MELBOURNE, Australia — A surfer had minor injuries from being bitten by a shark Tuesday in the fourth attack off the coast of Australia’s most populous state in three days.
The shark attacked the man’s surfboard at Point Plomer, 460 kilometers (290 miles) north of the New South Wales state capital, around 9 a.m., officials said.
The man was lucky to survive with minor cuts, Kempsey-Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club captain Matt Worrall said.
“The board seemed to take most of the impact,” Worrall told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “He made his own way into shore where he was assisted by locals.”
The bystanders drove the 39-year-old man to a hospital and he was later discharged.
In the earlier attacks, a man and a boy suffered critical leg wounds and the surfboard of another boy was bitten by sharks at Sydney locations Sunday and Monday.
Beaches along New South Wales’ northern coast and northern Sydney were closed Tuesday and local authorities said Sydney’s northern beaches would remain closed to swimmers and surfers for 48 hours. Electronic drumlines that alert authorities when a large shark has taken bait were deployed off the Sydney coast.
Authorities warned that recent rainfall has left the water off area beaches murky, which increased the risk of bull shark attacks. Bull sharks are responsible for most attacks around Sydney.
“If anyone’s thinking of heading into the surf this morning anywhere along the northern beaches, think again. We have such poor water quality that’s really conducive to some bull shark activity,” Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said.
“If you’re thinking about going for a swim, just go to a local pool because at this stage, we’re advising that beaches are unsafe,” Peace added.
On Sunday, a 12-year-old boy was attacked after jumping from a 6-meter (20-foot) ledge known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach inside Sydney Harbor. Police have credited the boy’s friends with saving his life by jumping from the cliff during the attack and dragging him back to shore.
“Those actions of those young men are brave under the circumstances and very confronting injuries for those boys to see,” Supt. Joseph McNulty said.
News media have reported that the boy lost both legs in the attack.
Around noon Monday, an 11-year-old boy was on a surfboard that was attacked by a shark at Dee Why Beach, an ocean beach north of Manly. The shark bit off a chunk of the board, but the boy escaped uninjured.
A surfer in his 20s was bitten on a leg by a shark off North Steyne Beach on the Pacific Ocean coast in the northern suburb of Manly at 6:20 p.m. Monday, police said. Bystanders pulled him from the water before an ambulance took him to a hospital in a critical condition.
All three Sydney beaches have some form of shark protection netting. It was not immediately clear where the attacks occurred in relation to that netting.
Pearce said the scene of the latest attack was isolated and did not have shark netting.
Dee Why Beach is close to the beach where a 57-year-old surfer was killed by a suspected white shark last September.
In November, a 25-year-old Swiss tourist was killed and her partner was seriously injured trying to save her as they swam off a national park north of Sydney.
A Florida man is reportedly recovering from being bitten by a shark while snorkeling with friends last weekend.
The incident occurred off Boca Chita Key in the Florida Keys’ Biscayne Bay in the late morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 25, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Emergency personnel responded to a medical call regarding an animal bite at around 11:30 a.m., authorities said. Officials airlifted the man to a local hospital.
Yasvany Echevarria was reportedly attacked by a shark while snorkeling at Boca Chita Key in the Florida Keys’ Biscayne Bay on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.(iStock)
The victim has been identified as Yosvany Echevarria, 46, according to CBS News Miami. He told the outlet he moved to the United States from Cuba three years ago, and was snorkeling with friends in the water when the shark bit him more than a half-dozen times.
“He could have ripped my arm off,” Echevarria told the outlet in Spanish. “I was scared. I was in a lot of pain. We were swimming there by the beach. I was diving in the water and snorkeling, and a shark lunged at me, at my hands.”
Echevarria added that he received 27 stitches as a result of the attack, and suffered severe injuries to his arm, CBS News Miami reported.
Yosvany Echevarria told CBS News Miami he received 27 stitches after the shark attack at Biscayne Bay in the Florida Keys, while also suffering severe injuries to his arm.(iStock)
“We got out because we were close to the shore, and we called someone to pick us up,” Echevarria said.
As of this week, there have been 51 reported shark attacks throughout the country this year, according to trackingsharks.com. Of those incidents, 10 reported attacks have occurred in the Sunshine State – with some taking place in Hollywood Beach, located just 20 miles from Miami, and southwest Florida’s Boca Grande.
Last year, there were 71 reported bites – including 47 unprovoked attacks – worldwide, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File. Data indicates that 28 of the unprovoked attacks occurred in the United States, with Florida accounting for the country’s most unprovoked bites after 14 people reported incidents last year.
There have been 51 reported shark attacks throughout the United States in 2025, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.(iStock)
“My advice to people is if they are going to get in the water, they need to be careful. It could have been much worse,” Echevarria reportedly said. “I was lucky it was just bites. He could have ripped my arm off.”
Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Writer for Fox News Digital and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.
Springer Nature’s Journal of Ethology has just published a study on a threesome. Yes, that kind of threesome—and it’s being hailed as a win for marine conservation efforts.
That’s because the lovers in this particular trio are leopard sharks. Hugo Lassauce, a marine biologist from the University of the Sunshine Coast, filmed two males and one female of the endangered species mating in the wild in a first-of-its-kind video, shedding light on their natural reproductive behaviors.
“The Indo-Pacific Leopard shark (Stegostoma tigrinum), listed as endangered by the IUCN, has primarily been studied in captivity, with little information on its natural mating behaviors,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Here, we present the first documented observations of group copulation in free-living S. tigrinum, recorded at Abore Reef, New Caledonia.”
A sharky threesome
Leopard sharks, sometimes referred to as zebra sharks, live in coastal waters throughout the Indo-West Pacific region. As soon as Lassauce captured the video and swam back to his team’s boat, they all cheered. It’s difficult to witness sharks copulating in the wild in the first place, so you can only imagine how rare it is to spot endangered shark species mating and get the chance to film it.
“While I was surveying this particular aggregation of leopard sharks, I spotted a female with two males grasping her pectoral fins on the sand below me,” Lassauce said in a university statement. “I told my colleague to take the boat away to avoid disturbance and I started waiting on the surface, looking down at the sharks almost motionless on the sea floor. I waited an hour, freezing in the water, but finally they started swimming up.”
The male sharks then each mated with the female, one taking 63 seconds, the other 47. Talk about a quickie. The female then “swam away actively,” and the males, now lethargic, lay still on the seafloor. Besides the excitement of catching something rare on camera, the video carries significant implications for our understanding of the endangered species.
“These findings provide novel insights into the species’ reproductive strategies and highlight the importance of identifying and protecting key mating habitats,” Lassauce and his colleagues wrote in the study. “Given the conservation concerns surrounding S. tigrinum, understanding these mating mechanisms and recognizing reproductive sites are crucial for effective species management.”
Sharing is caring
Christine Dudgeon, a co-author of the study and a marine ecologist also from the University of the Sunshine Coast, explained in the statement that the video could also support artificial insemination research working to rewild leopard sharks.
“It’s surprising and fascinating that two males were involved sequentially on this occasion,” she added.
It would seem like leopard shark males are more willing to share their lovers than other species.
Food products containing shark are being sold in grocery stores, seafood markets and online across the United States—and in some cases, they come from species at risk of extinction.
