White Shark Sightings On The Rise On East Coast : NPR.

From NPR, I’m Ira Flatow.

Over the last few years, there have been more and more confirmed shark sightings at beaches on the East Coast, and this summer is no exception. Just last week, lifeguards closed part of Rockaway Beach, that’s here in Brooklyn, after surfers spotted a shark.

Further north, officials closed a remote beach in Cape Cod when a spotter of planes saw not one, not two but at least three great white sharks lurking near the shore a couple weeks ago. No one’s been allowed in the water since then.

And then just yesterday, Cape Cod’s Chatham Harbor was closed to swimming due to the sighting of a 14-foot great white shark. Scary, huh?

But before you call in Quint and his too-small shark boat in “Jaws,” to put this in perspective, there hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in New England since way back in 1936. So why are we spotting so many more great whites today?

Is their population growing, or are we just more paranoid and getting better at spotting them? Here to sort out some of the facts from fiction is my guest. Greg Skomal is a senior biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He joins us by phone. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY, Dr. Skomal.

Dr. GREG SKOMAL (Senior Biologist Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries): Thank you, Ira. It’s good to be here.

FLATOW: Good, thank you. Are there more sharks these days, or are we seeing more of them?

Dr. SKOMAL: I think it’s a function, it’s a number of variables we’re dealing with here, and it’s hard for us to really tell if there’s more sharks or just simply more effort.

Certainly, a lot of the sightings along the East Coast of the United States have to do with more people utilizing the shoreline, utilizing the water for various recreational activities and otherwise.

But in think in some areas, specifically off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts and Monomoy Island, we are indeed seeing more white sharks. And I think what we’re seeing is a shift in distribution of the white shark in that particular area.

FLATOW: And what is attracting them to that area?

Dr. SKOMAL: Over the course of the last couple of decades, we’ve been seeing a steady increase in the number of gray seals and a growing gray seal, resident gray seal population in that area. I believe it’s drawing these sharks closer to shore.

FLATOW: And why would we be seeing more gray seals now?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, back in the early ’70s, we passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and it’s taken the last few decades for this population to actually recover to levels that pre-existed before we eradicated the species over the course of the last several decades. So we’ve got a growing population in response to protection by the U.S. and state governments.

FLATOW: So I guess what you’re saying is that we’re seeing a restoration of this coastal ecosystem to the way it used to be.

Dr. SKOMAL: Exactly, at least that’s the way we perceive it at this time. You know, we could be going back to what existed several hundred years ago, with a robust seal population being preyed upon by a robust white shark population.

FLATOW: 1-800-989-8255. We’re talking to Greg Skomal about the sightings of great white sharks along the East Coast. Maybe if you’ve seen one, you’d like to call in and talk about it. You can also Twitter us, send us a tweet @scifri, @-S-C-I-F-R-I. Or join the discussion on our website, on sciencefriday.com.

You, what do we you know, aside from watching “Jaws” and all the scary movies about sharks and Shark Week on cable channels everywhere, how much do we really know about white shark populations?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, there are certain parts of the world where you can predictably find white sharks. And these areas, which include, you know, the Pacific Coast, California, parts of South Africa and South Australia – these are areas where scientists have had the luxury, if you will, of going out and studying these animals at great levels.

And we’ve been able to garner quite a bit about their biology in those areas, I think. One of the spots that we know very little about the white shark is the Atlantic Ocean. And perhaps, this change in ecosystem that we’re going through up here in New England, may begin to provide us some access to these animals so we can start to tease away some aspects of their biology.

FLATOW: And you are involved in tagging sharks, are you not?

Dr. SKOMAL: Correct, correct. Yeah, last year we had a chance, for the first time, to put satellite-based technology tags on white sharks in this area, and we are already getting insights into their biology from those tags.

And already this year, we’ve placed four tags out, and we hope to be able to continue to do that over the course of the next month.

FLATOW: How do you get, you know, how do you know when it is time to reopen these beaches that have been closed?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you know, the local municipalities are in charge of those beaches, and all we can do at the Division of Marine Fisheries is provide information to those folks who are making these decisions.

You know, we’d like to provide real-time information on the presence of sharks as acquired through our research activities so they can make well-founded decisions on opening and closing beaches.

FLATOW: What are the odds of getting bitten by a shark?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you yourself indicated that the last fatal attack in Massachusetts was back in the 1930s. So that gives you a sense of what the probability is. That being said, I think it’s important to realize when you place people in close proximity to the prey of sharks, namely gray seals, you could potentially increase the risk modestly.

So I think it’s important for people to make wise decisions when getting in the water and choose areas that may be free of white shark prey.

FLATOW: Henry(ph) in Aurora, Illinois. Hi, welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.

