The incident of Sharks close to the Beach came to light when a police helicopter saw at least 25 sharks in the waters off the coast of South California. Immediately they cautioned the beachgoers not to go into the water. The police involved local lifeguards and directed them to issue necessary warnings over the microphone and simultaneously ensure that people kept away from the water. At that time, the beach was crowded with a varied lot of swimmers and others in the water while there were at least 15 sharks in the vicinity – it was a dangerous situation.
The scenario was not good
Daily Mail UK reports that some of the swimmers were very close to the sharks and Orange County Sheriff Deputy Brian Stockbridge went on air, using the speaker in the helicopter, to caution the beachgoers and others who were in the water and who were oblivious to the imminent threat.
Subsequently, in the evening, a second group of great white sharks was seen in an area located some 50 miles north of the earlier location. Accordingly, the respective fire department issued a shark advisory and warned that it was risky to enter the beach and those who do so would be doing it at their peril. It seems there were reports of sightings from other places also but no report of any attack.
Why this sudden shark menace?
Sharks are marine animals and fall in the category of loners, hence it is strange to see them move around in groups along the coast of California which is against their character. This is not a normal phenomenon and in the opinion of experts, such a behavior could be attributed to global warming.
Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab at Long Beach, has offered this explanation. He has studied the behavior of these sharks in Southern California and believes that one of the factors responsible is the increase in ocean temperatures which is damaging their normal habitats and forcing them into unknown territories.
Lowe goes on to add that global climate change is certainly one of the factors but the extent to which this is affecting marine animals in the region is not known.
In this connection, he draws attention to the fact that, after the El Nino winter of 2014 and 2015, a group of juvenile sharks had settled down on the beach in Huntington and did not migrate south in the winter which they should have normally done.
Climate change continues to remain a subject that is believed to be the cause for a whole lot of upsets in nature that have a direct bearing on the lives of human beings. The saddest part is that we are aware of the pitfalls but do not want to acknowledge it. When sharks come close to the beach, it gives rise to an unwanted situation and the only way this can be prevented is by working towards a world that will be free of effects of climate change.
