Shark Attacks - From 1900 to 2017

As part of my academic experience at UCD Professional Academy , I completed a practical assignment involving Excel and Power BI, culminating in a data showcase. For this analysis, I chose an intriguing dataset titled "Shark Attacks (Reported Over the Past 100 Years)," which is available for free on Kaggle. My approach involved breaking the assignment into five distinct steps to demonstrate my proficiency in utilizing Excel and Power BI for data exploration, cleaning, transformation, analysis, and visualization.

During my investigation, I explored the following questions:

1. How many shark attacks have occurred over time since 1900?
2. Which countries report the most shark attacks?
3. Which shark species are most commonly involved in attacks on humans?
4. Which decade has seen the highest number of shark attacks?
5. From 1900 to 2017, how many fatalities occurred due to shark attacks?
6. What activities are most commonly associated with shark attacks?

The results revealed a total of 4,886 reported shark attacks from 1900 to 2017. Notably, there has been a significant increase in recorded shark attacks over the years, particularly between 2000 and 2017.

My analysis indicated that males are typically more frequently involved in shark attacks than females. This disparity can be attributed to various factors related to behaviors and activities. Activities such as fishing, surfing, and diving—which are more commonly pursued by males—often lead to increased time spent in the water, resulting in a higher likelihood of encounters with sharks. Additionally, certain actions or movements in the water may inadvertently attract sharks, further influencing this gender disparity among shark attack victims. There have also been instances where victims were teasing, swimming, or filming documentaries when the attack occurred.

Furthermore, the United States, Australia, and South Africa consistently rank among the countries with the highest number of recorded shark attacks. The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is widely regarded as the most infamous species known for attacking humans, with its reputation significantly bolstered by popular media and reported incidents. Following the great white, tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) and bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) are also recognized for their occasional involvement in attacks on humans.

If you're interested in exploring the dataset, you can download it here: Shark Attacks | Kaggle.