HENRY (Caller): Hello there. Being landlocked, I just have an idea that possibly, there’s less fish out there for the sharks to feed on because you could ask any fishermen why are they still in port. And the sharks will wander farther around, looking for food. That’s my idea. Thank you.

FLATOW: You’re welcome.

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, I’ll tell you, that’s an interesting point, and it points to fisheries management and population management and the importance of looking at bait species and to find relationships between sharks and their prey and whether or not we’re, you know, overexploiting their prey and forcing sharks to other areas to exploit other resources.

That being said, I think it’s well-defined, the behavior of the white shark, when it comes to feeding, these animals are clearly going through, clearly prefer larger prey, namely marine mammals and specifically seals and sea lions.

So I think what we have going on off the coast of New England is actually just a national predator-prey relationship and not anything exacerbated, perhaps, by humans.

FLATOW: Let’s go to Roy(ph) in Sumter, South Carolina. Hi, Roy.

ROY (Caller): Hi, thank you so much for taking the call and specifically on this topic. It’s always been an interest. I’ve been recreational fishing in the Atlantic for 30 years. And over the last three or four years, we’ve noticed a tremendous increase in the number of small sharks that we’re catching.

It used to be something, we may catch one shark every two or three trips, and now we probably catch 10 sharks every trip. These we refer to them as bonnetheads. I dont know if that’s an accurate terminology, about a three, three-and-a-half-foot long shark, always catch them on the bottom, never catch them trawling. And I’ll take my answer off the air, but again, thank you so much for this topic.

FLATOW: All right. Could there be many big sharks because there are a lot more little sharks now?

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you know, the bonnethead is indeed a species. It’s considered to be a healthy population off the Southeastern U.S., according to the fisheries’ statisticians. It’s not a fish that’s heavily exploited commercially, although it is sold in some numbers, and recreational fishermen like to catch it, as well.

You know, there are some folks who believe – some scientists who believe that with the removal of very, very large sharks that consume these smaller sharks, we’re seeing more species, you know, more smaller sharks out there. That may be the case, although it hasn’t been clearly demonstrated by scientists.

So it’s an area where there is quite a bit of work, but we have no real conclusions yet.

FLATOW: Have sharks been over hunted?

Dr. SKOMAL: In certain parts of the world with certain populations, absolutely. We have enough information on, for example, the dusky shark to indicate that that population off the Eastern U.S. has been overexploited and reduced dramatically.

The same is true for the sandbar shark. For other populations of sharks, they continue to be robust, and I think the bonnethead falls into that.

FLATOW: All right, let me go to Mark(ph) in New Britain, Connecticut. Hi, Mark.

MARK (Caller): Hi, thanks for taking my call. As you said, I’m in Connecticut, and I’ve noticed changes in the water temperature of Long Island Sound. It’s been creeping up, year over year, and I’m wondering if the climatic changes, increases in ocean temperature, are a possible source of increased activity.

FLATOW: Good question.

Dr. SKOMAL: Yes, an excellent question, one we anticipate a lot of research trying to answer over the course of the next decade. We know that with climate change and global warming, we’re going to see changes in the structure of fish populations in terms of the diversity of species, with a shift north of tropical species.

And it has been demonstrated for some, already. I imagine with warming water temperatures in Long Island Sound, you’re going to see a change in the fish diversity in that body of water, as well.

So, you know, it’s an area that we’re going into. We anticipate changes, and some of them have been documented. In terms of sharks, we haven’t seen any kind of dramatic shift as of yet, but some of the species that typically occur south of Cape Cod and not north, have indeed been starting to creep around the Cape. So we’re starting to see some indications that the fish populations, including sharks, are changing.

FLATOW: Steve(ph) in Cambridge, Mass. Hi, Steve.

STEVE (Caller): Hey, how are you doing? Thanks for taking the call. Great show. I think the shark thing is just a bunch of media hype, frankly. I mean, it just, you know, it makes people tune into the news shows, and I’m not sure there’s any more or less. I just think the sightings are more – maybe because there’s more fishermen out there.

But I was wondering if you might know why there’s a lot more jellyfish in the bay this year.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Dr. SKOMAL: Well, you bring up a couple of excellent points, and a lot of the shark phenomenon, or shark frenzy, if you will, is driven by the media – and it’s something we have to deal with all the time.

I can tell you that some of the shark sightings data absolutely indicate a shift that’s going on over with white sharks, and some of it’s just generated by a media frenzy. Somebody sees a fin, it may not be a shark fin, but it gets reported as such, and that just compounds upon itself.

I wish I could be of more help with you with jellyfish. I’ve been hearing a lot of folks complain about jellyfish in the bay over the last several weeks, but unfortunately, I study things a lot bigger.

