An oceanic white tip shark badly mauled four Russian tourists swimming close to their beach hotels in two separate attacks at an Egyptian Red Sea resort, a local conservation official said on Wednesday.

Director of Sinai Conservation Mohammed Salem said the shark attacked two Russians swimming in the Ras Nasrani area near the famed Sharm el-Sheikh resort in the Sinai Peninsula and bit their arms off.

Shark (Illustration)

Photo by: AP

The same shark may also have been involved in an attack on another pair of Russians on Tuesday swimming close to the resort beach, he added.

The shark badly injured a middle-aged woman’s legs and back and bit off her hand. She had a heart attack and had to be resuscitated at the hospital.

The second victim, a 70-year-old woman was found with her right hand and left leg torn off.

Diving instructor Hassan Salem (no related to Mohammed Salem) said he was on a dive at the same time of the attack and was circled by the same shark before it went after the couple.

I was able to scare the shark away by blowing bubbles in its face, but then saw it swim to a woman and bite her legs, he told The Associated Press.

Salem said the water turned red with the blood from the attack, and he rushed to take the diver he was training out of the water.

All four victims were flown to Cairo for medical treatment and were in critical condition.

A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Cairo confirmed that two Russians were attacked Tuesday, but he was only aware of a single Ukranian involved in a shark attack the following day. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained.

Mohammed Salem said coast guard authorities were hunting for the shark and have issued a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water in Sharm el-Sheikh, a famed scuba diving destination.

He said Egypt sees one to two fatal shark attacks a year and they increase as the number of tourists and swimmers in the water rises.

via Tourists maimed in Red Sea shark attack – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

A man who survived a shark attack in Samoa is fighting for his life at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital.The 47-year-old from Poutasi Falealili is suffering from serious chest wounds.The Director of Clinical Services at National Health, Lemalu Dr Penehuro Tapelu, has told the Samoa Observer the man was fishing last week when he was mauled.It could not be ascertained if he was fishing within the lagoon.The doctor says the man is lucky to be alive.He was evacuated from Poutasi District Hospital to the National Hospital at Moto’otua because of severe injuries on his chest.

via Samoa man survives shark mauling.

Beachgoers shouldn’t be afraid to go into the water despite the fatal shark attack on a Romoland teen near Lompoc, oceanographers and biologists said.

Lucas Ransom, 19, was killed Oct. 22 by a great white shark while bodyboarding with his roommate, about 100 yards off shore from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

His UC Santa Barbara roommate, Matt Garcia, reported Ransom was swimming when Ransom was pulled under the water. His bodyboard popped back to the surface with a 13-inch chomp taken out of it, and the water filled with blood. Ransom’s left leg was severed. He was pronounced dead on the shore.

Such attacks are rare, and sharks don’t prefer humans as their prey, experts said. In Ransom’s case, and similar shark attacks, the sharks usually mistake humans for other ocean mammals such as seals or sea lions. State Fish and Game officials said they believe that confusion occurred when Ransom was lying on his bodyboard with his feet hanging off the end.

Beachgoers just need to be aware of sharks’ presence and avoid coves and areas where seals and sea lions may congregate, Fish and Game officials said.

“More people are in the water up and down the coast and we know the sharks are out there looking for food,” Fish and Game Marine Biologist Carrie Wilson said. “Every once in a blue moon we have these things occur. When you look at the number of people in the water, (the number of attacks is) pretty small. The shark wasn’t doing anything sharks don’t do. It was just looking for prey.”

Wilson said the attack was likely a great white, based on the aggressive behavior and the reported length of the shark, estimated at 14 to16 feet.

“These sharks really don’t have much interest in humans. We’re too skinny compared to seals and sea lions,” Wilson said. “They want the blubber and high meat content.”

“The behavior is what you’d expect from a great white,” Wilson added. “The typical mode of hunt is an ambush predator. They like to take their prey by surprise and come from underneath.”

There have been 95 attacks on humans off the California coast in the past 50 years, Wilson said.

There have been four fatal great white shark attacks in the past decade, compared to eight others in the 50 years before, according to Fish and Game. Before Ransom, the most recent came in April 2008, when a man was killed off Solana Beach.

More sharks have moved closer to California beaches since the state banned fishery gillnets off the coast within three miles, Wilson said. That has lead to an increase in seal populations and a rise in great white sharks. The sharks tend to prefer the coastline’s temperate waters.

After the attack, Lucas’ father, Matt Ransom, e-mailed friends and family members, thanking them for their support and condolences.

Ransom and Garcia both swam competitively at Perris High School.

“He lived real well and he died real well. He was in the water for about 45 minutes before the shark got him and his buddy told us he was getting the rides of his young life, on a day with big swells,” the e-mail read.

“He and his brothers have always been an inspiration for me as their father. A big part of him will remain with me until we meet up again. All you parents should enjoy and hold close your sons and daughters. They are only on loan from God.”

via Beaches are safe despite shark attack, experts say | Local News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California.

Nineteen-year-old Elyse Frankcom was leading a swimming with dolphins encounter in waters off western Australia on Saturday when the shark bit into her hip and buttocks.

“As the shark bit her, it brushed aside a fairly large man who grabbed hold of the tail of the shark, which then made it let go,” Fremantle Sea Rescue senior skipper Frank Pisani said.

There were reportedly two dolphins by Ms Frankcom’s side when she dived into the seven-metre deep water and a shark came up from the bottom and bit into her.

Ms Frankcom has had surgery for her injuries and was in a stable condition in hospital on Sunday, and was expected to be released soon.

Media reports said the unnamed hero refused to speak to journalists when the tour boat returned to dock. “All I want is the girl to be OK,” he reportedly said.

via Australian swimmer saves woman by pulling shark’s tail – Telegraph.

The mother of a young Perth woman who was attacked by a shark says her daughter will not want the animal to be destroyed.

Elyse Frankcom, 19, was attacked on Saturday by the unidentified, three-metre shark as she led an underwater dolphin tour in waters off Garden Island, about 50 kilometres south of Perth.

Linda Frankcom says her daughter underwent several hours of surgery in which fragments of the shark’s teeth were removed from Elyse’s lower body.

She says her daughter plans to return to the water once she has recovered and that Elyse would not want the shark harmed.

“There’s no way she would want that shark hunted down – she had entered into their territory and she knew she was at risk entering into there,” she said.

Linda Frankcom also says Elyse has been in good spirits throughout the ordeal.

“She was conscious through the whole thing and she was in pretty good spirits, so she’s a bit of a joker sometimes so she was joking around and laughing but obviously in a bit of pain as well,” she said.

Department of Fisheries spokesman Tony Cappelluti said the shark was reportedly a great white or a whaler shark, but he was yet to confirm the species.

Elyse was saved from the jaws of the shark by a man on the dive who grabbed the shark by the tail as it attacked her.

Skipper of Fremantle Sea Rescue, Frank Pisani, said as the shark bit Ms Frankcom, it brushed past a “fairly large” man on the tour who grabbed it by the tail.

“She started to sink to the bottom but he grabbed hold of her and brought her to the surface and got her back on board the boat,” he said.

Ms Frankcom, who is deeply passionate about dolphins, declared on Facebook earlier this month that she “wouldn’t give in my job for the world”.

In another posting Ms Frankcom said she was aware of the risk sharks posed but was not worried about an attack.

“Hasn’t stopped hearing bout these 3 great whites … if I get attacked or die, at least I die happy and doin the thing I love,” she wrote.

“Time 2 use our shark shields soon maybe.”

Ms Frankcom was reportedly wearing a shark shield at the time, which sends out electronic impulses to deter the creatures.

The site of the attack is just kilometres from where 51-year-old Brian Guest was taken by a large great white when he was diving in December 2008.

In August this year, Busselton man Nick Edwards, 31, was killed by a shark when he was surfing at Gracetown beach, south of Perth.

via Shark attack victim in good spirits – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

A COURAGEOUS man has been hailed a hero after he pulled the tail of a shark as it savaged a young tour guide on a snorkelling expedition near Rockingham.

Rescuers praised the man’s brave actions, saying he saved the woman from further injury from the jaws of the ocean predator, believed to be a 3m great white shark.

Do you know who this unsung hero is? If you can shed light on the identity of this fearless lifesaver -  so we can nominate him for Australia’s highest award for heroism – please contact us on: staff@perthnow.com.au

Nineteen-year-old Elyse Frankcom had been hosting a swim-with-the-dolphins tour for Rockingham Wild Encounters when the shark attacked – biting into her hip and left buttock at 12.30pm.

