Shark attacks returned to near-average levels in 2025 after a dip the previous year, according to the latest report from the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, published Wednesday.
Researchers recorded 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide last year, slightly below the 10-year average of 72, but an increase from 2024. Nine of those bites were fatal, higher than the 10-year average of six fatalities.
The United States once again had the highest number of reported incidents, accounting for 38% of global unprovoked bites when assessed on a country-by-country basis. That said, it’s actually a decline from recent years, including 2024, when more than half of all reported bites worldwide occurred off the U.S. coast.
In 2025, Florida led all states with 11 recorded attacks. California, Hawaii, Texas and North Carolina accounted for the remaining U.S. incidents.
But California stood out in another way: It had the nation’s only unprovoked fatal shark attack in 2025.
A 55-year-old triathlete was attacked by a white shark after entering the water off the coast of Monterey Bay with members of the open-ocean swimming club she co-founded. It was the sole U.S. fatality among 25 reported shark bites nationwide.
It’s not surprising that the sole U.S. shark-related death occurred in California, said Steve Midway, an associate professor of fisheries at Louisiana State University. “In California, you tend to have year-to-year fewer attacks than other places in the U.S. and in the world,” Midway said. “But you tend to have more serious attacks, a higher proportion of fatal attacks.”
The difference lies in species and geography, Midway said. Along the East Coast, particularly in Florida, many bites involve smaller coastal sharks in shallow water, which are more likely to result in nonfatal injuries. California’s deeper and colder waters are home to larger species, such as the great white shark.
“Great whites just happen to be larger,” Midway said. “You’re less likely to be attacked, but if you are, the outcomes tend to be worse.”
Whether measured over 10, 20 or 30 years, average annual shark bite totals globally are actually very stable.
“The global patterns change only slightly from one year to the other,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research.
Those annual fluctuations are influenced by a combination of shark biology, ocean conditions and the number of people in the water at any given time in any given place, researchers say.
At the same time, global shark populations remain far below historical levels. Naylor categorizes about 30% of shark species as endangered, largely due to overfishing. In some countries, including the United States and Australia, stronger protections have allowed certain shark populations to recover.
A 13-year-old boy died on Thursday after he was mauled by a shark at a popular beach on Brazil’s eastern coast, the state government said in a statement.
The attack happened off the coast of Chifre beach in Brazil’s tourist hotspot Pernambuco, the State Committee for Monitoring Shark Incidents (CEMIT) said in a news release.
The boy was taken to hospital but “did not survive his injuries,” CEMIT added.
Dr. Levy Dalton, who treated the victim, said the boy had been bitten on the right thigh, before suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest, UOL Notícias Brasil reported.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to resuscitate him, (…) unfortunately we couldn’t do much for him,” Dalton told reporters, according to the outlet.
Brazilian outlet G1 identified the victim as Deivson Rocha Dantas. According G1, the boy’s cousin, Lídia Emanuele, told TV Globo that the shark “ate almost his entire leg” and he was pulled out of the water by others who were about the same age.
Dozens of beaches along the turquoise coastlines of Pernambuco have been issued with shark warnings, authorities said, adding that Chifre beach had issued four such signs for beachgoers.
Nonetheless, CEMIT said it would beef up shark monitoring following the boy’s death and bring back a suspended program to track the creatures with microchips.
The attack happened off the coast of Chifre beach in Brazil’s tourist hotspot Pernambuco, the State Committee for Monitoring Shark Incidents (CEMIT) said.
CEMIT
More than 80 shark attacks have been recorded in Pernambuco since 1992, with 26 of them fatal, excluding the boy who died on Thursday, CEMIT said.
Last week, a 12-year-old boy who was bitten by a shark in Australia’s Sydney Harbor died of his injuries, his family said.
Earlier this month, a 56-year-old woman from Minnesota died after a shark attack in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A shark mauled a surfer off an ocean beach in Sydney on Monday in the Australian city’s third shark attack in two days, authorities said.
The surfer, believed to be in his 20s, was in a critical condition in hospital with serious leg injuries after the attack at a northern Sydney beach, police said.
“The man was pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid before the arrival of emergency services,” New South Wales state police said in a statement.
All of Sydney’s northern beaches were closed until further notice.
A man stands next to warning signs in place, and beaches are closed after a surfer suffered a shark attack today at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, Australia, January 19, 2026.
JEREMY PIPER / REUTERS
The attack at North Steyne Beach in the suburb of Manly came hours after a shark bit a large chunk out of a young surfer’s board about 2.5 miles north along the coast at Dee Why Point.
That surfer, reportedly a boy aged about 11, was uninjured but the beach was closed immediately.