FLATOW: All right, we’ll have to take a look at that, with some jellyfish folks, on a future program. But I want to thank you for taking time to be with us today.

Dr. SKOMAL: Oh, my pleasure. It’s great to be here.

FLATOW: Have a good weekend.

Dr. SKOMAL: Yes, you, too.

FLATOW: Greg Skomal is a senior biologist in the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in New Bedford, Mass., and he was joining us by phone from there.

When we come back, we’re going to switch to electric cars, plug-ins. Do you want a plug-in? How about a Chevy Volt or a Nissan Leaf? We’re going to compare the two. Maybe you could talk to us about what you’d like to see the perfect plug-in to be. What would you are these two cars the kind you might purchase? If not, what do you want to have?

Our number, 1-800-989-8255. You can tweet us @scifri, @-S-C-I-F-R-I, or go to our website at sciencefriday.com, where you can chat around with some folks that way.

So stay with us. We’ll be right back after the break.

(Soundbite of music)

FLATOW: I’m Ira Flatow. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR.

The pain is unbearable. He does not much feel like talking, but Darian Baehler knows he is lucky to have his left foot. A rattlesnake bit his leg not once, but twice. He has had two surgeries, so far, to relieve pressure from the swelling. He was moved from intensive care to intermediate care at University Medical Center Brackenridge Tuesday afternoon.

Darian’s father, Todd Baehler, said, “It’s just unbelievable. I could not believe a snake bite could do this much damage. He’s going to be in the hospital another week or so. He’s going to have physical therapy, he’s going to have plastic surgery, he’s going to have a lot of problems.”

It happened Friday, when Baehler and a group of kids were headed home down a wooded path near Southwest Regional Park in Williamson County. His sister Nicole says it got dark all of the sudden. One of their friends unknowingly stepped over a rattlesnake. Soon they all knew.

“It was really loud,” Nicole Baehler said. “Like, you know, like moraccas or whatever, that’s what it sounded like.

Game warden Turk Jones says dusk and dark in the summer are prime time for snakes.

“They’re gonna be out in the evening, 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, the time those kids were walking through here,” Jones said.

Six-year-old Carson Perreault was also in the group. “I wouldn’t have survived it,” Perrault said

Doctors agree, which strikes a chord with Todd Baehler.

“That was scary to me because people walk their dogs back there. People ride their bikes back there,” Baehler said.

Doctors at UMC Brackenridge say they see 40-50 snake bites a year, mostly during the summer months. They say rattlesnake anti-venom runs about $2,000 a vial. Baehler had to have 33 vials. Doctors say that the anti-venom can mean the difference between keeping and losing a limb, and in some cases, life and death. That is why they say anyone who is the victim of a snake bite, no matter how minor, should seek emergency medical treatment.

via Teenager fighting to keep his foot after rattlesnake bites | kvue.com | KVUE News | Austin, TX | Breaking News.

CBS  Clayton Schulz told his worried mom nothing would happen when he was surfing — then something did. The 20-year-old pitcher for the University of North Florida was surfing with his girlfriend last Friday off Jacksonville Beach when a shark attacked his left foot. It took over 400 stitches to repair that damage. Pictures: Swimming with the Sharks On “The Early Show,” Schultz shared his story, saying first, hes pretty lucky to still have all five toes. He said hes lucky the shark reached his foot only. “Didnt even get into the ankle cavity,” he explained. “Tore all the flesh off, cut across the tendons, the four tendons across the top. Tore everything up, so it was pretty — you know, pretty — Im lucky to have a foot still.” The surgery took two doctors five-and-a-half hours to reattach everything except one tendon. Schulz, a surfer for eight years, said hes heard about shark attacks, but never imagined one coming after him. He said, “Sharks are always there, year-round, you see them jumping in the distance and stuff, but its never — you never think it would be you. Its such a rare — I mean, youre more likely to get struck by lightning, so its very rare. But you never think its going to be you.” Schulz explained he was surfing about 100 yards out when he caught a wave in to shore. Thats when he felt it: “All I really felt was teeth,” he said. “I dont remember everything exactly to the point, but — a lot of teeth.” He said he knew it was a shark. “I pretty much knew the way it grabbed my foot,” he said. “It was kind of violent. Didnt feel good.” After the shark let go, Schulz hauled himself onto his board, stunned. He said, “I told the others — there was another surfer there away from me and I yelled to him, I said, Man, I just got attacked by a shark, can you help me out here? He said, paddle in. I caught a wave in. He got the lifeguard. I crawled up on the beach, I waved at my girlfriend. She was laying there. I was like, Come on, I just got bit.” Jacksonville lifeguards ushered Schulz to an ambulance. As for the shark, Schulz said no one else saw it after his bite. Schulz said, “It went through my mind when I was paddling in, Is this thing following me? But, no, never saw it after that. You know, Im lucky. The surgeons did a great job. You know, when I first saw it after the surgery, it looks like a foot, still looks like a foot and it didnt look like a foot before.” The shark was so elusive, Schulz never even saw it — he only felt it. Schulz told “Early Show” co-anchor Erica Hill, “Never saw it. It was completely by surprise. You know, when you think shark, you think, you know, farther out than everybody else, but it was actually more in towards the shore. Thats why it really caught me off guard.” Will he surf again? “Yeah, I think I will,” Schulz said. “Its a scary thing, but the chance — if I get bitten twice, then — ” “Then you should look out for the lightning,” Hill joked. Schulz said, “Thats the sign I need to get out of the water.”

