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Subscribe to RSSFellow surfers helped rescue a 25-year-old who was suffering from a 14-inch bite after a shark attack off the California coast. Experts says it was likely a Great White. TODAY's Tamron Hall reports.
A surfer has been attacked by a shark, the second incident off the California coast this month.
Witnesses said several people were surfing just after noon on Tuesday off the Eureka Coast, Humboldt County, when the 25-year-old man started screaming for help.
The injured surfer was able to get himself to shore, but had suffered serious bite wounds to his torso and was bleeding heavily, according to witnesses. The shark also bit a chunk out of his surf board.
The Eureka Times Standard reported that the man was taken to St. Joseph Hospital and was listed in fair condition.
'Bleeding out pretty good'
A trained emergency medical technician just happened to be on the beach and started treatment immediately. The injured man was then loaded into the back of a pickup truck, and rushed off the beach where he was transferred to a waiting ambulance.
"We could just see that he was really gashed up and he had four or five serious gashes from his nipple down to his hip and was bleeding out pretty good so we hopped on him right away," an unidentified man said.
View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.
The victim underwent surgery late Tuesday afternoon.
A surfer in Santa Barbara was killed by a shark last week. Francisco Solorio was bitten in the upper torso, but did not survive. The shark in that attack was determined to be a 15-to-16-foot great white.
Solorio's death marked the first fatal shark attack in the United States this year.
Also on NBCBayArea.com: Surfer killed by great white shark
In 2011, there were 75 attacks worldwide, with 29 U.S. attacks, according to annual records kept by the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File. Of all 2011 attacks, three were in California.
The worldwide figure for 2011 included 12 fatal attacks, none of which were in the United States.
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As a SCUBA diver, I have dived (dove, for any spellcheckers observation LOL) all over the world. The first lesson taught in SCUBA (and surfing I imagine) is anytime you enter the ocean, you become a part of the food-chain. Surfers usually wear skins/dive suits and most I have seen are black neoprene - to a shark, we all look like a tasty seal, walrus etc. Usually, and looking at the picture in article, the shark bit and then spit out because the 25 year old surfer did not taste right to the shark (not a seal). However, sharks bite just about anything they think is a meal until taste determines otherwise, then ptooey! I hope the young surfer recovers fully!
Doug: I don't think he was disagreeing. Hard to disagree with that statement.
I believe Lance was comparing/contrasting some of the "sharks" that wait for comments to be posted and then attack! It sounds like Lance was using sarcastic humor and that is great!
TY for the "covering my 6" Doug and Biker4life! I think Lance is a kindred spirit.
Hi Jack,
Agreed. Just as anytime a shark ends up on land, it too becomes part of the food chain.
"Sometimes that shark he looks right into ya, right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a shark... he's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living... until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then... ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin' and the hollerin', they all come in and they... rip you to pieces."
Jack very well said. Nice to see you all are not a part of the "kill all the sharks" movement that so many are pushing.
I have never done salt water diving, fresh water only, your a lucky man to have gotten the opportunity to dive that many places.
Here is to well wishes for the surfer's fullest recovery.
AHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
What terrible luck! I mean the same guy being attacked by a shark twice!!!!!!! What bravery the dude showed even going back into the water.
Humans have an option of being (or not being) in the ocean. The ocean is the shark's home, so no option for the shark. Humans directly and indirectly kill thousands upon thousands of sharks each year, but yet humans outnumber sharks (all species combined) approximately 1000 to 1. With that said, who is really the threat, and who is really the threatened species? Currently, less people per capita, per year, have succumbed to death by shark, simply because humans have more of the environment compared to previous millennia. So if a human dies from sharing the same habitat a sea-dwelling creature depends on, don't blame the shark. Same goes true for mountain climbers that die falling off a steep cliff. Blame the human.
Sharks have to eat too.
Damned bacon scented suntan lotion.
Do you suppose a surf board with a rider on it, looks like seal sushi on a tongue depressor to a shark ?
Hold the wasabe please...
Glad the man will recover! But Jack really put it in the correct perspective! Just about any shark, under the right situation, can and will bite a human. Fortunately, most outcomes dont prove to be fatal. But it does happen.
Considering the condition of the board, a survival miracle. Here's to a full recovery and hopefully riding a wave in the future. Hopefully a recovery that leaves it to just the best scars ever!
Biker
always good to sip on a cold beer after getting out of salt water from either surfing or SCUBA and then someone sees the "war wound" - his stories should be awesome! LOL
To second Jack's statement. We are no longer the APEX predator when we enter the water. Just like the signs say "Swim at your own risk"
We never were. Go into the sharks territory dressed like a seal you get attacked. Go into a Kindergarten dress like Santa you get attacked. Go into a shopping mall looking like Justen Bieber and you get attacked by 12 year old girls. I think I see a pattern.
Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes.
The sharks come cruisin'.
Well ya think maybe if sharks are out lookin for dinner there, off the California coast, ya might stay out of the water, eh?
Don't ever believe that shark bites are all exploratory, after which the shark will supposedly leave you alone. I've perused shark-bite photos (gruesome!) and some are clearly indicative of feeding behavior.
If you taste nasty, they can just spit it out.
