Surfer critically injured by shark off southern Australia; witness reports large great white
FOX news has this headline today “Surfer critically injured by shark off southern Australia; witness reports large great white”
The following is what they report:
Police said in a statement that the 26-year-old man suffered “serious leg injuries” when he was attacked Saturday about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Port Lincoln in South Australia state.
He was flown by helicopter in critical condition from a Port Lincoln hospital to the main hospital in the state capital, Adelaide.
Adelaide’s The Advertiser newspaper reported a witness’s description of a 6-meter (20-foot) great white shark biting off the surfer’s leg, which had an ankle strap attached to his surfboard.
Sharks are common off Australia’s beaches, but fatal attacks are rare. The country has averaged fewer than two deadly attacks per year in recent decades.”
I have to say, that I’m usually not a big fan of how the media reports any shark related incident. Take the “Jaws Attack” headline in the UK we talked about yesterday and you can see how sensationalistic the media tends to cover anything shark related.
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| I like not being described as a mindless killer! |
Big kudos to FOX news for reporting an actual incident, where a surfer got seriously hurt by a shark and cover it without any sensationalism. Maybe the 20 foot size is a bit exaggerated, but people tend to perceive sharks a larger than they actually are. They even pointed out the fact that sharks are common off Australia’s beaches and attacks are rare.
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.