via Shark Attack Victim: “All I Felt Was Teeth” – The Early Show – CBS News.

NAPLES — Beside Alligator Alley in Golden Gate, there is a canal that locals have named “the Crystal.”

Tracy Cusick, 39, and Chris Kight, 49, parked their van and set their white plastic chairs underneath a shade tree beside the Crystal, their favorite swimming hole, to enjoy some “tranquility.”

Cars repeatedly swoosh by on the interstate, but the trees act as a buffer between the couple and civilization.

“Normally when they drive past they, blow their horn at us,” Kight said.

In some places of the canal, the clear water makes it easy to see the bottom. Fish dash by and the surface of the water sometimes ripples as they go. In other parts, which Kight thinks can be as deep as 40 feet, the water is mysterious and dark.

Cusick and Kight have visited the Crystal to swim, fish and meet with friends for about 20 years, but they are worried they may have to fight to keep the swimming hole open after a gruesome alligator attack on Sunday left a young man without a hand.

Tim Delano, 18, was attacked by a 10-foot alligator while swimming in the canal with friends Sunday evening. The gator clamped its mouth around Delano’s left hand and then severed it when the teen got away.

Friends drove Delano a couple of miles to get help. Delano was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering. A tracker, sent by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, later trapped and killed the gator.

Delano wants people to stop swimming at the Crystal. “I hope they shut it down, so no accidents like this will happen again,” he said.

Kight said what happened to Delano was a first.

“It was a freak accident,” Kight said.

Although Cusick and Kight were the only mid-afternoon swimmers at the Crystal Monday, Kight said there were about 75 people there Sunday.

People were listening to music, barbecuing and swimming in the canal, according to the couple.

“It’s just a hangout,” Kight said.

Parents bring their children to swim and fish.

“The kids are never unattended,” Cusick said.

The day of the accident, Kight and Cusick left before it got dark, around 7 p.m., because they won’t swim in the Crystal past sunset.

“A gator feeds at night like a shark does,” Kight said.

Unlike Delano, they have seen gators in the waters before. “Any canal you go in there’s a chance,” Kight said.

Kight learned what happened to Delano from a television news report later that night. He knew it was the Crystal right away.

“I recognized a tree,” Kight said.

There’s still a dried pool of blood where Delano stood after he got out of the water. Kight pointed it out on the dirt road. He said they are glad Delano survived, but they’re worried their favorite swimming hole won’t.

“It would really bother me if they shut it down. There aren’t places to swim,” Cusick said.

She thinks it might be a good idea to post signs warning people about the potential dangers or to let them know what to do to stay safe.

“Everyone knows anyway, but to refresh their memories,” Cusick said.

But if there is a push to ban people from swimming in the Crystal, Kight said he’d start a petition to fight it.

“There will be a lot of people to sign it,” he said. “It’s the last swimming hole we have in Naples.”

via PHOTOS: Alligator attack doesn’t deter locals from swimming in the Crystal » Naples Daily News.

Standing next to his young daughter in waist-deep water off Fripp Island on Friday afternoon, Craig Morris felt something softly nudge his leg.

Seconds later, something pulled 6-year-old Ella under the water.

That “something” was a shark, he said.

The 37-year-old father of three quickly pulled the child to the surface.

That’s when he saw the blood and the 9-inch gash on the little girl’s leg, said Heidi Morris, Craig’s wife and Ella’s mother.

“He threw the boogie board they had been using (away) and squeezed her leg together,” said Heidi Morris of the 1 p.m. incident near the Fripp Island Beach Club. “Then he carried her up the beach and booked it to the fire house. There was lots of blood. You could see her bone.”

A Beaufort County paramedic and Fripp Island Fire officers treated Ella until an ambulance arrived and took her to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

It took 22 stitches to close the bite. Ella was released later that day, Heidi Morrris said.

The family, including sons Jackson, 8, and Parker, 9, of Marietta, Ga., were enjoying the final day of a week-long vacation when the incident occurred, she said. It was their first time vacationing on Fripp.

