Florida shark attacks caused by heat, not scary orcas, experts say

Two recent shark attacks on a beach in Florida led to a flood of social media rumors linking the cases to the presence of orcas in the Gulf of Mexico. But this "doesn't make any sense," marine biologist Jesús Erick Higuera-Rivas, told Live Science.

On June 7, three people were injured in two shark attacks off the coast of Walton County, between Destin and Panama City Beach. Victims included a 45-year-old woman who was bitten near Watersound Beach, as well as two teenagers who were injured later the same day, around four miles east of the first attack. 

The same bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) was likely responsible for all three attacks, Walton County Sheriff's Office representative Corey Dobridnia told USA Today. 

Recent sightings of orcas (Orcinus orca) in the same region led some people to speculate that the killer whales were driving bull sharks closer to the shore, where they were attacking people. Orcas had been seen on June 4 just south of Destin, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from where the shark attacks occurred.

However, Higuera-Rivas says that the two events are "not connected." Higuera-Rivas studies orca behavior at the Pelagic Protection and Conservation Civil Association in Mexico, including their interactions with sharks and rays. 

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Despite observations of some orcas hunting great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) off the coast of South Africa and pursuing bull sharks in the Gulf of California, Higuera-Rivas says that the latest attacks are more likely due to the increase in human activity near where bull sharks feed near shore.