On Sunday, a large shark bit a 12-year-old boy in the legs as he played with friends at a beach in Sydney harbor, leaving him fighting for survival in a hospital.
The boy and his friends were jumping from a 20-foot rock into the water off Shark Beach in the eastern suburb of Vaucluse when the predator struck, police said.
“It was a horrendous scene at the time when police attended. We believe it was something like a bull shark that attacked the lower limbs of that boy,” said Superintendent Joseph McNulty, New South Wales marine area police commander.
“That boy is fighting for his life now,” he told reporters on Monday.
“Perfect storm” for a shark attack
Recent heavy rain had drained into the harbor, and authorities believed the combination of the brackish seawater and the children’s splashing created a “perfect storm” for a shark attack, McNulty said.
He warned people not to go swimming in the harbor or other river systems in New South Wales because of the risks.
He praised the boy’s “brave” young friends for pulling him out of the water on Sunday.
Officers put the unconscious child in a police boat and gave him first aid, applying two tourniquets to stem the bleeding from his legs, McNulty said.
They tried to resuscitate the boy as they sped across the harbor to a wharf where ambulance paramedics were waiting.
The child, confirmed by police to be 12 years old, was in intensive care at Sydney Children’s Hospital surrounded by family and friends, McNulty said.
A view of rainfall over Shark Beach at sunset in Sydney, Australia, January 18, 2026.
FLAVIO BRANCALEONE / REUTERS
There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators’ encounters with humans.
The International Shark Attack File, a database of global shark attacks run by the University of Florida, noted that a “disproportionate” amount of people died from shark bites in Australia in 2023 when compared with other countries around the world.
Increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures that appear to be influencing sharks’ migratory patterns may be contributing to a rise in attacks despite overfishing depleting some species, scientists say.
Two Americans have been killed by sharks in the past month. Less than two weeks ago, 56-year-old woman from Minnesota died after a shark attack in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Earlier this month, authorities in California confirmed that 55-year-old Erica Fox died from a shark attack. She went missing in Monterey Bay in late December. The coroner determined Fox died from “sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack.”
Authorities on California’s Central Coast confirmed that a body recovered from the ocean by deputies was a swimmer who went missing after a possible shark attack last week.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that the body was positively identified as 55-year-old Erica Fox of Monterey County. The woman’s body was recovered on Saturday about four miles south of the community of Davenport, about 25 miles from where she went missing.
“Monterey does have its tendencies to get bites in that area,” said Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach.
Lowe noted that despite recent incidents, shark bites are rare.
“On average we have about three injury-related shark bites in California each year,” Lowe told CBS News Bay Area. “Your probability of being bitten, is like the same as winning Powerball.”
The scientist said that some adult white sharks are in the area, particularly in the winter months, because they are there to feed on elephant seals.
The “Kelp Crawlers”, an open water swimming group co-founded by Fox, said they held a memorial for her on Sunday and planned to be back out in the water next weekend.
Australian biologists said Sunday a great white shark measuring up to 12 feet likely killed a 57-year-old surfer off Sydney this weekend, as harrowing details of the attack emerged and authorities stepped up surveillance for the predators.
The experienced surfer, identified by Australian media as Mercury Psillakis, was mauled to death by a shark on Saturday off a popular beach in northern Sydney, police and rescuers say, leading to a string of beach closures.
The man, who had a wife and young daughter, lost “a number of limbs” and his surfboard was broken in two, police said.
“Really dramatic and quite graphic for those surfers who were in the water,” Martin told the outlet.
Martin told the ABC that Psillakis was the first surfer to see the shark and warned others to get out of the water.
Surfers exit the water after authorities closed Long Reef Beach in Sydney following a shark attack on September 6, 2025.
-/AFP via Getty Images
“Merc spotted the shark early, informed the other surfers in the water to band together and to try and get back to shore safely,” Martin told the outlet. “In that process, unfortunately making his way back into the surf, the shark beelined for the back of Merc and severed his legs quite severely.”
It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when 35-year-old British diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed off Little Bay.
The previous fatal attack in the city was in 1963.
Biologists with the New South Wales government were called in to assess the species of shark involved in the latest deadly encounter.
“NSW Government shark biologists have assessed photographs of the victim’s surfboard and determined a White shark approximately 3.4-3.6 metres in length was likely responsible,” a spokesperson for the state authorities said.
“The NSW Government’s thoughts are with the victim, his family and the first responders.”
Residents walk along the shoreline as northern Sydney beaches are closed following a suspected shark attack at Long Reef Beach on September 6, 2025.
SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
State government authorities said they had deployed two extra smart drumlines — anchored buoys with baited hooks that send an alert when a shark bites and also allow the animals to be tagged with trackers.
