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Shark Attack near Cape Town South Africa

CNN LINKY

This image was absolutely stunning! Kudos to the shoot who caught this...
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/WORLD/af....africa.ap.jpg

Great Whites are storied predators whose lore has inspired many tales of their devastatingly ferocious attacks.
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/WORLD/af...rk.body.ap.jpg

Great Whites are arguably the most feared of all sharks.
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/WORLD/af...rk.jaws.ap.jpg

Quote:

18ft shark attacks beach swimmer - Elderly South African woman feared dead

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Posted: 4:50 AM EST (0950 GMT)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- A Great White shark estimated to be at least 18 feet long (5.5 meters) has attacked and presumably killed an elderly South African woman off a beach near Cape Town, officials said.

Tyna Webb, 77, who lived in the area, was swimming Monday off Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek when the massive shark circled her and then attacked, witnesses and officials said.

About 15 people witnessed the attack.

"All that was left was a little red bathing cap," said Paul Dennett, who witnessed the attack from his home nearby.

Dennett told the South African Press Association that he estimated the shark to be at least 18 feet long.

Rescue workers were using boats and aircraft to search for the woman's body.

"All efforts to find the lady have been exhausted by a wide and thorough search. We are hoping that police divers will be successful in their efforts," Darren Zimmerman of the National Sea Rescue Institute told the SAPA.

Crews later spotted the shark.

Great Whites often are seen in the area feeding off the large seal population.

"The shark is bigger than the helicopter ... it is huge," institute spokesman Craig Lambinon told SAPA.

Law enforcement officials advised people not to swim along the Cape of Good Hope.

A 16-year-old surfer lost his right leg in an April attack by a Great White shark in the same area.

The last confirmed, unprovoked fatal shark attack in South Africa was in 2003, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File, which has gathered such data worldwide for decades.

Well, we are in THEIR house when we swim in the ocean.
Shit happens, and it happens even faster when you leave it to a hungry predator.

Can't blame the sharks. There are some places I won't go swimming. I watched a show on the Discovery channel while I was on vacation in Flordia about shark attacks. It said that many of the attacks occur in only a few feet of water. I was too freaked out when I went to the beach the next day to get in the water. Oh well, I figure if it's going to happen it will. I like the ocean too much to stay out of it.

We may be the #1 predator on land, but in the sea. . . you better be prepared. I would not want to see one of these. Yet they are the end, the top of the food chain which important.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avhg1

I remember that on that same program, it said that more people dies annualy from falling coconuts that from shark attacks. I even know this girl whose mother died because a cow fell over their car. Danger is everywhere, and shit WILL happen, so it's better to enjoy life and do what you like.

Quote:

was swimming Monday off Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek

Is that pronounced like Fish Hook? Thought that was kinda funny. What would you expect to happen when you swim in Fish Hook??

The damn thim was bigger than a HELECOPTER! Jesus Christ.... I agree though, she was invading his territory... you gotta be extra careful.

Damn, that really bites! (pun intended)

I was watching a special on Bull Sharks just 2 nights ago. Those sharks are big and bad and will attack in 5 feet of water as well. If I had to pick which shark to die by though, I would have to go great white. Would rather die by one big bite than a bunch of small ones.

I don't like to be in any space where I'm not at the top of the food chain.

Just to inject some Discovery Channel pedantry (that's my new favorite word) into the mix, most shark attacks are not so much "vicious" attacks as they are attempts by very large, instinct-driven eating machines with very sharp teeth to determine if you are edible or not. They're seeing if you're lunch, and once they've determined you're not tasty they'll move on. The vast majority of sharks actually don't like the taste of human and will move on after one strike, unless they're sick, hurt, or in a pack that starts frenzying because of blood in the water.

