuits which could make the shark mistake the diver for a kind of poisonous sea snake.
The report said that the process for catching the seafood that Lopez was searching for &#8220;can generate sounds and movement that can attract sharks.&#8221;
The government reportedly offers a small stipend for divers who can&#8217;t dive due to the danger, but it is usually not enough to make ends meet.

Great White Shark

Details Of Horrifying Great White Shark Attack Emerge In Mexico: Report

Mexico

wildlife

Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/steven-spielberg">Steven Spielberg</a> said he regrets the impact his iconic movie “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">Jaws</a>” had on the shark population. 
The 76-year-old Hollywood veteran made his feelings known during a recent interview with the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001g8m4">podcast</a> Desert Island Discs. Spielberg was 27 when he made “Jaws” in 1975 and said he looks back with mixed emotions on how popular the movie became.
“I truly and to this day regret the decimation of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sharks">shark population</a> because of the book and the film. I really, truly regret that,” the filmmaker said. “That’s one of the things I still fear. Not to get eaten by a shark, but that sharks are somehow mad at me for the feeding frenzy of crazy sport fishermen that happened after 1975.”
Author Peter Benchley, who wrote the book “Jaws,” previously expressed similar sentiments and has spent time advocating for the protection of sharks, BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33049099">reported</a>. 
&#8220;Knowing what I know now, I could never write that book today,&#8221; Benchley said of creating a revenge-seeking shark. &#8220;Sharks don&#8217;t target human beings, and they certainly don&#8217;t hold grudges.&#8221;
“Jaws” is a cult classic thriller that follows a team of individuals hunting a man-eating great white shark terrorizing a summer resort town. It stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as a marine biologist, and Robert Shaw as a professional shark hunter. The film was mostly shot in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. It won three Academy Awards and numerous other accolades.
Spielberg blames himself and the popularity of “Jaws” for the decline in shark populations, but Paul Cox, chief executive of the Shark Trust in the United Kingdom, said that this explanation is “giving the film far too much credit.”
“The cases of shark population decline are very clearly fisheries overfishing,” Cox said, per <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/steven-spielberg-regrets-jaws-influence-shark-population-200258278.html">The Guardian</a>. 
Cox did say he’s happy Spielberg is discussing the issue and bringing attention to it, however. 
“For someone with his celebrity to be addressing the challenge of communicating about sharks in a more positive way is very welcome,” he continued. 
The Shark Trust executive said “Jaws” resonates with fans because of the mystery surrounding sharks. “It’s a natural fear we have of the unknown. The sea, the marine environment, still has a lot of unknowns,” he explained.

Steven Spielberg In ‘Jaws’

Steven Spielberg Said He Has ‘Regret’ Over Impact Of ‘Jaws’ On Sharks, Afraid They Are ‘Mad’ At Him

Steven Spielberg Said He Has 'Regret' Over Impact Of 'Jaws' On Sharks, Afraid They Are 'Mad' At Him

