The predator was driven by bloodlust
June 8, in Hurghada, 30 meters from a beach full of tourists, a 23-year-old Russian man, who was in Hurghada with his father, died. A video of his death in the jaws of a shark, filmed by several eyewitnesses at once, circled the Internet, causing shocking reactions in places. The people of Hurghada, who remember last summer, have their own version of the predator's attack. After listening to all the opinions, we consulted with an ichthyologist specializing in the behavior of sharks.
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The consulate of the Russian Federation, having confirmed that the victim of the shark is a citizen of the Russian Federation, does not provide additional information about the deceased at the request of his family, calling on the rest of the Russians, and they are now the most on the Red Sea coast, to «vigilance on the water.» The girl swimming nearby is in shock: her life was saved only by the fact that the shark was distracted by a man.
Residents of Hurghada are surprised, because the same shark was seen at the same beach three days ago. Moreover, tourists, as usual, filmed it on video (it is also available on the Web), and then calmly went for a swim. While almost a year ago, the Egyptian summer was marked by the same thing: on July 1, 2022, a shark ate an elderly Austrian woman swimming a few meters from the beach of one of the most prestigious hotels in Hurghada. In the meantime, everyone gasped and groaned, judged and rowed, a day later she returned to the same beach (!) For the second Austrian woman and ate her too.
— You will say that it is easy for us to reason, because we do not swim, — says Muhammad, a resident of Hurghada. — Yes it is. We, the locals, only work on the beaches, if we are involved in tourism, it is not customary for us. But tourists saw a shark on Dream Beach near the shore, they even filmed it on the phone! Now all the beaches in Hurghada are closed, but last year it was the same. They closed it for a day, then opened it and everyone went swimming again. And then the man-eating shark returned.
Our tourists can be understood: for all the cynicism of the comment “How romantic it is, to save up for a year in Egypt to feed the sharks,” there is some bitter truth in it: for a week in Egypt, the average Russian today really has to save. And how not to swim, if mainly for the sake of the sea we are going there ?! But still I would like to know, is it impossible to predict and prevent the appearance of man-eating sharks where tourists and their children swim, is it impossible to predict and prevent? Or is it just that for some reason no one wants to do it?
— I'm interested in the Hurghada Russian-speaking guide.
— Rescuers and hoteliers may not have known about the shark or «not heard.» If there is no particular panic among tourists, then they will not aggravate. Everyone working in tourism is ordered not to scare away tourists. Moreover, man-eating sharks appear only once a year. It's just that this year they started something earlier.
— Yes, usually around Eid al-Adha (the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, this year June 28, last July 9 — author .).
— On Eid al-Adha, the faithful sacrifice sheep — they cut them, and the meat is distributed to the poor, they treat everyone around, and so on. A lot of lamb is required for this holiday, so on the eve of it, they begin to supply it to all Muslim countries, both in the form of fresh carcasses and in the form of live lambs. Last year, in the last days of June, a barge carrying sacrificial sheep capsized near Sharm, and predatory sharks flocked to the fresh meat. And we say that if a predatory shark has ever tasted fresh meat, the fish diet no longer suits it, it begins to hunt — to swim in the smell of meat. But then our authorities called it a «rumor» and forbade distribution. And on July 2, a shark attacked a man.
— Sharks are really mating now and they go in packs in one direction. Plus the current, I guess. I'm not an expert, I'm just saying what I heard.
Let's go back a year to the same place on the Red Sea. On July 1, on the prestigious Sahl Hasheesh beach in Hurghada, in front of other vacationers, a shark bit off an arm and a leg of an elderly European woman swimming near the shore. All July 2, the Egyptian side kept a grave (alas, in the literal sense) silence, and on the 3rd in the morning it became known from the holidaymakers that «some beaches were closed for swimming» and «going out to sea on boats was prohibited.» And only when the Network blew up the news of the second female body torn apart by a shark, the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment raised its voice, recognizing that two shark killings in a row on the central beach of the resort were terrible, but true. And he added that the attack, apparently, was carried out by the same predatory fish, «the reasons for whose aggressive behavior are being established.» And hundreds of thousands of vacationers from all over the world, including thousands of Russians, continued their vacation on the beaches of the Red Sea.