From the ISAF (International Shark Attack File):

"....the white, tiger and bull sharks are the "Big Three" in the shark attack world because they are large species that are capable of inflicting serious injuries to a victim, are commonly found in areas where humans enter the water, and have teeth designed to shear rather than hold. Realistically, almost any shark in the right size range, roughly six feet (1.8 meters) or greater, is a potential threat to humans because, even if a bite is not intended as a directed feeding attempt on a human, the power of the jaw and tooth morphology can lead to injury." --- George H. Burgess, ISAF

lurkette "swims with sharks" (well, wants to, at least)

Is it just me that thinks that top photo looks doctored? Something's not right about it...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coppertop

Is it just me that thinks that top photo looks doctored? Something's not right about it...

No, I thought so, too. There something kind of off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lurkette

No, I thought so, too. There something kind of off.

I thought that at first too but it came from CNN.com (home of the Clinton News Network) so it must be accurate. ;)

You have to remember that great whites are common to Cape town because of the large seal population on the nearby small islands.
Factor that with the less than energetic swimming practice of a 77 year old woman, whose swimming style may remind one of an animal in distress.

Fish Hoek is also a famous spot for southern right whales to give birth.
(And it's the Afrikaans/Dutch 'Hoek' Stonegrody. Pronounced 'hook', it means 'Corner' or 'Bend')

There is a legendary shark called 'spotty' in that area. Spotty due to the markings on his dorsal.
Local rumours abound of him brushing up against local fishing boats and shoving them sideways with the impact. These are 50 foot diesel trawlers.
He also shows up on the sonar at the local naval headquarters at Simonsown, literally round the corner from Fish Hoek. On sonar he looks like an unknown sub he's that large. Causes many a false alarm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avhg1

the sharks aren't a big deal here...they make so much of it on tv...you just have to look at the percentages...the attacks happen at very popular beaches...when u put 3000 people in the water...someone is bound to get get bit..and it doens't happen that often at all...millions of people go to the beach here every year, and there are only like 10 attacks...
oh yeah, and alligators don't walk around like dogs here either

I was in Capetown last week on holiday, went swimming in Camps bay, Hout bay, Gordons bay, and a few other places.

Of course nobody mentioned sharks to me ...

XDA

There was a great white up here about six weeks ago that was trapped in a shallow cove off Cape Cod for two weeks. Pretty freaky seeing the pictures and video showing a 1,700 lb., 14 ft. female Great White swimming about ten feet from shore. Here's the text of one of the articles:

Quote:

FALMOUTH - A great white shark trapped near Cape Cod bid farewell to the spotlight and wiggled its way to freedom early yesterday afternoon, leaving its shallow lagoon and disappearing into the deep, cold Atlantic.

Weary scientists and fishermen who had been working for days to free the 1,700 pound shark chanted, "Go, go, go," as they shot water hoses at the animal in a last-ditch effort to urge it over a long, shallow stretch of eelgrass that had separated the animal from open sea. Suddenly the shark responded, slowly navigating its way through water just a few inches deeper than the shark was thick.

"It was absolutely fantastic," said Greg Skomal, a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries shark researcher. "I was a little nervous she would turn around. . . . I backed the boats up and guarded the shoal just in case, but she kept going."

Scientists believe that the female shark first entered the Naushon Island inlet to forage for food two weeks ago, after hurricanes had raised the water level at high tide. When the waters receded, the shark was afraid to swim out through the exit channel, scientists believe.

The water hoses finally nudged the shark out after more than a dozen fishermen and scientists spent days shooing her from the lagoon by stringing a series of fishnet barriers, using electric shark repellents, sprinkling food, and even banging bamboo sticks.

During that time, the animal became a minor international celebrity, as news teams from Japan, the BBC, and NBC's "Today Show" publicized its plight. The shark, the same species in the movie "Jaws," also happened to get trapped just days before DreamWorks released its animated movie, "Shark Tale." And with Naushon Island owned by distant relatives of Senator John F. Kerry, there were more than a few jokes about sharks circling the presidential candidate's camp.

Scientists said yesterday they hoped the shark would swim off to parts unknown, but they left open the possibility it could linger in Vineyard Sound or other nearby waters. Still, officials said swimming should be safe: Though great whites are common off the New England coast, there has not been a shark death since 1936. Officials will try to spot the shark today using a helicopter, but they were doubtful they would see it.

