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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Beaches at Singer Island have been closed for two days due to numerous shark sightings.
Every year at this time, sharks of just about every variety – spinner, reef, hammerhead and bull sharks – follow schools of migrating fish along the Florida coastline.
Double red flags are normally posted to warn swimmers of the danger. The risk is even greater in the morning and late afternoon hours when the sharks normally feed.
Dozens, if not hundreds, were seen swimming very close to shore Wednesday and Thursday. Many were cruising in just three to four feet of water.
Lifeguards identified the vast majority as spinner sharks but a few tiger sharks were in the mix as well.
A Miami man was bitten by a bull shark Wednesday morning while spearfishing near Elliott Key. He snagged a barracuda when a nearby bull shark lunged for the fish and ended up biting the man. He is expected to undergo surgery to repair his lacerated arm.
A 10-year-old Ohio boy is being treated at a hospital after being attacked by a shark while swimming at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach Tuesday morning.
Garrett Gollighugh waded into the surf when he was bitten by the shark. He managed to get back to shore on his own. He was taken by ambulance to Cape Canaveral Hospital for treatment. From the size of the wound, doctors estimated the shark to be about 6 feet long.
“This thing just bit me. And then it let me go and then bit me again and then it hung on a little bit and shook my foot so I got out of the water and screamed shark,” said Gollighugh.
Garrett was left with 14 puncture wounds from the shark’s teeth around his ankle and toes… luckily there was no nerve damage.
Rescue officials say this is the second shark biting in the area in the last two weeks.
Garrett turns 11 Wednesday and he says he’s excited to tell his family and friends about surviving a shark bite when they call to wish him a happy birthday.
