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It appears the experts have backed off the theory that he was killed by a number of sharks.

STUART — A shark attack that killed a kiteboarder on Wednesday was the rarest and most frightening kind of strike, a case of a powerful 9-foot predator likely meaning to kill and eat its human prey, a leading shark expert said Friday.

“There’s a big difference between the normal hit-and-run bites that we see on the coast of Florida and what we’re unfortunately experiencing here this week,” said George Burgess, keeper of the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. “This thing here was closer to our preconception about what a shark attack is.”

That preconception, stoked by books and movies, doesn’t hold for the vast majority of shark bites, which occur when sharks snap at humans while going after fish. But in rare instances, a shark will come across a human bobbing in the waves and attack with intent.

That’s what happened to Stephen Schafer, 38, in the water south of Stuart Beach on Wednesday, Burgess said.

“This was the real thing,” Burgess said. “This was a bigger shark apparently seeing a human as an appropriately sized item worth pursuing.”

About 4:15 p.m., Schafer was a quarter-mile offshore when at least one large shark, probably a bull or tiger, attacked and mortally wounded him, according to Burgess and autopsy results. The Stuart man died of blood loss despite a Martin County lifeguard’s efforts to save him, said Dr. Linda O’Neil, who examined Schafer’s body Thursday night.

O’Neil said Schafer was bitten twice, once on the buttocks and once on the right thigh. She said the bites, which were 9 to 10 inches in diameter, likely came from the same shark.

Schafer had a set of puncture wounds on each buttock, “like it bit across his bottom,” O’Neil said. “The upper jaw got one side and the lower jaw got the other side.”

The shark delivered a fatal, tearing bite to Schafer’s right thigh, a wound so deep that one tooth struck his femur, O’Neil said.

“The femoral artery was intact but all the smaller arteries that lead to the femoral in the region of the right thigh were severed,” O’Neil said, which led Schafer to bleed out while lifeguard Daniel Lund, 46, fought wind and waves to drag him to safety.

Schafer probably lost more than 2.5 liters of blood, or half the blood in his body, O’Neil said.

The doctor said Schafer also had a bite wound to his right hand. He probably got it trying to fend off the shark as it bit his thigh, she said.

The autopsy couldn’t determine how long Schafer had been bleeding before he was dragged in, but O’Neil said it likely was a matter of minutes before the lifeguard got to him.

Burgess also examined Schafer’s body Thursday night and agreed with O’Neil’s findings. He said the size of the bite marks and the manner of attack indicated the shark likely was 8 or 9 feet long.

Bull and tiger sharks roam the Florida coast year-round. A bull shark was responsible for the state’s last fatal attack in 2005 in the Panhandle, which Burgess said was “very similar” to Wednesday’s incident.

This was the first fatal shark attack ever recorded in Martin County.

Some scientists have theorized that bull sharks are more aggressive because their bodies produce more testosterone, a hypothesis yet to be proven.

About four fatal shark attacks are recorded worldwide each year.

As Burgess studied Wednesday’s attack, he offered these words of warning to surfers and swimmers: “To reduce risks, it’s recommended people stick together in groups and stay close to shore.”

Teague Taylor, a close friend of Schafer’s, said Schafer always stressed to him the importance of the buddy system.

“I grew up watching way too much Jaws,” Taylor said. “If there’s anybody who’s hesitant or, for lack of a better word, scared, it’s me.”

But, he added, he and other surfers were determined to get back in the water.

“It’ll be good for all of us,” he said. “We all need to get back out there. The more we prolong it, the more that fear kind of sets in .”

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STUART — A Martin County Sheriff’s Office report released this morning said the 38-year-old man who died of a possible shark attack off Stuart Beach on Wednesday had an 8- to 10-inch bite on his right thigh and numerous teeth marks on his right and left buttocks.

The report also said Stephen Howard Schafer had bruising inside his right arm, and his right hand had wounds that could have occurred as he tried to fight off a shark.

Schafer was kiteboard surfing south of Stuart Beach at about 4:15 p.m. when lifeguard Daniel Lund looking through binoculars spotted him floating about a quarter-mile offshore in an unguarded stretch of ocean.

The lifeguard paddled to him on a rescue board. He saw blood in the water and said Schafer was screaming that a shark had bit him. Lund began swimming back to shore with the victim in tow, the report said.

Schafer was talking to Lund as they swam, but eventually stopped.

Rescue workers gave Schafer CPR before paramedics brought him to Martin Memorial Hospital, where he died.

Schafer was in a good mood Sunday, sharing a warm conversation over dinner with his mother and stepfather and making plans for the future.

Schafer’s stepfather Edwin Cox on Thursday said it was the last time he saw Schafer before his death.

“His mother had just talked to him yesterday,” Cox said. “We were supposed to have dinner again last night.”

Cox said Schafer’s mother, Kathryn Cox, was distraught over her son’s death and declined to make any comment.

It is still unclear what type of shark may have been responsible for Schafer’s death, but experts say it is likely one of the larger species known to inhabit South Florida waters such as a bull, tiger or even a white shark.

George Burgess, keeper of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History said early this morning he was trying to reach Martin County authorities to get more details on the incident.

It is the first shark attack death in Florida waters since 2005.

Burgess said he didn’t want to guess on the exact type of shark involved without more details, but that considering the attack was fatal, it’s unlikely it was some of the smaller sharks more common to South Florida waters such as the spinner or black tip.

“Those are the species involved in the occasional nips off the east coast, especially in Volusia County, but they are not man-eaters,” Burgess said. “If, indeed, the gentleman yesterday was bitten by sharks, it’s far more likely it was a larger species such as a bull or a tiger, or a white shark if it was in the area.”

Burgess said white sharks typically don’t make it much further south than Jacksonville because of they like the cooler water temperatures.

“The white shark is indeed in the area, or conceivably could be, but they are very irregular visitors,” Burgess said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the death, said sheriff’s Capt. Mark McKinley.

“I’ve been here 25 years,” McKinley said. “To my knowledge, this is the first shark-related fatality we’ve seen.”

In fact, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties have all escaped fatal shark attacks until now, according to the International Shark Attack File.

According to reports this morning, authorities have re-opened Stuart Beach to the public.

In addition, schools of sharks were seen off Palm Beach this morning. There were easily more than a hundred in the water off Reef Road, according to reports.

No beaches are reported to be closed.

Schafer’s friends told TCPalm.com they are shocked by his death.

“I’ve never heard of multiple sharks in this area surrounding someone and fatally wounding him,” said the victim’s childhood friend, Teague Taylor, 36. “He was the nicest person ever.”

On Tuesday, the day before the fatal attack, Taylor told TCPalm.com he was surfing near where his friend was attacked and he saw several sharks.

“You always think in the back of your mind that they (sharks) are out there,” he said.

Jordan Schwartz, who has known Schafer for five years, told TCPalm.com that Schafer was a very experienced kiteboard surfer.

“He was a super nice guy. Always mellow. I don’t think he had any enemies,” he said.

Sharks have been gathering along Palm Beach County beaches recently in their annual chase of baitfish, Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue Lt. Don May said last week when a hammerhead shark was caught off Ocean Reef Park.

Lemon, bull and hammerhead sharks often are seen off area beaches this time of year, Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue Lt. Don May said.