Vero Beach Sharks?

[Pumbaa_]

In 1999 a 9 yo boy was killed in a shark attack at Vero Beach. The reports say he was flailing about in fairly deep water.

I will stick to pools, thank you very much.

 

[Lizardbeth61]

fun for walking along the shore. As for going in, I'm not fond of water where I can't see my feet anyway, so the shark issue gives me one more excuse. DD doesn't like the salt in her eyes and DS got a bad case of sand rash if you get my drift from sand between his suit and skin so he's less likely. Good. The pools great and no sharks!

 

[SnowWitch]

When they first started reporting these shark swarms a few weeks ago we were curious how close to VB they were so we went on line. Found a cool website that has a Fla map that identifies each coastal county with a color catagorizing it by the number of shark attacks and shark fatalities. If I can find it again I will post a link. Although VB is one of the hotter areas so to speak they have had few attacks and deathes.

 

[JimMIA]

In 1999 [Ed. note - that would be SIX years ago.]a 9 yo boy was killed in a shark attack at Vero Beach. The reports say he was flailing about in fairly deep water.

And in 1837, Seminole Indians ambushed Major Francis Dade and his detachment near the town of Bushnell, Florida (located only a few miles northwest of WDW). 101 soldiers were killed in the worst defeat of the US Army by Indians in US history up to that point. The Dade Massacre still ranks second behind only Custer's Last Stand, and it ushered in the Second Seminole War - the only Indian war fought by the US Army, Navy, and Marines. That war would prove to be the deadliest, most expensive, least successful Indian war in US history.

The proud Seminoles never surrendered, and both Seminole Indians and their close allies the Miccosukee still inhabit much of Central and South Florida, They are frequently sighted not only around Vero Beach where the sharks aren't, but also in close proximity to WDW itself!

BE EVER VIGILENT!!!

P.S. You should also be watchful for Skunk Apes and the dreaded Chupacabra whenever you are in Florida! Oh, and don't forget SNAKES!!!

 

[jmminarik]

DVC Members are Friends, Not Food.

I'm not sure about people who stay offsite.

-Joe

 

[MiaSRN62]

DVC Members are Friends, Not Food. I'm not sure about people who stay offsite.

Aaahhhh ! I've been known on occasion to stay offsite......

Exerts from this web site (for anyone who might be interested) :
ISAF 2004 Worldwide Shark Attack Summary
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm
Following recent trends, Florida (12) had most of the unprovoked attacks in the United States. However, this total was remarkably lower than the 2000-2003 average of 33.5 (based on 30 in 2003, 29 in 2002, 34 in 2001, and 37 in 2000). Additional U.S. attacks were recorded in California (6), Texas (4), Hawaii (3), North Carolina (2), Alabama (1), Oregon (1), and South Carolina (1). Within Florida, Volusia County had the most (3) incidents, dramatically down from the 13 reported in 2003, 18 in 2002, and 22 in 2001. This area normally has higher numbers of shark-human interactions as a result of very high aquatic recreational utilization of its attractive waters by both Florida residents and tourists, especially surfers. Other Florida counties having attacks in 2003 were St. Johns (2), Brevard (1), Duvall (1), Lee (1), Martin (1), Palm Beach (2), and Pinellas (1).
We know less about the offending parties in "hit and run" cases since the shark is seldom observed, but it is safe to assume that a large suite of species might be involved. Evidence from Florida, which has 20-30 of these type attacks per year, suggests that the blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus) [possibly spinner (Carcharhinus brevipinna) and blacknose (Carcharhinus acronotus)] sharks are the major culprits in this region.

and another interesting shark attack site : http://www.welovesharks.com/FLsharkprob.htm

So, true, overall attacks are not that common, but I don't want to tempt fate and be one of the statisics, particularily in light of this heavy concentration of sharks off FL's east coast. I'm heading over to Vero this August, and if the swimming bans are lifted I will be going at least knee-deep in the water (and hoping the sharks don't detect that I stay offsite sometime !).