Sharks “all year round”
The drum lines were set up off the adjoining Dee Why and Long Reef beaches where the shark struck, in addition to three already in place.
The two beaches remained closed on Sunday.
Surf lifesavers were also deploying drones and patrolling on jet skis to monitor for shark activity, officials said.
“Sharks are present in NSW waters all year round,” the New South Wales government said.
“Sharks can be more prevalent in an area due to a number of factors including weather and ocean conditions as well as the availability of food in the area.”
Ocean-loving Australians were advised to monitor a so-called SharkSmart app, which alerts swimmers and surfers in real time when a tagged shark nears popular beaches.
Australia’s previous deadly shark attack was in March, when a surfer was taken off a remote beach in Western Australia.
There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators’ encounters with humans.
The International Shark Attack File, a database of global shark attacks run by the University of Florida, noted last year that a “disproportionate” amount of people died from shark bites in Australia in 2023 when compared with other countries around the world.
A surfer at a popular Sydney beach was mauled to death by a suspected “large shark” on Saturday, Australian police said, in a rare fatal attack.
The 57-year-old man was surfing with friends in the Pacific waters off northern Sydney’s adjoining Long Reef and Dee Why beaches when the attack happened, authorities said.
The man – an experienced surfer with a wife and a young daughter – lost “a number of limbs”, New South Wales police superintendent John Ducan told reporters.
“I do understand that both him and his board disappeared underwater,” he said. “The body was found floating in the surf.”
Surfers exit the water after authorities closed Long Reef Beach in Sydney following a shark attack on September 6, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
A couple of surfers saw him in the water and got him to shore, Duncan said.
“Unfortunately, by that time, we understand he lost probably a lot of blood and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful,” he said.
Visitors walk along the shoreline as northern Sydney beaches remain closed following a suspected shark attack at Long Reef Beach on September 6, 2025.
SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
People nearby saw the ocean predator, according to police, who earlier said they believed a “large shark” attacked the man.
Government experts will examine the remains of the surfboard and the man’s body to help them determine the species of shark involved, police said.
There are about 100 shark species in Western Australia, according to SharkSmart, a website run by Australian officials that warns about shark activity and gives tips on how to stay safe. Most of the species are capable of injuring humans, but an “overwhelming majority of them are not aggressive under most circumstances.” Most serious shark bites in ocean-loving Australia are from great whites, bull sharks, and tiger sharks.
After the incident, nearby beaches were closed for at least 24 hours. Drones and surf lifesavers on water skis were patrolling the beaches for shark activity.
Fatal shark attacks are rare. In 2024, there were only seven fatal attacks, including four unprovoked attacks, around the world, according to research by the International Shark Attack File, a database run by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida.
Overall, shark attacks decreased dramatically in 2024 and were far below the annual average.
This was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when a 35-year-old British diving instructor was killed off Little Bay. The previous fatal attack in the city was in 1963. Australia’s last deadly shark attack was in March, when a surfer was taken off the remote Wharton Beach of Western Australia.
Another surfer was presumed dead after a shark attack in South Australia in early January. A witness who saw the attack rode into the sea and retrieved the man’s surfboard, but officials said there was “no sign” of the surfer afterwards.
Just one year ago, U.S. swimmer Ali Truwit lost her leg in a shark attack. She was back in the water just six weeks later, and became a two-time silver medalist at this year’s Paralympic Games.
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Four people are still recovering after being attacked by a shark on July 4th near a beach on South Padre Island. One of those victims is from North Texas.
Celina resident Tabitha Sullivent described how her family’s July 4th holiday turned into a horror movie.
“I turned around, and all I saw was something gray in the water. So, I just kicked at it, because I thought it was a huge fish, and it was coming at us. That’s when I think it grabbed my leg,” Sullivent told CBS News Texas over video call.
In fact, it was a shark that attacked Sullivent in shallow water, ripping off a chunk of her left calf.
“I was just screaming ‘help’ and trying to get to the shore. And then, even once I was on the shore. I think I was just in shock. I could feel numbness, I guess is the best way to describe it,” Sullivent said.
Sullivent said her husband Cary jumped in the water and grabbed her, but the shark followed them and attacked him as well, biting him twice.
Social media video shows a group of strangers pulling Sullivent from the water. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials say two people total were bitten and hospitalized and another two suffered minor injuries. Officials think it was all by the same large shark.
Meanwhile, Sullivent will need multiple reconstructive surgeries, but doctors think she will be able to keep her leg and walk again.
“I have movement in my toes and in my ankle. My bone structure is good. I’m going to probably need physical therapy for sure,” Sullivent said.
