Blacktip Shark • Tracking Sharks

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.…

Fatal shark attack in Jamaica; nonfatal attack in Bahamas

September 24, 2018September 25, 2018 Kevin McMurray

Two spearfishers have suffered injuries from shark bites, one of which was fatal. Nicholas Malcolm, 43, of Pineapple, Ocho Rios, St. Ann, went fishing with a friend off James Bond Beach in Jamaica September 19. After he went missing, a search of the area where he was last seen turned up shark-bitten pieces of his diver’s gear. “It [his gear] was torn up real bad, a piece of the chest, it had the impression that the shark has taken a piece of his chest. Because the impression shows of the…

Diver Hit by 9-foot Shark; 12-foot Tiger Shark Nearly Takes a Nibble

March 2, 2018 Kevin McMurray

A 9-foot shark hit a shark diver on February 24, 2018. Eton Polly and two of his friends were enjoying a baited shark dive in the milky waters of Durban, South Africa when a 9-foot-long oceanic black tip shark became a little too curious. It bumped one of the divers, who immediately pushed the shark away. An unidentified diver who was filming the interaction with his GoPro camera became part of the action when the shark turned and charged him. The diver’s mask and regulator were knocked off by the…

Shark bite reported in Texas

September 6, 2017 Kevin McMurray

A woman was bitten by a shark at South Padre Island, Texas. The unidentified woman was in roughly knee-deep water off Bougainvillea beach access 14 on September 2. As she was walking through the water, a shark grabbed her left foot. She saw the estimated 3- to 4-foot shark and was able to pull her foot from its mouth. Beach Patrol members responded to the call shortly before 6 p.m. “The water’s been flat,” said South Padre Island beach patrol director Jim Pigg. “We get lots of stingrays and had…

Graphic Surfer bitten by shark in Phuket

August 16, 2017December 5, 2017 Kevin McMurray

A surfer was bitten by a shark at Kamala in the Kathu District, Phuket. Keita Koshigoe was around 200 meters off the beach August 16, when he was bitten on the left foot. The 37-year-old was able to make it back to the beach around 12:30 p.m. and was given first aid. Link to graphic image. The Japanese tourist opted to go to the hospital by himself. “After checking the wounds we believed that it was a Blacktip Reef Shark,” Dr Kongkiet Kittiwattanawong told The Phuket News. “These sharks can…

Sharks filmed off beaches in Panama City, Cocoa Beach and Gulf Shores

June 26, 2017December 5, 2018 Kevin McMurray

Several videos of sharks coming near the beaches in Panama City and Cocoa Beach, Fla., and Gulf Shores, Ala., have been shared on social media. The first report comes June 1 from Alicia Dufrene, who was on her balcony in Panama City when she spotted a hammerhead shark swimming in circles near shore. She was able to film the 4- to 5-foot shark as it left the shallows, about 20 feet from the beach. Dufrene shared her video with the shark reporting app Dorsal, and said the shark “zig-zagged in…

Video: Blacktip Shark nearly bites snorkeler’s fins

March 27, 2017 Kevin McMurray

Video showing the moment a blacktip shark nearly bites a snorkeler’s fins has been shared on Instagram. David Diez was filming his girlfriend, Helen Palacios, who was snorkeling off the coast of West Palm Beach March 22 when he caught the interaction with his drone. Palacios was blissfully unaware that a small blacktip shark was eying her fins as a possible meal. “What I think happened was the shark confused her fins for a fish . . . ,” Diez posted on Instagram. A post shared by daviddiez (@daviddiez) on…