animal rights

Movies

Steven Spielberg

Former &#8220;Shark Week&#8221; host <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/mike-rowes-mom-reveals-the-weirdest-thing-he-ever-sent-her-while-working-dirty-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Rowe</a> had a few thoughts about a recent Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/05/shark-week-diversity-study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> claiming that the Discovery Channel&#8217;s regular summer event &#8220;lacks diversity&#8221; and &#8220;overrepresents men named Mike.&#8221;
Rowe, who hosted the annual week-long event in both 2006 and 2008, responded to the Post&#8217;s assertion by crowd-sourcing a response via social media. Having not yet had his coffee, he explained, he needed a little outside help.
<iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheRealMikeRowe%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02dNZdZL3g2FKwVFSzP8TPEhhfaqnNim8LBLWZyW8i1Yk4oZLRNTUCjCf2Xpdu2WY9l&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="617" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&#8220;Good Morning. As a white male named Mike who hosted Shark Week more than once, this headline caught my eye in The Washington Post,&#8221; Rowe began, explaining that he had come across the article while in New York City to promote another new season of the show that made him a household name: &#8220;Dirty Jobs.&#8221; The new season, he noted, is set to premiere on Discovery on Sunday at 8 p.m.
&#8220;I have not yet had my coffee, or time to formulate a cogent response, but in the course of promoting a new season of &#8216;Dirty Jobs,&#8217; (Sunday at 8pm on Discovery,) I suspect I might be asked to respond specifically to this headline,&#8221; Rowe continued, calling on his fans to make suggestions as to how he should respond.
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-54730">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
&#8220;If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below,&#8221; Rowe added, warning, &#8220;Unless of course, you’re a white guy named Mike. I think we’ve all heard quite enough from you …&#8221;
Rowe concluded the message with a postscript reminding fans once again about the upcoming Sunday premiere of the new season of &#8220;Dirty Jobs&#8221; — and then added a second postscript, musing, &#8220;Gotta wonder how former Shark Week host, Mike Tyson, is taking the news …&#8221;
During 2020&#8217;s Shark Week, <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/watch-as-people-frantically-duck-under-tables-ice-cold-mike-tyson-never-moves-when-man-pulls-a-gun/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tyson</a> participated in a stunt labeled &#8220;Rumble on the Reef,&#8221; during which he placed a shark into tonic immobility by grabbing it by the nose. &#8220;I am champion of the shark!&#8221; Tyson shouted upon his success.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mike Tyson Puts a Shark Into Tonic Immobility! | Shark Week" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d7j5jlQnq4w?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Yet another &#8220;Mike&#8221; — history&#8217;s most decorated Olympian of all-time <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/greatest-olympian-all-time-michael-phelps-swims-michael-qazvini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Phelps</a> — has also appeared as a part of Shark Week programming in 2017, &#8220;racing&#8221; against a great white shark.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Phelps Vs Shark: Making Michael Faster | SHARK WEEK" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jPEEBiZcQHQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Today – Season 71

WaPo Claims ‘Shark Week’ Has Too Many ‘Men Named Mike’ And ‘Lacks Diversity’ – Former Host Mike Rowe Responds

WaPo Claims 'Shark Week' Has Too Many Men Named Mike' – Former Host Mike Rowe Responds

Media

Mike Rowe

Washington Post

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida</a> residents who remained behind as Hurricane Ian pummeled the central gulf coast may have gotten more than they bargained for if they ventured outside — the storm surge was so powerful that it apparently sent sharks swimming down residential streets.
Video taken in Ft. Myers, Florida, on Wednesday showed what appeared to be a shark attempting to navigate the flood waters of the massive storm surge — just feet away from someone&#8217;s fenced-in yard.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Gutfeldfox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Gutfeldfox</a> somehow a shark ended up in a Fort Myers neighborhood during Hurricane Ian.. 😬 <a href="https://t.co/l3WbzgNQHj">pic.twitter.com/l3WbzgNQHj</a>
&mdash; Brad Habuda (@BradHabuda) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradHabuda/status/1575185864069566466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The immediate response to the clip, as it quickly circulated on Twitter, was a slew of references to the campy made-for-TV flick &#8220;Sharknado&#8221; — which features a massive storm that sucks sharks up into a waterspout and proceeds to drop them into populated areas.
&#8220;Oh no. Sharknado was real,&#8221; South Dakota meteorologist Tyler Roney <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerJRoney/status/1575214662068895744" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> in response to the video.
&#8220;Where is Ian Ziering when you need him?&#8221; @themitchellfink <a href="https://twitter.com/themitchellfink/status/1575214696486948864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, referencing the film&#8217;s protagonist.
Gerald Butts noted that this was not the first time someone had claimed to have video of a shark swimming down a residential street as the result of a storm — and suggested people would have a hard time believing that this time it was real.
&#8220;The internet has cried shark so many times during a storm nobody’s going to believe this,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/gmbutts/status/1575211517695643648" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&#8220;Per hero debunker @JaneLytv, one of the internet’s most durable hoaxes has become literally true,&#8221; Sam Thielman <a href="https://twitter.com/samthielman/status/1575208976064487431" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>.
USA Today published a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/27/fact-check-photo-shark-flooded-highway-faked/5646793002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact-check</a> debunking the original &#8220;shark on the street&#8221; photo, which was determined to be a hoax, but still managed to circulate through a number of major storms.
The photo originally appeared in 2011, after Hurricane Irene hit Puerto Rico, shared along with a post that read, &#8220;This picture was taken in Puerto Rico shortly after Hurricane Irene ravaged the island. Yes, that’s a shark swimming down the street next to a car, and this is exactly why authorities in NYC are warning people not to go swimming in flood waters after a hurricane. Sharks go where fish go, and fish go where water goes, and if that water (and those subsequent fish) happen to be right outside your front door, then guess where that freakin’ shark’s going to be?!&#8221;
The hoax reappeared on several subsequent occasions — during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and again in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey, Snopes <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/shark-street-hurricane/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, noting that the original image had been cut and pasted from a photo taken by a kayaker.