This is the warning of researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who used DNA barcoding to analyze 30 such shark products purchased in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia in 2021 and 2022.
They found that nearly one-third of the samples came from endangered or critically endangered species—including great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, shortfin mako and tope.
“Of the 29 samples, 93 percent were ambiguously labeled as ‘shark,’ and one of the two products labeled at the species level was mislabeled,” said Savannah J. Ryburn, the study’s lead author, in a statement.
“We found critically endangered sharks being sold in grocery stores, seafood markets and online.”
Mislabeling and public health concerns
The study found widespread mislabeling. In fact, only one product had a correct, species-specific label. Many packages were sold simply as “shark,” making it impossible for consumers to know what they were buying.
Prices also varied dramatically. Fresh shark meat sold for as little as $6.56 per kilogram, while shark jerky averaged more than $200 per kilogram.
Beyond conservation concerns, researchers warned that some shark species, including hammerheads and smooth-hounds, contain high levels of mercury, methylmercury and arsenic, which can damage the brain and nervous system, cause cancer and impair fetal development.
In 2022, another study found that endangered shark meat was found in pet food, often labeled under the terms “white fish” or “ocean fish.”
Conservation context
Shark populations have already dropped by more than 70 percent since the 1970s due to bycatch, climate change, habitat destruction and overfishing. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that more than a third of shark species are now threatened with extinction.
While 74 shark species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), enforcement remains limited. Once sharks are processed into fillets or jerky, visual identification is nearly impossible, leaving loopholes in trade restrictions.
Pictures of shark meat purchased for the study. Pictures of shark meat purchased for the study. Savannah Ryburn
Call for stronger labeling
“The legality of selling shark meat in the United States depends largely on where the shark was harvested and the species involved,” Ryburn explained.
“By the time large shark species reach grocery stores and markets, they are often sold as fillets with all distinguishing features removed, making it unlikely that sellers know what species they are offering.”
The authors argue that requiring species-level labeling could help protect consumers and vulnerable shark populations.
“Sellers in the United States should be required to provide species-specific names,” Ryburn said. “And when shark meat is not a food security necessity, consumers should avoid purchasing products that lack species-level labeling or traceable sourcing.”
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.
Reference
Ryburn, S. J., Yu, T., Ong, K. J., Wisely, E., Alston, M. A., Howie, E., Leroy, P., Giang, S. E., Ball, W., Benton, J., Calhoun, R., Favreau, I., Gutierrez, A., Hallac, K., Hanson, D., Hibbard, T., Loflin, B., Lopez, J., Mock, G., Myers, K., Pinos-Sánchez, A., Suarez Garcia, A. M., Retamales Romero, A., Thomas, A., Williams, R., Zaldivar, A., & Bruno, J. F. (2025). Sale of critically endangered sharks in the United States. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1604454
The depths of the Caribbean host a spectacular array of marine life—including this nurse shark featuring vivid orange scales and cloudy white eyes.
Last year, anglers on a fishing trip near Costa Rica with Parisima Domus Dei, a tourist company, reeled in what looked like a giant goldfish with shark-like chompers. After snapping some photos of the creature—about 6 feet (1.8 meters)—the fishermen let it go, later describing their strange encounter to marine experts.
The researchers concluded that this odd creature was not a bloated goldfish. Rather, it was a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum), a well-known predator living in Caribbean waters. But unlike most of its brethren, this orange nurse shark has not one but two extremely rare conditions—xanthism and albinism, a combination only observed once before in marine creatures. A detailed account of the orange nurse shark’s discovery and analysis was published earlier this month in Marine Biodiversity.
Is this shark okay?
Yes. At least, the data we do have about the shark doesn’t seem to imply that it’s suffering from major health issues. For researchers, this orange shark is a living example of nature’s wonders—and quirks. Xanthism, or unusually yellow pigmentation, is so rare that it’s only been recorded a handful of times across all animal species. That alone makes this orange shark special, but it also had “white eyes, with no visible iris,” implying the shark has albino-xanthrochromism, the mix of the two rare conditions.
Meanwhile, nurse sharks are normally brown, an unassuming color that helps the predator blend into its surroundings. What’s remarkable about the orange shark is that it survived to adulthood without such camouflage—a promising sign for its survivability, according to the paper.
But the genetic pathway that resulted in this aesthetic is still unclear. Independently, albinism and xanthism are associated with genetic mutations. However, researchers are wondering if this unique mix could have emerged from inbreeding or environmental stresses, such as elevated sea temperatures or hormonal imbalances. The discovery “raises important questions about the genetic variability and adaptability of nurse sharks in specific habitats,” the paper noted.
Whenever I learn about strangeanimal mutations, my first thought—or concern, rather—is whether we humans exposed them to some horrible pollutant that’ll eventually end with their untimely death. So far, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case for this orange shark, which is great news.
WAILUKU, Hawaii — A shark bit a Maui surfer Friday and severed his leg, authorities said.
The man, 61, was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park Friday morning when a shark bit him. Police officers who arrived to the scene first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets. His right leg was “completely severed just below the knee,” Maui County said in a news release.
The man was alert while being treated on shore and then taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition.
The man said he did not see the shark approach, authorities reported.
The incident prompted officials to close the beach park. Officials warned people to stay out of the water in the area. The public warning to stay out of the water for a mile in each direction of the incident will be in effect until at least noon Saturday. The warning will be extended if there is a shark sighting in the area.
Maui fire and ocean safety officials were patrolling the waters using rescue watercraft and a drone. State officials provided shark warning signs and helped with cordoning off the area.
There were no details provided on what kind of shark was involved.
In June, well-known surfer Tamayo Perry was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu’s North Shore.
A POPULAR holiday destination has been dubbed “the shark capital of the world”.
New Smyrna Beach is a seemingly idyllic paradise known for its pristine sands and perfect surf, but beneath the waves lurks a darker reality.
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Drone footage shows the moment dozens of sharks swarm New Smyrna Beach – known as the ‘shark bite capital of world’Credit: CBS Miami
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A shark lurks just metres from a surfer at the notorious beach in FloridaCredit: FOX 35 Orlando
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A shark prowls near swimmers and surfers at the beach where bites are common
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The scene at the beach after a 6ft shark attacked a swimmer in the second attack in one weekCredit: Fox 35
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Warning signs at New Smyrna Beach in FloridaCredit: AP:Associated Press
Here, where thrill-seekers flock for a taste of the ocean, bloodthirsty predators lurk just out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
With alarming frequency, swimmers and surfers find themselves in terrifying encounters, as these underwater hunters shred limbs and leave behind a trail of fear in the water.
Experts say that unlike anywhere else on Earth, including Spain and Egypt, Florida’s New Smyrna Beach is a prime hotspot for shark bites.
The surf destination claims the ominous accolade, with five shark attacks recorded last year, according to International Shark Attack Figures.
And another two shark attacks occurred in two days just last month, USA Today reports.
One targeted a 26-year-old male who was wading through five feet of water, while the other targeted a 21-year-old who was playing American football in knee-deep water.
And in August, a firefighter from Florida was bitten by a shark that saw him suffer two torn tendons.
The seven attacks so far recorded in 2024 are already in a scary rampage towards the 16 bites recorded in the entire state of Florida in 2023, according to Pensacola News Journal.
