Sharks In Florida Could Be Consuming Cocaine, Making Them Extremely Aggressive

Researchers Suggest Sharks In Florida Could Be Consuming Bales Of Cocaine, Making Them Extremely Aggressive

Researchers ran experiments to see how sharks would react to objects resembling drugs dumped in the water. They found the predators could go into a frenzy to get at the fake bales of c*caine.

Researchers investigating whether drugs dumped overboard impact the region’s marine life for a documentary found some sharks appeared to be acting strangely and others responded to similar stimulants.

Smugglers have left countless tonnes of cocaine in the seas around Florida, transported from South and Central America, either to be collected by associates or to avoid arrest. The drugs are then often washed into shore on ocean currents. Just last month, the US Coast Guard seized more than 14,100 pounds (6,400 kg) of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, with an estimated value of $186m (£142m).

 

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Marine biologist, Tom ‘The Blowfish’ Hird, and University of Florida environmental scientist, Tracy Fanara, studied sharks off the Florida Keys to see if the drugs were having any impact on them.

During one dive to observe behaviour, a great hammerhead – a species which normally avoids humans – came straight at the team and appeared to be swimming wonkily.

Researchers also recorded a sandbar shark which appeared to be fixated on something and was swimming in tight circles, despite there being nothing in sight. To their surprise, the sharks headed straight for the bales – not the swans – taking bites from them.

One shark even grabbed a bale and swam off with it. When the sharks ate the powder, the researchers saw them going wild.