A Rare and Frightening Encounter: What the Shark Attack Reveals About Our Relationship with Nature Shark attacks are an infinitesimally small fraction of beachgoer fatalities.
The statistics tell us that lightning strikes kill about 24,000 people annually while injuring ten times as many – a sobering reminder of the risks we take by venturing into nature's domain.
Yet, when it happens, a single shark bite can be devastating enough to claim a life.