Latest news with #sharkbite
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Shark Attacks Surfer, 18, at Florida Beach Known as the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World'
The surf instructor's foot injury marks the fourth shark bite at New Smyrna beach this yearNEED TO KNOW A shark bit a surf instructor on the foot in Florida's New Smyrna Beach, which also known as the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World," on July 18 The 18-year-old surfer suffered a "nasty" but not life-threatening injury The bite marked the fourth shark encounter in Volusia County in 2025An 18-year-old was surfing in a Florida city notorious for shark encounters when one sunk its teeth into his foot. The unidentified teen — a surf instructor, according to local NBC affiliate WESH — was at New Smyrna Beach around 12 p.m. local time on Friday, July 18, when the encounter occurred, Tamra Malphurs, director of the Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue, told local outlet FOX 35. (The Daytona Beach News-Journal and local ABC affiliate WFTV also reported the news.) After the shark bit his foot, the surf instructor was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Malphurs told FOX 35. The surfer's boss described the injury as 'nasty,' according to WESH. Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, July 19. According to an anonymous eyewitness, several first responders arrived on the scene of the attack, which marks the fourth shark encounter in Florida's Volusia County so far this year, according to the county website. Two emergency vehicles and a police car 'came pretty quickly' after the surfer was bitten, the bystander told WESH. 'And some of the instructors came and got the lifeguard on the stand here and down.' New Smyrna Beach, a surfing hub south of Daytona Beach, is widely known as the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World,' according to WESH and The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Less than two weeks before the July 18 attack, a man identified as Matthew Bender was bitten by a shark while surfing in the Florida city, per FOX 35. "I felt it clamp down like a bear trap out of nowhere," Bender told the outlet of the attack, which took place on July 6. 'By the time I looked down, it was already gone. I never saw the shark, but it bit really forcefully. It felt like electricity and like extreme pressure.' "And then I think it shook its head. I definitely felt that as it was letting go,' added Bender. ' It was also fast.' There have been 359 'unprovoked' shark attacks recorded in Volusia County since 1882, the most of any Florida county, according to the International Shark Attack File, the Florida Museum of Natural History's database. The next highest is Brevard County, with 159. Volusia County 'is conducive toward shark bites' due to a 'confluence of factors,' Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's Florida Program for Shark Research, previously told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. '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,' Naylor told the newspaper in 2024, explaining that there are also environmental factors, like the nutrients in the area. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Though the species of shark behind the recent Volusia County bites is unknown, blacktip sharks are responsible for most of the bites in the region, according to Naylor. Sharks like blacktips and spinner sharks, which are also found in the area, 'are highly piscivorous,' the evolutionary biologist told The Daytona Beach News-Journal, detailing that their diet typically consists of fish, so when they bite a person, the injured individual's reaction scares them away. 'If they were bull sharks or tiger sharks,' Naylor said, 'they might stick around a little bit more, and the injuries would be a lot worse.' Read the original article on People
Fox News
09-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Shark bites beach fisherman who dragged thrashing predator back to water after catch
A fisherman in a wealthy beach vacation hot spot became the object of nature's wrath while wrestling with a shark he caught during the July Fourth weekend. A 21-year-old man in Nantucket caught a common sandbar shark on Sunday and reeled it onto shore, according to the Nantucket Current. When he attempted to return the shark to the ocean, it bit him on the leg, causing a serious injury. The unnamed victim was driven by friends to a local hospital, and later flown by Boston Medflight helicopter to a mainland hospital to be treated further for his injuries. As the summer beach season is in full effect nationwide, instances of shark bites are increasingly being reported. On the same day as the Nantucket incident, a 40-year-old surfer named Matthew Bender of Winter Park, Florida, was attacked by a shark in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Benton suffered a 10-inch bite that severed muscles, tendons and nerves, but survived the attack. New Smyrna Beach is known as the "shark bite capital" of the United States, according to "Shark Week" host Forrest Galante, who recently spoke with Fox News Digital about summer safety tips for avoiding negative encounters with sharks. On June 11, a 9-year-old girl snorkeling off the coast of Boca Grande, Florida, on the state's Gulf Coast, sustained a gruesome shark bite that nearly severed her hand. Leah Lendel was rushed by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where she underwent a successful surgery involving artery grafts, bone reconstruction and nerve repair to save her hand. Later in June, a beachgoer was injured in an attack on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, another popular tourist destination for summer getaways. That incident "involved a patient with a leg injury consistent with lacerations typically associated with a shark bite," according to Hilton Head Fire Rescue. Galante warned that the ocean is a shark's domain. "Now, a lot of people fear them, and they see them as mindless killing machines, but the truth is, these are just animals that sit at the top of the food chain," he said. "And any time that we enter into the water, we're entering into their domain. So, when there is a shark attack or a shark bite, that is simply because we have gone into a habitat where we as human beings don't really belong, and we're not the apex predator."
