Sand tiger shark likely bit woman at New York beach, officials say

CNN

2 days ago

A 20-year-old woman was swimming in waist-deep water at a popular beach in Long Island, New York, when officials believe she was most likely bitten by a young sand tiger shark earlier this week.
EMTs and lifeguards immediately responded to the swimmer at Jones Beach State Park, and she was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening 'minor lacerations' to her left foot and leg, New York State Parks said in a Friday statement.
It was the beach's first reported shark sighting of 2025, New York State Parks Regional Director George Gorman told CNN affiliate WCBS.
The Wednesday incident, which has lifeguards on high alert, comes ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend and two summers after a wave of possible shark sightings and apparent attack shook up New York beachgoers.
The woman, who reported the bite around 4:15 p.m., told officials she didn't see what bit her, and swimming at Jones Beach was immediately suspended, the statement said. Officials on Wednesday searched unsuccessfully for dangerous marine life using drones.
Before the beach was reopened for swimming on Thursday, park police and staff again used drones to identify marine life in the area while lifeguards patrolled from the shore and by watercraft, according to the statement.
'Park Police, lifeguards, and staff remain on high alert will continue to proactively patrol by drone, PWS, and surfboats throughout the season to help protect swimmers,' New York State Parks said.
Despite the encounter, the risk of being attacked by the often misunderstood creatures remains low, experts say.
Sharks don't seek out humans and most incidents are cases of mistaken identity – including by juvenile sharks that fail to distinguish between humans and their prey, shark researchers have told CNN.
Without the victim having seen the animal or sightings by subsequent drone searches, park officials teamed up with experts to determine which marine species may have caused these injuries.
Biologists at the state's Department of Environmental Conservation cautiously concluded the incident 'most likely' involved a juvenile sand tiger shark, the statement said.
The experts 'reviewed situational information provided by subjects at the scene, as well as photos of the injury, and were able to rule out several species,' it said. They emphasized that 'without direct observation of the animal that caused the bites a full expert consensus was not reached.'
'I been here my whole life and never seen a shark in here,' Alejandro Aranjo told CNN affiliate WABC.
Aranjo visits Jones Beach with his family, but following Wednesday's incident, 'I don't even know if I'm going to let them go in to be honest.'
Unprovoked attacks by sharks declined sharply in 2024, with 47 incidents logged worldwide, down 22 from the previous year and significantly below a 10-year average of 70, according to figures released in February.
The United States experienced the highest number of unprovoked attacks by sharks, with 28 reported incidents, including one fatal attack by an unknown shark species off the northwest coast of Oahu, Hawaii. That US total, however, was almost a third lower than in 2023.
Florida had more unprovoked shark bites recorded than any other state, with a total of 14 incidents last year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History, which compiles the International Shark Attack File.
CNN's Kasie Hunt contributed to this report.