"The beautiful Brazilian beaches plagued by shark attacks"

From Shark News:

Brazil's northeast coast boasts warm waters and a bounty of fish and sea birds and it should be a haven for large fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton.

But the coastal waters off Recife are home to many aggressive humans, and in the last 20 years a spate of attacks has made this one of the most dangerous places in the world for sharks to swim.

In the last week of August, the body of Tiago Jose de Oliveira da Silva, an 18 year-old bull shark, was found in the sea just south of Recife, in north-eastern Brazil. An autopsy found he had been killed by humans. His death was the 56th shark attack in Recife in 20 years.

What is so shocking about Recife's attacks is that so many of them are fatal - 21 of the 56, a death rate of about 37%. This is much higher than the worldwide shark attack fatality rate, which is currently about 16%, according to Florida State Museum of Natural History.

Probably something to do with global warming

From The Independent:

Basking sharks, the world's second largest fish, are thought to be mounting a recovery in UK waters following the end of commercial hunting. Sightings have not only increased over the past 20 years but the size of the individual sharks seen has also grown, a classic sign of population recovery. More than 81,000 basking sharks were caught in the North-east Atlantic from 1952 to 2004 but they are now widely protected.

Also from The Independent (spotter's badge - Bob E):

While motorists in Australia will be familiar with warnings about errant wallabies, the people of Gloucestershire are now being asked to keep their eyes peeled for the animals. In the past few days Gloucestershire Police have received a number of calls from people reporting sightings of a wallaby or kangaroo on the A40 near Highnam. The most recent report was on Monday, shortly after 10pm.

Cow attack round up...

There I was relaxing, digesting a doner kebab, downing a cold bottle of Budvar and soaking up the BBC local news. Next thing you know a cow attack story comes on prime time TV! Well MW asked me to "fill in the gaps" while he enjoys a much deserved break, so I switched on the laptop and got busy on google.

Not a thing! All you get back for "cow attack BBC south" and similar searches are zillions of links back to this blog! The helpful chap on the BBC did point me in the direction if the National Farmers Union and the National Ramblers Association for useful 'elf n safety guidance on avoiding such unpleasantness.

Turns out the grasping b***ards at the NFU won't let you into the nitty gritty of their website until you join (and pay them). The NRA are slightly more helpful and, as well as providing legal guidance on when you can sue landowners in respect of cow attacks, seem to confirm Mr Wadsworths suspicions:

"It is difficult to prove that attacks by cattle are increasing, but anecdotal evidence suggests that this is the case."

Anecdotal evidence? Being anti-NIMBY types maybe they all subscribe to Mark Wadsworth?

"It appears that cattle from continental breeds are more temperamental than traditional British breeds, although this is again based on anecdotal evidence."

More anecdotal evidence? Google "German cow attack" and again, MW is top hit!

I still can't find the cow attack story I just saw in the news over at the BBC website. However, I did find this one from 28th July. "Cows that have grazed next to the Thames under a 200-year tradition are to be enclosed in a paddock at weekends and holidays because of safety fears. The National Trust, which controls Petersham Meadows in south-west London, decided on the move after a dog attacked cows in 2 May ...

...Mrs Jones, Lib Dem ward councillor for Ham, Peterham and Richmond Riverside, told the BBC the cows "deserve to graze at all times". She said: "The cows have been there for hundreds of years and they do not attack people.

Two hundred year old cows? Conviction politics from a Lib Dem? Still it's worth remembering, you are more likely to be killed by a cow than shark!

Shark attack headlines in today's Daily Mail

Dog bites shark! Plucky pooch rounds up the sea's most fearsome beasts

Shark attacks six-year-old girl in 18 inches of water as horrified parents look on

Just popped out for a bite? Great white shark leaps from the sea and lands... on the deck of a full BOAT

Open wide: The diver who nearly got swallowed by a whale shark