Then the instructor of the diving school in Dahab, an ichthyologist by basic education (a section of zoology that studies fish — author) recalled that a warning about the danger of swimming, taking into account the current, including on Hurghada beaches, was made on May 3, immediately after the incident with the sunken ship. In the Sharm el-Sheikh area, swimming, snorkeling, diving and pleasure yachts were banned for several days, but only after the tourists themselves saw the carcasses of dead animals in the water. But the ban was quickly lifted «in the interests of tourists», because if a guest arrived for a week, then even a three-day ban on sea swimming is too much for him. After that, the shipwreck was classified as “rumors” and even after the first murder of a shark woman on July 1, the resort authorities, according to local residents, tried to convince eyewitnesses “not to intimidate the guests of Hurghada” by distributing videos and stories on the Web. But the repeated attack forced the Egyptian authorities to acknowledge the problem and issue a memo on safe behavior on the water. Having shown it to the ichthyologist, we received a disappointing comment that the “common” recommendations on “shark safety” (do not swim in the sea even with the smallest bleeding wounds, women on critical days, do not make noise in the water, do not wear shiny jewelry and bright swimsuits, scare away sharks with whistles, etc.) is a «pop» for the consolation of tourists. In fact, sharks do not swim to the glitter of gold of resort women and do not swim away in horror at the whistles of swimmers or running boat engines, they are in the Red Sea all the time, they are just at a certain depth and do not come close to the shore — unless there is a special need for it. .
— And if they do come up, then, pardon the black humor, so as not to get up twice, they drag away several victims at once, — the ichthyologist from Dahab said then and repeats now. — After the incident on July 1 last year, I immediately said that if the shark is not neutralized, it will come again. Or rather, she did not go far, she is somewhere near people.
Well, maybe there's something else we don't know. But it is known for sure that the shark goes to the shore, where people are, only if something strongly attracts it there. And most likely, it is the smell of meat. Predatory sharks are scavengers, eating dead whales. But if a shark has eaten fresh meat somewhere, it doesn’t matter who swims it — a sacrificial sheep or a Russian tourist.
Ordinary Hurghada residents who are not involved in the tourism industry have their own version of “something we don’t know” — conspiracy theories, but not more conspiratorial than others.
“There is a war in neighboring Sudan, and corpses are dumped into the water, in coastal areas into the sea, in others into the rivers, they fed the cannibals,” a resident of Hurghada assures gloomily.
— I'm interested in an ichthyologist.
— I repeat: in the normal state, even predatory sharks do not come close to the shore and do not hunt for a person, your drop of blood and wounds is such a drop in the ocean that it is not worth the shark's attention. If a man-eating shark came ashore and attacked a person, it means that it was driven by a thirst for blood. Which suggests that the eco-balance of the reservoir of her habitat is disturbed much more seriously than by injured bathers. This is what the authorized departments should monitor and warn the tourism industry. In the US and South Africa, for example, the “shark issue” is resolved not by costly constant analyzes and forecasts, but by steel mesh barriers that enclose all bathing areas. But for the Egyptians, this is too expensive, plus such networks will interfere with one of the most important resort businesses — boat trips. It remains only to catch the shark, otherwise the horror will continue.
While this article was being written, the killer shark was caught, which is confirmed by the video and photo on the Web, where the surviving tourists bravely pose against the backdrop of the man-eating fish. The father of the deceased, staying at the hotel where everything happened, said that he intended to cremate his son and take the ashes to the Russian Federation. He called what happened “evil rock”: “Today we went to the beach to relax. My son was attacked by a shark, it all happened in seconds. It's an absolute ludicrous set of circumstances because it's a safe beach. Around the ships and yachts. There has never been such a thing. They usually attack on wild beaches. It's just some kind of bad luck … And what kind of help will you provide? This meat grinder happened in 20 seconds, he was simply dragged under the water … ”
Eyewitnesses say that the guy already tormented by the shark shouted “Dad!” The authorities of Hurghada closed all the beaches with the wording «due to the threat of new attacks.» Newly arrived tourists complain that they were not lucky, and express the hope that in «a couple of days everything will be fine.» History repeats itself, however, this time the culprit of the «evil fate» is at least caught.