They do hope to hear from the shark next April 1, when a tracking device Skomal attached to the shark's dorsal fin is designed to pop off and float to the surface. The device will be recording the shark's location, water depth, and water temperature in coming months, giving scientists a rare look at the habits of a North Atlantic great white.

"We really gained some pretty good insight into great white sharks," said Dave Peters, commissioner of Massachusetts Fish and Game. "And so did the public."

Officials said that most people abided by requests to stay away from the shark while it was trapped. Those who still attempted to see the shark were kept 1,000 yards away by Environmental Police boats. Some local boat operators were able to make a small profit by charging tourists $25 a ride, especially in the first days after the shark was spotted, when private boats were allowed closer.

The boating restrictions around Naushon Island will remain in effect, possibly through today. Marine officials are also keeping fishing nets strung across the entrance to the lagoon to prevent the shark from returning. They are asking boaters who spot a great white in coming weeks to call officials and reminded the public that it is illegal to hunt or kill a great white shark.

At a news conference yesterday, marine officials conveyed relief and a sense of awe as they discussed the rescue of an animal that few had ever seen up close.

"It was a gift that was delivered to my doorstep," said Skomal, who has traveled to South Australia to work with great whites. Officials said they were surprised to learn how much the animal appeared affected by water depth: It did not want to eat and spent much of its time searching for the deepest water in the lagoon.

After deciding the shark was trapped, scientists began efforts to move it, eventually enlisting fishermen to string underwater nets and hem the shark closer to the lagoon's exit. By Friday, they had moved it about 150 yards toward the exit. But by Sunday, the shark had found its way into a different shallow area just outside the lagoon's mouth, one too wide to be sectioned off with fishing nets.

Yesterday, scientists created a barrier by rigging a series of ropes weighed down with lead to trick the shark into thinking it was up against a net. While it worked for a short time, the shark eventually barreled through it. Finally, scientists began spraying jets of water from two gasoline-powered pumps normally used on cran berry crops.

As the seawater around the shark became more turbid, the disoriented animal slowly began moving through the hundreds of feet of shallow eelgrass that it had previously refused to cross.

"The shark really did need our help," said Paul Diodati, head of the state Division of Marine Fisheries. "If we didn't get the shark out of there . . . this might have ended in a different way for it."

My hubby and I are do in the very near future to go to Johannesburg for an extended stay (6-8 wks.) for his work. His co-worker just got back from another job in Cape Town on Monday and although they talked extensively about South Africa (due to our curiousity about going there), the co-worker didn't mention a thing about this shark attack.

I wonder if his co-worker was just lax about paying attention to local news, or rather, maybe shark attacks are common enough they don't make the headline type of news. In any case, I don't think I'll be swimming in the ocean if we're lucky enough to travel to Cape Town!

Ali

You get desensitized to death over there. There's a lot more of it.

He probably new about it but didn't feel it worth mentioning.
More people die each year from donkeys and mules than from airplane disasters. We don't hear any donkey horror stories.

Summer 2001 I was in my 16 foot kayake fishing < than 300 yards from the
local beach in Homosassa Florida. I had a large live shrimp on a steel leader
looking for cobia or a big red fish to catch. Both give a real thrill to you when fishing from a kayake. I had seen dorsal fins all day by the oyster bar I was fishing next to. I thought they were tarpoon. Wasn't looking to hook up with one in the Kayake that day. :eek:
Then my line went limp and I reeled it in and set the hook on a monster. :crazy: :eek: My kayake went up on plane I went flying away from the beach out in the Golf of Mexico. Then it turned and came right back at me.
It was an 8 foot Tiger and I'm sitting 6 inches off the water. It took me on 2 more runs before it chewed through the wire leader. All witnessed by Marine patrol. The beach was closed for the day. Tiger sharks eat tarpoon or anything else they feel like. My heart pounded for hours. Someone with a vidio
camera on the beach caught some of the action though it was fuzzy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coppertop

Is it just me that thinks that top photo looks doctored? Something's not right about it...

It looks real to me. I've seen shows on the great white and their jumping out of water capabilities. But what do I know.