Last night (Saturday), Miss Frankcom was in a stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital following surgery to repair the damage.

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The attack happened off Garden Island Naval Base, at the northern end.

It came just 10 weeks after Busselton surfer Nick Edwards was killed by a monster great white off Gracetown in the South-West.

And it took place just 35km north of  Port Kennedy, where father-of-three Brian Guest was mauled to death by a big great white while snorkelling with his son in December 2008.

The unnamed hero calmly walked off the tour boat when it returned to shore and was too modest to stop for a media interview.

“All I want is the girl to be OK,” he said.

Recovering in Royal Perth Hospital

Concerned family and friends of Ms Frankcom kept vigil at Royal Perth Hospital.

Her older sister, Samantha, said Ms Frankcom was in good hands and would not likely be deterred from returning to the water.

“Elyse is in high spirits. She should be okay to leave hospital tomorrow,” she said.

Samantha said her younger sister would definitely return to the water, despite the brush with death.

“She loves the water. You can’t tear her away from it,” she told The Sunday Times.

“This won’t scare her away. She will definitely go back. It’s been a passion for her since she was a child.”

The 19-year-old diver recently commented on shark attacks on her Facebook page.

“If I get attacked or die, at least I die happy and doin (sic) the thing I love,” she said.

Her parents formerly operated a scuba diving business in Mandurah.

“My sister was training to become a `dolphin girl’ for the dive tours,” Samantha Frankcom said.

“Her job would be to find the dolphins and bring them to the surface for people to swim with.”

Rescuer praised ‘hero’ who grabbed shark’s tail

Fremantle Sea Rescue senior skipper Frank Pisani, one of the first rescuers on scene, said Ms Frankcom would not likely have survived the vicious attack had one of the passengers not bravely intervened.

“As the shark bit her, it brushed aside a fairly large male who grabbed hold of the tail of the shark, which then made it let go,” Mr Pisani said.

“The girl then started to sink to the bottom and he grabbed her and brought her to the surface and got her back on board the boat. He certainly was instrumental in making this a good outcome.”

Mr Pisani said there was a paramedic on the boat, but no first-aid equipment, so sea rescue volunteers worked to stabilise the badly bleeding victim.

“We used all our first-aid equipment and did all we could to stem the bleeding before the RAC rescue helicopter arrived,” he said.

“There were very deep puncture wounds, quite wide but there was no actual loss of flesh.”

Ms Frankcom was taken to HMAS Stirling base, where she was treated by naval medics before being airlifted to RPH.

Rescuers said Ms Frankcom, who remained conscious after the attack, told dive boat operators and first-aiders that she believed the shark was a great white.

It is understood Ms Frankcom is a videographer and tour guide with Rockingham Wild Encounters, which operates the Apollo 3 charter.

Rockingham Wild Encounters operations director Aaron Heath said Ms Frankcom was one of two crew members who were wearing shark shields, which are designed to repel attacks using electronic impulses.

She had recently praised the shields on her Facebook page, saying: “The ocean is a beautiful place and you feel so much safer knowing one genius was able to invent an incredible piece of technology to help enjoy it with more peace.”

via Hero snorkeller grabs shark to save attack victim | Perth Now.

PORTLAND, Maine — A scuba diver who came face-to-teeth with a shark used a camera to fend off the animal when it came at him with its teeth bared — and he has the frightening video to prove it.

Scott MacNichol, 30, was shaken up but uninjured after a porbeagle shark apparently mistook his camera equipment for food Saturday while diving near Eastport, off the eastern tip of Maine.

He estimated the shark was 8 feet long and weighed about 300 pounds.

MacNichol saw the shark swimming above him while he was filming the ocean floor under empty salmon pens as part of an environmental assessment for Cooke Aquaculture Inc. The animal then came at him, jabbing at the camera with its snout. In the video, its sharp teeth fill the frame before it swims off.

“He took a couple of bites at the camera. When he did that I was pretty much petrified,”MacNichol said Wednesday. “If you watch the video, you can hear me screaming underwater.”

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Porbeagles are coldwater sharks that have a similar body shape and tail to mako and great white sharks. Their diet is primarily herring, mackerel and other bony fish.

The shark was probably drawn to MacNichol from the camera’s light, batteries and silver casing, said Chris Heinig, owner of MER Assessment Corp., who was on the dive boat on the surface when the shark lunged at MacNichol.

“I think it came up and bumped the camera to see what it was,” Heinig said. “But I honestly don’t think the shark attacked Scott.”

While hundreds of shark attacks have occurred in Florida, California and other warm-water states, they are rare in New England. The last fatal shark attack in New England was in 1936, when a boy died after being attacked in Massachusetts, according to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida’s Museum of Natural History, which tracks shark attacks.

MacNichol, who has been diving commercially since 1998, took a day off from diving after the attack but doesn’t plan to give it up for good.

“People get in car accidents every day and that doesn’t keep them from driving,” he said.

via FoxNews.com – Maine Diver Has Face-to-Teeth Encounter with Shark.

PERRIS, Calif. (KABC) — The father of a 19-year-old college student killed in a shark attack near Santa Barbara is opening up about his family’s tragic loss.

Luke Ransom, a graduate of Perris High School, was body boarding at Surf Beach on Friday when he was attacked.

Ransom was a junior at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“He was a water boy,” said Ransom’s father, Matt. “Seemed almost fitting that the lord would take him that way because he loved the water.”

The teen’s father told Eyewitness News that his son had called home that morning just before going into the water.

“He was really excited,” Ransom said. “He said, ‘Mom, I can’t believe these waves.’ She was apprehensive because he’d never been to that beach before, and she just told him to be careful and give her a call when he was finished.”

But the call that came was not from their son, but rather his friend telling the family that their son had been attacked and killed by a shark.

The family rushed to Santa Barbara still in shock over what had happened.

“A lot of his roommates were there,” the Ransom said. “Everybody was devastated. There wasn’t a lot of talking going on, to tell you the truth.”

Although Luke Ransom was just another guy on the Perris High School swim team, friends say they could always tell him apart.

“He’d always wear his sunscreen on his nose,” said one friend. “That’s how we know him.”

The Department of Fish and Game said Ransom was most likely killed by a great white shark, perhaps 20 feet long.

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Despite the shark attack, the beach has since reopened.

Ransom’s father says that’s as it should be.

“The ocean is such a beautiful place for surfers and scuba divers and beach goers,” Ransom said. “It’s a beautiful part of nature, so a few sharks here or there shouldn’t stop people from enjoying such a beautiful place on the Earth.”

via Shark attack victim’s father speaks out | abc7.com.

Friday morning’s fatal shark attack off Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Surf Beach that killed a UCSB student was the first in mainland Santa Barbara County’s history.

Lucas Ransom, 19, died of his injuries after a great white shark bit his left leg and pulled him off his boogie board. The Romoland native was a junior majoring in chemical engineering.

Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish & Game, told Noozhawk on Monday that it was the 13th California shark attack fatality since the DFG began keeping records 95 years ago.

He confirmed that the shark involved in the attack was a great white, estimated at 14 to 16 feet in length based on the bite marks and bite pattern on the boogie board and victim. Photographs of Ransom’s boogie board showed bite measuring about 13 inches wide at the largest part.

Hughan said great whites are “the perfect predator,” and they swiftly attack without warning. Though they have poor eyesight, movement attracts them, and a person on a board can easily be mistaken for a seal or other food source. He said they also maintain a bit of secrecy, as they can’t be kept in captivity for long and it’s not clear why.

Scuba divers and spear fishers are advised to keep their fish away from them — even if they aren’t bleeding — and anyone in the ocean should avoid wearing shiny objects or sharply contrasting colors, such as a wetsuit with a bright yellow stripe, he said. But he said none of those matter as much as luck.

“It’s really fate, unfortunately,” Hughan said.

Worldwide, there were 61 attacks in 2009, five of them fatal, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. California’s last fatal attack was in 2008, when a swimmer was killed off the coast of Solana Beach.

“We caution people to remember they’re in (sharks’) territory,” Hughan said. “They’re a wild animal.”

Great whites are suspected to have been involved in two other local incidents: A shark bit a man’s surfboard at Surf Beach in 2008, and a diver was fatally attacked off the coast of San Miguel Island in 1994.

Earlier this year, there were at least three instances of great whites attacking sea lions around Santa Barbara Island, prompting Channel Islands National Park officials to issue a warning to the public.

