White shark attacks on sea otters along the central coast of California hit record numbers for the month of August, this year, according to a 760KFBM.com report. The average number of shark attacks on sea otters for the month of August over a ten-year period is seven. In August of this year, scientists recovered 19 otters with apparent shark bite wounds.

Typically, when a white shark attack does occur on a sea otter, the shark will bite and then release the sea otter upon realizing that it a preferred prey item, according to Mike Harris of the California Department of Fish and Game. Harris goes on to note that unfortunately most of these attacks still prove fatal. Due to the nature of the severity of the bites and the anatomy of the sea otters, even an exploratory bite or a bite of “mistaken identity” can result in injuries that the sea otters cannot recover from.

The 760KFMB article notes that some researchers are speculating that unusually mild summer temperatures in the area might explain the increase in the incidences involving white sharks attacking sea otters, as the cooler ocean temperatures make area waters preferable to white sharks.

In addition to the shark attacks on sea otters, a New York Times article is reporting that a University of California, Santa Cruz report has linked sea otter deaths in California to a freshwater toxin. The toxin microcystin is produced by blue-green algae, and the report suggests that the toxin has leaked into the Pacific. Researchers involved in the study say that least 21 sea otter deaths were linked to the toxin.

Both sea otters and white sharks are listed as threatened species on the IUCN red list. Sea otters are classified as “endangered,” while great white sharks are currently classified as “vulnerable.”

What I’ll refer to as the “objective” news story can be found at the Bloomberg.com. In summary, the story reports that Paul Buckley, a surfer, was bitten by what was believed to be a great white shark off of South Africa’s south coast. According to the story, Buckley “grabbed hold of the shark’s tail and it let go of his thigh and swam out to sea.” Buckley then paddled ashore and later received stitches for the bite wound.

For the “sensationalized” story, we need look no further than The Sun with its headline of “Surfer attacked by 3m killer shark.” To The Sun’s credit, their story does offer more details than the Bloomberg.com story, such as the shark being an estimated 3.5m (11.5′), and Buckley receiving 150 stitches to close his wound. However, (as if the headline alone isn’t enough) the story also describes how “brave Paul managed to seize the killer’s tail,” and how he “grabbed the beast’s tail to stop it from killing him.” The word “kill” seems to be a recurring theme in the report.

Both stories clearly state that the shark bit Mr. Buckley once and then swam away, but The Sun attempts to reinforce that the shark was intent on killing Buckley. From the description of the attack, it sounded more like an exploratory bite. The Sun also reported that Mr. Buckley was on his surfboard when “the shark attacked tearing a chunk out of his leg.” That statement seems to be bit of “creative” reporting, as the Cape Times quotes Mr. Buckley as saying, “if it had taken out a chunk, it could have been much worse.”

The Sun’s report does seem to have the edge on the Bloomberg.com story when it comes to Mr. Buckley grabbing the shark’s tail while he was being bitten, as is reported in the Bloomberg article. If the shark was 3.5m, then Mr. Buckley would not have been able to grab its tail, while the shark was biting his leg. The Sun quotes Buckley as saying, “”I thought if I held it by the tail, its mouth could not reach me again.” A few other reports also imply that Mr. Buckley grabbed the shark’s tail while he was being bitten, but that aspect of the story seems like it was likely misinterpreted, based on the anatomy of a 3.5m white shark.

A follow-up story about a teen who assisted Buckley when he reached the shore can be found at The Weekend Post Online. Thankfully, Mr. Buckley’s injuries were not serious and he has been discharged from the hospital.