Named for the blood in the water after a shark attack, the Red Triangle is a triangular-shaped region off the California coast where great white sharks are known frequent. There is a large population of marine mammals in this area, including elephant seals, sea otters, sea lions, and others.
And this is what draws in the predators. Great white sharks love the high fat content of these mammals, a favorite source of energy.
Somewhere close to 38% of all of the great white shark attacks on humans have occurred in the Red Triangle which extends South from Bodega Bay ( North of San Francisco ) out to the Farallon Islands and back to just South of Monterrey.
The good news, we guess, is that the shark attacks aren’t generally fatal with only 11% of the incidents resulted in death.
Here’s the documentary of one of these Red Triangle attacks:
Many biologists are tracing the increased aggression of sharks in the area to rulings similar to the US Marine Mammals Protection Act of 1972. This law prevents humans from hunting the marine mammals in the Red Triangle. Great white sharks are seeing an increased food supply and as a result are producing larger litters more rapidly.
Even though the risk of being attacked by a great white shark is still extremely low, you may want to use a little extra caution when entering the Red Triangle. The chances of a shark encounter are a little higher here.
Tags: Great White Shark, Red Triangle