“We just loved it,” she said. “Earlier in the day, I had even posted pictures and a comment on my Facebook page that we were so happy with our experience. Later that day, I had to tell people about the shark.”

A RARE OCCURRENCE

Emergency room doctors told the family the shark was probably small, between four and five feet long, Heidi Morris said.

Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, agreed.

Ella’s wound looked like four smaller bites in a row, probably from a small shark. Typically, a swimmer would see the dorsal fin of a larger animal before it struck, Bell said.

“What you have with sharks is a test bite, to see what it is,” he said. “Then they usually take off, because you’re not a desired food item.”

DNR Sgt. Michael Paul Thomas said Tuesday there is no way to confirm whether the youngster’s wound was inflicted by a shark.

Because shark attacks are so rare, there is no protocol for reporting bites.

In South Carolina, the most recent shark attack that resulted in death was in 1883, Bell said.

“We’re still not sure what kind of shark it was,” he said.

In July 2006, an Ohio man said he was bitten by a shark at Hilton Head Island’s Singleton Beach. The wound required about a dozen stitches on his leg above his ankle. Authorities never confirmed the attack as the work of a shark, but the man said the teeth marks and puncture wounds were evidence enough for him.

In June of that year, a Missouri girl was bitten while playing in about two feet of water near the Breakers resort area of Coligny Beach.

Earlier in the month, a 14-year-old girl was bitten while swimming off Pawleys Island while a 21-year-old woman suffered a foot injury during a shark encounter off Kiawah Island.

Still, shark bites are relatively rare occurrences.

According to statistics compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, people are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning.

Thomas said tracking the area shark population is not an exact science, but called the number robust.

“We always have a fairly large number of sharks in our waters,” Thomas said.

He attributed that to deep waters, healthy estuaries and plenty of fish to eat.

“Port Royal and St. Helena sounds are two deep areas for them to come into and spawn, and we have an abundance of fish,” Thomas said.

‘I’M NOT SCARED’

While the incident left her parents shaken, Ella was the picture of courage and composure.

Her mother was amazed at the child’s attitude in the emergency room.

“She was fine, acted like there was absolutely nothing wrong,” Heidi Morris said.

Since the encounter, the six-year-old has continued to be upbeat and chatty, her mother said.

“Yesterday (Monday) all day, she wore a shark T-shirt,” she said.

Her parents said they were happy there was no severe nerve or muscle damage. A doctor said Monday the youngster’s wound was healing well and she should be up and walking in a day or two, her mother said.

Minutes before the attack, Ella had been in the water alone, her mother said.

“We were lucky, because her dad came up and put his arms around her right before it happened,” she said. “I think she felt safe because her daddy was right there.”

“I’m not scared,” Ella told her mother after the attack.

She said something else, too.

“I’ll go back in the water.”

via Ga. girl ‘upbeat’ after being bitten by shark off Fripp Island | islandpacket.com.

Standing next to his young daughter in waist-deep water off Fripp Island on Friday afternoon, Craig Morris felt something softly nudge his leg.

Seconds later, something pulled 6-year-old Ella under the water.

That “something” was a shark, he said.

The 37-year-old father of three quickly pulled the child to the surface.

That’s when he saw the blood and the 9-inch gash on the little girl’s leg, said Heidi Morris, Craig’s wife and Ella’s mother.

“He threw the boogie board they had been using (away) and squeezed her leg together,” said Heidi Morris of the 1 p.m. incident near the Fripp Island Beach Club. “Then he carried her up the beach and booked it to the fire house. There was lots of blood. You could see her bone.”

A Beaufort County paramedic and Fripp Island Fire officers treated Ella until an ambulance arrived and took her to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

It took 22 stitches to close the bite. Ella was released later that day, Heidi Morrris said.

The family, including sons Jackson, 8, and Parker, 9, of Marietta, Ga., were enjoying the final day of a week-long vacation when the incident occurred, she said. It was their first time vacationing on Fripp.

“We just loved it,” she said. “Earlier in the day, I had even posted pictures and a comment on my Facebook page that we were so happy with our experience. Later that day, I had to tell people about the shark.”

A RARE OCCURRENCE

Emergency room doctors told the family the shark was probably small, between four and five feet long, Heidi Morris said.

Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, agreed.

Ella’s wound looked like four smaller bites in a row, probably from a small shark. Typically, a swimmer would see the dorsal fin of a larger animal before it struck, Bell said.

“What you have with sharks is a test bite, to see what it is,” he said. “Then they usually take off, because you’re not a desired food item.”

DNR Sgt. Michael Paul Thomas said Tuesday there is no way to confirm whether the youngster’s wound was inflicted by a shark.

Because shark attacks are so rare, there is no protocol for reporting bites.