Looking At Me

WATCH: Storm Surge Sends Shark Swimming Down The Street In Ft. Myers

Storm Surge Sends Shark Swimming Down The Street In Ft. Myers

Florida

Hurricane

Natural Disaster

Weather

Could the Loch Ness Monster be real? It&#8217;s &#8220;plausible,&#8221; after a team of paleontologists in Morocco discovered fossils of an aquatic dinosaur species in a freshwater environment.
The group of scientists from the University of Bath and the University of Portsmouth in the U.K., and the Université Hassan II in Morocco, discovered bones belonging to a plesiosaur in the Kem Kem beds, an ancient riverbed system in what is now the Sahara desert in Morocco. The discovery indicates that plesiosaurs, originally thought to have lived only in saltwater environments, may have also lived in freshwater habitats as well.
“It’s scrappy stuff, but isolated bones actually tell us a lot about ancient ecosystems and animals in them,&#8221; Dr. Nick Longrich, one of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/paleontologists-say-gigantic-dinosaur-bones-largest-land-animal-ever-walk-earth">paleontologists</a> on the research team, said in a <a href="https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/plesiosaur-fossils-found-in-the-sahara-suggest-they-werent-just-marine-animals/">press release</a> from the University of Bath. &#8220;They’re so much more common than skeletons, they give you more information to work with.” Longrich said that the team collected bones from more than a dozen individual plesiosaurs across a large area. “The bones and teeth were found scattered and in different localities, not as a skeleton. So each bone and each tooth is a different animal.”
In a post on his <a href="https://www.nicklongrich.com/blog/what-were-plesiosaurs-doing-in-a-100-million-year-old-river">personal blog</a> discussing the find, Longrich explained that around <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/near-perfect-99-million-year-old-dinosaur-bird-chase-stephens">100 million years ago</a>, the Sahara desert was a sprawling system of rivers that flowed out of Africa and into the Atlantic Ocean. The riverbeds where the fossils were found were home to a wide array of animal life, including prehistoric fish, freshwater-tolerant sharks and rays, turtles, amphibians like frogs and salamanders, and the aquatic dinosaur Spinosaurus. Longrich wrote that finding a plesiosaur in the riverbeds there was so unexpected because the Kem Kem beds were entirely freshwater, whereas plesiosaurs were considered marine dinosaurs, living only in saltwater habitats.
The scientists have several theories for why a species that mostly lives in salt water would be present in fresh water. While many marine animals, like dolphins and whales, can wander into freshwater, the scientists said that the sheer number of teeth found, and the wear found on each tooth, suggest that the animals spent a lot of time there. More likely theories are that the plesiosaurs were marine animals that simply adapted to a freshwater environment, or even that they fully inhabited the river.
The species found in Morocco belongs to the family Leptocleididae, a family of small plesiosaurs that grow to a maximum length of about 3 meters, or 10 feet. Other specimens have been found in both brackish and freshwater habitats in England, Australia, and Africa.
The first nearly-complete plesiosaur fossil was discovered in England in 1823 by fossil collector Mary Anning. The fossil became the most popular explanation for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-10-greatest-hoaxes-of-all-time">Loch Ness Monster</a> since it came to mainstream attention in 1933.
The new discovery means that the Loch Ness Monster could have been real, in a sense. &#8220;On one level, it’s plausible,&#8221; the University of Bath said in its press release. &#8220;Plesiosaurs weren’t confined to the seas, they did inhabit freshwater.&#8221; But the release admits that stories about the monster, a.k.a. &#8220;Nessie,&#8221; are still just stories. &#8220;[T]he fossil record also suggests that after almost a hundred and fifty million years, the last plesiosaurs finally died out at the same time as the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago,&#8221; the University said.

