Are sharks really dangerous? After all, you're more likely to be killed by lightning or faulty wiring on your Christmas tree than by a shark [source: McCarthy]. Death by bee sting occurs far more often than death by shark [source: Burgess]. In the water, you're more apt to drown or be injured by your own surfboard than be hurt by a shark [source: Martin]. Researchers love to throw around statistics like these to redeem sharks.