In South Carolina, the most recent shark attack that resulted in death was in 1883, Bell said.

“We’re still not sure what kind of shark it was,” he said.

In July 2006, an Ohio man said he was bitten by a shark at Hilton Head Island’s Singleton Beach. The wound required about a dozen stitches on his leg above his ankle. Authorities never confirmed the attack as the work of a shark, but the man said the teeth marks and puncture wounds were evidence enough for him.

In June of that year, a Missouri girl was bitten while playing in about two feet of water near the Breakers resort area of Coligny Beach.

Earlier in the month, a 14-year-old girl was bitten while swimming off Pawleys Island while a 21-year-old woman suffered a foot injury during a shark encounter off Kiawah Island.

Still, shark bites are relatively rare occurrences.

According to statistics compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, people are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning.

Thomas said tracking the area shark population is not an exact science, but called the number robust.

“We always have a fairly large number of sharks in our waters,” Thomas said.

He attributed that to deep waters, healthy estuaries and plenty of fish to eat.

“Port Royal and St. Helena sounds are two deep areas for them to come into and spawn, and we have an abundance of fish,” Thomas said.

‘I’M NOT SCARED’

While the incident left her parents shaken, Ella was the picture of courage and composure.

Her mother was amazed at the child’s attitude in the emergency room.

“She was fine, acted like there was absolutely nothing wrong,” Heidi Morris said.

Since the encounter, the six-year-old has continued to be upbeat and chatty, her mother said.

“Yesterday (Monday) all day, she wore a shark T-shirt,” she said.

Her parents said they were happy there was no severe nerve or muscle damage. A doctor said Monday the youngster’s wound was healing well and she should be up and walking in a day or two, her mother said.

Minutes before the attack, Ella had been in the water alone, her mother said.

“We were lucky, because her dad came up and put his arms around her right before it happened,” she said. “I think she felt safe because her daddy was right there.”

“I’m not scared,” Ella told her mother after the attack.

She said something else, too.

“I’ll go back in the water.”

via Ga. girl ‘upbeat’ after being bitten by shark off Fripp Island | islandpacket.com.

Although a Trafford man was bit by a snake in Fayette County early Thursday morning, a local herpetologist said close encounters with reptiles are rare.

Chad Heasley, 39, was riding an all-terrain vehicle through the woods with friends when his vehicle got stuck in mud. State police said he went to get some rocks to help elevate his tires and a snake bit him. He was flown to Highlands Hospital and Health Center in Connellsville. A report on his condition was not immediately available.

Ken Stairs of Somerset, a field biologist, said trails go through scenic areas of high mountains where snakes live. Police had not confirmed what kind of snake bit Heasley, but there are copperheads and rattlesnakes in the woods near Connellsville, Stairs said.

“They are secretive and they like to go undetected and unmolested,” he said. “If you step on one or try to pick it up, you will get bit. The snake feels threatened.”

Snakes are often found around rocks or beside logs.

“Never be afraid to hike, but wear boots or sturdy shoes, not flip-flops,” he said. “Look carefully before sitting on the ground and don’t put your fingers on ledges without looking carefully. Step up on logs and look around the side before stepping over it. A snake may be lying on the ground near the log waiting for a chipmunk. Stay on the trail.”

It isn’t true that snakes travel in pairs. Adults that are hunting will be alone. Gestating females will be in groups — he once saw 46 together at a boulder. It isn’t true that snakes can strike a great distance. They can only strike about half of their body length or a little longer if they are on a rock. Their body length isn’t as long as people think, either.

“Snakes aren’t going to chase anybody,” he said. “They are looking for an escape route. Noise wakes them. If you hear a rattle, stop, look for the snake and sidestep around him.”

Ninety-five percent of snakes are nonpoisonous, Stairs said. Those bites are similar to scratches. Someone who is bitten by a poisonous snake can be treated in most hospitals and should be fine if he doesn’t have any underlying medical problems. It isn’t true that physicians need to know what type of snake bit you before starting treatment, he said. The medication is the same.

“Don’t take the snake to the hospital with you — it causes trauma in the ER,” Stairs said. “Thirty percent of bites are dry bites. Out in the southwest you may be further away from medical facilities and the snakes are bigger and have a higher toxicity. There a snake bite is more dangerous.”

Stairs was bitten by a snake once. He had wild-caught a western diamondback rattlesnake in Texas and brought it back with him. He was measuring the snake and it bit him on the thumb.

“It didn’t like being handled,” he said. “I spent seven days in the hospital.”

Venomous snake bites can cause tissue and nerve death. If you are bitten by a rattlesnake or copperhead snake, immobilize the limb at or above the heart if possible. If you are bit on the hand or arm, put your arm across your stomach and hold it there. If you have a cell phone with you, call 911.

