Shark kills swimmer in southern California - April 25th, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — An apparent great white shark attacked and killed a 66-year-old man as he swam with a local triathlon club at a popular beach near San Diego in California.
A friend identified the victim as Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian who had lived in the area since 1970. Officials said he had been swimming together with eight fellow members of the triathlon club at the time.
The rare attack took place just after sunrise at Solana Beach north of San Diego and some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Los Angeles, the local sheriff's office reported.
The shark was "almost certainly" an adult great white shark, said Richard Rosenblatt with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
In a press conference, Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejean said residents were "shocked and dismayed" at the incident.
"I want to implore everybody to please stay out of the water," he added.
Deputy Fire Chief Dismas Abelman said the swimmers, who had all been wearing full wet suits, were pulling Martin out of the ocean when help arrived.
"The victim was dead from an attack from a large marine animal, a shark attack," he said, adding Martin died as a result of "severe injuries to both legs."
"It was typical great white shark behavior to attack from below, make a bite and then draw away," said Rosenblatt, adding that the animal normally feasts on sea mammals like seals.
He described Martin's wounds as "quite clean and massive" and believes the shark measured between 3.7 and five meters (12 and 17 feet) long.
Paddleboarders venture out after fatal SoCal shark attack - April 27th, 2008
SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A few paddleboarders ignored posted signs warning that a great white shark still could be lurking below the surface Saturday, just a day after a swimmer was killed in a rare attack near San Diego.
"It's like going to see 'Jaws' — getting in the water the next day, all you could think about was the music," said Bob Rief, 63, who was teaching a friend how to stand up on a paddleboard. "But if you're afraid of the ocean, you shouldn't be in it."
The San Diego-area native was worried that the attack would scare away vacationers or weekend beachgoers and hurt businesses. Solana Beach is 14 miles northwest of San Diego.
Despite the summer-like temperatures and cloudless skies that normally lure large crowds, beaches were mostly empty near where triathlete David Martin was killed Friday.
A shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted Martin, 66, out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding the retired veterinarian's black wetsuit.
An autopsy Saturday confirmed that Martin bled to death, as authorities had believed, the San Diego County medical examiner's office said.
About eight miles of shoreline from San Diego north to Carlsbad remained under advisory closure Saturday as sheriff's helicopters scanned the shore for signs of the shark — and for unwitting swimmers.
The beaches in San Diego will be patrolled throughout the weekend, according to city and county officials. A weekend surfing competition in Encinitas, a seaside town north of the attack, was canceled because of safety concerns.
Few surfers dotted the normally crowded breaks off Tide Beach Park or Cardiff State Beach — perhaps as much because of shark fears as weak swells.
"I thought twice only because the waves are so small," said Lynn Richardson, 63, a retiree who nosed his orange kayak straight out toward Tabletop Reef, where the shark struck. A lifeguard with a megaphone called Richardson in for a stern talking-to but shrugged after Richardson said he was willing to play the odds.
Shark expert Richard Rosenblatt said Friday that, judging by Martin's wounds and the nature of the attack, the shark probably was a great white 12 to 17 feet long. Experts said the likelihood of finding the shark that attacked Martin was slim.
Great white sharks are rare in Southern California, though female great whites sometimes come south from their usual territory in the cooler waters of the central and northern coast to pup. Few make the mistake of attacking humans instead of seals or sea lions, their usual prey.
Martin was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994, when a woman's body was found with bites off Ocean Beach, near downtown San Diego.
The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place Aug. 15, 2004, off the coast of Mendocino County. The victim was a man diving for shellfish with a friend. On Aug. 19, 2003, a female swimmer was killed by a great white at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast.
Overall, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 reported worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006. Only one attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal, according to the University of Florida.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Shark kills swimmer in southern California - April 25th, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — An apparent great white shark attacked and killed a 66-year-old man as he swam with a local triathlon club at a popular beach near San Diego in California.
A friend identified the victim as Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian who had lived in the area since 1970. Officials said he had been swimming together with eight fellow members of the triathlon club at the time.
The rare attack took place just after sunrise at Solana Beach north of San Diego and some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Los Angeles, the local sheriff's office reported.
The shark was "almost certainly" an adult great white shark, said Richard Rosenblatt with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
In a press conference, Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejean said residents were "shocked and dismayed" at the incident.
"I want to implore everybody to please stay out of the water," he added.
Deputy Fire Chief Dismas Abelman said the swimmers, who had all been wearing full wet suits, were pulling Martin out of the ocean when help arrived.
"The victim was dead from an attack from a large marine animal, a shark attack," he said, adding Martin died as a result of "severe injuries to both legs."
"It was typical great white shark behavior to attack from below, make a bite and then draw away," said Rosenblatt, adding that the animal normally feasts on sea mammals like seals.
He described Martin's wounds as "quite clean and massive" and believes the shark measured between 3.7 and five meters (12 and 17 feet) long.
Paddleboarders venture out after fatal SoCal shark attack - April 27th, 2008
SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A few paddleboarders ignored posted signs warning that a great white shark still could be lurking below the surface Saturday, just a day after a swimmer was killed in a rare attack near San Diego.
"It's like going to see 'Jaws' — getting in the water the next day, all you could think about was the music," said Bob Rief, 63, who was teaching a friend how to stand up on a paddleboard. "But if you're afraid of the ocean, you shouldn't be in it."
The San Diego-area native was worried that the attack would scare away vacationers or weekend beachgoers and hurt businesses. Solana Beach is 14 miles northwest of San Diego.
Despite the summer-like temperatures and cloudless skies that normally lure large crowds, beaches were mostly empty near where triathlete David Martin was killed Friday.
A shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted Martin, 66, out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding the retired veterinarian's black wetsuit.
An autopsy Saturday confirmed that Martin bled to death, as authorities had believed, the San Diego County medical examiner's office said.
About eight miles of shoreline from San Diego north to Carlsbad remained under advisory closure Saturday as sheriff's helicopters scanned the shore for signs of the shark — and for unwitting swimmers.
The beaches in San Diego will be patrolled throughout the weekend, according to city and county officials. A weekend surfing competition in Encinitas, a seaside town north of the attack, was canceled because of safety concerns.
Few surfers dotted the normally crowded breaks off Tide Beach Park or Cardiff State Beach — perhaps as much because of shark fears as weak swells.
"I thought twice only because the waves are so small," said Lynn Richardson, 63, a retiree who nosed his orange kayak straight out toward Tabletop Reef, where the shark struck. A lifeguard with a megaphone called Richardson in for a stern talking-to but shrugged after Richardson said he was willing to play the odds.
Shark expert Richard Rosenblatt said Friday that, judging by Martin's wounds and the nature of the attack, the shark probably was a great white 12 to 17 feet long. Experts said the likelihood of finding the shark that attacked Martin was slim.
Great white sharks are rare in Southern California, though female great whites sometimes come south from their usual territory in the cooler waters of the central and northern coast to pup. Few make the mistake of attacking humans instead of seals or sea lions, their usual prey.
Martin was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994, when a woman's body was found with bites off Ocean Beach, near downtown San Diego.
The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place Aug. 15, 2004, off the coast of Mendocino County. The victim was a man diving for shellfish with a friend. On Aug. 19, 2003, a female swimmer was killed by a great white at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast.
Overall, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 reported worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006. Only one attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal, according to the University of Florida.
