Readers, I apologize for adding to your nightmare file: sharks have been found swimming in the Potomac River. Eight-foot long, 200-pound bull sharks, to be exact; they’re called bull sharks because they’re known for being aggressive and unpredictable. They can survive just fine in freshwater — they’ve been spotted in the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois (!!). And they like to fight: experts think that most near-shore shark attacks can be blamed on the bull shark.
These particular sharks were caught by fishermen in Point Lookout State Park in St. Marys County. They were about 200 yards from a swimming area. One of the fishermen actually caught a bull shark in the same area back in 2010, which means this probably isn’t a fluke. Greg Dean, one of the men who caught the shark, offered the sage advice “to always be careful and never swim at night or in the morning when the sharks are feeding.” But galeophobes take heart: there has never been a reported shark attack in Maryland.