As a surfer myself in Cali, I have never had any close calls out in the ocean while surfing but I always wonder what is swimming under me or in the distance. Although this is a very tragic event and am thankful the fellow surfer will survive, being out in the ocean swimming, surfing, diving, snorkeling, etc...is such a great experience (and that everyone should experience) but I know I am not in my "natural environment" and anything can happen. On a lighter note and with Halloween and all, I can't help but think about that Snicker's candy commercial with the sharks. Happy Halloween!
I remember a documentary where they explained that sharks often bite prey and wait for it to bleed out before devouring it. That way they avoid the potential for injury from a thrashing animal. Clearly there are predatory animals off the coast, so swimming/surfing is taking a risk.
One more reason to stay out of the ocean unless you have some sort of protection from becoming part of the food chain. I don't know what that 'protection' might be, either. That's why I live in the mountains. Never lost anything in the ocean, either.
Bears???? Cougars?????
I think that's called a bang stick.
Scuba divers know that when in the water the safest place to be is under the water. When laying on a surf board you look like a seal. Yummmm
Sharks are ambush predators. They attack from underneath. On the surface you look like a seal. Look like a seal, look like a meal.
Having grown up in Florida, spending a lot of time in the Gulf of Mexico, seeing a lot of sharks, catching a few myself, I'll admit Jaws scared the crap out of me. How horrible to be the "shark bait" when you are only wanting to have a good time. My heartfelt wishes to the surfer for a speedy and full recovery.
ps: can't help noticing this is the only posts I have seen that someone didn't try to blame a politician :-)
I doesn’t sound like a legitimate attack, since the surfer’s body shut the whole thing down. How do we know it was not just something that god intended to happen?
Off topic magic. Pretty funny, made me laugh out loud, but off topic.
A friend of mine is a professional bass fishing guide. His friend retired in California and took up surfing. My buddy asked him what he felt like when passes the edge of the kelp bed when he paddles out....his response; "like a topside lure"!!
I had a small nurse shark swim under me on my float in 3' of water. Scared the you know what outta me. I learned how to fly that day!
Wow! Another surfer attacked by a shark. What a shocker. Duh!
From what I can gather, great whites tend to migrate from Hawaii to the California coast in autumn.
I've gotten a bit more leery of surfing after September.
Something I've wondered about. All of these shark tours, shark experiments etc, where we go out in boats and basically feed sharks to attract them, swim with them etc, give the WRONG signal to sharks! I live in FL and wherever you go there is a strict "DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS" policy in effect. Fines are implimented for doing so!!!! The reason for doing this is because feeding them gives them the association of people equals food and when we feed them they lose their natural fear of us and we have problem gators which need to be removed. I am sure sharks think along the same lines as they are apex predators as well. Food for thought!!!!
Actually, there is a direct correlation of overfishing, a massive increase in our own population (5 billion in the last 60 years), and shark attacks. The animals that sharks eat are decreasing, so they go after what they think are, and look like, seals from below. You can't really blame a shark for being hungry, but we can blame our own selfish wants for it. Every time I go to the supermarket, I always see fish discounted out, because it is almost expired, and in many cases, it is no longer any good, knowing this by testing it, pressing on the fish, and the flesh no longer pops back up.
A great example of overfishing directly causing issues with humans, are the increased numbers of Somali pirates. Between other countries fishing their waters, and pollutants, these people had little to no options left in making a living. Granted, they shouldn't have done what they have done, but when you and your family are starving, desperate times call for desperate measure. I don't know if I wouldn't have done the same, if my family went hungry, and angered by the fact that outsiders were responsible for my misery. I have no children, but if I did, and I was in their situation, it's hard not to think about what I would do to feed them, out of sheer desperation.
We, as a planet, need to start thinking more about what we do, and how it will effect the future. We need to stop thinking about ourselves, and start thinking about what the grandchildren of our children will have to go through.
I get called a green bleeding heart lib, but that is not an insult. How is it insulting to be educated and have a firm grip on the reality of what is really going on in the world and how it will effect the future?
look at it this way would you rather be attacked by a shark with the brain the size of a golf that kills out of instinct or by a killer whale with the brain the size of a basketball that kills because it wants to.i think i'd go with the shark because i know it's nature and your more observant the whale on the other hand is too devious it just might toss you around for awhile like a seal, leaving you more exposed to the shark. ah hell i'll just stay on land.
The Orca is also bright enough to distinguish a swimmer/surfer/diver from a seal. I would rather deal with the Orca. Human attacks from them in the wild are nearly non-existent.
must be some really good surfer weed in the area... clouds the judgement a bit huh? who is next?
"12 fatal shark attacks worldwide in 2011"
So that makes the score:
Sharks: 12
Humans: ~38,000,000
Your probably pretty close to being right.....we kill a lot more of them than they us.
Translates to 3.16 million to 1 odds. I would take that any day to enjoy being in the ocean. You can stay out all you want, it's already too crowded out there.
Other lifetime odds for death:
Cancer 7:1
Heart disease 5:1
Stroke 24:1
Car accident 84:1
Source: About.com dying.about<dot>com/od/causes/tp/oddsdying
Can we get Kim Kardashian and Kayne West to surf wearing Lady GaGa's (or is it gag a or gag me) meat dress ... and send madonna out with some shrimp hung around her waist ...
I am not sure why this is always front page news, as though it was some kind of horrific crime. I suppose it just gets people to click on it. I did just to comment. If you ride a motorcyle, you may crash. If you rock climb, you may fall. If you surf in water where sharks live, you may get attacked. Why is it always such a surprise? There are sharks in the ocean, they bite.