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- "Shark attacks girl surfing off Australia's east coast" (The Guardian)
- "Viral Shark Video Gives Rare Look at a Feeding Frenzy" (National Geographic)
- "Promising young surfer bitten by shark at Avoca Beach." (The Daily Telegraph)
- "Man Bites Shark." (Project Syndicate)
- "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water: Florida boy, 12, catches eight-foot tiger shark on his first fishing trip" (Daily Mail)
- "Shark swims near paddleboarder, surfer off Cape Cod beach" (The Boston Globe)
- "Fishery research: A squid that a shark won't eat" (Asbury Park Press)
- "Greencastle girl, 7, bitten by shark" (WRTV Indianapolis)
- "Shark Attacks 13-Year Old in Australia" (RIA Novosti)
- "COLUMN: Close encounters of the shark kind" (Hattiesburg American)
50% of the ten first results are directly about shark attacks. This number is very concerning, either way I look at it. Either, the media is still very biased towards sharks, or what may also be the case is an actual rise in shark attacks: which forces us to ask the question, why? Why are shark attacks going up? I happen to think it may be something about us depleting their natural food supply. Or it could also be greater numbers of people taking to the water; population sizes are going up, thus more people are likely to take to the oceans, more people = more chance of an attack. This picture is a concerning one either way you paint it. Either sharks are still being unjustly represented or we need to figure out what has changed in them.
For comparison sake I repeated the same process for dogs. As I wrote in a previous post, more people are killed by dogs every year (on average), so what are the first ten results for man's best friend?
- "Dangerous dogs: Owners face $20,000 fines" (BBC News)
- "Blind student refused service in Tesco for taking in guide dog" (The Guardian)
- "Why was one 'Ebola dog' killed and the other saved?" (The i100)
- "Pup offered to grieving owner" (Stuff.co.nz)
- "Terrier mix mauls Silver Spring pet sitter; police shoot and kill dog" (WJLA)
- "Bury Your Dog's Poop to Stop their Constant Digging" (Lifehacker)
- "'I love my dog more than my son': Mother makes shocking revelation on This Morning" (Mirror.co.uk)
- "Meet Britain's WIMPIEST dog Bonnie: Can you give her a home before Bonfire Night?" (Mirror.co.uk)
- "Dog rescued from Jurupa Valley dumpster adopted" (KABC TV)
- "The Important Things to Consider Before Your Adopt a Dog" (Lifehacker)
Alright. Just a tad different than the last list... Here there is maybe 20% that are about dog attacks, one of which isn't talking about a specific case. And most of these are quite positive towards dogs. These lists aren't in any way reliable data, I just thought this might be interesting to do, just to get a rough idea of what the media is reporting. Interesting results.
Where's the, "I love sharks more than my son" article at?
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