Shark attacks get a lot of attention for a reason — they’re rare. Dozens more people get killed by deer (through car crashes), snakes and dogs each year than sharks in the United States.

Surf Beach reopened to the public at 8 a.m. Monday, as there were no observed or reported shark sightings at any base beaches since being closed after the attack, VAFB said in a statement.

There are additional signs posted that warn of the recent attack, and Santa Barbara County officials have done the same for beaches in the Lompoc area. VAFB’s Minuteman and Wall beaches are not open to the public and remain closed for the base’s two-week inspection period, Lt. Ann Blodzinski said in a statement.

A memorial and paddle-out is planned for Thursday near Ransom’s hometown in Southern California.

Click here for tips for avoiding a shark attack, visit the National Parks Conservation Association’s website. Click here for more information about region-specific shark attack statistics.

via Fatal Attack by Great White Shark a First for Santa Barbara County – Noozhawk.com.

Three Southern California beaches closed after a fatal shark attack Friday were scheduled to reopen this morning, and some surfers say they’ll be in the water.

Surf Beach, which is open to the public, and two beaches open to anyone with access to Vandenberg Air Force Base were closed Friday after a shark fatally injured Lucas Ransom, 19, of Romoland, Calif., as he was heading out to catch a wave on his boogie board.

The 72-hour closure expires at 9 a.m. unless officers of the base’s conservation law enforcement division, who have been patrolling the beaches and monitoring the ocean with binoculars, saw a reason to keep it closed, base spokesman Jeremy Eggers said.

A photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department showed a 13-inch chunk missing from Ransom’s board. The department said Ransom, a junior majoring in chemical engineering at the University of California-Santa Barbara, had a massive wound to his left leg.

Ransom was bodyboarding with friend Matthew Garcia when he was pulled under the water. He resurfaced with his leg nearly severed.

“When the shark hit him, he just said, ‘Help me, dude!’ He knew what was going on,” Garcia said. “You just saw a red wave and this water is blue — as blue as it could ever be — and it was just red.”

The incident chilled surfers.

“Twenty-five percent of the people who normally surf on the weekend were in the water,” said Bill Bookout, owner of the Pismo Beach Surf Shop about 40 miles north. “I’ve had about half the rentals I normally do.”

Despite beautiful waves, Book-out also stayed out.

“Sharks can travel up to 50 miles a day,” he said. “That shark could have been here Saturday.”

Daniel Dunaetz, who was working at the Surf Connection in Lompoc, just outside the base, said surfers are aware of the risks, but many still seemed rattled.

“Whenever people do talk about it, they’re real leery. They just seem scared,” Dunaetz said.

Authorities have issued several warnings this year after great white shark sightings up and down the California coast. There have been 12 fatal shark attacks in California since the 1920s, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

“You’re way more likely to be hurt in an auto accident than to be hurt or killed by a shark,” said Andy Nosal, a biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Eggers said swimmers and surfers can improve their odds by not wearing anything shiny, such as jewelry or a reflective bathing suit, that can make them resemble fish, and by paying attention to other wildlife. “For example, if seals or dolphins are moving quickly toward shore, that could be a sign that a threat is near,” he said.

Bookout said he’d be surfing this morning.

“To surf is one of the most beautiful things we have in life,” he said. “The freedom you feel when you’re out there cannot be matched.”

via Despite shark attack, some set to surf as beaches reopen – USATODAY.com.

Not sure what exactly the mystery is here. It’s obviously a Great White. There aren’t many types of sharks that are 18 feet long. And the witness said it was grey on the top and white on the bottom…

(CBS/AP)  The huge shark that attacked and killed a body-surfer off the central California coast may have been a great white, a spokesman for the local sheriff’s office says.

The victim, Lucas Ransom, 19, was body-boarding two feet away from his friend, Matthew Garcia, who was surfing. Garcia says he heard a desperate cry for help. Within seconds, a shark flashed out of the water, bit into Ransom’s leg and pulled him under in a cloud of blood.

“When the shark hit him, he just said, ‘Help me, dude!’ He knew what was going on,” Garcia told the Associated Press as he recounted his friend’s death. “It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue – as blue as it could ever be – and it was just red, the whole wave.”

As huge waves broke over his head, Garcia tried to find Lucas Ransom in the surf, but couldn’t. He decided to get help, but turned around again as he was swimming to shore and saw Ransom’s red body-board pop up. Garcia swam to his friend and did chest compressions as he brought him to shore.

The 19-year-old already appeared dead and his leg was mauled, he said.

“He was just floating in the water. I flipped him over on his back and under-hooked his arms. I was pressing on his chest and doing rescue breathing in the water,” Garcia said. “He was just kind of lifeless, just dead weight.”

The University of California, Santa Barbara, junior had a severe wound to his left leg and died a short time later on Surf Beach, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The beach, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is on the property of Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Lompoc, Calif., but is open to the public.

Sheriff’s deputies patrolled the coastline to search for Ransom’s missing leg but were only able to recover the body-board, which had a 1-foot segment on the side bitten off.

Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked Ransom.

“The size of the teeth and the width (of the bite in the body-board) are going to help the experts determine what kind of shark this is,” Drew Sugars, of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, told co-anchor Chris Wragge on “The Early Show on Saturday Morning.” “We have not determined the type. The witness (Garcia) did say that the top of the shark was gray, the bottom was white. This is typically a great white, but we’re not in a position to confirm that, Hopefully, by Monday, we’ll be able to determine what type of shark this is, but the teeth marks will help us in that determination.”

Sugars says officials hope the shark itself “is long gone. We’re not going to search for it at this point.”

As is protocol at Vandenberg, he adds, the beach involved will be closed for three days. Nearby beaches have warning signs posted but remain open.

The ocean was calm and beautiful before the attack, with large wave sets that the friends had been tracking all week as they moved down the West Coast from Alaska, Garcia said.

The shark, which breached the water on its side, appeared about 18 feet long, Garcia said.

“There was no sign, there was nothing. It was all very fast, very stealth,” said Garcia, 20.

Authorities have issued several warnings this year after great white shark sightings up and down the California coast.

There have been nearly 100 shark attacks in California since the 1920s, including a dozen that were fatal, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. But attacks have remained relatively rare even as the population of swimmers, divers and surfers sharing the waters has soared.

The last shark attack on Surf Beach was in 2008, when what was believed to be a great white shark bit a surfer’s board. The surfer was not harmed.

The last fatal attack in California was that same year, when triathlete David Martin, 66, bled to death after a great white shark bit his legs about 150 yards off of a San Diego County beach.

Randy Fry, 50, died from a great white attack in 2004 while diving off the coast of Mendocino, north of San Francisco Bay.

In 2003, a great white shark killed Deborah Franzman, 50, as she swam at Avila Beach, about 30 miles north of Vandenberg.

via Killer Shark May Have Been Great White – The Early Show – CBS News.

LOS ANGELES — A 19-year-old surfer was killed Friday in a rare shark attack a short distance off a California beach, when the animal pulled him under and inflicted a “massive wound,” police said.

Authorities closed local beaches for 72 hours after the attack by a shark described as up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) long.

The victim, identified as Lucas McKaine Ransom, “was boogie boarding on the break line about 100 yards off the beach with his friend when a shark suddenly pulled Ransom under the water,” said an updated statement.

“Ransom suffered a massive wound to his left leg and appeared to die shortly thereafter,” added the the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, noting that witnesses said the shark was between “14 and 20 feet (4.3-6.1 meters) long.”

The attack occurred at Surf Beach at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) near Santa Barbara, which is some 130 miles (215 kilometers) northwest up the Pacific coast from Los Angeles.

“Following standard protocol, VAFB has ordered the closure of all base beaches… for the next 72 hours,” while local authorities are posting warning signs at nearby beaches.

Earlier police had said the victim was in his early 20s and was in the water with a friend at the time of the attack. Officials were “working to identify the type of shark,” they added.

The last death of this kind involved a great white shark in California in 2008, when a 66-year-old man was attacked as he swam with friends off a beach in San Diego.

via AFP: California surfer killed in rare shark attack: officials.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.  — The victim of a fatal shark attack at a beach northwest of Los Angeles cried out to his friend for help as the shark flashed out of the water with no warning, bit into his leg and pulled him under in a tide of red blood, the friend said Friday.

Matthew Garcia was two feet away from his friend, 19-year-old Lucas Ransom, when the shark attacked with no warning, he said. The whole attack lasted seconds while the pair were bodyboarding about 100 yards from the shore.

