Study: Sharks Bite With Upper Jaws

May 31 -- Here's a question you're not likely to ask when you feel that sudden pain in your leg while spending a day in the surf:

How, exactly, does a shark manipulate its jaw so that it can easily rip out a hunk of flesh?

But Cheryl Wilga wanted to know, which is a bit odd since the Aleut Indian grew up in Alaska where concerns over fish are of a more practical nature, like how to catch the elusive king salmon.

Wilga became obsessed with sharks after moving from Kodiak, Alaska, to the University of South Florida in Tampa, where pioneering research was underway to try to decipher just how these mythical creatures function in the water.

Humans More Likely to Nip

It's a big issue in Florida, which leads the world each year in shark attacks on humans. According to the International Shark Attack File maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were 34 unprovoked shark attacks in Florida's waters last year, contributing to a record number of 79 such attacks worldwide.

Ten of the attacks resulted in fatalities, one of which was in Florida.

But as shark lovers will quickly point out, the chances of getting attacked by a shark are really quite low. You're a thousand times more likely to get bitten by a dog than a shark, according to George H. Burgess, who is director of the International Shark Attack File, a clearing house for all things related to sharks.

In fact, you're 100 times more likely to get bitten by another human than a shark, Burgess says, and much more likely to be killed by lightning.

None of that is likely to ease our fears of being gobbled down by a wild shark, which undoubtedly adds to our fascination with these creatures of the deep.

"Anytime you mention a shark it draws a lot of attention," says Wilga, who recently conducted postdoctoral research on sharks at Harvard University before joining the biology faculty of the University of Rhode Island. She says that's largely because of the fear of shark attacks, but she insists most people think the study of sharks is "cool."