Thursday, December 16, 2004 Australian teen killed by two great white sharks ADELAIDE, Australia: Two great white sharks attacked and killed a surfer while his friends watched in horror Thursday off a popular beach in the southern Australian city of Adelaide, authorities said. The 18-year-old man had fallen from a surfboard being towed by a power boat when the sharks attacked him off West Beach mid-afternoon, South Australia state Sea Rescue Squadron spokesman Fraser Bell said. "He fell off the surfboard and the shark appeared and took him,'' Bell told reporters. "It tore him apart ... apparently it tore him in half and the other shark came in and took the rest.'' Asked if there were any chance the victim had survived, Bell replied, "None whatsoever.'' Police and state emergency services said there had been no sign of the victim or the sharks since the attack despite extensive searches off the coast. Bell said the sharks were between 4.5 to five meters long (15-17 feet). The attack took place about 250 meters (yards) from a crowded beach. An unidentified woman on the beach told Seven Network television the shark that led the attack "caught his left arm and took him around the boat and then another shark has come in and they just took him to pieces.'' Two of the three 16-year-old boys who were in the boat witnessed the attack and received medical treatment for shock. The four friends, all from Adelaide, had been on the water for just 30 minutes before the attack. State police chief inspector David Lufty said beaches in the area would be closed as the search continued for the killer sharks. He did not say what would happen to the sharks if found. Great whites are a protected species. The tragedy is the second shark fatality in Australian waters within a week. A 38-year-old man was killed by a shark while spearing fish on the Great Barrier Reef off northeast Australia on Saturday. Two sharks were involved in a previous tragedy in July when a witnesses said a 29-year-old surfer was attacked by a great white shark and possibly a bronze whaler shark off the Australian west coast. Experts said at the time that sharks were not known to hunt in pairs. - AP
I think individual sharks should lose their 'protected species' protection when they intentionally attack a human. Some would say they're just doing what's natural, but killing clearly threatening animals is what's natural for us. I hope the surviving kids are ok.
Well, is 'surfing' natural for humans? Maybe stopping recreational activities in shark-infested waters would be an easier way to promote safety, than going on a big shark-hunt. We can't stop evolution... we can only hope to contain it.... but I do send out prayers for the victim and his family.
Cohen, I agree completely. I feel that sharks are fascinating animals and from what I have read about them, they normally don't go after humans intentionally. And there is no question we are their biggest threat. It would be great if there was never any worry about us getting attacked by them and vice-versa, we wouldn't kill them (for whatever reason like their for their meat, etc). But if this becomes a pattern, then yes, we need to be able to put a stop to it. If it means wiping them out, so be it. And Nick, man has been surfing for quite some time. The number of incidences in which a shark has killed a human that was surfing is probably less than 20 in over a hundred years (maybe less than that). So, I don't think that is the problem; sharks becoming naturally aggressive to humans (when they haven't really before) is more of the problem.
Sorry, but I disagree completely. We humans are going into their habitat by choice. There are apex predators in the oceans; they are immense, powerful and tooth-laden. Should we blow up mountains because some mountain climber fell off a cliff? Should we outlaw the atmosphere because someone's parachute didn't open? Do we outlaw cars after each wreck? (maybe we should, since cars kill people at about a million times the rate sharks do). Activities have risks. We're ****ing up the oceans enough, and sharks are disappearing at incredible rates already. If you want to hunt down one shark that killed someone, well okay I guess, if you think you can identify it. But "wiping them out?"
i'm working on this, you pinko b*stard!! i'll get you yet!!! you and your little "atmosphere hugger" bunch!!
Manny, I appreciate your position, but disagree completely... How long has man been using motor powered vehicles to take them far out to surf in waters infested with who knows what?? Maybe the last 5 years. Especially considering the technological advances we have made, there should be any numbers of ways to still get your adrenaline thrills while staying safe, such as programs designed to designate only certain areas as safe for big-wave surfing (areas where sharks are either less likely or made less likely to go - not through death). To me, what you're saying is analgous to the guy who falls asleep while driving, isn't wearing a seatbelt, is in an accident, is seriously injured but sues the car company, or something of that nature. Take a seriously look at who is to blame for this incident. Is it really the shark's fault?
I admit that "wiping them out" was probably a little over the top and it was only for great white sharks, not all sharks in general. But, B-Bob don't go overboard with the hypothetical scenarios to support your position. I know you like to joke and everything but spare me crap like "should we outlaw the atmosphere because someone's parachute didn't open," because it smacks of condescension (nicest word I could think of). And JayZ has some very good points in his post (seems like he and me are constantly disagreeing about things lately - it is like he has become my rival, LOL). But nothing is going to stop man from using the oceans as they provide vast and needed resources. Obviously, we could do a better job of utilizing this great resource without being so wasteful, but there are always going to be confrontations. And all I am saying is from what I have read (and maybe I have read erroneous stuff), great white sharks are normally not known for "intentionally" attacking people. You have to do some things to really piss one off for it to come after you. Maybe the kid did something that is not being discussed in the article to cause the shark to go after him, but from reading what is there, that doesn't seem to be the case. Who knows how many people surf in that area? Why did a great white, all of the sudden, have to pick on this kid? It is just out of the norm, that's all. So, in conclusion, B-Bob, you can rest easy as I have no plans to go to Australia to find this one shark. If you had bothered to read my post fully, you would know that if this becomes a pattern or a trend, then something needs to be done about it.
Really meant no offense, Manny. Sorry, but I really love sharks for some reason. They are ancient, beautiful, and pretty predictable. Great whites chomp on just about everything. I read an article by a surfer here in No-Cal who was hit by a great white and survived. He said the last thing he would do would be hunt it down and kill it. He said he was visiting their world, that he's not unlike a seal, and that's the risk of surfing. So I just think it's their turf. That's why I thought the parachuting and mountain climbing analogies were perfect for perspective, not condescending tone at all. We don't blame gravity for people falling and we shouldn't blame great whites for chomping on mammals. That's what they like to do. I think we humans start to think we have a right to do whatever we want, whether it's a sonar system that ruptures the eardrums of whales or just motorboating and surfing out everywhere we please. Just my take. Pardon the vehemence on my end. It's not directed at you personally at all. I feel bad for the oceans -- I'm a real sap on that front. And I need an eggnog latte this morning in the worst way.
Great post B-Bob. I agree 100%. Just trying to soften him up for a free beer when I'm out there in February.
Sonar on boats ruptures whales' eardrums? Oh, and what a horrible, horrible way to die. I feel so bad for that kid.
B-Bob, The analogies are close, but not quite accurate. Most individual land predators are known to avoid humans. When they don't, like with a specific lion or bear that hunts down a human, they are tracked and killed. Some argue that sharks generally only attack humans when they mistake them for a seal, and then often break-off the attack when they realize their error. In this instance, that doesn't sound like what happened. These 2 sharks sound like human-killers. And just like we don't 'judge' them for doing what's natural...i.e. they're not 'evil'... we should not deny humans in that locality to do what's natural and protect themselves. If the sharks have left and are no longer a threat..great. Story over. But if they hang around there...
..and FWIW, I agree that the Oceans need quite a bit more protection from us... but that doesn't mean I would allow individual inhabitants of the Ocean to have carte blanch on humans.
