Shark attacks are rising — but you're still 33 times more likely to be killed by a dog
There have been 2,074 "unprovoked" shark attacks recorded since 1960 (more on that term in a second), and the number each year seems to be trending upward. That's according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File.
The bulk of reported shark attacks happen in the United States, and those numbers rose in the 1980s and 1990s (though they're still very uncommon, with only around 50 or less each year).
Experts have suggested a couple of reasons for the increase. First, more and more people are hitting the beaches each summer. But sharks themselves are also becoming more numerous, thanks to years of conservation efforts. One NOAA survey in 2014 found that white shark populations were rebounding in the North Atlantic. A separate 2011 study found that white sharks were becoming more numerous around central California.
A third key reason for the uptick is much more mundane — in places like Florida, better reporting systems since the 1990s mean that more and more minor attacks now get recorded, when they previously would've gone unnoticed.
http://www.vox.com/2014/7/8/5878881/...omparison-dogs