#Socialites, get into this wild wildlife update about “cocaine sharks!” Scientists are now claiming that sharks might be eating and getting high off of cocaine, from bundles that are being dumped off the Florida coast by drug smugglers trying to enter the United States.
RELATED: Great White Sharks Are Spotted In NYC/New Jersey Beach Waters
Experts who have been studying the recent, erratic behavior of some sharks, believe that it could all be the result of them ingesting pounds of cocaine being cast overboard by passing drug traffickers. We know, it sounds like a plot straight out of a movie!
However, scientist truly believe that crazed and blood-thirsty sharks are getting more aggressive because they’re high off their tales, from all of the recent bales of drugs being dumped and washing up on beaches.
RELATED: Chinese Food Blogger Fined $18.5K For Grilling & Eating Great White Shark
Speaking out is marine biologist Tom Hird, who is behind a new TV series ‘Cocaine Shark.’ The show, which will premiere next week during Discovery Channel’s highly-watched “Shark Week,” investigates whether or not sharks have been ingesting cocaine.
On the show, Hird and Dr. Tracy Fanara, an environmental engineer and lead member of the research team based in Florida, conduct several experiments on sharks they found off the Florida Keys, which is where fisherman have claimed to have seen these alleged drug-addicted monsters.
Hird and Fanara tested their theory out with the Florida coast sharks, using fake cocaine bales. While the packages were similar in size, they wanted to ethically recreate the physical rush of cocaine and used a highly-concentrated ball of fish powder to trigger a huge dopamine response from the sharks.
RELATED: Chinese Captain Pleads Guilty To Throwing Tanzanian Stowaways Into Shark-Infested Ocean
Hird told Live Science, “The deeper story here is the way that chemicals, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs are entering our waterways — entering our oceans — and what effect that they then could go on to have on these delicate ocean ecosystems.”
Speaking of his new show, he added, “I think we have got a potential scenario of what it may look like if you gave sharks cocaine. We gave them what I think is the next best thing. [It] set [their] brains aflame. It was crazy.”
Also speaking out, Fanara said, “It’s a catchy headline to shed light on a real problem, that everything we use, everything we manufacture, everything we put into our bodies, ends up in our wastewater streams and natural water bodies, and these aquatic life we depend on to survive are then exposed to that.”
Fanara added, “We’ve seen studies with pharmaceuticals, cocaine, methamphetamines, ketamine, all of these, where fish are being [affected] by drugs. If these cocaine bales are a point source of pollution, it’s very plausible [sharks] can be affected by this chemical. Cocaine is so soluble that any of those packages open just a little, the structural integrity is destroyed and the drug is in the water.”
RELATED: Woman Bitten By Nurse Shark During Snorkeling Session In The Maldives
In their experiments, the scientists saw multiple shark species rush towards the fake coke, but ultimately, Hird claimed their research didn’t prove that there are drug-addicted sharks on the Florida coast eating and getting off of cocaine.
Hird said more experiments will need to be conducted, as his team have only done limited research. He added, “We have no idea what [cocaine] could do to the shark. So we can’t even say well this is a baseline and go from here.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!