Loch Ness Monster

Real Life Loch Ness Monster? Paleontologists Discover Fossils Of Marine Dinosaur In Fresh Water

Africa

Animals

Europe

United Kingdom

A law to conserve a species of fish may have inadvertently led to a recent uptick in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sharks">shark</a> attacks in the state of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york">New York</a>.
Experts interviewed by the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/21/state-bill-from-19-could-be-to-blame-for-more-sharks/">New York Post</a> Thursday said that sharks are returning to the waters off Long Island Sound because of a boom in the population of Atlantic menhaden, a species of fish native to the area. That means sharks have been approaching Long Island beaches, and in the process, have been coming dangerously close to, and in some cases biting, beachgoers.
“The reason why people are interacting with sharks more often this year and more than last year is because of conservation efforts over the years [that] has protected a food source known as the Atlantic Menhaden,” Frank Quevedo, executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum Shark Research and Education Program, told the New York Post. “If there’s a school of Menhaden or baitfish close to shore, and sharks are feeding on that, they’re gonna fight any way they can, or shove other fish out of the way to feed on that food source. So, if people are in the middle of that frenzy … they’re gonna get bitten and that’s what happens.”
Menhaden, also known as bunker, are a species of baitfish that is eaten by larger fish and sharks. They are also commonly used to produce fish oil and fish meal for dietary supplements, animal food, and as an ingredient in other food products. Overfishing decimated the population in the area by 2011. The <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S2317?intent=support">State Legislature</a> unanimously passed — and then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed — a bill in 2019 to put severe restrictions on the use of large nets called purse seines in fishing for menhaden, and banned their use in parts of the Long Island Sound.
The bill has had its intended effect, the Post noted — Humpback whales are staying in New York waters longer, and sharks have been spotted frequently in the shallows across Long Island. But Quevedo told the Post that because the fish swim so close to shore — in some cases as close as 20 yards from shore — they can draw sharks in with them, putting them in contact with people. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shark-attacks-2022-united-states-beaches/">Six beachgoers</a> have already been victims of shark attacks so far this summer. A <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/20/shark-nips-fire-island-surfer-in-latest-long-island-attack/">16-year-old surfer</a> was the latest victim; he was bitten in the waters of Fire Island Wednesday.
“What you’re seeing is a game of numbers. More sharks, people, there’s a greater chance there’s going to be an interaction,&#8221; Christopher Paparo, manager of Stony Brook University’s Marine Sciences Center, told the Post. &#8220;One thing to keep in mind: seeing sharks in our local ecosystem is extremely important. It’s a sign that the environment around us is healthy.”
But Quevedo said that sharks are not biting humans on purpose. “If the sharks were here to attack people, people would be dying and bleeding to death and losing limbs,” he said.
Assemblyman Steve Englebright, one of the bill&#8217;s sponsors in the State Assembly, said he could not have anticipated the &#8220;seriousness&#8221; of the increased shark activity. Still, he told the Post that he stands by the bill. “It’s having positive results,” Englebright said. “I don’t doubt that there are collisions taking place between bathers and probably tiger sharks that are looking for those Menhaden and mistaking people’s feet for fish. … That’s not something that one can legislate.”

