Shark attack beach hotspots: Map shows some of the most dangerous states in the US as two swimmers are mauled on South Padre Island

The US has infamously become a hub for shark attacks, as a map reveals the most dangerous states following the mauling of two swimmers on South Padre Island.

While a group of Americans celebrated Fourth of July at the popular Texas seaside, the ocean predator emerged from the waters before launching its attack on the four beachgoers - seriously injuring two.

But this was not the first case of its kind to grab headlines this year with one Ohio tourist bitten on a New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Thursday and another viscously teen attacked Galveston, Texas, in May.

Just two months ago, Daytona Beach in Volusia County, Florida, was named the shark capital of the world  according to a report by Florida University's International Shark File.

Florida as a whole has had 928 since records began, followed by Hawaii with 195 and California with 138.

This year, 26 bites have been record - with eight considered provoked and one fatal.

FLORIDA 

One of the most recent shark attacks took place on July 4 as Americans celebrated Independence Day.

On Thursday, an Ohio man, 21 was playing football in knee-deep water on Florida's New Smyrna Beach when he was bitten by a shark.

The man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

In June, two teens and a 45-year-old woman were left injured in back-to-back shark attacks in the most dangerous state - Florida.

At the time, Floridians living around Walton Beach were advised to stay away from the water after the woman sustained 'significant trauma to the midsection and pelvic area and amputation of her left lower arm'.

All three of the victims, who were visiting the area, were attacked while they were swimming near the sandbar. 

While the first teen victim was airlifted to a trauma center in Pensacola in critical condition, the other was taken by ambulance in stable condition.

TEXAS 

Also on Independence Day, four swimmers were attacked on a Texas beach - and two were left gravely injured.

In horror footage, a bleeding woman could be seen on the sandy South Padre Island beach turning the waters around her dark red while first responders wrapped a tourniquet around her leg.

According to a statement by Texas Parks and Wildlife, the woman was one of two people bitten at the beach on Thursday after the shark launched its attack on four.

Two managed to escape the predator's jaws unharmed.

Texas Parks and Wildlife released a statement reading: 'Details at this time indicate that two people were bitten and two people encountered the shark but were not seriously injured.

'The two victims who were bitten were transported to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville where one is being treated and the other has been flown out for further treatment'.

Due to the shark, officers deployed drones, boats and helicopters to locate the predator and the city was also considering closing the beach. 

In March, a 14-foot great white shark was spotted near South Padre Island, according to local radio station KNFM. 

The 3,000-lb. predator reportedly came within 100 yards of the beach.

And in May, Damiana Humphrey, 19, was in waist-deep waters with her sisters when she was bitten by a shark in Galveston, Texas - which placed number six on the list of the most dangerous states.

The teen, from Oklahoma, recalled that something suddenly grabbed her hand after her sister-in-law unexpectedly saw something tan moving in the water.

'I looked down and there was a shark attached to my hand, so I guess I started punching it. That part is kind of blurry to me,' she recounted.

She said the shark, which was between four and five feet long, let go of her swam off as she ran out of the water with her siblings.

CALIFORNIA 

The following month, one swimmer in California was rushed to hospital after he was bitten on the torso, left arm, and hand.

The swimmer, a 46-year-old man identified as Caleb, was seriously injured in the attack at Del Mar City Beach in Del Mar, around 20 miles north of San Diego, after California swiped third place on the list.

A section of the beach was forced to close for two days following the brutal attack.  

HAWAII

The first fatal attack of 2024 happened in Hawaii last month when the lifeless body of the Pirates of the Caribbean star Tamayo Perry was found while he was surfing off Goat Island - around 42 miles north of Honolulu.

Lifeguards found the actor with several shark bites on his body and took him to shore using a jet ski, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hawaii was listed second place under Florida as the most dangerous state for shark attacks.  

In 2023, there were 16 attacks - more than anywhere else in the world.

On the country-wide level, the US tops the list with 1,640 attacks, followed by Australia with 706.

There was a slight increase in the number of attacks last year, but they remain extremely rare and fatal or life-threatening attacks are even less common.

There were 69 unprovoked bites in 2023 globally, according to the report, compared to the previous five-year average of 63 attacks - meaning you are more likely to win the lottery than get bitten by a shark.

Of those, ten were fatal, up from five the year before: four people died in Australia, two in the US and one each in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico and New Caledonia.

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's shark research program said: 'This is within the range of the normal number of bites, though the fatalities are a bit unnerving this year.'

In total, the US had 36 unprovoked attacks, accounting for half of incidents worldwide.

There was a fatal attack in California and another in Hawaii.

Florida had 16 unprovoked non-fatal attacks last year, more than any other state.

The report defines an unprovoked attack as when 'a shark is in its natural habitat and attacks without any human provocation' like using bait, or swimming up to them.

Naylor said: 'We're biologists, and we want to understand the natural behavior of the animals — not the unnatural behavior.'

The majority of the attacks happened between Memorial Day and Labor Day when the temperature rises and more people are in the sea.

Surfers made up 42 percent of the global victims, with swimmers and waders making up another 39 percent.

Two swimmers were bitten by sharks on Labor Day last year near Ponce Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach.

The man was bitten on his left hand, while a different shark bit a woman's right foot, neither attack was life-threatening.

Lifeguards in Volusia County say they see sharks regularly, but attacks are very rare.

'Locals that live here interact with sharks on a daily basis and never have any issues. The bites here are a case of mistaken identity,' Volusia Beach safety deputy chief Tammy Malphurs told WKMG-TV.

The report says: 'The vast majority of unprovoked attacks are test bites, which occur when a shark misidentifies a human as their preferred prey.

'When this happens, the shark will typically swim away after a single bite.

Some species like white sharks and tiger sharks, however, are large enough that even a single bite can be fatal.'

If you are attacked by a shark, experts recommend fighting back, concentrating on their eyes, gills and nose.