A teen surfer was bitten by a suspected shark in New Zealand.
Jordan King, 13, was surfing with her friend Ella Burdon and Ella’s father Glen at Oreti Beach Jan. 16.
Around 8:30 p.m. King felt something biting her leg rope. She squealed in response and pulled her body onto her surfboard, as the trio spotted a tail fin about 1 foot in length break the surface and then disappear.
“It didn’t really feel like anything, only on my legrope,” King told Stuff.
The group paddled into the shallows for a break but did not notice that King was bleeding. King felt fine at the time and they decided to surf a little longer.
About an hour later, the headed back into the beach and King realized she was bleeding and had a tear in her wet suit.
Ella’s mom, who is also an emergency room nurse, treated the wound.
Glen Burdon thinks a broadnose sevengill shark may be responsible for the bite and that the wound could have been much worse if the leg rope hadn’t been in the way.
There have been 6 shark attacks reported this year, one of which was fatal.
The locations have been marked on the 2020 Shark Attack Map.