Although the beach is a picturesque location on the Atlantic Ocean, it is also dangerously with hurricanes and rip currents.
Shark researcher Dr Gavin Naylor believes that New Smyrna Beach holds the eerie title due to a “confluence of factors”.
Moment swimmers get dangerously close to a shark hidden beneath the water
He told the Daily Star: “You find so many bites [in Volusia County] and not so many in other places, it tells you that something about that region is conducive toward shark bites, which is not in other places.”
“You need a bunch of sharks, and they need to be in the mood to bite things, and you need a bunch of people in the same area at the same time.”
The evolutionary biologist clarified that there is a 40ft-deep dredge in the Ponce Inlet outflow, which enters the Atlantic directly north of New Smyrna Beach.
Dr Naylor explained: “Water comes in and out with the tide, and it brings a lot of nutrients.
“As it curves down, it mixes with the other current, and there is a really great surf break.”
Great surf and nutrient-rich water combine to make the nearby beaches “a perfect spot” for fish and surfers alike, the shark expert said.
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A photographer captured a Black Tip shark leaping out of the ocean in front of a surfer at New Smyrna Beach
Blacktip sharks, in particular, prey on the mullet and menhadens that swim in the seas.
Dr Naylor added: “Blacktip sharks go to that little patch of water, because there are all sorts of food in there.
“Also, because of the surf, it’s very turbid and the sharks can’t see very well.
“So now you’ve got these sharks that are all jingled up and trying to find their lunch, swimming all over the place chasing mullet and menhaden in low visibility water, plus 50 or 60 people with arms and legs dangling off the edge of their boards looking for their perfect wave.”
The expert believes that it’s only a matter of time until famished blacktip sharks confuse a foot or limb for a fish.
“Fortunately, most of the sharks in that area are highly piscivorous sharks, such as blacktips and spinners,” Dr Naylor said.
“If they were bull sharks or tiger sharks, they might stick around a little bit more and the injuries would be a lot worse.”
DANGEROUS REPUTATION
According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), Volusia County, where New Smyrna Beach is located, consistently records the highest number of shark bites annually.
Over the years, the sheer number of incidents, albeit mostly minor, has cemented New Smyrna Beach’s reputation.
New Smyrna Beach is close to Ponce Inlet, a narrow waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Intracoastal Waterway.
This inlet creates strong tidal flows, which attract a variety of fish and, consequently, sharks.
The concentration of prey fish in this area makes it an ideal hunting ground for the water beasts.
The warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean along New Smyrna Beach are home to an abundant array of marine life, which includes fish, rays, and other sea creatures that sharks feed on.
The high density of prey species in these waters is another major factor in the presence of sharks.
New Smyrna Beach is a popular destination for surfers due to its consistent waves.
Surfers spend a lot of time in the water and, from below, their silhouettes can resemble the prey of many shark species.
This increases the likelihood of sharks mistaking them for food, leading to more frequent encounters.
The beach is also one of Florida’s most visited, attracting locals and tourists alike.
With so many people in the water, the probability of shark encounters naturally rises.
New Smyrna Beach consistently records a high number of shark bites each year.
In some years, it has accounted for more than half of all shark attacks in the entire state of Florida.
For instance, in 2020, Volusia County, where New Smyrna Beach is located, accounted for 50 per cent of all shark bites in Florida.
But despite the frequent incidents, fatalities are extremely rare.
The vast majority of shark bites at New Smyrna Beach are minor, involving only one or two quick bites before the shark swims away.
Beachgoers were met with an unexpected swimming companion when a small shark appeared in the waters Monday afternoon in Cape May Point.
The shark appeared to be about six feet in size and was briefly caught on video. The Cape May Point beach patrol said the shark was in “knee-deep water” and within five yards of shore, the Inquirer reported. The beach was cleared of swimmers for about an hour until the shark swam out to a deeper waters.
Last week, the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center spotted a basking shark about five miles off the coast. Basking sharks are the second-largest type of shark in the ocean, but they’re largely harmless to humans and eat mostly plankton and tiny crustaceans that they filter out of the water with their large mouths.
🚨Rare Sighting Alert! 🚨A SECOND BASKING SHARK sighting just off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey! This individual was estimated to be 15-20ft in length cruising along at the surface about 5 miles offshore. They are the second largest shark species alive today! We know this is a different individual from the one we had last week because the notches do not match on this dorsal fin. 📸: Naturalist Melissa
It was the second basking shark that the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center had sighted in the past few weeks. The first was a 15 to 20-foot shark in the waters near Wildwood. Scientists said it was different from the one seen Aug. 1, noting it had different notches on its dorsal fins.
On July 14, the Pearson’s Pursuit Inshore Fishing team also spotted a large shark off the coast of Sea Isle City. Three days later, a great white shark named Scot pinged, meaning he surfaced briefly, on the OCEARCH app about 32 miles off the coast of Wildwood.
Despite how terrifying sharks might seem, the creatures are critical to the survival of the world’s oceans. Oceans generate 50% of the oxygen on the planet and absorb 90% of excess heat created by global warming. CBS News senior national and environmental correspondent Ben Tracy spoke with conservationists in the Bahamas.
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Vast oceans cover 70% of our planet’s surface, playing a crucial role in human survival by providing food and oxygen and acting as a buffer against climate change. Despite their importance, oceans are increasingly threatened by global warming and human activity, with rising temperatures impacting fragile marine ecosystems.
More than 100 nations, including the United States, have agreed to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, through an initiative known as “30 by 30.” This goal involves establishing Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs, where human activities are limited or prohibited to preserve marine life.
In the Bahamas, all waters are considered a shark sanctuary. On top of that, the island nation has also designated many Marine Protected Areas, all thought to be aiding the recovery of shark populations, which are critical to coral reef health.
Many of these areas are part of an ongoing global shark census called FinPrint. In 2018, that study revealed a 63% decline in the five main species of reef sharks, with overfishing and the shark meat industry partly to blame.
Candace Fields works with FinPrint and is using innovative technology to collect new data to see if these protected areas help reef shark populations rebound.
“These MPAs might be the way to kind of help these sharks come back from the brink a little bit,” she said.
There are more than 18,000 MPAs covering about 8% of the ocean’s surface, according to United Nations data. However, conservation groups claim most are just lines on a map because about two-thirds of them have little to no enforcement.
The Bahamas has strictly enforced no-fishing zones and actively patrols its waters with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. During the patrols, officials ensure compliance with local laws, deterring illegal fishing activities, especially from foreign vessels. Their rigorous approach is supported by advanced technology, including artificial intelligence and vessel tracking.
“We are there 24/7 and if you come we’re gonna catch you,” said Senior Commander William Sturrup, who oversees many of the operations.
“We are there on the front lines as a military. That’s how important it is to our government to protect our marine resources,” he said.
Technology plays a significant role in these efforts, according to Gregg Casad of WildAid, who illustrated the advanced tools used to monitor and protect the ocean.
“This is a big chunk of ocean, right? So we’re using this technology to help focus those patrol efforts,” said Casad.
As the world grapples with the warming climate, oceans play a critical role in regulating Earth’s temperature by absorbing 90% of the excess heat generated by climate change. Their protection is not only essential for marine biodiversity, but also for mitigating broader environmental impacts.