The Sullivants’ 16th wedding anniversary was the day after the attack. The couple said they never expected to spend the milestone in a hospital room, but are grateful to still be together.
“Somebody or something was definitely looking over us for sure,” Sullivent said.
GALVESTON, Texas – A 19-year-old woman was bitten by a shark on the west end of Galveston Island — but she didn’t go down without a fight.
Damiana Humphrey, of Oklahoma, told KPRC 2 senior digital producer Brittany Taylor she visited Galveston with her family on Memorial Day and then headed to the beach the following day.
“So, me and my family usually take a summer vacation trip together,” Humphrey said. “And so this year, we chose Galveston because we went two years ago, and we thought it was nice. So we went again. And, we usually go during, like, Memorial Day weekend. So, we got there on Monday. And then the incident happened on Tuesday.”
Humphrey, along with her two younger brothers, young sister and sister-in-law, went about waist-deep into the water. At some point, she said her sister-in-law saw something tan moving in the water.
19-year-old Damiana Humphrey (in green bathing suit) and family before shark incident at Galveston beach. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“She said that she saw a tan shadow, like something tan,” she said. “And it was pretty big, so she didn’t know what it was. So that’s why she was in the process of telling us we needed to go to shore.”
As she and her siblings were headed back to shore, Humphrey said she saw the nearly 5-foot shark grab hold of her left hand and attempt to launch at her again.
“That moment, my brain didn’t process it,” Humphrey said. “So it felt like a dream. Because first of all, it happened so fast. Second of all, my brain could not catch up to what was happening. It was my body’s reaction to it that probably saved me. So yeah, I did not. I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t think anything at the time.”
Fighting off a shark
Humphrey said she punched the shark at least two times, and her family had no idea what was happening at the time of the incident.
“They just saw like the waves splashing,” she said. “So, actually, my brother, one of my brothers, he told me to chill out because he just saw the water splashing everywhere. He did not see the shark. And then my other brother, he told me to stop splashing because many of them did not see the shark.”
After Humphrey fought the shark off, she told her family to get out of the water and they all ran to the shore — that’s when she saw the damage.
Damiana Humphrey runs to her father’s help after being bitten by a shark at Galveston beach. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“By the time I got to my dad, that’s when I raised my arm and I looked at it for myself,” she said. “That’s what caused me to freak out and stuff, because when I looked down, like a big chunk of the top of my hand was gone. And so I was like, ‘oh my gosh,’ because I thought I would lose my fingers or my hand because, to me, it looked really bad.”
Humphrey said an off-duty paramedic was at the beach with his family and helped her wrap a towel tightly around the bite until Galveston EMS paramedics arrived.
Galveston Island Beach Patrol told KPRC 2 they were responding to the beach but were told the victim was already headed to the John Sealy Emergency Room by ambulance.
Humphrey said doctors initially thought she severed one finger but when she went under for surgery, they found out it was four of her fingers. She also said they were able to repair the part of her hand with stitches. She stayed at the hospital for at least two days after surgery.
Damiana Humphrey recovering at hospital after shark bite at Galveston beach. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
Although she and her family were not told what kind of shark bit her, they researched and learned that it was possibly a “pool shark.”
Officials said most shark bites in the Galveston area are “hit and run” bites (not “attacks”, where the shark is feeding on schooling fish, bites a human by accident, and swims away). They’re cases of mistaken identity.
Humphrey’s recovery process
She said as she recovers, Humphrey had to quit her summer job because she has limited mobility in her left hand and can’t lift anything while her hand is healing in a cast.
“I can’t really do anything, she said. “Like, my hand is in a cast right now, so I can’t, like, bend it or lift anything right now. I will have to do physical therapy to gather my strength and my mobility and everything.”
The doctor told Humphrey that she will need to take 4 to 6 weeks before she does physical therapy and visit a hand specialist.
Damiana Humphrey recovering at hospital after shark bite at Galveston beach. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
“As of right now, I’m not in any summer classes at all,” she said. “But I did work at the hospital. It’s like, patient care tech. I did have to quit because I can’t with patients, and I can’t do any of the stuff I need to with my arm, because it has to be elevated throughout the day and night. And I can’t really do that work either. So I did have to quit my job. So I’m not working right now.”
A warning to other beachgoers
Humphrey’s advice? Stay alert!
She said the family looked up the weather for that day and checked the tides at the beach but not what was happening inside the waters.
“If you do go, like, be aware of what time of day you need to go, because we went during dusk and that was the time where, like, sharks come out, like dusk and dawn are the worst time to go,” Humphrey said. “So I would definitely be on high alert during that time if you go. And I would definitely recommend not going into murky water at night or like in the midday range, unless you know you’re feeling comfortable with. But also, shark attacks don’t happen that often, so I wouldn’t like worry too much about it.”
