Florida, and Volusia County in particula, holds on to its title of shark bite capital of the world.
According to to a study by the University of Florida, the state saw 23 shark bites in 2006. Of those, 12 were in Volusia County, compared to nine in 2005.
Florida’s number of bites increased by four between 2005 and 2006, but remains low compared to the state’s average of 33 between 2000 and 2003.
Australia had seven bites, South Africa had four and Brazil had three. None of Florida's attacks were fatal and the report said attacks in Volusia County are seldom serious. However, deaths resulted from four of the 62 worldwide attacks, one each in Australia, Brazil, La Reunion and Tonga.
The report attributes the long-term decline in attacks to overfishing and increasingly cautious swimmers. It also noted that many vactioners are not taking precautions when traveling to remote areas of the world with primarily native populations. For example, tourists often don't ask about the areas that are dangerous for swimming.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Volusia County Still Shark-Bite Capital
Shark Bite Sinks Shrimp Boat
February 6, 2007 FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. -- Capt. Roger Schmall said a group of sharks had been slamming into the Christy Nichole's hull for four days, But then a 14-foot bull shark broke the boat's tail shaft, leaving Schmall and his crew of two adrift about 100 miles off the coast.
Schmall radioed for help, and another vessel picked the crew up about two hours later. He remained aboard his ship to pump water out while the other boat pulled it back to land. Schmall said it was working for a couple of hours, but the waves eventually took their toll on Schmall's boat and the boat sank. The crew made it to shore safely.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Dinosauric shark-eel thingy!
Just seen and video'd in Japan.
Wow. Wonder if it bites?
Type rest of the post here
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Marin: Surfer Survives Shark Bite
Monday Dec 11: Royce Frailey, a 43-year-old from Guernville, was surfing with friends before he was attacked around 11:50 a.m. off Dillon Beach in northwest Marin County, according to Marin County fire Capt. Rick Wonneberger.
The great white shark attack was the first to happen in that vicinity in about 10 years, a fire captain said.
Before Sunday's incident, Wonneberger said he could recall only one other shark attack in the area, a nonfatal bite occurring about 10 years ago.
Frailey suffered minimal wounds, as the predator apparently sunk only one jaw's worth of teeth into the surfer's surfboard.
The board showed teeth marks from the attack, and Frailey himself was pulled 15 feet under the waves before the shark let go of his thigh and leg, the captain said.
"He is very lucky to be alive," Wonneberger said.
Frailey was paddling facedown when he felt a surge of water and then a bite, the fire captain said.
A friend who was surfing 10 feet away from Frailey said it was a great white shark measuring between 12 and 15 feet.
Backpackers save shark bite man
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 British backpackers helped a surfer after he was attacked by a shark off Australia's famous Bells Beach.
The 25-year-old surfer was out at dusk and had his left leg mauled before he managed to reach shore.
Peter Galvin was surfing a shallow reef called Winki Pop, just near the Bells surf break on Australia's south coast, when the shark attacked him from below, authorities said.
"The victim was sitting on his board with his legs dangling over the side and the shark has come up from underneath and grabbed his left leg in the calf and thigh area," senior police constable Lisa Kearney told local media.
Galvin received puncture wounds to the top of his calf and a major gash under his knee and, after being treated by fellow surfers and the unknown English banckpackers on the beach.
He was flown to hospital in Melbourne where he was in a serious but stable condition.
Just over two weeks ago another surfer had his leg bitten off by a shark off a remote beach in Western Australia.
The latest attack in the southern state of Victoria has again sparked debate on whether to kill the attacking shark.
Sharks, even Great Whites, are a protected in Australia.
Australia's peak surfing body wants the shark hunted down to stop it attacking again at the popular Bells surf break, which hosts a professional surfing contest each year.
"It is not a nice thing (to hunt down the shark), but I don't think any surfer wants it hanging around," said Steve Robertson from Surfing Australia.
But Victoria's state premier, Steve Bracks, ruled out hunting the shark. "The reality is that shark could be anywhere. There could be new sharks in the area," Bracks told reporters.