“Remain calm — I know it’s hard, but keep your heart rate from going up,” Stairs said. “Get to the nearest medical facility as soon as you can, but don’t run. That raises the heart rate. If you are bit on the hand, remove any rings you’re wearing because your hand will swell. If you have a constricting band — not a tourniquet — put it above the bite. Don’t drink alcohol or take medications.”

The new antivenin serum is sheep blood based and has fewer side effects than the older one that was horse blood based.

About five years ago, he asked the state Health Department how many people in Pennsylvania died of bites from indigenous snakes. There were no deaths for 10 years prior to that.

Stairs and three other men are catching large male rattlesnakes and copperheads on a mountain in Bedford County where wind turbines are to be placed. Two-inch-long transmitters will be implanted in the snakes to track them to dens. The dens will be mapped so the wind turbines don’t break up the dens. The snakes will be caught again in the spring to remove the implants.

Dave Fox, Somerset County 911 coordinator, said people who hike on the trails or through woods need to be aware of where they are. They’ve had problems before with people having a medical emergency on the trail and because they are calling on an older cell phone or the tree canopy was interfering with reception, the 911 center couldn’t pinpoint their location.

“We asked one person where he parked his car so we’d have a starting point, and he replied ‘In a lot with a sign with a big P on it,’” he said. “You need to be aware of which trail you are on and where you went in. Try to know what direction you walked and about how far you walked. If you have a GPS that can be used while walking and a cell phone, take them along. Some people leave the main trail and are on footpaths. That causes problems. Never go alone. It’s like hunting season: You’re safer if you go in numbers. If you do go alone, tell somebody where you are going. People should also wear proper clothing in case they are stranded outside at night. Carry matches to start a fire. Take any survival gear you have.”

via Man bitten by snake in Fayette County woods – Johnstown’s Community Newspaper.

Clearly God has a sense of humor.

MONROE, Ohio – A six-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers Tuesday.

The “King of Kings” statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m. Monday, Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, about 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained Tuesday.

The nickname is the same used for a famous mural of the resurrected Jesus that overlooks the Notre Dame football stadium.

Video courtesy of WLWT. For more visit WLWT.com

The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police Chief Mark Neu said.

Estimated damage from the fire was set at $700,000 — $300,000 for the statue and $400,000 for the amphitheater, Fire Capt. Richard Mascarella said Tuesday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was at the scene Tuesday to prevent traffic jams and potential accidents from motorists stopping along the highway to take photographs.

The patrol began issuing citations about 4 p.m. Tuesday to motorists for stopping on the side of the highway, dispatcher Adam Brown said. The number of gawkers coupled with construction had slowed I-75 traffic in the area to a crawl, the state Highway Patrol said.

Some people were scooping up pieces of the statue's foam from the nearby pond to take home with them, said church co-pastor Darlene Bishop.

“This meant a lot to a lot of people,” she said.

Keith Lewis, of nearby Middletown, arrived at the church around 7 a.m. Tuesday to photograph the remains for his wife. Lewis said he had viewed the statue as both an oddity and an inspiration.

Cassie Browning, a church member from Dayton, said she was driving home when she saw smoke and noticed the statue was missing.

Travelers on I-75 often were startled to come upon the huge statue by the roadside, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a walkway to accommodate them.

Bishop said the statue will be rebuilt.

“It will be back, but this time we are going to try for something fireproof,” she said.

The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by Bishop and her husband, former horse trader Lawrence Bishop.

Lawrence Bishop said in 2004 he was trying to help people, not impress them, with the statue. He said his wife proposed the Jesus figure as a beacon of hope and salvation.

via 6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning – Yahoo! News.

VAIL — Justin Young was hoping he'd see a bear while working in the Vail Valley this summer, but he never wanted to see one as close as he did last Friday.

Young, 25, was working for his father's construction business at a home in the 1500 block of Spring Hill Lane in East Vail when he took a break and took a stroll behind the home around 9 a.m. The next thing he knew he was about 20 feet from a black bear that he said weighed about 400 pounds.

“I spooked him,” Young said. “He immediately charged at me.”

Young, who lives in Florida full-time, said he feels incredibly fortunate to have survived the encounter. The bear hit him on the side of his head and again on the left side of his body before Young fell down. The bear knocked him out, he said, and when he regained consciousness the bear was gone. He got up and ran back to the house and told his coworkers what happened.

Young doubts his coworkers would have believed him if it wasn't for the bear hair.

“They assumed I fell down the stairs and was full of it, until they saw I was covered in bear hair,” Young said.

He walked away with some cuts and bruises, and a nasty black eye, but that was it.