“When the shark hit him, he just said, ‘Help me, dude!’ He knew what was going on,” Garcia told the AP. “It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue — as blue as it could ever be — and it was just red, the whole wave. Even the barrel was red.”

Lucas Ransom, shown in a 2007 photo from Murrieta, Calif., was killed in a shark attack Friday while boogie-boarding at a Vanderberg Air Force Base beach near Lompoc Calif.

As huge waves broke over his head, Garcia tried to find his friend in the surf but couldn’t. He decided to get help, but turned around once more as he was swimming to shore and saw Ransom’s red body board pop up. Garcia swam to his friend and did chest compressions as he brought him to shore.

Ransom already appeared dead and his leg was mauled, he said.

“He was just floating in the water. I flipped him over on his back and underhooked his arms. I was pressing on his chest and doing rescue breathing in the water,” Garcia said. “He was just kind of lifeless, just dead weight.”

The University of California, Santa Barbara, junior had a severe wound to his left leg and died a short time later at Surf Beach, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. The beach, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is on the property of Vandenberg Air Force Base but is open to the public.

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Sheriff’s deputies patrolled the coastline to search for Ransom’s missing leg but were only able to recover the boogie board, which had a 1-foot segment on the side bitten off.

Ransom was from Romoland in Riverside County, in southern California.

Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked Ransom. -

Officials closed three beaches after the shark attack.

Airman 1st Class Daniel Clark, left, and Staff Sgt. Keri Embry, post a sign warning surfers of a recent shark attack Friday at Vandenburg Air Force Base, Calif.

The victim was a University of California, Santa Barbara student studying chemical engineering.

Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked. It was described by witnesses as being 14 to 20 feet in length.

Officials at Vandenberg closed Surf, Wall and Minuteman beaches for at least 72 hours, Lt. Ann Blodzinski told the Santa Barbara Independent.

In September 2008, base officials issued a 48-hour warning to beach users after a shark bit a surfer’s board at Surf Beach, according to the Santa Maria Times.

Base officials said at the time that they believed it was the first shark incident off Vandenberg, the newspaper reported.

Fatal shark attacks are rare in the area. A great white shark killed a woman in 2003 at Avila Beach, about 30 miles north of Vandenberg.

Great whites also killed two men in 2004 and 2008 at beaches in Mendocino and San Diego counties.

via Shark attack: Friend describes fatal scene – U.S. news – Life – msnbc.com.

Authorities have closed several beaches in Santa Barbara County after a deadly shark attack Friday morning near the coastal town of Surf.Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base told The Times that they have closed Surf, Wall and Minuteman beaches for 72 hours due to the attack.[Updated at 11:56 p.m.: A base spokesman said the Santa Barbara County coroners investigators are at the beach and that the investigation is being handled in conjunction with the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department.]The Santa Maria Times reported that a body surfer was fatally bitten by a shark. The paper said the body surfer was not connected with the military base.Surf is located north of Santa Barbara and west of Lompoc on the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

via Shark fatally attacks body surfer in Santa Barbara County; beaches closed [Updated] | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times.

When Jack Musick heard that a teen had been bitten while surfing off Sandbridge last month, he immediately got to work trying to pin down the culprit.

Could it have been a bull shark?

Probably not, concluded Musick, a professor emeritus at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who investigates shark attacks. They’re uncommon in Virginia.

How about a sandbar shark?

Not likely. They’re not very active and prefer to feed in deeper water.

Maybe a blacktip shark?

Bingo. According to Musick’s report, which he’s submitted to the International Shark Attack File in Florida, the attacker was probably a small blacktip or spinner shark, maybe even two.

Those species often visit Virginia’s waters in September, he wrote. They’re also active feeders and have been implicated in similar nonfatal attacks here, in Florida and elsewhere. The circumstances also fit, Musick said.

Caleb Kauchak, 18, was wading in chest-deep water next to his surfboard the afternoon of Sept. 24 when something latched onto his ankle, shook him and let go. He jumped onto his board and felt another bite, on his knee.

He needed 51 stitches. While his injuries have healed almost completely, the scars still draw lots of attention, Kauchak said.

The attack – in murky water during the time of day when sharks start to feed – was most likely a case of mistaken identity, Musick said. The shark probably thought Kauchak’s leg was a fish, and let go when it realized its mistake, he said.

“The shark was too small for it to have been a predatory attack,” Musick said. “Also, if that had been a large shark, the damage would’ve been a lot greater. It probably would have removed a limb or something.”

Shark attacks are rare in Virginia. In 2001, however, a shark fatally attacked a 10-year-old Richmond boy as he surfed with his father off Sandbridge, not far from where Kauchak was bitten. A 9-1/2 foot bull shark is believed responsible.

Whatever bit Kauchak was much smaller.

Blacktip sharks can get up to 5 feet 9 inches long and tend to live in shallow coastal waters from New England to Florida, according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science website. Spinners can grow up to 9 feet 10 inches long and visit southern Virginia’s waters on occasion.

Those two species have been linked to 58 attacks on humans in the past 50 years, according to estimates by the International Shark Attack File, which tracks all shark bites worldwide. One, in 1973 involving a teen being bitten in the elbow while snorkeling and spearing crabs south of Sandbridge, was similar to the attack on Kauchak, Musick said.

With just three or four shark attacks in Virginia in the past 40 years, and millions of people in the water here over the years, Musick said the “probability of a shark encounter is miniscule.”

via Attack in Va. Beach was likely from 1 of 2 shark species | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com.

Navy diver who lost hand and part of his leg to a bull shark says he’s got over his fears.

Whether it’s an intense horror or a niggling doubt, most Australian beachgoers have had thoughts of a lurking grey shadow with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth while out enjoying the ocean.

Navy diver Paul De Gelder, who lost a hand and part of one leg when a bull shark attacked him in Sydney Harbour last year, says such unwelcome fears are behind him now.

He says he now has absolutely no fear of sharks because lightning shouldn’t strike twice.

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“Before the shark attack, sharks used to be on my mind all the time, to the point where when I was doing my diving course all the guys used to bring in photos of great whites to try and scare the crap out of me,” he told AAP.

“Now it just doesn’t worry me.”

De Gelder was attacked in the early hours of February 11, 2009, while on a training exercise at Garden Island. The able seaman was swimming along on his back when he felt a massive whack in his leg.

“I looked down and had a bloody shark head attached to me,” he said.

“I couldn’t really reach the eye ball so I gave it a whack in the nose, which I think just pissed it off.”

After nine weeks in hospital, numerous surgeries and a gruelling rehab schedule, De Gelder was back in the water within months without fear of the beast that had tried to make him its dinner.

Getting back into surfing has proved a tougher mission.

“Even though I’d been out surfing a lot, I really hadn’t been getting any better and it was really frustrating,” he said.

But that all changed when he was approached to feature in a new lifestyle show, Manly Surf.

De Gelder will star in the first episode of the show when it premieres on Ten’s digital sports channel One HD next week.

He is featured telling his story, stressing he has no hatred for sharks. In fact, he’s just returned from a trip to the United Nations where he and other shark attack survivors were campaigning to protect the species.

Presented by seven-times world surfing champion and Manly local Layne Beachley, the show revolves around Manly Surf School director Matt Grainger, his team of instructors and the people they meet at the school.

Among the entertaining bunch touched by the surf experience are an 80-year-old grandmother taking her first lesson, indigenous children from the outback who have never seen the ocean before, and Sydney Swans players swapping the ball for the board.

Manly Surf (www.manlysurftv.com.au) premieres nationally on Wednesday, October 20 at 8pm on One HD.

via Sydney Harbour shark victim tells of attack.

COOS BAY — An Oregon man says a great white shark knocked him off his surfboard near Winchester Bay.

David Lowden told “The World” newspaper in Coos Bay that he was paddling his board last week near the south jetty of the Umpqua River when a shark he estimated at nearly 14 feet broke the surface behind him.

“As I’m flying off the board, I got a good look at the shape of the shark,” said Lowden, who was not injured in the encounter.

The shark emerged halfway from the water and broke the fins off his surfboard.

“That probably scared it a bit. It thrashed around a bit … and after that it disappeared,” he said.

Lowden, 29, and another man surfed to the beach while a third surfer, Lowden’s friend, Mark Lorincz, of North Bend, clambered onto the jetty and ditched his board.

Lowden phoned the U.S. Coast Guard to report the encounter, then contacted the Shark Research Committee, a private group that tracks shark attack data.

