Sharks Intensify Attacks and Number of Reports Soars Every Year in the Same Month in Hawaii – And Science Has Already Discovered the Reason

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 28/01/2026 at 15:38

Ataques de tubarões são considerados raros, mas o estudo observou que eles ocorrem em maior frequência em uma determinada época do ano — Foto: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument/Flickr

3 people reacted to this.

Scientific Research Details How The Migration Of Adult Females And The Biology Of The Species Increase Bite Reports In Hawaii, Alerting Surfers And Swimmers About The Seasonal Risks Of Solitary Activities

The phenomenon “Sharktober” describes the sudden increase in shark attacks along the west coast of the United States near the month of October.

In Hawaii, about 20% of bites occurred in October over a 30-year period, according to the University of Hawaii in Manoa.

This frequency recorded in October is two to four times higher than at any other time of the year in the American state.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Causes Of The Seasonal Phenomenon

The research published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science suggests that the reproductive cycle of tiger sharks explains this seasonal trend of attacks.

Tiger sharks are responsible for 47% of all 165 bites recorded in October, as indicated by the study from the University of Hawaii.

Scientist Carl Meyer analyzed the occurrence patterns between the years 1995 and 2024 to understand the population peak of the species.

The migration of adult females from the northwest Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands coincides exactly with the month of October in the region.

Behavior Of The Tiger Species

These animals have dark vertical stripes and reach lengths of 3 to 4.3 meters, weighing over 385 kilograms each.

The bite of this species is extremely powerful and adapted to crush the shells of turtles and bones, as detailed in Carl Meyer’s research.

The increase in October appears to be driven by the biology of the animals and not by changes in human ocean use, says Meyer.

Females actively seek food to replenish energy reserves due to gestation and postpartum periods, according to Live Science.

Reproductive Dynamics Of Sharks And Risks

Puppy eggs hatch inside the mothers’ bodies, requiring them to seek preferred prey to sustain the biological cycle during the indicated period.

Attacks do not occur for the protection of the pups, as the young sharks are independent and avoid larger predators in shallower coastal areas.

Carl Meyer explains that female tiger sharks may even eat their own pups, which remain isolated to ensure individual survival in nature.

The risk of being bitten remains low, but the study aims to raise awareness among visitors about high-risk solitary activities, such as surfing or swimming.

Trends And Global Data

The increase in bites in Hawaii aligns with a global trend of rising reports observed in Australia and other U.S. states recently.

Caution should be increased for residents using coastal areas during the month of October, although the alarm is not a reason for panic.

The study data serves to educate the public about the behavior of these marine animals in a way that is safe and informative for everyone.

The reproductive biology and the availability of prey explain the higher concentration of tiger sharks near the beaches of Hawaii during the American autumn.

With information from Galileu Magazine.

Sharks Intensify Attacks and Number of Reports Soars Every Year in the Same Month in Hawaii – And Science Has Already Discovered the Reason

Scientific Research Details How The Migration Of Adult Females And The Biology Of The Species Increase Bite Reports In Hawaii, Alerting Surfers And Swimmers About The Seasonal Risks Of Solitary Activities

Causes Of The Seasonal Phenomenon

Behavior Of The Tiger Species

Reproductive Dynamics Of Sharks And Risks

Trends And Global Data

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

A 250-ton transformer traveled 1,929 km by road in India on a slow and planned journey that demonstrates how the power grid relies on giant loads, detours, and impossible routes for regular trucks.

The largest car carrier ship in the world will unload 7,200 BYD cars at the SC Port in June, but before that, an Italian ship will arrive this Tuesday with another 4,500 vehicles, totaling 11,700 cars, 150 workers, and a 24-hour non-stop operation at the Port of Itajaí.

African country launched a $145 million project to rehabilitate 35 dams and drill deep wells seeking water stored for millennia beneath the desert, a plan that Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government presents as a path to the country’s water sovereignty.

A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.

The largest highway concession company in Brazil already belongs to an Italian group, and now the railway sector may be next to receive billions in investments from Italy amid the progress of the Mercosur and European Union agreement.

A new study overturns the central idea we learned about planets and suggests that Earth is the exception rather than the rule; most rocky worlds in the galaxy may not have a core or mantle, just a single turbulent fluid extending to the center.

Sharks Intensify Attacks and Number of Reports Soars Every Year in the Same Month in Hawaii – And Science Has Already Discovered the Reason

Scientific Research Details How The Migration Of Adult Females And The Biology Of The Species Increase Bite Reports In Hawaii, Alerting Surfers And Swimmers About The Seasonal Risks Of Solitary Activities

Causes Of The Seasonal Phenomenon

Behavior Of The Tiger Species

Reproductive Dynamics Of Sharks And Risks

Trends And Global Data

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

A 250-ton transformer traveled 1,929 km by road in India on a slow and planned journey that demonstrates how the power grid relies on giant loads, detours, and impossible routes for regular trucks.

A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.

A new study overturns the central idea we learned about planets and suggests that Earth is the exception rather than the rule; most rocky worlds in the galaxy may not have a core or mantle, just a single turbulent fluid extending to the center.

Scientists reanimated a 48,500-year-old virus in the laboratory that had been frozen in the Siberian permafrost since before the extinction of the Neanderthals, and it was still capable of infecting living organisms after tens of millennia dormant in the ice.

The oldest nuclear aircraft carrier still in operation in the world is currently on Brazilian soil making its final journey before retirement, and two American military planes landed in Salvador and Fortaleza to support the mission.

WhatsApp is about to eliminate one of the app’s biggest annoyances; soon a single screen will show all online contacts at the same time without needing to open each conversation individually to find out who is available.

The largest car carrier ship in the world will unload 7,200 BYD cars at the SC Port in June, but before that, an Italian ship will arrive this Tuesday with another 4,500 vehicles, totaling 11,700 cars, 150 workers, and a 24-hour non-stop operation at the Port of Itajaí.

African country launched a $145 million project to rehabilitate 35 dams and drill deep wells seeking water stored for millennia beneath the desert, a plan that Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government presents as a path to the country’s water sovereignty.

A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.

The largest highway concession company in Brazil already belongs to an Italian group, and now the railway sector may be next to receive billions in investments from Italy amid the progress of the Mercosur and European Union agreement.

A new study overturns the central idea we learned about planets and suggests that Earth is the exception rather than the rule; most rocky worlds in the galaxy may not have a core or mantle, just a single turbulent fluid extending to the center.