His parents, Chuck and Terry Young, of Eagle, saw pictures of their son's cuts and bruises from his cell phone camera that morning. Terry Young said she got a picture message that said her son had quite the story to tell her.

“Now he has a whole new respect for bears,” Terry Young said.

Justin Young said he's pretty sure he scared the bear because it was facing away from him as he approached it. The bear reacted and went on the defensive, he said.

“I'm very fortunate the bear was on the defensive and not the offensive,” Justin Young said.

After the bear hit him once near his left eye and temple, he put up his arm to protect himself. The bear got a pretty good scratch at his left arm, and that's when Justin Young thinks he was knocked out.

He said he thinks his lifeless body as he laid there unconscious was what saved him. If he continued to fight back and try to protect himself, he said the bear may have done even more damage.

“It's probably good he knocked me out,” Justin Young said. “I'm glad I wasn't conscious for it.”

Justin Young said he has a lot of bruises and scratches on his body, too, which makes him think the bear continued to smack him around a bit while he was unconscious. He said the Division of Wildlife officer who responded to the scene told him a bear that size could exert 1,000 pounds of force.

The Vail Police Department responded to the call along with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Justin Young said he refused an ambulance ride to the hospital because he felt fine and doesn't have health insurance.

“Now that it's done and over with, and I know that I'm not going to die from it, it's kind of a cool story,” Justin Young said.

Randy Hampton, spokesman for the Division of Wildlife, said the agency tracked the bear for more than 12 hours Friday and could see the bear a few times but couldn't catch him. They tracked him with hound dogs but lost the scent when the bear's trail led across asphalt, a surface much harder for dogs to smell.

“Any situation in Colorado where we deal with an aggressive animal injuring a person, the policy is typically that the animal is going to be put down,” Hampton said.

Hampton said that while it's not exactly common to hear of a bear attacking or charging at a person, it does happen several times a year in Colorado. There were three incidents last year in the Aspen-area alone where people were physically injured by bears, he said.

“That being said, it's more common to get attacked by your neighbor's dog than a bear,” Hampton said.

Hampton said he didn't have information on the size or sex of the bear that attacked Justin Young. He said 400 pounds sounds pretty large, though, for a black bear this time of year.

“What we find is that most often, because of their hair and how much hair they have it makes them appear much larger,” Hampton said. “Guessing the weight of a bear is extremely difficult.”

via Bear attacks man in East Vail | VailDaily.com.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News)

The bear attack on Rover's Run is a reminder of what happens when people encounter bears. But is our city being proactive in protecting us from bears on the trails?

Although officials are saying Tuesday's mauling at Far North Bicentennial Park was minor, they do admit that it could have ended a lot worse.

They say it's time to explore what other options are out there to keep residents safe from bear attacks.

“I had to use bear spray to get my way out of a sow with some cubs and called 911,” said Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, who had a dangerous encounter with bears before. 911 dispatchers told her they don't respond to bear attacks. “They said if the bears are threatening you and you are in dire straights we'll respond. I said with all due respect, at that point I am not going to be able to call you,” she said.

Millett says that flaw in the system is one of many in a city where so many people use trails that bring them face to face with bears that flock towards the salmon streams.

“We stock the streams and we get upset when bears come to feed,” said Millett. “We are creating our problems by stocking the streams. There is a whole group of people who love to fish and there is a whole bunch of people who love to view wildlife and there is a whole lot of people in Anchorage who like to use the trails.”

“Most of those encounter areas are places where people live or play everyday but there are also

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bears there,” said Rick Sinnott, a wildlife biologist, for the state Fish and Game.

In light of Tuesday's mauling, Fish and Game biologists strongly recommended closing down Rover's Run until they figured out the series of events that led to the attack.

“That's what we are hoping to avoid–situations where you've got a trail where we've had encounters before,” said Sinnott. “People have been mauled before. It seems like those situations for a few months in the summer time with all the other hundreds of miles of trails in town that those few miles of trails could be closed.”

But with the trails under the city's control, state officials say the municipality needs to work with them to come up with other options.

“Let's do a good job of marking our trails, and then when you go use the trails, file a trail plan,” said Millett.

“Relocate the real trail, the real Rover's Run, a little bit further away from the creek, so people have a safer place to exercise, run and stuff.”

A plan that could work two-fold for everyone's safety, to keep bears away from the trails while also keeping people away from the bears.

“Right now the bears are using it, they are fishing for salmon there, if you put a new trail in there you are kind of asking for these kind of maulings,” said Sinnott.

Sinnott says another idea is to make Rover's Run an winter-use only trail, when the bears are hibernating. Officials say this tactic has proved successful with the Albert's Loop Trail in Eagle River.

City officials say they're going to put up multiple signs around Rover's Run and encourage folks to check out their bear aware site.

via Protection Against Bear Attacks – KTVA.