A paradise island in the Indian Ocean is so infested with sharks that swimming and surfing have been banned over fears of attacks.
Sharks prowling the waters off Réunion Island, near the coast of Madagascar, have killed 10 people over the last decade.
The French territory has the highest rate of fatal shark attacks in the world with three deaths per one million people – more than three times that of South Africa and vastly more than Australia and the United States.
Bull sharks – large and powerful creatures which can live in both salt and freshwater – are believed to be behind 90 per cent of the deadly attacks.
Surfing and swimming have been banned outside of the island’s relatively safe coral lagoon, due to fears of attacks, since 2013.
And now scientists are attempting to work out what is driving the bloodbath.
Professor Erwann Lagabrielle has made it his mission to figure out why the waters around Réunion are so dangerous, 9 News reports.
His research shows the probability of…