“There’s just tons and tons of reasons that we should work towards keeping the oceans as healthy as possible,” said Fields.
Ben Tracy is CBS News’ senior national and environmental correspondent based in Los Angeles. He reports for all CBS News platforms, including the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell,” “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Sunday Morning.”
CBS News climate producer Chris Spinder swam with sharks for a “CBS Mornings” story about protecting vulnerable populations of the apex predators. In this producer’s notebook, he shares his experience.
I wasn’t overly concerned about jumping into the brilliant blue waters of the Bahamas — even though I knew full well reef sharks were circling the sea floor about 50 feet beneath my legs.
The CBS News team was in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, shooting a story about how Marine Protected Areas — federally designated places where human activity is managed to protect marine ecosystems — are helping endangered shark populations recover.
I needed to get shots of the shark researchers we were profiling from a water-level point-of-view, and heading into the water was a calculated risk I was prepared to take — especially because I assumed the sharks would be more interested in the camera contraption scientist Candace Fields had just deployed as part of her work.
CBS News climate producer Chris Spinder gets into the water with sharks in the Bahamas.
CBS News
Populations of reef sharks, which are important to the health of coral reefs, have declined precipitously around the world in recent years. Caribbean reef sharks can grow to more than 9 feet long, but aren’t considered aggressive.
I got the shots we needed and climbed out of the water, only to discover that a 2-inch gash on my ankle, likely caused by one of the propellers on the boat’s outboard engine, was dribbling dark red blood down onto the deck.
It wasn’t a lot of blood, certainly nothing serious I hadn’t dealt with before, and I quickly dabbed it away and got back to work. But then, an ominous realization washed over me: Sharks plus blood in the water equals not good news.
Almost immediately, all of my false bravado about swimming with sharks disappeared and I turned to Fields with a look of slight panic. Did I just escape an almost-certain shark attack brought on by a 450-million-year-old uncontrollable feeding frenzy instinct?
“No, you’re fine,” Fields reassured me.
Turns out, the assumption that human blood attracts sharks is one of the many misconceptions that have conspired to give the apex predator of the seas an unfairly bad rap.
“Of course they have the capacity to smell your blood, but that tiny drop of blood isn’t going to create any real scent,” she said.
As I considered objecting to her characterization — it was more than “a tiny drop” of my blood — she calmly informed me that sharks crave fish blood, not human blood. I had never heard that, in more than a decade of producing stories about these fearsome yet misunderstood animals.
“Think of it like this,” Fields said, “you can smell both rotting garbage and a freshly baked tray of cookies. But you don’t really want to go check out the garbage, while you definitely will check out the cookies.”
Reeling a bit from being compared to rotting garbage, I asked for some proof on the subject.
A few years ago, she said, researchers in the Bahamas ran an experiment where they put human blood in the water with a bunch of sharks — and the sharks didn’t really have a significant reaction. But when the researchers put fish blood in the water, those same sharks went crazy. You can see that video below:
“So it’s just showing they’re not really driven toward the smell of human blood, at least not the way that people think,” she said. “You know, like if they have a little cut, it’s going to be the end of the world.”
And just like that, my chance to gloat, to revel in risking life and limb for the sake of journalism, had dissolved like tiny drops in a big blue ocean.
A drone photo captured off the coast of Hartenbos, South Africa, has wowed views with the number of sharks spotted, especially as the population seemed to have dispersed in recent years.
At first glance, the ariel photo of Mossel Bay shared to Facebook by user Drone Fanatics SA might seem like another shot of the coastline, but drone photographer Christiaan Stopforth pointed out there is more lurking in the depths of the sea.
Look close enough and you might be able to spot “not one, not two, but five great white sharks” swimming near the beach. (It’s harder than it looks!)
A drone image that shows five great white sharks in the waters. The photo was captured in Hartenbos, South Africa. A drone image that shows five great white sharks in the waters. The photo was captured in Hartenbos, South Africa. DRONE FANATICS SA
For all that do not live near shark-infested waters, five seems like a steep number for these kings of the ocean to be roaming near the coast. But drone photographer Christiaan Stopforth told Newsweek that in the past he’s seen numbers closer to 12 and 15 of sharks in the area.
Mossel Bay is known to be a “hot spot” for great white sharks with some 40 to 60 sharks stalking the area at any given point, Live Science reported. But those numbers have seemingly been affected after the true rulers of the sea came into the area.
“Since the orcas came through and killed some of the sharks, [the sharks] were gone for quite some time,” Stopforth said.
Orcas started turning to great white sharks in South Africa’s waters from 2017 to 2019, causing the great white populations to disperse, Newsweek previously reported.
Stopforth added that it is only now the great white numbers are starting to pick up again.
The impressive photo was captured the morning of February 5 and shared in a Facebook post later that day. As of Friday, the photo had over 5,000 likes, 1,100 comments, and 1,200 shares.
Admittedly, I could not find the sharks without looking at Stopforth’s highlighted photo. And now I know to never step foot in this great white shark hotspot. I’ll just appreciate their beauty from afar like a majority of the other Facebook users are doing.
A drone image captured five great white sharks near the coast. The photographer highlighted the location of each shark. A drone image captured five great white sharks near the coast. The photographer highlighted the location of each shark. DRONE FANATICS SA/Facebook
“Wow. So happy to see this! Such beautiful creatures,” commented Catharine Antonizzi.
Annamarie Nèe Schoeman-Aucamp Roux added: “We coming next month for our holiday. I love swimming in the sea, but I’ll give it a skip I think.”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
THIS is the chilling moment a fisherman battles with a monstrous great white shark after reeling the beast for an hour.
Shark expert Blaine Kenny singlehandedly captured a 12-foot, 1,200lb great white shark roaming along a Florida beach, on Wednesday.
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Shark expert Kenny single-handedly reeled in a 12-foot sharkCredit: YouTube/@ Coastal Worldwide
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Moment the fisherman draws out the beastCredit: YouTube/@ Coastal Worldwide
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Drone footage showing the great white sharkCredit: YouTube/@ Coastal Worldwide
Footage shows Kenny and his pal reeling in the giant beast for an hour before finally drawing the catch out of the water.
Kenny, who owns a shark fishing outfitter and fishing tour group set to catch the “biggest shark possible” with his business partner Dylan Wier on Tuesday night at Navarre Beach, about 25 miles east of Pensacola.
The duo set out on their ambitious mission – and used the “biggest bait possible” to lure sharks.
They put up the head of a 150-pound swordfish head and another head of an 80-pound yellowfin tuna, the New York Post reported.
On Wednesday morning, while scouting for a big catch, Kenny’s line saw a tug and he began to reel in the fish.
He went on for almost an hour, as the fish would repeatedly pull back into the water despite Kenny’s rigorous attempts to draw it out.
“We might have to end up chasing him at some point.”
“Weir, who was assisting Kenny as his spotter, started making predictions on what the sea creature could be.
“It’s a big, big wintertime shark,” he says.
“There’s only a few things it can be, a mako, a giant tiger, a white shark or the biggest dusky we’ve ever seen in our lives.