A release from that organization characterized it as an “unprovoked shark attack.” It was the only recorded attack this year in Oregon, and the fifth along the Pacific Coast.

Alan Shanks, a professor at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, said the encounter described by Lowden is typical shark behavior.

Shanks said great white sharks often attack from below to stun seals, sea lions and other large prey.

“These guys are primarily big-thing eaters,” Shanks said. “A surfboard from below has a silhouette not unlike a marine mammal.”

Lowden said local surfers frequently see sharks. He has spotted six sharks while surfing on the Oregon coast, including one that bumped his board in 2006.

“I wasn’t that surprised, to tell you the truth,” Lowden said. “It’s not the first time I’ve had an encounter.”

via Oregon man reports encounter with great white shark | statesmanjournal.com | Statesman Journal.

COOS BAY, Ore. — An Oregon man says a great white shark knocked him off his surfboard near Winchester Bay.

The World newspaper in Coos Bay reported that 29-year-old David Lowden was paddling his board near the south jetty of the Umpqua River last week when a shark he estimated at nearly 14 feet broke the surface behind him and sent him flying.

Lowden said the shark emerged halfway from the water, broke the fins from his surfboard, and then thrashed around before it disappeared.

Lowden and another man surfed to the beach while a third surfer clambered onto the jetty and ditched his board. Lowden was not injured but he filled out a report.

Oregon Institute of Marine Biology professor Alan Shanks said the encounter was typical behavior for great white sharks. ——— Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com

via SHARK ATTACK: Great white knocks Oregon man off surfboard – Breaking News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news.

Umpqua River Unprovoked Shark Attack

September 29, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

On September 27, 2010 David Lowden, was attacked by a Great White Shark, while surfing with Mark Lorincz, and Justin Martin at the South Jetty of the Umpqua River in Winchester Bay, Oregon. It was 4:00 PM and they had been on the water about 45 minutes. It was sunny with a light fog coming and going and an estimated air temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. They were 80 – 100 yards from shore, in water 15 – 20 feet deep with a sandy ocean floor and 4 – 5 feet of water visibility.

Erosion along the jetty wall created a trench deeper than the surrounding ocean floor. No unusual behavior of marine mammals, fish, or birds, was observed in the area prior to the attack.

Lowden reported;

“Surf conditions were good with a large swell, light winds, and good interval. Water temperature was much higher than normal, around 56 – 58 Fahrenheit. High tide was at 2:15 PM that day and the peak we were surfing was further out than normal due to the size of the swell. After surfing for about 45 minutes, and catching only two waves, the current pushed me towards the outside and wide of the peak that was breaking about 30 feet South of the jetty. I paddled hard to fight the current and regain position in the peak. During this effort I was struck from underneath by the unmistakable force of a shark, due to past experience being bumped by a Great White in September of 2006 at the same location. I knew right away from the hardness of the object that it was a shark. The shark was at full attack speed nailing the tail of my board ejecting me forward as the shark breached the surface of the water with most of its body. I got a pretty good look at the overall presence but it happened so fast I wasn’t able to pick out details. The shark turned on its side as it headed back down, thrashing its tail a couple times before disappearing somewhere underneath or behind me. Frantic, I pulled my board back toward me by the leash. I then began to paddle as fast as I could toward the jetty which seemed much closer than the beach. Luckily, during the encounter I had been pushed inside and toward the peak enough to grab the first wave in that came moments later. After regrouping on the beach, the other two surfers were able to fill in the blanks as to what really happened as both saw the entire incident take place. We came to the conclusion it was a Great White between 11 and 14 feet in length. I believe that it either miscalculated the attack or aborted at the last second clipping the tail of my board, striking the fins first which I think must have given it a bit of a shock and caused it to thrash about after the initial contact. My board sustained minimal damage considering, losing a fin and crushing a fin box and creasing the tail. No injuries occurred.”

This is the fifth authenticated unprovoked shark attack from the Pacific Coast of North America for this year and the first for Oregon.

via Umpqua River Unprovoked Shark Attack | SURFLINE.COM.

According WVEC 13 News the species that bit a teen surfer off the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach has still not been identified. Paramedics believe it was a species of shark that bit Caleb Kauchak on the knee and ankle. However, it seems that confirmation of the attacking species based on bite marks has yet to be made.

Dr. Chip Cotton of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences was interviewed by 13 News and speculated that the attacking species could have been a spinner shark chasing bait fish. However, it seems that Dr. Cotton was merely being interviewed as a shark expert for the report, as he later states that “whoever is doing the investigation” will be able to distinguish species bites based on the upper and lower bite patterns.

via Species still unidentified in Virginia Beach suspected shark attack – The Dorsal Fin.

A shark attack in Sandbridge sent a surfer to the hospital Friday afternoon.

The teenager was surfing off of Sandfiddler Rd. around 4:00 p.m. He was bit several times on his left knee and ankle.

He was rushed to the hospital but is expected to be fine.

Rescue crews believe the attack was by a small shark.

Bruce Nedelka, an EMS spokesman, said, “The shark wasn’t big enough to pull him down into the water, so most likely it was only a small shark.”

The teen’s surfboard is being looked at so the type of shark can be determined.

via Small shark bites teenage surfer in Sandbridge – dailypress.com.

Khanyisile Momoza, 29, was attacked as he harvested valuable perlemoen shells in the waters near Gansbaai in South Africa.

The fisherman was among a group of 12 poachers who had tried to swim to safety after spotting the shark in shallow waters.

A friend of Mr Momoza, who witnessed the attack, said: “There was screaming and crying. We just swam, we didn’t look back.

“We were swimming in a group but he was a bit behind us.

“It jumped out of the water with him and then it took him down.”

The attack took place on Tuesday between Dyer Island and Pearly Beach, east of Cape Town.

In an interview with the Weekend Argus local newspaper, the victim’s friend told how the poaching group had left the beach at 6am and swum for two hours before reaching the island three miles offshore, where they began hunting for perlemoen shellfish.

The men were swimming back to shore with their catch when the great white approached.

The survivors admitted they had been too scared for their own lives to help the stricken swimmer and raced back to dry land.

Once ashore the group alerted authorities to the tragedy.

Illegal harvesting of perlemoen is big business in South Africa, where the valuable shellfish are common along coastal areas.

The molluscs’ fleshy insides are considered a delicacy similar to oysters, and either served raw or cooked in seafood dishes.

But widespread farming of the shells has sparked fears the population could plummet.

In 2007 South African authorities listed the species, also known as abalone, as endangered with the global wildlife protection body CITES.

The restrictions were loosened in July this year, although it remains illegal to harvest perlemeon without a licence.

However hundreds of local fishermen are believed to continue to work in the illegal trade.

Many poor workers risk arrest or injury to hunt for the wild shells, whose meat can be worth up to £25 a kilo.

The shark attack victim’s friend told the Argus his group went perlemoen fishing around once a week and needed the money to provide food for their families.

Gans Bay, known in Afrikaans as Gansbaai, is famously the centre of South Africa’s great white shark population.

In recent years some experts have warned the increase in commercial “shark dive tourism” has encouraged great whites to inhabit shallower waters.

Every day hundreds of tourists pay to experience a close encounter with the creatures, which are enticed with food to come close to boats.

Some fear the sharks are now commonly inhabiting waters where humans are more likely to be swimming or working.

The poacher is the second person this year to be killed by a shark in South Africa.

In January tourist Lloyd Skinner was killed by a great white as he swam a few metres off the beach in Fish Hoek near Cape Town.

Shocked holiday-makers watched from the shore as the 47-year-old was pulled underwater.

via Poacher killed by great white shark – Telegraph.

Ever since Jaws, great whites have had a reputation as killing machines that has never seemed much point questioning.

However, that could all be about to change – after a study into the fearsome predators’ dining habits.

Scientists towed a 36ft Brydes whale carcass into a well-known hunting ground for the animals in an exercise aimed at documenting how they tackled the huge free lunch.

And these amazing pictures show how up to 30 of them stripped a single whale carcass – and gave an ‘extraordinary’ insight into how the much-feared predators behave.

But while many would have expected a feeding frenzy and potentially lethal fights between the razor-teethed gians, the behaviour observed was quite different.

The sharks appeared to select choice cuts of the dead whale and did not appear to be aggressive towards each other.

Free lunch: The 30 great white sharks were provided with a whale carcass so scientists could study their eating habits

Tasty findings: Alison Kock was the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town in South Africa and was surprised by the sharks

Alison Kock, 33, the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town South Africa, said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary.

