Cocaine Sharks: scientists say some sharks may be feasting on drugs dumped off Florida coast
Sharks lurking off the coast of Florida may be eating packs of cocaine dumped into the ocean by smugglers from the United States, and scientists want to find out if that is true.
Given the huge amounts of drugs that wash up on beaches and are pulled out of the ocean every year, marine biologist Tom Hird wanted to investigate whether sharks were using cocaine. The study was conducted as part of the new TV series Cocaine Sharks, SSPDaily writes.
Marine biologists conducted several experiments to test the reaction of sharks to fake bales of cocaine in the Florida Keys. According to them, some fish behaved very strangely. For example, a hammerhead shark, a species that usually avoids humans, rushed right at them and seemed to swim obliquely.
At a depth of 60 feet below the surface, a sand shark was spotted swimming in narrow circles, focusing on an object that was not there.
At the same time, scientists note that they are not ready to say with certainty that sharks are addicted to drugs. To do this, they say, many more experiments will have to be conducted.