Galveston Island Beach Patrol’s general tips about sharks on our beaches:
Avoid swimming in areas with schooling fish
Do not swim in areas where water empties into the gulf- these are popular feeding grounds for sharks and large fish
Shuffle your feet – this chases away small sharks, stingray, and other marine animals that can be harmful
Avoid swimming or wading if there is blood in the area, including using a stringer while fishing
Always stay with a buddy, since sharks are more likely to approach a solitary individual
Do not wander too far from shore – being far from shore also isolates you from any emergency assistance
Exercise caution when occupying the area between sandbars or near steep drop-offs – these are favorite hangouts for sharks
Avoid being in the water during low light hours (dawn or dusk) and at night when many sharks are most active and feeding
Sharks have never been shown to be attracted to the smell of human blood, however, it may still be advisable to stay out of the water if bleeding from an open wound (SEE ALSO: Menstruation and Sharks)
Wearing shiny jewelry is discouraged because the reflected light may resemble the sheen of fish scales.
Avoid areas with known effluents or sewage and those being used by sport or commercial anglers, especially if there are signs of bait fishes or feeding activity – diving seabirds are good indicators of these fishes’ presence
Avoid water being used by recreational or commercial anglers
Sightings of porpoises or dolphins do not indicate the absence of sharks, both often eat the same food items
Use extra caution when waters are murky – some shark species will have just as much trouble seeing as you
Avoid uneven tanning, bright-colored and/or high contrasting clothing – sharks see contrast particularly well
Refrain from excess splashing, particularly in a single spot – sharks can hear the low-frequency sounds from splashing and may investigate to see if there is a fish/prey in distress
Do not enter the water if sharks are known to be present – slowly and calmly evacuate the water if sharks are seen
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Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
April 26 was supposed to be a typical work day for Marlin Wakeman. But that was the day that changed his life forever. “Me and my buddies were talking about like, ‘Man if you fell in here, like, you are done,’” Marlin Wakeman, who was born and raised in Stuart, Florida, told reporters on Thursday. And that’s exactly what happened to him in the Bahamas. He was walking on the dock at the Flying Fish Marina on Long Island as he was working on a boat. He tried stepping onboard but missed and fell into the water. “I was pulling myself back in, and he grabbed my leg, the first shark did — and pulled me underwater. Kind of scrambled for a second,” Wakeman said. More than a dozen Caribbean reef sharks were swimming by the marina. Wakeman ended up getting bitten multiple times by these 7-foot apex predators. “Luckily my captain was nearby and got some help pretty quick and was able to get stitched up,” Wakeman said. These sharks typically stay in that area, as people toss leftover carcasses when they’re done fishing. For Wakeman and those working on boats in the area, it has become a major safety concern. “Bleeding a lot that point and adrenaline started wearing off a little bit,” Wakeman said. “That was the first time I’ve ever passed out strictly from pain, so yeah, it hurt really, really bad.”He has two puncture wounds in his kneecap, along with several other injuries. Medical crews in the Bahamas helped with some damage control by using a tourniquet and stitching his wounds. Wakeman’s parents remember the call they got that afternoon. “Can’t really describe it. You just kind of– you go in shock mode. But I felt like a million little pieces all of a sudden, and then you had to get it together,” Melynda Wakeman, his mother, said. They flew him out the next day and immediately took him to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. “There was a puncture wound to the capsule of the joints surface itself. … There was a puncture in the back of the knee cap,” Dr. Rami Elkhechen, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Mary’s Medical Center, said. Medical experts quickly helped clean all of Wakeman’s wounds and stitched him up properly.”The soft tissue that I repaired, the stitches are out. There were a lot of stitches. The wounds are healing nicely,” Dr. Robert Borrego, trauma medical director at St. Mary’s Medical Center, said. He said Wakeman is the third shark bite survivor the medical center has treated so far this year. “The fact that there are 20 sharks in there, and you were able to get out of there and still have a leg? It’s amazing. And I think it also goes to say how quickly he reacted and that he didn’t panic,” Borrego said. The Wakemans thank the crews in the Bahamas and St. Mary’s Medical Center for saving their son’s life. “It’s not often that a shark attack victim gets treated by a shark attack doctor. So, we were very fortunate there, and I will be forever grateful,” Rufus Wakeman, his father and captain, said. Sister station WPBF asked Wakeman if he ever plans on getting back on a boat soon. “Oh yeah, as soon as I can, for sure,” he said, laughing.
April 26 was supposed to be a typical work day for Marlin Wakeman. But that was the day that changed his life forever.
“Me and my buddies were talking about like, ‘Man if you fell in here, like, you are done,’” Marlin Wakeman, who was born and raised in Stuart, Florida, told reporters on Thursday.