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Florida shark attacks surfer, latched on ‘like a bear trap' in world's bite capital
A Florida surfer is vowing to return to the waves after being bitten by a shark in a county deemed "the shark bite capital of the world." Volusia County Beach Safety confirmed to Fox News Digital that Matthew Bender, 40, of Winter Park, Florida, was surfing at the popular but notoriously shark-prone waters of New Smyrna Beach on Sunday, July 6, when a shark latched onto his arm. "I felt it clamp down like a bear trap out of nowhere," Bender told Fox News affiliate, WOFL-TV, from his hospital bed. "By the time I looked down, it was already gone. I never saw the shark, but it bit really forcefully. "It felt like electricity – pressure, extreme pressure – and then I think it shook its head as it let go. It was so fast," he said. Despite the severity of the bite, later measured at around 10 inches long, Bender was able to stay conscious and coherent. Fellow beachgoers rushed to his aid. Thinking quickly, Bender asked for a board leash, typically used to tether a surfer's ankle to their board, and they fashioned it into a makeshift tourniquet. "I was squeezing the whole mangled area myself with my left hand," he recalled to the outlet, as others pulled the tourniquet just above his elbow to stop the bleeding. Videos from the scene captured beachgoers surrounding Bender immediately following the attack. Lifeguards arrived moments later and transported Bender to the hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery to reconnect severed muscles, tendons and nerves. Remarkably, he was able to move his fingers even before the surgery. "When I looked down, my arm was completely mangled," Bender said. "It's a miracle my hand was still working." The recovery ahead may be long, and the resulting scar will be permanent. "I don't know if it'll be the cool ones that chicks dig, but it might be ugly," he joked. The longtime surfer is eager to return to the waves, with doctors expecting Bender to make a full recovery within months. "I think the Lord kept it from being serious. He works in mysterious ways," Bender said. "I got to take a little break, but I'll be back out there. I'm a New Smyrna surfer at heart, and it's not going to end now just because of this." Authorities have not confirmed the type or size of the shark involved.
The Independent
03-07-2025
- The Independent
Drones to help curb shark attacks
New York has ramped up shark surveillance for the Fourth of July weekend, deploying more drones and increasing patrols after a woman sustained minor injuries from a bite. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the addition of six drones, bringing the state's total to nearly 30, to monitor beaches for sharks and schools of fish. Beachgoers in New York are advised to stay in shallow water, avoid murky areas or schools of fish, and refrain from swimming at dawn, dusk, or night. Other shark incidents have occurred down the East Coast in South Carolina and Florida, with Florida consistently recording the highest number of unprovoked bites annually. Experts state that shark bites are rare, often due to mistaken identity or proximity to prey, and advise following lifeguard instructions while noting humans kill significantly more sharks than vice versa.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Experts Identify Likely Species of New York Shark Attack
New York is not typically thought of as a hot-spot for shark activity. And yet, the swimmer's greatest nightmare does in fact sometimes rear its toothed head in the waters off of the Empire State. That's exactly what happened June 25 at Jones Beach on Long Island in New York, when a swimmer was bitten by a shark – the species of which has now been identified by experts. As the New York Times reports, the bite occurred around 4:15 p.m. in the water at the Central Mall beachfront of Jones Beach State Park. An unidentified woman was in waist deep water when she was bitten on her left foot and leg by 'unknown marine wildlife,' according to a statement by the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Jones Beach State Lifeguards and Emergency Medical staff then came to the scene and transported her to Nassau County University Medical Center Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. In the following days, New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officials consulted with marine experts to arrive at a best guess at which species was likely to have caused the injury. 'DEC biologists reviewed situational information provided by subjects at the scene, as well as photos of the injury, and were able to rule out several species,' New York State Park officials said. 'However, without direct observation of the animal that caused the bites, a full expert consensus was not reached. DEC concludes this incident most likely involved a juvenile sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus).'