E8196FFB-06CD-44C6-8F3E-C975740C8939_1_201_a

NY Fishing Restrictions May Have Played A Role In Recent Shark Attack Spike

Atlantic Ocean

Fish

New York

New York Post

Senior pranks are handled differently in Florida. Rather than move the principal&#8217;s car to somewhere like the roof, students allegedly recently took it upon themselves to gut and hang an enormous dead shark from the rafters at one Sunshine State high school.
On Thursday, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/05/05/dead-shark-found-hanging-from-rafters-at-florida-high-school/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">reported</a> that a &#8220;gigantic dead shark was hung from the rafters outside Ponte Vedra High School in Jacksonville Thursday.&#8221; Ponte Vedra&#8217;s mascot is a shark, which is why school officials believe that the stunt was some sort of senior gag.
&#8220;This is typically the time of year that we see senior pranks taking place within our high schools,&#8221; the school district <a href="https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/st-johns-county/dead-shark-found-hanging-ponte-vedra-high-school/DVLHE3KAUZFGDL42XH7MVKI6WQ/">explained</a> to the media.
&#8220;A group of five high school students at Ponte Vedra High School hung a gutted shark on the rafters of the school courtyard,” Alex AuBuchon, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, added.
Photos of the animal can be seen here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Massive dead shark found hanging from rafters at Florida high school <a href="https://t.co/5fIrs3NdrR">https://t.co/5fIrs3NdrR</a> <a href="https://t.co/5LS8ZbHroc">pic.twitter.com/5LS8ZbHroc</a>
&mdash; New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1522339593680568324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The shark was dead before it was hung, but animal rights activists are still slamming the action as horrifying.
&#8220;To me, it’s disgusting for a shark to be hung up supposedly as a prank,” Adam Sugalski, an animal rights activist and executive director of One Protest, <a href="https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/st-johns-county/dead-shark-found-hanging-ponte-vedra-high-school/DVLHE3KAUZFGDL42XH7MVKI6WQ/">told</a> CBS 47 in Jacksonville. “We don’t want to lose any more sharks than we have to. And just to see a shark being killed and hung up for a prank is saddening.”
Criminal charges are possible and the incident could meet the criteria for a Level 4 offense, based on the school handbook. Discipline could include any of the following:
<ul class="list__StyledUnorderedList-sc-1wwq737-2 JRdEJ">
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Mandatory out of school suspension of up to 10 days</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Parent Notification Required</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Referral for placement in the alternative school</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Referral to mental health services and/or receive mental health screening</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Referral to law enforcement</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Possible expulsion from the School District</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Loss of senior year privileges including graduation ceremony</li>
<li class="list__StyledListItem-sc-1wwq737-0 eWWuMa">Evaluation of event by threat assessment team</li>
</ul>

Shark

Florida High School Students Allegedly Gut Massive Shark, Hang Dead Carcass From Rafters

Florida High School Students Allegedly Hang Dead Shark From Rafters As Suspected Prank