“We’re just going to play it out, not jump to assumptions, and really does it matter what’s on the other end of that line right now?
“We have one task at hand and the task is Blaine has to stay locked in. I have to stay locked in.”
After some serious efforts by Kenny, Weir starts an overhead search to see what the creature is using his drone.
And the duo soon realised they were reeling in a great white shark.
Truly words cannot describe the feeling of this fish right here
Blaine Kennyshark expert
Kenny eventually pulled the massive animal onto the shore – and quickly removed the hook from the shark.
It was then released back into the water.
An ecstatic Kenny said: “I’ve said it so many times before, but truly words cannot describe the feeling of this fish right here.”
Kenny has a long history with great white sharks, dating back to when he ended up embroiled in an epic 32-minute struggle with one after snagging a much bigger fish than intended.
A horror video captured the whole saga in which Kenny and another family were forced to fend off the great white after accidentally reeling it in while fishing.
The baby shark was thought to have been just a few hours old, according to experts, meaning it is the first ever great white shark to be seen so soon after birth.
For the first time, a live baby great white shark has been spotted in the wild.
The shark was around 5 feet long already and pure white, unlike its grey-colored adult counterparts, leading scientists to believe it could be a baby great white, according to a new paper discussing the finding in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes.
Great white sharks, known to scientists as white sharks, have never before been observed as juveniles, with their mating and reproduction being a long-standing mystery to marine biologists.
“Where white sharks give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science. No one has ever been able to pinpoint where they are born, nor has anyone seen a newborn baby shark alive,” wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna, who was one of the pair that spotted the shark, said in a statement. “There have been dead white sharks found inside deceased pregnant mothers. But nothing like this.”
A newborn great white shark filmed off the California coast near Santa Barbara. This may be the first-ever observation of a newborn great white. A newborn great white shark filmed off the California coast near Santa Barbara. This may be the first-ever observation of a newborn great white. Carlos Gauna/The Malibu Artist
The baby shark was sighted off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, on July 9, 2023, by Guana and Phillip Sternes, a UC Riverside biology doctoral student, who captured the rare occurrence on a drone camera.
“We enlarged the images, put them in slow motion, and realized the white layer was being shed from the body as it was swimming,” Sternes said in the statement. “I believe it was a newborn white shark shedding its embryonic layer.”
Great white sharks can grow to lengths of 16 feet and are listed as “vulnerable” worldwide and “critically endangered” in Europe on the IUCN Red List. These sharks give birth to live young, with the shark fetuses feeding on a sort of “milk” within their mothers’ wombs. This is what the researchers believe they saw surrounding the shark pup, giving it the white color.
“I believe what we saw was the baby shedding the intrauterine milk,” Sternes said.
The size and shape of the white-colored shark is around what would be expected for a newborn great white.
“In my opinion, this one was likely hours, maybe one day old at most,” Sternes said.
Another piece of evidence supporting this shark being a juvenile is the location: pregnant sharks had previously been observed in the same area, indicating that this may be a popular spot for the sharks to give birth.
“I filmed three very large sharks that appeared pregnant at this specific location in the days prior. On this day, one of them dove down, and not long afterwards, this fully white shark appears,” Gauna said. “It’s not a stretch to deduce where the baby came from.”
It was previously thought that great whites gave birth further out to sea, but this juvenile was spotted only around 1,000 feet from land, indicating that they may instead give birth in shallow waters. This area may, therefore, be a contender for research into great white shark reproduction and birth.
Stock image of a great white shark. Great white mating and reproduction have been a mystery to marine biologists. Stock image of a great white shark. Great white mating and reproduction have been a mystery to marine biologists. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
“There are a lot of hypothetical areas, but despite intense interest in these sharks, no one’s seen a birth or a newborn pup in the wild,” Sternes said. “This may well be the first evidence we have of a pup in the wild, making this a definitive birthing location.”
In the paper, the authors note that it is possible that the shark’s white color may not be because it was a juvenile but instead due to a skin condition of some form. However, they are fairly certain that it was indeed a newborn great white.
“If that is what we saw, then that too is monumental because no such condition has ever been reported for these sharks,” Gauna said.
“Further research is needed to confirm these waters are indeed a great white breeding ground. But if it does, we would want lawmakers to step in and protect these waters to help white sharks keep thriving,” Sternes said.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about great white sharks? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Rugby elation to rugby heartache, a footballing managerial merry-go-round, golfing greatness, boxing blockbusters and so much more. The 2023 Irish sporting landscape had a little bit of everything. Here, Sky Sports takes a look back at the highs and lows of the year.
It was a year in Irish rugby that saw historical success, huge expectation, unprecedented hope, and ultimately, heartbreak perhaps worse than ever before.
Towards the start of the year, Andy Farrell’s Ireland – ranked world No 1 since July 2022 – secured a sensational Six Nations Grand Slam.
Wales were blown away 34-10 on the opening weekend in Cardiff to sour Warren Gatland’s homecoming, while Round 2 saw one of the best contests in the history of the championship as Ireland put in a near-perfect display to beat reigning champions France 32-19 in Dublin.
From then, Farrell’s charges were favourites for the title, seeing off Italy in Rome, Scotland at Murrayfield despite a raft of injuries, and finally, England in Dublin to lift the Six Nations trophy and Triple Crown.
Ireland beat England on the last day of the Six Nations to clinch the Grand Slam on home soil for the first time
The warm glow continued during the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup as Ireland won all four matches, beating eventual champions South Africa in a Paris epic, and a ruthless dismantling of Scotland clinched top spot in Pool B and extended their winning streak to 17 matches.
Ireland’s quarter-final opponents were New Zealand due to a brutally lopsided draw, but the nation was now convinced this was their greatest chance for World Cup glory and to break their awful record of never having won a quarter-final.
Although Ireland had beaten the All Blacks in three of the previous four meetings, they didn’t perform to anywhere near their peak levels, while New Zealand produced their best performance in years.
Ireland fought back from 13-0 down to narrow the half-time gap to a single point at 18-17, but as the game ebbed and flowed on a knife’s edge, their inability to strike in the 22 enough proved a major factor as the All Blacks inflicted yet another agonising last-eight exit.
Ireland’s 2023 ended in devastating fashion with another quarter-final exit at the World Cup, at the hands of New Zealand for the second-straight tournament
Skipper Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls retired in the aftermath, bringing to an end stellar careers, but also a sense Ireland’s true time to become world champions had been lost.
Farrell has committed to Ireland until after the 2027 World Cup and is odds-on to lead to the British and Irish Lions in Australia in 2027. The rebuild starts now and the big question is who dons the No 10 shirt in Marseille on February 2.
Within provincial rugby, there were contrasting fortunes for Leinster and Munster. The men in blue dominated the majority of the season, only to lose late on to their arch-rivals in Dublin in the URC semi-finals, and then in the Champions Cup final again a week later to La Rochelle – this time after sprinting out to 17-0 and 23-7 leads at the Aviva Stadium. The loss was Leinster’s third in succession in European Cup finals.
Munster began the season terribly, losing five from their first seven fixtures under new head coach Graham Rowntree, but though much of the campaign was spent worrying about qualification for Europe, a remarkable final season run away from home of four wins and a draw saw them all the way to the URC final against the Stormers in Cape Town, and a superb 19-14 success – the province’s first silverware since 2011.