"The reality is that this is obviously a random attack and a regrettable one," he said.
Shark Chomps Bite Out Of Surfer's Board
Jan 5th, HONOLULU -- A surfer on Kauai escaped a close encounter when a shark took a bite out of his surf board on Friday morning. The man was surfing at Major's Bay on the Pacific Missile Range Facility when a shark bit his board, taking a 13x6 inch chunk out of it.
The surfer left the water immediately after the attack, missile range officials said.
"The shark did take a 13-inch-by-6-inch chunk out of his board. We know that because shortly after he left, that missing piece showed up on the beach," a missile range official said.
The surfer was shaken up but not hurt, officials said.
They said that the beach will be closed on Saturday and will open again on Sunday if officials feel it is safe.
Major's Bay gets three to four shark sightings a year, according to officials.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Python bites handler
TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. -- A 14-foot python bit its handler and tried to drag her into its cage during a show at an aquarium, and wouldn't release the woman until a police officer zapped the reptile with a stun gun.
Alison Cobianchi, 18, was taking Chloe, a Burmese python, out of her cage for the daily snake presentation Saturday at the Tarpon Springs Aquarium when the snake wrapped itself around her arm and waist.
Visitors and aquarium employees kept the nonvenomous snake from pulling Cobianchi into the cage, but couldn't make it release its grip.
Police were called to help. "We either had to Taser it, oor we would have had to kill it," police Sgt. Allen MacKenzie said.
Cobianchi suffered puncture wounds on her wrist.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Chomping sea lion terrorizes swimmers
Move over Jaws, chomping sea lion terrorizes swimmers
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Tourists flock to Fisherman's Wharf for the seafood and the stunning views of San Francisco Bay, but for many visitors, the real stars are the dozens of playful, whiskered sea lions that lounge by the water's edge, gulping down fish.
Now a series of sea-lion attacks on people in recent months has led experts to warn that the animals are not as cute and cuddly as they appear.
"People should understand these animals are out there not to attack people or humans. But they're out there to survive for themselves," said Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. (Watch wary swimmers on alert for 'whiskers on feet'
In the most frightening of the recent episodes, a rogue sea lion bit 14 swimmers this month and chased 10 more out of the water at San Francisco's Aquatic Park, a sheltered lagoon near the bay. At least one victim suffered puncture wounds.
Some scientists speculate that the animals' aggressive behavior is being caused by eating fish contaminated by toxic algae, or by a shortage of food off the coast. But wildlife experts say even healthy sea lions are best left alone.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Family pet chewed off baby's toes while parents slept
Parents in toe-chewing case make plea deal
BOSSIER CITY, Louisiana (AP) -- A couple whose baby's toes were gnawed off by a family pet will accept a deal from the prosecutor and plead guilty to improper child supervision, their attorney said.Under the agreement, Mary and Christopher Hansche would plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of improper supervision of their child, perform community service, attend parenting classes and give up their pets -- a pit bull puppy and a ferret.
The charge carries up to six months in jail and a $250 fine.
They will remain jailed until the January 3 hearing and a judge will decide if they do more jail time after that, as well as who gets custody of the baby girl.
Public defender Pam Smart told KTBS-TV she met with the Hansches on Friday and they agreed to plead guilty in the case.
The Hansches were arrested December 7 after they woke up and saw that one of their pets had gnawed off four of their month-old daughter's toes. The couple had been asleep on a mattress on the floor with the infant in a carrier next to them.
Mary Hansche, 22, said the ferret did it. Police said Christopher Hansche, 26, thought the dog was responsible.
The animals will be offered for adoption rather than be euthanized, Bossier Parish District Attorney Schuyler Marvin told the news station.
Marvin said he believes there were enough mitigating circumstances in the case to offer a plea agreement, with conditions. "I certainly don't think they had the intent to cause harm to their child," Marvin told KTBS. "A lapse in judgment, I think, is what happened."
The baby was released from the hospital this week; she and her 2-year-old brother are now in the care of a grandparent.
| Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/22/babys.toes.ap/index.html |