Archive for the 'Other Attacks' Category
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
The woman who was skewered by a stingray while wading at Pohara Beach says she’ll swim in the sea again, but not at Pohara.
Maia Freeman was walking in waist-deep water at the eastern end of the beach when she suddenly felt “a sharp pain almost as bad as childbirth” on her right thigh.
“I tried to step backwards, but I felt it flapping against my leg. I really felt like I was being attacked,” she said. “I screamed at the top of my lungs, threw myself back so I was lying on the water and kicked like mad.
“When I saw all this blood coming out of my leg, I moved into the terror zone. It was so traumatic.”
And Maia wasn’t the only stingray victim in Golden Bay on Tuesday. Apparently, another guy got poked too.
[source]
Monday, December 15th, 2008
I couldn’t even post the pics here because they’re far too gruesome. Click here if you really want to see them!
Thanks Brian!
Friday, December 12th, 2008
A three-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after being stung by a box jellyfish at an Australia beach.
She collapsed in shallow water last Friday after stepping on the jellyfish. The child was rushed by family members to the local clinic where she had to be resuscitated before being taken to hospital.
Box jellies have been responsible for at least 64 deaths since they were first reported in Australia in 1883. The last recorded death was a six-year-old boy in November 2007.
Stinger season is here!
[source]
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
A giant eel took a chomp out of a girl in Australia on Sunday.
Apparently, the eel has attacked several swimmers at the Gold Coast swimming hole, but park rangers say there’s nothing they can do to prevent the attacks. Rangers have even placed a warning sign on the trail leading to the pool.
But Colombian student Carolina Franco says she didn’t see any signs, and was bitten twice on the leg during a dip in the Gwongoorool rock pool. Yeouch.
[source]
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
According to RadioAustralia, a five-year-old boy was stung by an Irukandji jellyfish at Gove, on the North Australian Coast.
Callam Carey was spreading flowers at the waters edge to commemorate the death of a friend when the tiny jellyfish, measuring only about a centimeter in diameter, stung him.
These little critters may be tiny but they pack a painful, sometimes deadly sting.
The young boy spent hours in hospital on morphine, but it looks like he’ll live.
Friday, October 10th, 2008
A leaping 9-foot, 400-pound dolphin hospitalized two boaters when it landed in their laps!
Norman Howard, 64, said he and his wife, Barbara, were in a 18-foot boat cruising around New Smyrna yesterday when the large dolphin jumped into their boat and continued to hit them with its tail.
Apparently the dolphin came out of nowhere… before they knew it, there was blood everywhere.
Norman was smacked in the face and ribs while his wife received a few lacerations to the face.
They were found after officers received 911 calls from witnesses. Barbara was still conscious when the U.S. Coast Guard reached the boat. They were both transported to Bert Fish Medical Center.
The dolphin was released back into the water. Barbara Howard remains hospitalized in stable condition.
FYI: The chance of a dolphin jumping into a boat is 1 in 3,000,000.
[source]
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Officials in Queensland who have been investigating the fate of Arthur Brooker, 62, said they had found the remains inside one of three big crocodiles captured in the Endeavour River.
Brooker went missing last week while camping near the banks of a crocodile-infested river in Cape York, AU.
Three crocs were caught in the area and taken in for questioning investigation. One was ruled out as a possible culprit but the other two will be subjected to further tests following the discovery of human tissue.
Police said that at this stage no more crocodiles will be trapped and the croc ruled out as a suspect would be returned to the river.
No such luck for the largest of the three suspects. A return to the wild has been ruled out for the 14ft male, which had shown aggressive territorial behavior. He’ll be sent to a farm… far, far away from humans.
[source]
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
According to livenews.com, police are searching for a man thought to have been taken by a large crocodile near Cooktown, in far north Queensland, AU this morning.
The 63-year-old man was last seen around 8.30am when he left his campsite on the Endeavour River, where he was staying with his wife, to go and check his crab pots.
His wife began searching for him when he had not returned to the campsite two hours later.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers said she found the broken crab pot rope on the river bank, next to a number of large crocodile slide marks and the couple’s new video recorder. Hmmm, that doesn’t sound good.
No sign of the man has been found and police strongly suspect a crocodile attack.
UPDATE: According to The Australian, Police found a sandal and a wristwatch belonging to the missing man!
Friday, September 26th, 2008
A surfer’s leg was ripped to shreds by a croc while he was surfing in Playa Hermosa. (Not the guy above. Check the pic of the damage below). Heavy rains flooded the Tulin River sending some of the local croc population into the surfing areas. Apparently, whenever it rains, the crocs head for the beach.
[source]
UPDATE: According to SurfingMagazine.com, the victim was 13 year old Dakota Kilbride. There was a special delivery of skin tissue from Miami to graft onto his leg, but it turns out he didn’t need it. Hang in there, Dakota.
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
According to the Shark Research Committee, On September 21, Gina S. and her husband were walking along the beach between Pepperdine University and Paradise Cove near Malibu at around 5 PM when they saw a sea lion being chomped on by a great white shark.
While strolling along the beach, they stopped to watch the sea lion when suddenly the huge head of a Great White Shark surfaced and took a giant bite out of it. (The shark was dark grey and at least 10-12 feet in length with a dorsal fin 12-16 inches high.) After the first bite, there was a bunch of splashing and then… quietness. Neither the shark nor the sea lion were seen again.
In other words, if you’re planning on being in the area… watch your backs!