Like previous campaigns, Leinster have made a strong start to the season both on the domestic and European front, but it has been a mixed bag so far for the other three, with inconsistency a common theme.
Women’s rugby at lowest ebb
While men’s rugby in Ireland is in a good place, the women’s game endured one of the worst years in its history.
Ireland finished a gruesome 2023 Women’s Six Nations dead last with the Wooden Spoon after losing all five matches by an average margin of over 30 points.
They were then placed into the third tier of the new WXV tournament during October, the result of which meant they played Kazakhstan, Colombia and Spain – beating the latter only due to a try with five minutes to play.
The side has gone from Six Nations champions in 2015 to bottom of the pile in 2023, having failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 2022 too.
Captain Nicola Fryday retired from international rugby at the age of just 28 – the second captain of the women’s side to do so in two years after Claire Molly in late 2021, who still plays for Bristol in Premiership Women’s Rugby.
Ireland came last in the 2023 Women’s Six Nations, losing all five of their matches
All the while, the IRFU has come under huge scrutiny for their running of the women’s game. While France, England, Wales and Scotland have all professionalised their women’s teams, the same cannot be said of Ireland.
In April, an unnamed player expressed concerns of sexism in a Telegraph report, with the IRFU likened to an “old boys club”, with allegations players were denied protein supplements as they prepared for a summer tour to Japan and that the switch from white to blue shorts over period concerns was done without proper consultation with the squad.
The anonymous player also alleged squad members learnt they were dropped via email, with some omitted from mailing lists, while the IRFU are also said to have refused to explore the option of a “hybrid contracts” – a specific request from players – with the union instead favouring a “full-time or nothing attitude.”
The IRFU disputed all the claims in a statement, but as high performance director David Nucifora’s impending exit was confirmed – David Humphreys will replace him in 2024 – it was noteworthy there was no response from anyone in the women’s game.
Football: Republic of Ireland’s World Cup odyssey ends in management change
It was, for reasons good and bad, a landmark year for the Republic of Ireland women’s team.
All roads led to Australia and New Zealand, where Ireland made their maiden major tournament bow at the World Cup. In itself a historic achievement, but performances on the pitch struggled to catch fire while off-field issues overshadowed the build-up and conclusion.
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Vera Pauw strongly denied allegations against her of body-shaming and inappropriate behaviour during her time at Houston Dash
Vera Pauw strongly denied allegations against her of body-shaming and inappropriate behaviour during her time at Houston Dash
Just weeks before the tournament began, allegations of body shaming were made against Ireland manager Vera Pauw, relating to her time in charge of Houston Dash in the USA’s National Women’s Soccer League. Pauw strongly denied the allegations, but they undeniably cast a shadow over Ireland’s preparations.
Captain Katie McCabe’s wonder goal in their second game against Canada was the highlight of a tournament which ended for Ireland after the group stage, having lost to Australia and Canada before drawing with Nigeria.
Pauw departed upon conclusion of the World Cup, with the FAI opting not to extend her contract.
Captain Katie McCabe scored directly from a corner to put Ireland ahead against Canada, but they could not hold on to the lead
Eileen Gleeson, assistant under Pauw, was appointed interim manager and guided the team through an outstanding Nations League campaign. Ireland won all six of their games, scoring 20 goals and conceding just two – ensuring they will be in League A for the Euro 2025 qualifiers.
That success no doubt informed the FAI’s decision to hand Gleeson the reins on a permanent basis on December 18, with the Dubliner now tasked with leading their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.
It was also a year of change for Northern Ireland, who themselves were on a managerial hunt after Kenny Shiels departed in January following a four-year stint which saw the team reach their first major tournament at Euro 2022.
Former Chelsea assistant coach Tanya Oxtoby took up the reins in August, and oversaw a Nations League campaign in which Northern Ireland recorded two wins, a draw and three losses.
A third-placed finish in their group means they face a two-legged play-off with Montenegro in February, where they must win to avoid dropping into League C for the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers.
Time runs out for Kenny and O’Neill’s return fails to spark NI response
Like their female counterparts, the Republic of Ireland men’s team opted for a change of manager.
After three and a half years in charge, Stephen Kenny left upon expiry of his contract after a disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Drawn in a group with France and the Netherlands, a top-two finish was always a tall order, but Ireland never gave themselves a chance of reaching next summer’s tournament. They won just two of their eight games, both against minnows Gibraltar, and there was little clamour for Kenny to be given another bite at the cherry as Ireland seek a fresh start.
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Former Ireland international Stephen Kelly admits he wasn’t surprised to hear that the Football Association of Ireland won’t be renewing Stephen Kenny’s contract
Former Ireland international Stephen Kelly admits he wasn’t surprised to hear that the Football Association of Ireland won’t be renewing Stephen Kenny’s contract
As for Northern Ireland, hope abounded as Michael O’Neill – back for a second stint as manager having previously taken the side to Euro 2016 – returned to guide them through what looked on paper to be a very favourable Euro 2024 qualifying group.
However, disappointing early home losses to Finland and Kazakhstan, coupled by a defeat by Denmark in Copenhagen, realistically ended NI’s hopes of qualification after only four games.
A 2-0 win over Denmark in their final qualifier in November did however see Northern Ireland bow out with a spring in their step.
Having struggled with injuries, O’Neill will hope to have some key faces back to pair with his young players in 2024.
Golf: McIlroy and Maguire bring it home for Europe
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Relive Rory McIlroy’s two wins, which saw him claim a fifth Race to Dubai title, and his starring role in Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph.
Relive Rory McIlroy’s two wins, which saw him claim a fifth Race to Dubai title, and his starring role in Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph.
It was another year to remember for Ireland’s golfers with Rory McIlroy once again leading the charge.
A Scottish Open win took his tally of PGA Tour titles to 24, before the world No 2 claimed the Race to Dubai title for the fifth time. However, McIlroy’s 2023 peaked in the early autumn heat of Rome.
After a poor display at Whistling Straights in 2021 ended in tears, McIlroy turned the page on his own Ryder Cup story to claim four points from a possible five at Marco Simone to finish as the highest individual scorer in the 2023 competition. Leading the charge both on the course and off it, when he became involved in a heated car-park confrontation with Team USA caddy Joe LaCava, as Europe regained the trophy.
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Andrew Coltart provided his thoughts on one of the moments of the golfing year, where Rory McIlroy had a dispute with caddie Joe LaCava at the Ryder Cup. You can listen to the Sky Sports Golf Podcast now
Andrew Coltart provided his thoughts on one of the moments of the golfing year, where Rory McIlroy had a dispute with caddie Joe LaCava at the Ryder Cup. You can listen to the Sky Sports Golf Podcast now
Despite the successes, the hunt for the elusive fifth major goes into another year after some more near-misses at the flagship events.
McIlroy came second at the US Open behind Wyndham Clark, while there were top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship and The Open. He remains one of the game’s leading lights, and the Holywood man now enters 2024 hoping to claim a major title for the first time in a decade.
His compatriot Shane Lowry also played his part in Europe’s Ryder Cup redemption, winning 1.5 points from three matches while also claiming three top-20 finishes in 2023’s majors.