‘They targeted the energy-rich blubber, often making repeated “test bites” where no flesh was removed, and removing flesh only once they had determined it was what they wanted. If they got a mouthful of muscle, they often spat it out.

‘They were very picky.’

It’s thought the huge whale was killed after being struck by a boat and was found floating towards Miller’s Point near Cape Town, South Africa, where the clean up operation for the local authorities would have been difficult as their huge bodies are harder to remove on land.

It was also feared the body – giving off oils that attract predators like sharks – may have drawn in great whites to an area frequented by swimmers.

Kock added: ‘Permission was granted by the authorities to have the dead whale towed to nearby Seal Island where the carcass was less of an issue and the sharks could help solve the clean-up problem.

‘In addition it provided an unparalleled opportunity to document white shark behaviour and record the number of sharks in the area.

‘Whale carcasses are believed to be a very important source of food for white sharks with some scientific evidence suggesting they follow whale migrations possibly to, opportunistically feed on dead or sick whales.’

Jaws: Alison Koch said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary’

Blubber: During the nine-day experiment Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle

During the nine-day experiment, which ended on Saturday, Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle.

‘In the case of the whale carcass the sharks knew exactly what they wanted,’ said Kock.

‘It provides evidence that when they bite into a surfboard, or kayak or person wearing a wetsuit they can immediately determine it’s not something they want to eat.

‘It’s very common in attacks on humans for white sharks to take a single bite and leave it at that. Our study provides more evidence that they are simply tasting and looking for meat that is nutritious. It shows that they are not just swimming around mindlessly eating everything they come across, as they are sometimes portrayed.’

She added: ‘I was surprised at the total number of white sharks that fed on the dead whale over the nine days we documented the event. We recorded over 30 different sharks in total. At one stage we had up to four white sharks feeding simultaneously on the carcass.

‘The first two days were the busiest with the most sharks, and the activity slowly decreased as the sharks had their fill. The last two days we recorded no sharks feeding on the carcass.

‘Many of the sharks I recognised as individuals hunting seals around the island from this shark season, as well as previous years. We used their unique dorsal fins to identify them, but there were also new sharks that I had never seen before.

‘The sharks showed very little aggression towards one another in the presence of such a large food source, often feeding side by side.

‘Some of the sharks we observed were gorging on the blubber and you could actually see their bellies getting fuller.

“Some would arrive quite skinny and by the end of their session they looked pregnant with their bellies bulging.’

During the study, the sharks reduced the carcass down to less than seven feet (two metres) of bone and muscle, having removed all the blubber.

Shark enthusiast Kock, added: ‘This is the ultimate example of the very important role sharks play in the ecosystem. That of recycling life, and of keeping our oceans healthy by removing dead and decaying animals like dead whales.’

via Shark attack: Incredible pictures of 30 great whites stripping a whale carcass provide ‘extraordinary’ insight into eating habits | Mail Online.

Ever since Jaws, great whites have had a reputation as killing machines that has never seemed much point questioning.

However, that could all be about to change – after a study into the fearsome predators’ dining habits.

Scientists towed a 36ft Brydes whale carcass into a well-known hunting ground for the animals in an exercise aimed at documenting how they tackled the huge free lunch.

And these amazing pictures show how up to 30 of them stripped a single whale carcass – and gave an ‘extraordinary’ insight into how the much-feared predators behave.

But while many would have expected a feeding frenzy and potentially lethal fights between the razor-teethed gians, the behaviour observed was quite different.

The sharks appeared to select choice cuts of the dead whale and did not appear to be aggressive towards each other.

Free lunch: The 30 great white sharks were provided with a whale carcass so scientists could study their eating habits

Tasty findings: Alison Kock was the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town in South Africa and was surprised by the sharks

Alison Kock, 33, the principal scientist at Save Our Seas Shark Centre and Shark Spotting Programme, at Cape Town South Africa, said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary.

‘They targeted the energy-rich blubber, often making repeated “test bites” where no flesh was removed, and removing flesh only once they had determined it was what they wanted. If they got a mouthful of muscle, they often spat it out.

‘They were very picky.’

It’s thought the huge whale was killed after being struck by a boat and was found floating towards Miller’s Point near Cape Town, South Africa, where the clean up operation for the local authorities would have been difficult as their huge bodies are harder to remove on land.

It was also feared the body – giving off oils that attract predators like sharks – may have drawn in great whites to an area frequented by swimmers.

Kock added: ‘Permission was granted by the authorities to have the dead whale towed to nearby Seal Island where the carcass was less of an issue and the sharks could help solve the clean-up problem.

‘In addition it provided an unparalleled opportunity to document white shark behaviour and record the number of sharks in the area.

‘Whale carcasses are believed to be a very important source of food for white sharks with some scientific evidence suggesting they follow whale migrations possibly to, opportunistically feed on dead or sick whales.’

Jaws: Alison Koch said: ‘Contrary to their reputation as mindless killers, the level of selectivity for which parts of the dead whale they ate was extraordinary’

Blubber: During the nine-day experiment Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle

During the nine-day experiment, which ended on Saturday, Kock and her team made some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the sharks seemed to have a huge preference for soft blubber over tough muscle.

‘In the case of the whale carcass the sharks knew exactly what they wanted,’ said Kock.

‘It provides evidence that when they bite into a surfboard, or kayak or person wearing a wetsuit they can immediately determine it’s not something they want to eat.

‘It’s very common in attacks on humans for white sharks to take a single bite and leave it at that. Our study provides more evidence that they are simply tasting and looking for meat that is nutritious. It shows that they are not just swimming around mindlessly eating everything they come across, as they are sometimes portrayed.’

She added: ‘I was surprised at the total number of white sharks that fed on the dead whale over the nine days we documented the event. We recorded over 30 different sharks in total. At one stage we had up to four white sharks feeding simultaneously on the carcass.

‘The first two days were the busiest with the most sharks, and the activity slowly decreased as the sharks had their fill. The last two days we recorded no sharks feeding on the carcass.

‘Many of the sharks I recognised as individuals hunting seals around the island from this shark season, as well as previous years. We used their unique dorsal fins to identify them, but there were also new sharks that I had never seen before.

‘The sharks showed very little aggression towards one another in the presence of such a large food source, often feeding side by side.

‘Some of the sharks we observed were gorging on the blubber and you could actually see their bellies getting fuller.

“Some would arrive quite skinny and by the end of their session they looked pregnant with their bellies bulging.’

During the study, the sharks reduced the carcass down to less than seven feet (two metres) of bone and muscle, having removed all the blubber.

Shark enthusiast Kock, added: ‘This is the ultimate example of the very important role sharks play in the ecosystem. That of recycling life, and of keeping our oceans healthy by removing dead and decaying animals like dead whales.’

via Shark attack: Incredible pictures of 30 great whites stripping a whale carcass provide ‘extraordinary’ insight into eating habits | Mail Online.

LOS ANGELES — A record number of shark-bitten otters have been found along California’s Central Coast.

Scientists say they found nineteen injured or dead sea otters that appeared to have shark bites in August, primarily in the Pismo Beach and Morro Bay areas. Seven others with similar marks have been found so far in September.

Experts say the ten year average is about seven a month. They blame the cooler than average ocean temperatures on the increase.

Those conditions make the area ideal for great white sharks which have been reported in growing numbers in recent months.

Great white sharks do not typically feed on sea otters and prefer seals and sea lions.

Most of the injured or deceased otters have been found with a single bite mark, which would indicate the sharks are doing a sort of “taste test”, according to scientists Michael Harris.

via Shark Bitten Sea Otters: Record Number of Shark Bitten Sea Otters Found Along Southern California Coast – ktla.com.

(FLORIDA) — Want to know how to survive a shark attack? Just punch that bad boy in the face when he charges you.

That’s what a Florida man, Kris Kerr, did to survive a recent shark attack.

But get this: as the shark was on the attack and headed right for him, Kerr had the cool, steely nerves of a pro shooter and actually got off a photo of the shark attacking moments before it made contact with him.

Kris Kerr and a friend Ethan Wilson were out over the weekend near Florida’s Smyrna Beach, sort of the “shark bite capital of the world” as it were.

Kerr was in the water taking photos of Wilson surfing when he found himself facing a shark that was coming right at him.

So what did he do? He managed to punch the shark AND snap a photo of the encounter AND live through it.

And Kerr got out of the confrontation without so much as a scratch.

Kerr talked about the experience with CBS News.

