Hongray Shark
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Another Shark bite in Florida!
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
A fisherman was rushed to the hospital after he was bitten by a shark off Singer Island on Saturday.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was releasing a shark he had accidentally hooked when it bit him on the leg.
The victim was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center.
This is the second shark bite in the area within the last week.
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The Autopsy Results Are In…
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
From the Palm Beach Post:
An 8 or 9 foot shark that fatally bit a kiteboard surfer on Wednesday probably was trying to kill and eat the man, a leading shark expert said Friday.
Stephen Schafer, 38, was floating in an unguarded stretch of ocean about 4:15 p.m. when at least one large shark, probably a bull shark or a tiger shark, attacked and mortally wounded him, according to George 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-wound bite marks on each buttock, “like it bit across his bottom; the upper jaw got one side and the lower jaw got the other side,” O’Neil said.
The shark delivered a fatal, tearing bite to the Stuart man’s right thigh, a wound so deep that one tooth struck Schafer’s 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 fought wind and waves to drag him to safety.
Schafer probably lost more than half the blood in his body, O’Neil said. A healthy adult body typically circulates about 5.5 liters of blood.
O’Neil 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 brought him to shore.
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 a bull shark or a tiger shark, both species known for aggression.
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One Ton Shark Caught Near Shark Attack Beach
Friday, February 5th, 2010
A one ton shark was caught on February 4, near the beach where ten people were recently attacked in Quy Nhon city, the central province of Binh Dinh, Vietnam.
The fisherman said the 16 ft shark is the largest shark he has ever caught . He has already been offered over 30 million dong (over $1,500) for the fins but the fisherman hasn’t agreed to the deal yet. The shark will be kept fresh in sea water until he decides what to do with it.
Experts from the Nha Trang Institute for Oceanography met the fisherman, but in order to test the shark to determine the species and find out whether it is responsible for recent attacks, the institute would have to pay Dang 40 million dong ($2400).
The institute’s representative said that they hoped the shark could be displayed at the Nha Trang Institute for Oceanography following research.
In mid-January, a number of people were hospitalized with serious injuries. The Nha Trang Institute for Oceanography confirmed that these injuries caused by a shark but they couldn’t specify the species.
Quy Nhon authorities offered a prize of 10 million dong in cash for anybody who catches the share and set up a team of shark hunters. This is the first shark netted since that day.
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Gory Details on Kite Surfer Attack
Friday, February 5th, 2010
SFGate.com has the gory details surrounding the deadly Florida shark attack involving Stephen Schafer.
There was blood in the water, the sharks were circling and a grievously hurt Stephen Schafer — his thigh gashed and his hand mauled — was screaming in pain by the time the lifeguard reached him.
The lifeguard pulled Schafer onto his rescue board, but his cries quieted as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
He would soon be dead, marking the first deadly shark attack in Florida in five years, and perhaps a rare instance of a lethal attack by a swarm of sharks.
Schafer, 38, was attacked Wednesday afternoon a quarter-mile off South Florida’s Atlantic Coast while he was out kiteboarding — using a large kite-like sail to pull him along the surface on a board strapped to his feet. When the winds lightened and his sail dropped, the Stuart man found himself in the water, surrounded by sharks.
Lifeguard Daniel Lund, 46, spotted Schafer as he scanned the ocean with binoculars from the beach about 100 miles north of Miami. He said Schafer appeared to be in distress but wasn’t flailing around. Instead, he seemed to be floating on his kite in the choppy water.
Lund paddled out, struggling through 6-foot waves. As he got close, he said, the normally turquoise-green ocean was red with blood, and he could see the shadows of perhaps two or three sharks circling Schafer, churning the crimson water, occasionally breaking the surface.
“The one thing he said is he’d been bitten by a shark,” the lifeguard said
Afraid the blood would set off a feeding frenzy, Lund cradled the man’s head and with one arm, began paddling back to shore as fast as he could, fighting the current and wind.
About 20 minutes later, they were on the beach with paramedics performing CPR on a badly bleeding Schafer. He died a short time later at a hospital.
Schafer, an artist and graphic designer with a lifelong love of the water, had a 10-inch gash in his right thigh and numerous teeth marks on his buttocks. Authorities said his right hand was mauled in an apparent attempt to fight off the animal — or animals.
Authorities are investigating what types of sharks were involved and whether more than one shark bit Schafer. Beaches remained open Thursday.
UPDATE: Florida Shark Victim Pronounced Dead
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
According to the NYDailyNews, the man found surrounded by sharks on Wednesday was pronounced dead at a local hospital. A swarm of sharks surrounded and killed a 38-year-old kiteboard surfer in the Atlantic off southern Florida.
A lifeguard who pulled Schafer from the water said the veteran kiteboarder was encircled by sharks about a quarter mile off-shore and had been bitten many times.
Shark-Bitten Man Found In Florida Waters!
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
According to WPTV.com, a man encircled by several sharks was rescued Wednesday afternoon off Stuart Beach in Florida.
A lifeguard noticed the man, who was apparently kite boarding, in an unguarded stretch of water. When the lifeguard investigated he discovered the victim had several shark bites.
He put the man on the board, returned to shore, and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The shark-bite victim was transported to Martin Memorial Hospital in grave condition.
Girl Fights Off Shark With Body Board!
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
A teenager from New Zealand has saved herself from the jaws of a shark by using her body-board to defend herself.
Fourteen-year-old Lydia Ward said she was at a beach near the southern city of Invercargill when the shark struck.
The shark, about 5 ft in length, is reported to have lunged at her and tried to bite her hip.
Standing in water that only reached up to her waist at Oreti Beach, she said she hit the “big, grey, slippery thing” repeatedly with her body-board.
“I showed Dad and he didn’t really believe me but then I showed him my wetsuit with all the blood coming out and he believed me,” Lydia told Radio New Zealand.
Although not seriously injured, Lydia required hospital treatment for two of the deeper wounds.
Big Ol’ Hammerhead Caught in Florida
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Beaches were closed for a third day on Singer Island due to tons of sharks cruising the area. Meanwhile, two fisherman reeled in a nearly 10 foot hammerhead at the north end of Ocean Reef Park. The fisherman released the predator back into the waters alive, after snapping a few pictures.
One more reason to stay on the sand.
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