It was a breakthrough year for 20-year-old Tom McKibbin, who became Irish golf’s youngest tour winner since McIlroy (who hails from the same town in County Down) when he won the DP World Tour’s European Open in June.
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Maguire claimed three crucial points as Europe retained the Solheim Cup having lost the opening day foursomes 4-0
Maguire claimed three crucial points as Europe retained the Solheim Cup having lost the opening day foursomes 4-0
Meanwhile, Cavan’s Leona Maguire enjoyed another fruitful year, the highlight of which came at the Solheim Cup.
Maguire shone, as she did on tournament debut in 2021, winning three points including a crucial 4&3 win over Rose Zhang as Europe retained the cup after a 14-14 draw.
Maguire also claimed her second LGPA Tour title as a spectacular final round saw her clinch a two-shot win at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
A good year could have been a great one, with Maguire taking a one-shot lead into the final round of the Women’s PGA Championship, before shooting a disappointing 74 on the final day with China’s Ruoning Yin winning the major. Maguire’s compatriot Stephanie Meadow impressed at the tournament, finishing tied for third.
Boxing: Revenge for Taylor after first pro defeat as five qualify for Olympics
The main headline from an Irish boxing perspective this year saw Olympic legend Katie Taylor suffer the first defeat of her professional career at the 23rd attempt, losing to England’s Chantelle Cameron in Dublin by majority decision in May.
Seeking revenge, Taylor fought Cameron again on November 25 in Dublin, becoming a two-weight undisputed world champion when she showed her mettle to win by majority decision. Taylor has since said she would fight Cameron again, and has made no secret of her desire to do so at Croke Park.
Elsewhere in the Irish boxing world, Belfast’s Michael Conlan suffered two defeats in 2023, having only previously lost once in 19 professional bouts. The 32-year-old lost to Mexico’s Luis Alberto Lopez by TKO in the fifth round of their fight in May for the IBF featherweight title, and then lost to Englishman Jordan Gill by TKO in the seventh round on December 2 for the vacant WBA International super-featherweight title.
Earlier this year, Kellie Harrington, Ireland’s Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, and four other Irish boxers qualified for the Paris Olympics: Aoife O’Rourke, Jack Marley, Michaela Walsh, Dean Clancy. Roscommon’s O’Rourke and Dublin’s Marley are considered exciting medal prospects.
GAA: Dublin at the double as Limerick continue dominance
Dublin captain Carla Rowe (left) and Leah Caffrey lift the Brendan Martin Cup after their All-Ireland final victory over Kerry
Just when you thought the Dubs were in a downturn.
After a three-year absence, the Sam Maguire and Brendan Martin Cups are back residing in the capital. Their previous stays were lengthy ones, six and four years respectively, but football is a much more competitive environment these days.
The Dublin’s women’s team will attest to that, having watched neighbours Meath rise from the intermediate ranks and win back-to-back All-Irelands at senior level. Plenty of motivation, then, and Dublin lay down a marker by twice beating the defending champions in the Leinster Championship.
A two-point home loss to Kerry in the All-Ireland group stages proved a momentary setback. Dublin’s winning margin across the next three games was over 15 points as they booked a return date with a Kingdom side chasing a league and championship double.
A first final in the women’s code between these two footballing heavyweights was all but over by the interval, Dublin leading by seven after former Ireland rugby international Hannah Tyrrell kicked eight first-half points. With Mick Bohan on board for an eighth season as manager, they will again be among the frontrunners in 2024.
James McCarthy, Stephen Cluxton and Michael Fitzsimons are no strangers to getting their hands on the Sam Maguire Cup
The Dublin men’s team timed their run to perfection as they became the first non-Division One team to win the All-Ireland since Armagh in 2002.
Dessie Farrell’s side began the year in the unfamiliar surrounds of the league’s second tier, which allowed them to stay under the radar and slowly build up a head of steam.
After yet another cakewalk in Leinster – it’s now 13 provincial titles in a row and 18 in 19 seasons – a below-par draw with Roscommon in the All-Ireland group stages provided Dublin with a timely shot in the arm. They powered to a mouth-watering final with defending champions Kerry, for whom David Clifford was shooting the lights out all summer. However, the Kingdom talisman was unable to hit his usual high standards in the decider, and a late scoring burst saw Dublin home.
Captain James McCarthy has committed to another season as he chases a record-equalling 10th All-Ireland medal, while Stephen Cluxton could follow suit as the Boys in Blue look to retain their crown.
Derry, with Mickey Harte at the helm, will have something to say about that, as will the likes of Armagh, Galway and Kerry. However, Gaelic football remains a sport in crisis, blighted by packed defences and incessant handpassing. Armagh and Crossmaglen great Aaron Kernan described the sport in its current guise as “boring” and “monotonous” and warned it could get even worse before it gets better, while the split season continues to divide.
Aaron Gillane was Limerick’s leading scorer with 3-47 in seven championship matches
No such concerns in hurling, split season aside, as Limerick head into 2024 bidding to become the first county to win five All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships in a row.
They recovered from a loss to Clare in the Munster Championship group stages, their first championship defeat since 2019, to book a rematch with their neighbours in the final, where a one-point success secured a fifth consecutive provincial title.
Limerick reinforced their reputation as a second-half team with devastating performances at Croke Park, overturning half-time deficits against both Galway and Kilkenny in the semi-finals and final respectively. John Kiely’s men saved their best performance for the final, outscoring the Cats by 0-19 to 0-5 in a majestic final half-hour. Can anyone stop their drive for five?
Cork captain Amy O’Connor completes her incredible hat-trick against Waterford
Speaking of majestic, Amy O’Connor was Cork’s hero as they ended their five-year wait for an All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship.
O’Connor produced one of the moments of the year when she smashed a hat-trick in less than two minutes during their dominant victory over a Waterford side appearing in their first All-Ireland final since 1945.
Olympics: Record medal haul should be target in Paris
The sky is the limit for 21-year-old sensation Rhasidat Adeleke
Ireland record medal tally at an Olympics came in 2012 when they won six in London, and hopes are high they can match or perhaps even better that in Paris this summer.
Tallaght sensation Rhasidat Adeleke has enjoyed a record-breaking 12 months and her upward curve will continue after deciding to turn professional. Rhys McClenaghan (pommel horse) is a back-to-back world champion while freestyle swimmer Daniel Wiffen will be targeting a medal in Paris after smashing the 800m world record.
Daniel Wiffen smashed the 800m freestyle world record by almost three seconds
In Ciara Mageean and Sarah Healy Ireland possess two serious competitors in the 1500m. Mageean finished fourth in world-class company at the World Championships last August, with Healy joining the Down athlete and Sonia O’Sullivan as the only Irishwomen to run the 1500m in under four minutes.
Throw in Ireland’s rowing stars – Olympic gold medallists Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan claimed their third World Championship in September – and the long list of boxing contenders headed by Kellie Harrington, and this has the potential to be a ground-breaking Games.
MEXICO CITY — A Belgian tourist was killed in an attack Thursday by either a shark or a crocodile at Mexico’s Pacific coast resort of Zihuatanejo, officials said.
The civil defense office in the southern state of Guerrero said a man and a woman were bitten in the legs by an unidentified animal.