And that’s exactly what happened to him in the Bahamas.
He was walking on the dock at the Flying Fish Marina on Long Island as he was working on a boat. He tried stepping onboard but missed and fell into the water.
“I was pulling myself back in, and he grabbed my leg, the first shark did — and pulled me underwater. Kind of scrambled for a second,” Wakeman said.
More than a dozen Caribbean reef sharks were swimming by the marina. Wakeman ended up getting bitten multiple times by these 7-foot apex predators.
“Luckily my captain was nearby and got some help pretty quick and was able to get stitched up,” Wakeman said.
These sharks typically stay in that area, as people toss leftover carcasses when they’re done fishing. For Wakeman and those working on boats in the area, it has become a major safety concern.
“Bleeding a lot that point and adrenaline started wearing off a little bit,” Wakeman said. “That was the first time I’ve ever passed out strictly from pain, so yeah, it hurt really, really bad.”
He has two puncture wounds in his kneecap, along with several other injuries. Medical crews in the Bahamas helped with some damage control by using a tourniquet and stitching his wounds.
Wakeman’s parents remember the call they got that afternoon.
“Can’t really describe it. You just kind of– you go in shock mode. But I felt like a million little pieces all of a sudden, and then you had to get it together,” Melynda Wakeman, his mother, said.
They flew him out the next day and immediately took him to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
“There was a puncture wound to the capsule of the joints surface itself. … There was a puncture in the back of the knee cap,” Dr. Rami Elkhechen, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Mary’s Medical Center, said.
Medical experts quickly helped clean all of Wakeman’s wounds and stitched him up properly.
“The soft tissue that I repaired, the stitches are out. There were a lot of stitches. The wounds are healing nicely,” Dr. Robert Borrego, trauma medical director at St. Mary’s Medical Center, said.
He said Wakeman is the third shark bite survivor the medical center has treated so far this year.
“The fact that there are 20 sharks in there, and you were able to get out of there and still have a leg? It’s amazing. And I think it also goes to say how quickly he reacted and that he didn’t panic,” Borrego said.
The Wakemans thank the crews in the Bahamas and St. Mary’s Medical Center for saving their son’s life.
“It’s not often that a shark attack victim gets treated by a shark attack doctor. So, we were very fortunate there, and I will be forever grateful,” Rufus Wakeman, his father and captain, said.
Sister station WPBF asked Wakeman if he ever plans on getting back on a boat soon.
“Oh yeah, as soon as I can, for sure,” he said, laughing.
A shark mauled a woman in the first attack in Sydney Harbor in 15 years, officials said Tuesday, sending her to hospital with a serious leg injury.
The predator struck Monday evening as the woman swam off a wharf at Elizabeth Bay, about 1.2 miles from Sydney Opera House, police said.
The woman suffered a “serious injury to her right leg,” New South Wales police said in a statement.
It was the first shark attack in Sydney Harbor since February 2009, when an Australian navy diver fought off a bull shark that bit him in the arm and leg in Woolloomooloo Bay.
“I got home from work and sat down on the couch. I heard a soft yell for help just outside the window,” nearby resident Michael Porter told reporters.
Outside, he saw the woman trying to climb a ladder out of the harbor’s waters.
“Behind her was her leg, which was limp and all completely open and full of dark red blood behind her,” Porter said.
“She had obviously been mauled extremely badly by whatever shark it was that got her,” he said.
“We have always worried and known about sharks in the harbor,” he added. “It’s only now that it feels very real.”
A veterinarian living nearby gave first aid.
The woman was in a stable condition in intensive care at St Vincent’s hospital, a hospital spokesperson said.
She was expected to undergo surgery during the day.
Witnessed posted video of the aftermath on social media and the woman could be seen being transported on a stretcher to an ambulance, local media reported.
Bull shark likely responsible
Analysis of the shark bite and of images provided by the authorities confirmed “a bull shark was likely responsible,” said shark scientist Amy Smoothey.
Sharks are “more actively feeding” in low light at dawn and dusk, she told national broadcaster ABC, making it “potentially a high-risk time to be swimming”.
Scientists have tagged 87 large bull sharks in Sydney Harbor since 2009, said Smoothey, who works for the New South Wales department of primary industries.
Tagging indicated that bull shark numbers in the harbor were at their highest in the Australian summer months of January and February, she said.
“Shark bites are really rare although they are very tragic when they do occur and my thoughts are with the victim,” Smoothey said.
“There are very few interactions that occur in our enclosed waterways but we know that bull sharks are one of the top three species involved in shark bites.”
