The Dorsal Fin

Hawaii’s KHON2 reports that a surfer had a close encounter with a shark off Hawaii’s Nimitz Beach. Moses Filipe was surfing with his son when he felt a crunching sensation on his board, when he looked down he saw the head the shark biting down on his surfboard. After being knocked off the board Filipe and his son paddled safely to shore.

Filipe was physically unscathed by the encounter, but the shark left teeth marks in his board. Based on the bite marks, Navy authorities determined that the shark responsible for the bite was a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) estimated at 7′-8′ in length. Filipe told KHON2 that is was going to “take some time” before he gets back in the water.

ABC’s Good Morning America featured an interview with shark attack survivor Lydia Strunk this morning. Strunk was bitten by a shark on her right leg last month while swimming off Isla de Vieques, an island-municipality of Puerto Rico, in Puerto Mosquito (aka Bioluminescent Bay and Mosquito Bay).

Puerto Mosquito is well-known for its bioluminescent aquatic life and Strunk was kayaking in the area at night with a tour group. Some of the members of the group decided to swim in the bay in order to experience the glowing wildlife firsthand. However, after about 10 minutes of swimming Strunk told GMA that she felt a strong impact on her right leg. According to reports a 6′ tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) bit Strunk’s leg causing tendon and nerve damage.

Strunk had to kayak back to land after sustaining the shark bite and then had to endure travel along bumpy roads before reaching an emergency room. However, she credited those who tended to her and noted that she felt fortunate to receive “impeccable emergency response.” Strunk had four tendons repaired in addition and is expected to recover, although she may have limited mobility in her right foot.

Strunk seems to be taking her recovery in stride and noted that she and friends had nicknamed the shark “Chewy” whose name appears on her cast. Additionally, another friend wrote that Strunk was one-in-a-million to which Strunk said she is quick to correct to one-in-11-million.

YouTube user Nickaway recently posted the video above which shows a group effort to help return what is listed as a 12.5′ tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) back to the water. The video was shot next to Bob Hal Pier in Corpus Christi, Texas. According to the video description the shark was tagged and released from the beach. Based on the video footage, it looks like quite a bit of effort was needed to get the shark back out into the gulf.

Kudos to all of those involved in the release effort.

TSVBulletin has posted a video report filmed at Palm Island’s Onion Bay (near Townsville, Queensland, Australia) which documents numerous tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) feeding on the carcass of a young male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). The tiger sharks can be seen reaching their heads well above the surface to feed on the whale’s carcass.

According to Townsville Bulletin reporter Liam Butterworth, the sharks ranged from 3m to 6m in length. It is estimated that the whale had been dead for approximately a week, and that it had been washed in by the tide.

Thanks to Pete Thomas’ Outdoors, Action and Adventure for the heads-up on this video.

YouTube user oahusquid recently posted the above video which documents a close encounter with a healthy-sized tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). According to the video description, the footage was shot off of Hapuna Beach, Hawaii. The inquisitive tiger shark comes in for a close look before swimming off.