You can see a photo of the shark charge and see Kerr talk about the encounter HERE

Fair disclosure: you’ll need to sit through a 30-second TV spot before the story comes up.

via SHARK CHARGES FLORIDA SURFERHe snaps photo, then punches shark in the face | BREAKING NEWS | Sky Valley Chronicle Washington State News.

SHOCKED fishermen who snared a man-eating shark — found the gory remains of a headless body inside it.

When the sailors reeled in the huge 12ft beast off the coast of the Bahamas Islands, they saw a severed human leg between its razor-sharp jaws.

They took the shark back to shore where the country’s navy opened up the monster and found the decomposed remains of a severed right leg, two severed arms and a torso in two sections.

Local cops are now trying to discover who the body belongs to — and have narrowed the search down to three missing men.

Snared … a leg was found in the beast’s mouth

Last night fisherman Humphrey Simmons, a Bahamian investment banker, described the moment he saw the severed left leg in the Tiger shark’s mouth.

He said: “We tied the rope around his tail fin, and pulled him towards the boat.

“We were going to cut the hook out of his mouth and let him go when he regurgitated a human foot – intact from the knee down.”

After seeing the leg, Mr Simmons and his friends said they feared the shark may contain more body parts because it was “unusually heavy”.

He said: “While pulling up my line. I noticed that it was extra heavy.

“There was so much stink coming from the shark’s belly and the belly was so huge that we thought that there might be more bodies inside.”

Mr Simmons said the body was that of a “black man, of heavy build and heavy structure. He had neither clothes nor any identifying marks”.

Police are awaiting DNA results to tell them if the remains belong to one of three men, one aged 62, another aged 47, reported missing at sea.

Mr Simmons and his two pals Keith Ferguson and Stanley Bernard spotted the shark after going fishing in their 30ft boat on Sunday morning.

They were trying to reel in a grouper fish when the greedy beast became hooked too as it tried to steal the prey.

When they hauled it aboard they made the grim discovery.

After finding the shark 35 miles west of the New Providence island, they headed in shore with an escort from The Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

Bahamian investigators are still unsure how the man died and have not ruled out the possibility that he could have drowned first and then been gobbled up by the beast.

British shark experts said it would be unusual for a Tiger shark to attack a human.

Richard Pierce, chairman of the Shark Trust, in Plymouth, said: “Tiger sharks are well known as scavengers. Analysis of their stomachs have unearthed car number plates, furniture and scavenged remains of mammals.

“Tiger sharks have been implicated in attacks but are among the most docile of the larger sharks and are unlikely to attack a swimming human.”

Since 1580, there have only been 158 fatal attacks by Tiger sharks on humans, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.

via Body found in snared shark | The Sun |News.

Shark attacks 2 surfers in the Volusia County while swimming in the water. Both surfers have suffered injuries due to shark attack in Volusia County shoreline.

29 years old Jason Coffman was bitten on the hand by the shark while a 4 year old was bitten by shark on his left thigh. Shark attack is very common at the Volusia County. In fact the county has been given the title of shark bite capital of the world.

29 years old Coffman was bitten at the jetty at Ponace de Leon Inlet while he was off his board swimming in the water. The shark suddenly came from nowhere and bite his arm then surprisingly let him go but then again attacked him. He grabbed the board from free hand and swung it to free his other hand.

Coffman was later taken to the hospital where he received 24 stitches on his hand. Other surfer was also admitted to the hospital for the treatment.

There were usually high numbers of sharks in the region. Officials says that sharks may have come in the region due to Hurricane Earl.

via Shark Attacks 2 Surfers in Volusia County | Easy Destination Blog.

As a surfer I’m asked many different questions. I’m often asked if I have a long board or short board. (For the record, I have an 8-0 long board, which means my board is 8 feet and 0 inches long.)

I am also asked about my favorite location and how many different places I have surfed. But by far, my favorite question is about sharks.

People love a good shark story.

As many times as I have been in the water and as many places I have been, you would think that by now I would have seen one while surfing. But the only sharks I have seen in the wild were reef sharks while I was snorkeling in Hawaii. They didn’t show any curiosity and they weren’t very big.

Lately, there have been a lot of reports of great white sharks in Southern California. A group called Shark Research Committee reported numerous recent sightings on the California coast, mostly at San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente, approximately 65 miles south of Redondo Beach and Sunset Beach near Malibu, approximately 40 miles north of Redondo Beach.

Chuck Patterson, a professional surfer and stand-up paddleboarder, recently filmed two great white sharks at San Onofre created a video called “Me, My Shark and I” that went viral online within 24 hours. Last week, a local news reporter and cameraman filmed a short video of a great white shark feeding on something in the water off Sunset Beach.

The last two reported shark sightings in the South Bay, by the way, were on April 16, 2010 and April 17, 2010. Both sightings were near Flat Rock in Palos Verdes. Both witnesses were spear fishing at the time they saw a shark.

Will all this local shark activity keep me out of the water? No.

When I am out in the ocean sitting on my board watching for waves, I really don’t think about sharks. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t be scared if I encountered one, I just don’t think about them when I’m in the water.

Sharks are always out there even if you don’t see or hear about them. Adolescent great white sharks are known to feed on fish in this area every summer. As winter approaches and the waters become colder, the sharks head for Mexico where the waters are warmer.

There hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in California since April 25, 2008. A great white fatally attacked a swimmer at Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach, located approximately 99 miles south of Redondo Beach.

If I do become a little nervous the next time I go surfing, I will keep in mind that shark-related fatalities are rare in California and an attack is usually a case of mistaken identity.

But, I will keep my eye out for a triangular dorsal fin, just in case.

via Sharks Are Swimming Nearby. Should She Still Surf? – Redondo Beach, CA Patch.

A shark attack in a remote area of the Solomon Islands has left an Australian man with severe cuts to his face and neck.

The 34-year-old, unofficially named by media as Sydneysider Benjamin D’Emden, was attacked on Thursday while swimming at a remote island resort.

A spokesman from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the man suffered lacerations to his face and neck.

He was medically evacuated to the National Referral Hospital in the nation’s capital of Honiara and remains in a stable condition.

The Australian High Commission in Honiara is providing the man with consular assistance and he is in contact with his family in Australia.

via Australian attacked by shark in Solomons.

Earlier this month, I had some fun with the Discovery TV Channel’s “Shark Week,” while pointing out – quite seriously – that we’re headed into “prime time” for shark attacks on the California coast. My post quoted shark authorities as saying that divers and surfers in wetsuits are the most likely accidental victims when sharks go cruising for a seal meal.

Uh, did somebody ring the dinner bell? Since then, there have been at least two documented incidents where sharks attacked and gnawed on kayaks, though the paddlers escaped injury. Does this mean coastal kayaking is too risky? NorCal Yak consulted a prominent aquatic scientist who offered some perspective and safety advice for kayakers, based on years of investigating shark incidents. First, the incident details:

Last Saturday, kayak fisherman Adam Coca of Pinole was near Pigeon Point when a shark believed to be a great white hit his boat. “I felt it hit the nose of my boat from below, like boom! Kaboom! Then it flipped the boat over…I held onto my boat and looked right into its eye,” Coca said. “The shark was at least as long as my boat.” See a detailed account and photos in The Santa Cruz Sentinel. And note this yak angler was in an Ocean Prowler – a stable, heavy, 13-foot sit-on-top that wouldn’t tip easily.

Earlier this month, veteran sea kayaker Duane Strosaker had paddled several miles out from Gaviota State Beach in Santa Barbara County when a great white chomped down on his kayak and held it for several seconds before releasing and swimming away. The hull was punctured and the paddler shaken, but he returned to shore safely. Strosaker is not your average recreational paddler – he often paddles several miles out to monitor oil rigs in areas where seals congregate. See the Strosaker blog with photos. He also filed a report with the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

For an expert reaction, NorCal Yak contacted Dr. John McCosker, chairman of the Department of Aquatic Biology at the California Academy of Sciences, who for many years has studied sharks and shark attacks on humans. He’s quite accustomed to public and media misperceptions about sharks. (For example, take this fear-inducing photo from the  Discovery Channel.)

via NORCAL YAK: Shark attacks on 2 California kayakers: Time to get out of the water?.

A school surfing competition has been postponed following a fatal shark attack in Western Australia’s southwest but the beach has been reopened to the public.

The South West Regional School surf title was to be held on Thursday and Friday at Huzza’s Break, adjacent to South Point near Gracetown where Nicholas Edwards, 31, was fatally injured by a shark on Tuesday.