In February 2022, 35-year-old British diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed off Sydney’s ocean beach Little Bay in the first fatal attack in the city since 1963.
The International Shark Attack Files, a University of Florida group that aims to compile all known shark attacks, classified the attack on Nellis as “provoked.” But that doesn’t mean Nellist was responsible for his death, according to Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
At the time of the attack on Nellist, several people were fishing from the shore cliffs, Naylor told the Times of London. He said in his blog post that fishing is “known to attract sharks” even if bait or chum aren’t used.
A 39-year-old surfer died after a shark encounter in Maui on Saturday, officials in Hawaii said.
The man encountered the shark in Paia Bay around 11:10 a.m. local time, the Maui Fire Department said. Ocean Safety officers transported the wounded man to shore via a jet ski, according to the County of Maui Facebook page. He received treatment on the shore before being taken to a hospital, where he died.
The man has not yet been publicly identified.
Baldwin Beach Park and Lower Pā’ia Park were closed after the deadly encounter, and shark warning signs were posted from Tavares Bay to Baby Beach, authorities said.
Saturday’s attack was the only deadly shark encounter in Hawaii in 2023, though there have been more than a half dozen incidents involving sharks in Hawaii this year, according to the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources. On Dec. 8 last year, a snorkeler died in a shark attack.
Around 40 species of sharks live in the waters around Hawaii, but only about a dozen of the more than 300 species of sharks in the world have been involved in attacks on humans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Tiger sharks are considered the most dangerous shark species in Hawaiian waters, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Officials have not specified the type of shark involved in Saturday’s attack.
Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.
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A Bostom woman was killed in a shark attack near a Sandals resort on Nassau, Bahamas. She and a male relative were paddle boarding when she was attacked. Elaine Quijano reports.
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A woman from Boston died after she was attacked by a shark while paddle boarding with a family member in the Bahamas on Monday, police said at a news conference broadcast by Reuters The woman and male relative were paddle boarding at a resort about three-quarters of a mile away from the shore when she was bitten by the shark, said Royal Bahamas Police Force Spokesperson Sergeant Desiree Ferguson.
A lifeguard on duty who saw the incident went out in a boat to rescue the pair, Ferguson said.
“CPR was administered to the victim. However, she suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body, including the right hip region and also her right upper limb,” Ferguson said.
Mortuary services personnel transport the body of a female tourist after what police described as a fatal shark attack in waters near Sandals Royal Bahamian resort, in Nassau, Bahamas December 4, 2023.
DANTE CARRER / REUTERS
The victim, who was not identified, was declared dead after emergency responders determined she showed no vital signs.
CBS News has reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for more information and is awaiting response. CBS News has also reached out to several witnesses from the U.S. who claimed on Facebook they saw the aftermath of the attack.
The attack comes just one day after a 26-year-old woman died after she was bitten by a shark in Mexico as she swam with her young daughter.
Shark attacks are rare in the Bahamas, but several have been reported in recent months.
Last month, a 47-year-old German woman went missing during a diving trip off West End, Grand Bahama, after encountering a shark, Reuters reported, citing police.
In June, a woman from Iowa was attacked by a shark while scuba diving in the Bahamas, resulting in her leg being amputated.
In September 2022, another tourist from the U.S. was killed by a shark in the Bahamas while snorkeling. The 58-year-old woman from Pennsylvania was a passenger on the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship and was taking part in an excursion at a popular spot near Green Cay when she was attacked by a bull shark. She was transported to a local hospital, where she died.
More than 50 species of sharks are found along the East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea, including tiger, hammerhead and Caribbean reef sharks, according to NOAA.
An Australian woman is in stable condition with “extremely serious” head injuries after being bitten by a shark on Friday, officials said.
The 32-year-old woman was rushed to the Flinders Medical Centre near Adelaide by emergency services just after 1:00 p.m. local time Friday. Police evacuated swimmers from the ocean at Port Noarlunga Jetty to search for the shark, South Australia police said in a news statement, but were not able to locate it.
Australian authorities searched Wednesday for the remains of a 55-year-old surfer after a witness reportedly saw an attack by a large shark that “had his body in his mouth”.
There has been no trace of the victim since the marine predator struck Tuesday morning near the popular surfing spot of Granites Beach in South Australia, police said.
“The man’s body is yet to be found and the search resumed early this morning,” police said in a statement.
Witness describes the attack
A 70-year-old surfer at the scene when the attack happened, Ian Brophy, said he was about to enter the water when someone yelled: “Shark!”
“As I turned around, I saw the shark go and just launch and bite,” he told Adelaide’s The Advertiser newspaper.
Brophy said he saw the predator go “over the top of the guy and bite and drag him down under the water and then nothing for a minute or two and blood everywhere and then up pops the board”.