The man was reported dead at the scene, while the woman was taken to a hospital. State officials said the man was from Belgium and the woman’s nationality was not immediately clear.
The office said it was studying the wounds to determine whether they were bitten by a shark or a crocodile, both of which inhabit the area.
If confirmed as a shark attack, it would be the second such fatality this month on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast.
In early December, a Mexican woman died after she was severely bitten in the leg by a shark just off the beach town of Melaque, west of the seaport of Manzanillo.
In 2019, a U.S. diver survived a shark bite on the forearm in Magdalena Bay off the Baja California Sur coast.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A female tourist from Boston was killed Monday by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas, police told reporters.
The victim, who was not identified, was attacked less than a mile off the western end of New Providence island, where the capital, Nassau, is located. She was paddleboarding with a man who was not injured, according to Police Sgt. Desiree Ferguson.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences…for this most unfortunate situation,” she said.
Police said a lifeguard rescued both people with a boat upon seeing what was happening, but the woman suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body and was declared dead at the scene despite CPR efforts.
It was not immediately clear what type of shark attacked the woman. A police superintendent did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.
Gavin Naylor, director of the International Shark Attack File in Florida, said in an interview that there have been a couple of shark-related fatalities reported in the Bahamas in the past five years.
He noted that the Bahamas has a “huge” tourist population, adding that there are a lot of people in the water and a lot of visitors who want to view sharks from a fishing boat or dive with them.
“So the sharks get acclimated, and the animals are a little bit less cautious than they otherwise might be,” he said.
Between 30 to 40 shark species live around the Bahamas, although the Caribbean reef shark, the bull shark, the tiger shark and the black tip shark have the highest bite frequency, Naylor said.
“Usually, it’s an accidental bite. They think it’s something else,” he said. “Once in a while, they’ll actually single out people, and it’s very intentional.”
Shark attacks are rare, with only an average of five to six attacks reported worldwide a year, with most of them occurring in Australia, Naylor said.
At least 33 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in the Bahamas since 1580, with the island ranking ninth worldwide, according to the International Shark Attack File.
The Nassau Guardian newspaper reported that authorities in the Bahamas are still searching for a German woman who went missing late last month after she was apparently attacked while diving.
Last year, a shark killed a U.S. cruise ship passenger from Pennsylvania who was snorkeling in the northern Bahamas near Green Cay.
Most shark attacks in the Caribbean occur in the Bahamas, although a rare shark attack was reported in the French Caribbean territory of St. Martin three years ago.
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Ugo Monye, who now works as a TV pundit, revealed on social media a supporter repeatedly targeted him with a racist insult after Exeter Chiefs’ victory over Gloucester; Police have “made contact” with a man in connection with the incident
Last Updated: 22/11/23 1:08pm
Ugo Monye says he was a victim of ‘blatant racism’ at Exeter’s Sandy Park on Sunday
Police have “made contact” with a man in connection with the alleged racist
abuse suffered by former England international Ugo Monye after Sunday’s match between Exeter and Gloucester.
The 40-year-old ex-Harlequins player, now a television pundit, said the incident occurred as he was leaving Sandy Park following the Chiefs’ 25-24 Gallagher Premiership victory.
Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement: “We have identified and made contact with a man in connection to the incident and we are in the process of speaking to the victim.
“Our enquiries are currently ongoing into the incident.”
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Monye wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that one supporter running through the crowd repeatedly shouted a racist insult.
He added: “Disgraceful. Not a single person said a word, challenged or even reported it.
“He walks off after a mild scuffle and fans are now telling me ‘We’re with you’ B******S you’re with me. You weren’t with me when you saw and heard the most blatant racism I’ve seen from a supporter at a live game. So fed up.”
Exeter swiftly issued a statement vowing to investigate the matter and apologising to Monye.
It read: “In light of recent accusations regarding an incident of racist abuse at Sandy Park following the conclusion of our victory over Gloucester in the Gallagher Premiership, Exeter will be launching a full investigation.
“This behaviour will not be tolerated at our rugby club, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.
Devon & Cornwall Police later confirmed they were investigating the incident.
In a statement released on Tuesday, superintendent Antony Hart said: “We take all reports of hate crime extremely seriously and we will not tolerate this behaviour.
“Anyone who has any information regarding this incident is asked to contact police quoting 258 20/11/23. Reporting makes a difference and can prevent these incidents happening to someone else.”
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The Rugby Football Union said in its own statement on Monday: “We are appalled by the racist abuse Ugo Monye faced following the Exeter Chiefs game against Gloucester.
“Ugo is a great champion of rugby, inclusion, and diversity; he has our full support. Racism cannot be accepted in our sport.
“Rugby authorities, clubs, fans, players and volunteers must all act consistently and without tolerance to any form of abuse of discrimination.”
France captain Antoine Dupont is set to take a break from the 15-a-side game in order to focus on sevens in the build up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris; the decision is set to be announced on Monday
Last Updated: 15/11/23 5:59pm
France’s Antoine Dupont is set to announce his intention to miss the Six Nations in order to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games
France captain Antoine Dupont is set to miss next year’s Six Nations in order to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The French rugby federation (FFR) told AFP the news on Wednesday, with the decision coming just a month after the disappointment of an early World Cup exit.
Dupont, 27, is set to miss the Six Nations, held between February 2 – March 16 next year in order to participate in legs of the World Rugby seven-a-side circuit, now known as SVNS.
His club Toulouse, the FFR and Dupont are set to hold a press conference on Monday, 250 days from the start of the Games, when they are expected to announce Dupont’s intentions.
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Members of the France squad and head coach Fabien Galthie criticise the standard of refereeing following their quarter-final defeat to South Africa
Members of the France squad and head coach Fabien Galthie criticise the standard of refereeing following their quarter-final defeat to South Africa
Dupont will join France’s sevens squad in January before SVNS events in Vancouver, Canada on February 23-24 and Los Angeles on March 2-3.
Scrum-half Dupont’s most recent 15-a-side appearance for France was last month’s agonising World Cup quarter-final defeat to eventual winners South Africa at the Stade de France.
The stadium in northern Paris will also host next July’s sevens competitions, for men and women, at the Olympics.
As far back as last December, Dupont opened the door to playing in the event, which first featured in the Olympics in 2016.
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Despite thrashing Namibia 96-0 for their biggest win ever, the Rugby World Cup hosts will be concerned to have seen Antoine Dupont go off in the second half with an injury
Despite thrashing Namibia 96-0 for their biggest win ever, the Rugby World Cup hosts will be concerned to have seen Antoine Dupont go off in the second half with an injury
“It’s highly motivating,” Dupont told RTL.
“It’s incredible when you see the enthusiasm it can create. There is a desire from my side to put things in place for me to participate.
“It will be a discussion between the different coaching staffs,” he added.
A host of other leading 15-a-side players have featured at past Olympic Games including South Africa winger Cheslin Kolbe and former New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams, who have both won the World Cup twice.
Fiji have won the two men’s gold medals since seven-a-side rugby was introduced into the Olympics with the longer format of the sport having last featured in 1924.
The absence of Dupont in the Six Nations will force France head coach Fabien Galthie to name a new captain and starting scrum-half for the Six Nations, which they start against Ireland on February 2.
