2018 Shark Attack Bite • Tracking Sharks

Video: Shark bites New Zealand spearfisherman

December 17, 2018 Kevin McMurray

In a case of mistaken identity, a spearfisherman who was being bitten by a shark managed to catch the encounter on video. Anton Oleinik was spearing off Omaha’s Ti Point, north of Aukland, when he shot a kingfish Dec. 9. As the 50-year-old Russian-born man pulled the kingfish he’d just speared, an 8-foot (2.5m) bronze whaler shark arrived. “The rope wrapped around me. I was trying to untangle it when I popped my head above the water to take a breath,” Oleinik told the Herald. “All of a sudden I…

‘Shark bait’ surfer bitten near Nambucca, New South Wales

December 10, 2018 Kevin McMurray

A surfer who has referred to himself as “shark bait” has been bitten by a shark off Nambucca, New South Wales, Australia. Joel Mason, 36, was hitting the waves off Nambucca Heads Dec. 9 around 7:15 a.m. when a shark grabbed his leg and right thigh. “I saw him out there and I was pretty keen to go out there, and then he just disappeared,” witness Scott Boxsell told 9News. Mason managed to swim back to some rocks where other surfers and an off-duty life guard pulled him out of…

Video Bahamas shark encounter goes wrong when nurse shark bites child

November 29, 2018November 29, 2018 Kevin McMurray

A nurse shark bit a child during a shark encounter in the Bahamas. Christine Jones and her family were on vacation when they read about an opportunity for a nurse shark encounter. The event was presented as a way to interact with “friendly, docile” sharks that could be touched. “We got in at our own risk, but we weren’t educated on the risk of what we were doing. We were told that they might suck on you [nurse sharks use suction to pull food into their mouths]. The shark might…

Surfer bitten by shark off Manly Beach, NSW, Australia

November 28, 2018November 30, 2018 Kevin McMurray

A surfer was bitten by a shark Nov. 28 in New South Wales, Australia. Mike Ruttkowski was off the South Steyne area of Manly Beach around 6:30 p.m. when he was bitten on the foot by a wobbegong shark. He was able to paddle 65 feet (20m) back to the beach and alert authorities. Lifeguards sounded a warning bell to call those in the water back to the beach while paramedics transported the man to hospital. A photo from the scene appears to show the 28-year-old’s injury was to the…

Rare video Spearfisherman films shark as it bites his friend’s head in the Bahamas

November 26, 2018November 29, 2018 Kevin McMurray

A rare shark-diver encounter was captured by a GoPro video Aug. 20 off the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas when a spearfisherman was bitten on his head and neck by a reef shark. Will Krause, Zach Shipps and several friends were using a GoPro to video their successful day of spearfishing Aug. 20 off the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas. All was proceeding swimmingly until an apparently confused reef shark arrived. The group follows certain rules when they venture out, such as only diving clear water, alerting the boat when…

13-foot tiger shark attacks kayak in Queensland

November 20, 2018 Kevin McMurray

A man paddling his kayak off Sunshine Coast, Queensland, had a shocking experience Nov. 14 when a 13-foot tiger shark attacked. Kyle Roberts, 31, was floating in his boat around 6:50 a.m. about a mile off Moffat Beach when his kayak was hit so hard by the shark, he was knocked out of it and into the water. “It hit side-on with such force it ejected me and flipped the kayak,” he told The Courier Mail. “I landed in the water about [seven feet] away and looked to see it…

Two shark attacks reported in Australia (NSW and NT)

November 19, 2018December 14, 2018 Kevin McMurray

Two shark attacks have been reported in New South Wales and the Northern Territory, Australia. The first bite occurred Nov. 16 at Seven Mile Beach in New South Wales, when a shark grabbed the lower leg of a man participating in surf lessons and wading in waist-deep water. “He felt quite a significant force and lashing against his legs,” NSW Ambulance Duty Operations Manager Inspector Jordan Emery said at a press conference. The unidentified man was helped to shore by good Samaritans who applied a tourniquet and administered first aid.…