…without the hysteria
Sand tiger suspected in Wrightsville Beach, NC shark attack
by TheDorsalFin on Jul.20, 2010 at 5:48 pm, under Shark News Stories, Shark Videos
UPDATE (07/22/10): Paul Barrington has been quoted by another news source as saying that the sand tiger shark was erroneously identified as the shark involved in the Wrightsville Beach incident.
According to WECT.com, Paul Barrington, of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, believes the shark suspected of biting a 13-year-old girl at Wrightsville Beach, NC might be sand tiger shark (aka grey nurse shark or ragged tooth shark). Kendall Parker sustained a single bite to the arm, while she was in waist-deep water on Saturday. Her injuries required 40-stitches, but she is expected to make a full-recovery.
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) is generally considered to be “docile” and non-threatening to humans. A sand tiger shark’s diet consists primarily of fish. Barrington mentions in the interview above that with a the number of bait fish in the water a “hit-and-run attack” could be a case of mistaken identity.
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Wrightsville Beach shark bite not the result of a sand tiger? - The Dorsal Fin
July 22nd, 2010 on 6:49 pm[...] to statements made in a WECT.com feature on the recent shark attack at Wrightsville Beach, Paul Barrington of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher was quoted today in a Lumina News [...]
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North Carolina Has Sharks Too | Ya Like Dags?
July 25th, 2010 on 8:28 pm[...] ignore a shark story from practically my own backyard. Recently a 13-year old girl was bitten in the surf at Wrightsville Beach, down near Wilmington. By all accounts this was pretty similar to the single bite “bump and [...]
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July 25th, 2010 on 9:53 am
I saw a 4-5 ft sand tiger or nurse shark on wrightsville 2 days before in a wave in less than waist deep water while surfing. The waves were big on this day. Neat to see, esp since it was cruising away from me. Glad the girl is doing good.
August 1st, 2010 on 10:17 am
Tracey,
I’m glad to hear you’re getting some waves down there. I was just north of Wrightsville at Emerald Isle the first week of July, and we couldn’t catch a wave to save our lives.
I’m hoping to see some sand tigers off of Morehead City next weekend, when I head to Elasmodiver’s Sharkfest.