Reeeally big shark attacks surfer
With his bare hands an Australian surfer fought off a shark that thought he was lunch – the BBC reports:
“He was just sitting on the board waiting for the next wave… and it just hit him from underneath and knocked him off, then actually just took his board and was dragging him and he had to pull his leg rope off to actually get away from it,” paramedic Dean George told local radio.
“It came back again so he pushed it away with his hand,” Mr George said.
Man fights off five-metre shark – BBC News, 26 September 2005
(emphasis mine)
Wow! A five-meter-shark (15 feet) with his bare hands!
Except that when you follow this story south, the story actually changes. The South African Independent reports:
Australians marvelled on Monday at the valour of a surfer who fought a four-metre Great White shark and survived with only a few gashes to his legs.
Josh Berris, 26, had his death-defying moment on Sunday at Kangaroo Island near Adelaide.
Surfer tells of birthday battle with shark, The Independent Online, South Africa – September 26 2005.
(emphasis mine)
OK – a four-meter-shark (12 feet) – that’s a really big shark!
Look at this story from Australia (where the incident happened):
The surfer, 26-year-old Josh Berris, suffered lacerations to both legs after being attacked at a renowned seal breeding area off the island about midday (CST) yesterday.
Mr Berris put a hand in the shark’s mouth to push it away during the attack, which happened while he was surfing with four friends near Cape du Couedic on the island’s south-western tip.
Two of his friends dragged an injured Mr Berris from the water and pulled him onto rocks at a cliffbase, before climbing up steep cliffs to make an emergency call from a nearby ranger station.
Mr Berris remained in stable condition in Adelaide’s Flinders Medical Centre today.
Witness Dave Dowie said the shark, more than two metres long, circled around its victim after the initial attack.
Surfer survives shark attack, News.com.au (AAP story) – 26-09-2005.
(emphasis mine)
OVER TWO METERS! More than 6 feet! That’s still a big shark. But it is funny how the shark grew as the story travelled North …