“I saw him in the wave and the shark had his body in his mouth — it was pretty gruesome,” he said.
Within a few minutes, there was no sign of the surfer’s body.
“It took every bit of him, I think.”
Shark said to be “length of a sedan”
Jeff Schmucker, a local resident, told national broadcaster ABC that he used his jet ski to help emergency services search for the surfer.
Schmucker said he went to the area of the attack and soon saw a great white shark “the length of a sedan car” — but he couldn’t be sure if it was the killer.
The number of shark bites has increased over the past four decades due to factors such as human population growth and climate change, according to shark expert Charlie Huveneers from Flinders University.
As oceans get warmer, ecosystems are being forced to adapt and sharks may be following their prey and moving closer to shores, where they are more likely to come into contact with humans.
Huveneers told Agence France-Presse sharks sometimes attack humans because they mistake them for their usual prey, but also due to curiosity, hunger, self-defence and aggression.
The shark took a bite out of the boat, causing it to deflate and become submerged in water. This damaged the engine and fuel lines—stranding the men at sea. Authorities realized the five fishermen were missing at around 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, when people noticed they had not returned.
The crew members wave for help as rescue teams approach the deflated vessel. A shark bit the men’s dinghy, leaving the five stranded. Australian Maritime Safety Authority
“We were fishing and we caught a shark, and when we brought it to the front of the boat, it popped the front pontoon,” skipper Jacob Ovesby told ABC. “There was a bit of water onboard because we popped the front. It’s seen better days. Good for people on the beach to make the right call and call for help. That’s probably the most important thing.”
Officials from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and DFES Marine Rescue Esperance finally found the men at approximately 3:36 a.m. AEDT.
A rescue aircraft found the boat semi-submerged with all 5 occupants onboard “waving for help,” the maritime safety authority said in a statement. “They maintained overhead, ensuring the safety of those stranded until the volunteer vessel arrival,” it read.
When the five men were picked up, they slept for the entire four-hour journey home, ABC reported. They were assessed by paramedics who determined they were uninjured.
The deflated dinghy is pulled along by the rescue boat. The five men who were rescued slept for the whole four-hour journey back to safety. Australian Maritime Safety Authority
It is not clear what shark species is responsible for deflating the boat, but over half of the world’s shark species can be found in Australian waters.
In this part of the world, the most commonly sighted species by fishermen are the dusky whaler sharks, sandbar sharks, gummy sharks, and whiskery sharks.
However, more infamous and dangerous species can make their way to these waters, too, including great white sharks.
The good news is that attacks like this remain rare, although they have occurred before.
In September, the Australia Maritime Authority rescued three people who had been stranded southeast of Cairns in the Coral Sea, after the hulls of the vessel were damaged by several shark attacks.
Sharks do not hunt humans as prey, so attacks usually occur only if they feel provoked threatened in some way. Sharks may also approach boats after mistaking its noises and movements to a prey item.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about sharks? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
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Usually, the Florida Everglades brings fear and caution around snakes and alligators. But a new video has emerged showing another reason for caution – sharks in the land of swamps.
The video, shared on the Instagram account @Florida, shows a man in a white hoodie bending down over a boat to rinse his hands in the water. Someone off-screen tells him “I wouldn’t put your hands in there” – but he argues that “two seconds won’t do anything” and proceeds to put his hands in the water.
Then all of a sudden, he screams as he yanks his hand out of the water – with a shark attached.
There are a few seconds of struggle and a small amount of blood from his hand is seen hitting the side of the boat as the man falls overboard. He quickly gets back on the boat and the incident seems to be over.
The Instagram account shares a quote from Michael Russo, who was on the boat during the encounter. Russo said that they rushed his friend, identified as Nick, back to land and park rangers helped him get airlifted to the hospital.
“Today was one of the scariest days on the water I have ever had. It started off great and we were crushing the fish but the sharks were eating some, despite our best efforts,” he’s quoted as saying. “After releasing a snook, Nick washed his hands in the water and was immediately bit by a large [lemon] shark. There was no chum or blood in the water and the sharks were unprovoked.”
In the Everglades, he said, “sharks are no joke.”
“The warnings about keeping your hands out of the water are not an exaggeration,” Russo said.
It’s unclear what specific kind of shark bit the man’s hand, but it has been speculated to be either a lemon shark or a bull shark. Lemon sharks are known to live in estuaries and the nearshore waters of both Florida coasts, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife, as are bull sharks.
CBS News has reached out to Everglades National Park for comment and more information.
A 22-year-old Connecticut woman lost her foot in a shark attack while snorkeling in the waters off Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. The woman was reportedly on vacation celebrating her graduation from Yale.
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