BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There's no question about it, shark attacks are terrifying, and in cases like that of young Jessie Arbogast, they can be life-threatening. Even so, David George wonders, have sharks gotten a bad rap?</s>DAVID GEORGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When we think "sharks," we think "Jaws," the movies. But when we see sharks through Hollywood's eyes, we see a distorted picture. Last year, there were 79 documented shark attacks around the world; 10 people died. There were more fatalities than that in just six hours of "Jaws" and its sequels. Scientists say more than 90 percent of the 368 shark species are harmless to humans. Like humans, sharks come in many sizes, shapes and colors, with different appetites. Some sharks eat almost anything. Others are more selective. Sometimes sharks eat other sharks, which may explain why sharks have worked their way in such colorful way into our vocabulary: pool sharks, card sharks, loan sharks, lawyers.</s>BERNARD GRAHAM, ATTORNEY: Lawyers smell blood in the water, and they will be drawn to that blood at accelerated rates.</s>GEORGE: Unlike attorneys, sharks aren't often found on TV or the front page. Shark attacks are big news when they happen, because they happen so rarely. They only happen when we humans, by accident or on purpose, venture into shark territory, where the shark tops the food chain. And when we set out to disrupt that food chain, well, for every human killed last year by a shark, 10 million sharks and their biological relatives were killed by humans. David George, CNN.
Sharks Are Getting a Bad Rap