The organisers decided to postpone the event until next week.

Shire of Augusta-Margaret River president Ray Colyer said the beach was reopened at 12pm (WST) on Thursday.

Mr Colyer said the beach was “as safe as the beach can be” for swimmers, snorkellers and surfers.

At this time of the year, people need to be vigilant, particularly in the deeper reefs where sharks are looking for food like seals,” he said.

Seals were in the area when Mr Edwards, a father of two, was attacked.

Despite desperate efforts by fellow surfers and ambulance officers to keep him alive, Mr Edwards died after suffering a severe bite to his right leg.

Police said Mr Edwards, from Busselton about 50 kilometres from Gracetown, was trying to get in one last surf before returning to his job as a miner in the WA goldfields.

Mr Colyer said police and the Department of Fisheries had not reported any shark sightings since the fatal attack.

Helicopters had flown over the water on Wednesday at 10am (WST) and no sharks were seen, he said.

via Beach where shark attacked reopens.

A school surfing competition has been postponed following a fatal shark attack in Western Australia’s southwest but the beach has been reopened to the public.

The South West Regional School surf title was to be held on Thursday and Friday at Huzza’s Break, adjacent to South Point near Gracetown where Nicholas Edwards, 31, was fatally injured by a shark on Tuesday.

The organisers decided to postpone the event until next week.

Shire of Augusta-Margaret River president Ray Colyer said the beach was reopened at 12pm (WST) on Thursday.

Mr Colyer said the beach was “as safe as the beach can be” for swimmers, snorkellers and surfers.

At this time of the year, people need to be vigilant, particularly in the deeper reefs where sharks are looking for food like seals,” he said.

Seals were in the area when Mr Edwards, a father of two, was attacked.

Despite desperate efforts by fellow surfers and ambulance officers to keep him alive, Mr Edwards died after suffering a severe bite to his right leg.

Police said Mr Edwards, from Busselton about 50 kilometres from Gracetown, was trying to get in one last surf before returning to his job as a miner in the WA goldfields.

Mr Colyer said police and the Department of Fisheries had not reported any shark sightings since the fatal attack.

Helicopters had flown over the water on Wednesday at 10am (WST) and no sharks were seen, he said.

via Beach where shark attacked reopens.

A man that was kayaking over the weekend has escaped a shark attack from one of the most dangerous shark species. Adam Coca was attacked by a great white shark while he was kayaking over the weekend in the area of Pigeon Point off the coast of San Mateo.

The man, who is 45 years of age, was fishing in his kayak in a place that is known as the ‘Red Triangle’ just off the coast of San Mateo. This area is known for being a shark area and although the kayaker might not have known this at the time, he certainly knew it when the great white shark got hold of his kayak.

The man said that the shark tipped the kayak completely over but he managed to hang on to the other side of the kayak in order to prevent the shark from getting to him. Shortly after he managed to survive the attack, his friends came to his rescue as they saw what was happening.

Adam survived the shark attack with minor injuries as he just suffered a small cut on his foot. This was certainly a lucky escape.

via Kayaker Survives Attack from Great White Shark | Daily Rosetta.

Busselton surfer Nicholas Edwards, who died yesterday after being mauled by a shark near Margaret River, had previously had a near miss with a shark while surfing on the Gold Coast, his mother said.

The father-of-two was on his last day off from BHP’s Leinster nickel operation when he was attacked while surfing about 300 metres from the South Point surf break at Cowaramup Bay.

Two local surfers tried to resuscitate him and stop the bleeding from his shredded right leg after pulling him unconscious from the water, but Mr Edwards died on the way to Margaret River hospital.

via Fatal shark attack in Australia – OC Beach Blog : Things to do in OC – Orange County Events.

The family of a surfer fatally mauled on Tuesday by a shark off the coast of Western Australia spoke out after learning of his death.

Nick Edwards, 31, bled to death after being attacked about 8:15 a.m. local time at South Point in Gracetown, about 160 miles south of Perth.

Emergency services workers rushed to the scene, and paramedics transported him to Margaret River Hospital, where he later died.

His wife asked for privacy as the family — including the couple’s children, aged seven and two — struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.

Edwards’ mother Helen said news of the attack had devastated the family.

“It’s a very hard time … We’re just trying to deal with it, and come to terms with it,” she said.

It was believed a pod of seals attracted the shark to the area.

Edwards was enjoying flawless six-foot waves on a day off before he was due to return to the Goldfields on Wednesday, where he worked fly-in fly-out in the mining industry.

Fellow beachgoers said six people dragged the critically injured man from the sea and administered CPR for 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived.

Eddie Kilgallon, 42, who was surfing nearby, said he ran along the shore to where the victim had been dragged out of the water. “I was holding what was left of his leg together. The bottom half of his thigh was exposed and ripped open. Half of his calf muscle was also torn to shreds,” Kilgallon said. “I saw he had a wedding ring and was telling him that his wife wanted to see him again.”

Local rangers also retrieved the man’s surfboard, which was snapped in half.

via FOXNews.com – Surfer Bleeds to Death After Grisly Shark Attack Off Australian Coast.

Witness Rob Alder: “I would imagine that it was a shark that mistook him for a seal”

A man has died from his injuries after he was attacked by a shark in waters off West Australia.

The 31-year-old man was surfing alone early on Tuesday morning when he was attacked near Gracetown, about 270km (167 miles) south of Perth.

The Fisheries Department said it has no information about the type of shark.

Officials said sightings of sharks are frequent in the waters but fatal shark attacks are rare although a surfer was killed in the area in 2004.

Local media reported that the surfer had been seen by a resident watching from his house.

Rob Alder told ABC he had rushed down to the beach and alerted a rescue crew, while he tried to resuscitate the man.

Mr Alder said there were reports of a large number of seals in the area at the time of the attack.

“It’s my thought, as often happens, the shark had probably mistaken the surfer for a seal,” Mr Alder was quoted as saying.

“He hadn’t bitten away anything, it was just like a nip, there was no sign that the shark had viewed the surfer as a meal.”

via BBC News – Australian surfer dies after shark attack.

Surfer Nicholas Edwards, 31, a mine worker and father of two children from Busselton died after being attacked by a shark at 8:15 AM on August 17, 2010 near Gracetown in the Margaret River area of Western Australia, according to a story in Western Australia Today.

Police and the RAC rescue helicopter were dispatched to a beach south of Cowaramup Bay near Gracetown this morning. . . The man was retrieved from the water and rushed to hospital, but police have confirmed he has died from his injuries. They could not say how old he was or confirm his identity. . . The man is believed to have been attacked while surfing on his own, at a beach only accessible by four-wheel-drive vehicles.

According to a story on ABC.net.au a man watching the surf saw Edwards go down.

Rob Alder says he saw Mr Edwards lose his board and not come back up again. . . He rushed down to the beach with his friends and alerted a rescue crew. . . He says they found Mr Edwards washed up on rocks near South Point, lying unconscious with a huge gash to his leg. . . Mr Alder and his friends created a tourniquet using a surfboard leg rope and tried to resuscitate Mr Edwards for 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived. . . Eddie Kilgallon was one of the rescuers who tried, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate the man. . . Mr Kilgallon says Mr Edwards’s injuries were horrific. . . “[The] back half of his leg was totally chomped. It looked like one bite. It looked like a big shark bite,” he said.

The beach reportedly remains closed. Our thoughts are with Edwards family and friends.

via Surfer Dies After Western Oz Shark Attack at Boardistan.

Nicholas Edwards, the father-of-two who died after being attacked by a large shark in Western Australia’s world famous Margaret River surfing region had recently moved his family to Busselton from the Eastern States.

Dunsborough police Sergeant Craig Anderson said 31-year-old Mr Edwards was a fly-in, fly-out miner on his last day of leave when he was attacked 300 metres from the South Point surf break south of Cowaramup Bay, near Gracetown.

Police have notified Mr Edwards’ wife and two children, aged seven and two.

via Shark attack in Gracetown | Surfer Dead | Western Australia.

Chuck Patterson was stand-up paddle boarding when two juvenile great white sharks swam up to investigate. Luckily, Patterson had the camera on a pole….which is a little bit safer, I guess.

Here’s his description of the footage:

[...] within 5 minutes a 9 ft shark came out of no where and circled twice and slapped his tail on my board before disappearing. then a minute later a 7 ft young juvenile Great White swam circles around me for 12 minutes. It was an unreal experience that I will cherish forever

Gives you chills, no?

via Man films his near-miss shark attack.