Education

Colorado is, of course, landlocked, with the mighty Rocky Mountains on one side and the beginning of the Great Plains on the other.
So, it stands to reason that residents there don&#8217;t have the same threat that people on the coasts have. Namely, sharks.
But that didn&#8217;t keep Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) from bragging that his state has had zero shark attacks.
&#8220;Colorado is tied for state with the least shark attacks!&#8221; the governor wrote on Twitter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Colorado is tied for state with the least shark attacks! 🦈 <a href="https://t.co/mMI8HAZGra">pic.twitter.com/mMI8HAZGra</a>
&mdash; Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaredpolis/status/1447748268092313600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Based on the uncited map shared by Polis, Colorado is in a 23-way tie among states also reporting no shark attacks,&#8221; Out There Colorado <a href="https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/colorado-tied-for-state-with-least-shark-attacks-brags-governor-polis/article_d30c76e8-2c4c-11ec-a5ea-5f867e23293b.html">wrote</a>. &#8220;While many might assume that no shark attacks would be the obvious number of shark attacks for a landlocked state, landlocked states of Kentucky, New Mexico, and Missouri have reportedly had a shark attack occur.&#8221;
&#8220;While a shark attack in Colorado may seem impossible, it&#8217;s not, as sharks can be found at the Denver Aquarium. People are even invited to go shark-diving at the exhibit. According to A-1 Scuba, the company that operates the experience, caged and cage-less options are available,&#8221; said the site. &#8220;Should an unlikely negative encounter occur here, it would be similar to the one that took place in New Mexico, when a diver was bitten in the arm at the Albuquerque Aquarium in March of 2005.&#8221;
Of course, Polis was likely joshing around. And some others joined in on the fun.
&#8220;Polis’ record on this is going to be tough for Republicans to run against,&#8221; journalist Kyle Clark <a href="https://twitter.com/KyleClark/status/1447750899619696644">wrote</a> on Twitter.
Another amused person <a class="link rapid-noclick-resp" href="https://twitter.com/irony_tower_/status/1447758122181926913?s=20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-ylk="slk:writing" data-rapid_p="10" data-v9y="1">wrote</a>: “Thank you for keeping Colorado safe from shark attacks, Governor.”
Said another: &#8220;Florida tied for state with the least mountain climbing deaths.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Florida tied for state with the least mountain climbing deaths <a href="https://t.co/BW05ZR3kTW">pic.twitter.com/BW05ZR3kTW</a>
&mdash; Michael Donnelly (@MikeDonnellyJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeDonnellyJr/status/1447992516704288778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Another mentioned the possibility of a &#8220;land shark,&#8221; made famous by Chevy Chase on &#8220;Saturday Night Live&#8221; in the 1970s.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Illinois attack, apparently&#8230;. 
&quot;Candygram!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/5Xb1y7La6h">pic.twitter.com/5Xb1y7La6h</a>
&mdash; Billyjon (@billyjon) <a href="https://twitter.com/billyjon/status/1447749266391265292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Others mused about how there have been shark attacks in other landlocked states like Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Missouri.
“Uhm, I’m kinda confused about New Mexico, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania,” a Twitter user <a class="link rapid-noclick-resp" href="https://twitter.com/EMoRoboCO/status/1447905592924721154?s=20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-ylk="slk:wrote" data-rapid_p="14" data-v9y="1">wrote</a>. “Where, exactly, are people being attacked by sharks in those states?”
One Twitter user offered some info on the latter attack.
&#8220;The Missouri incident happened in 1996. Kathi and Marco Peters were performing at the St Louis Boat and Sports show in a 9,000 gallon tank with six nurse sharks, and one of the sharks (named Bob) bit Kathi&#8217;s hand, giving her five puncture wounds,&#8221; the person <a href="https://twitter.com/georgeregnery/status/1447753464117964801">wrote</a>.
Out There Colorado also pointed out that the New Mexico shark attacked occurred &#8220;when a diver was bitten in the arm at the Albuquerque Aquarium in March of 2005.&#8221;
&#8220;Another Twitter user argued that Coloradans only ever encounter a shark when the San Jose Sharks travel to play Colorado Avalanche, another professional ice hockey team,&#8221; Yahoo <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/colorado-governor-sparks-confusion-boasting-143642010.html">reported</a>.
&#8220;Conor Cahill, a spokesperson for Mr. Polis, <a class="link rapid-noclick-resp" href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/10/12/colorado-shark-attack-record/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=fb-denverpost&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-ylk="slk:Denver Post" data-rapid_p="20" data-v9y="0">told </a>The Denver Post that Coloradans &#8216;are known for being healthy and lean and sharks know they won’t get much of a meal here. Coloradans and others from across the world love exploring our mountains, rivers, lakes and plains while safely avoiding the swarms of dangerous sharks in other, less attractive destinations like Texas, California and Florida.”

Saturday Night Live

Colorado Governor Brags: ‘Tied For State With Least Shark Attacks’

Colorado

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