Beachgoers across California will share the ocean waves with an influx of young great white sharks this summer, as reported by The Guardian.
Juvenile white sharks are already appearing along the coast after fleeing warmer waters in Mexico during a strong El Niño.
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Although scientists predict the highest shark numbers in a decade, they emphasize that humans are not part of their natural diet.
"Humans don't look like prey, they don't sound like prey," Dr Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach, said.
"If it doesn't feel like prey [to a white shark], they ignore it. It's not a threat, it's not food."
Lowe has spent 20 years monitoring white sharks using drones and tracking data.
During the 2015 El Niño, his team recorded twice as many white sharks as usual, leading to a nursery near Monterey Bay.
Young white sharks measuring between 6ft and 9ft regularly migrate between Baja California and the California coast, staying close to the shore to feed on fish, rays, and squid.
Shark incidents remain exceedingly rare in California, with only 250 incidents and 17 fatalities recorded since 1950 by the state department of fish and wildlife.
Researchers at Lowe's lab analyzed shark behavior by playing audio of surfers, swimmers, and kayakers to the animals.
The sharks ignored surfers and kayakers but investigated swimmers due to splashing sounds, moving within 10ft before swimming away.
