It looks like Southern California and Kauai aren’t the only locations that are finding themselves in the news for shark encounters. Sadly, the recent encounter that made headlines in Australia ended fatally.

A 16 yr. old boy was bodyboarding off of New South Wales in Australia when he called out to his friend to let him know he was in trouble. The friend went out to help, but at that point there had already been too much damage done by what officials are calling a “very large shark.” Rough seas and poor visibility have delayed any search for the shark, but many are leaning to the thought that the culprit was a bull shark as there had been several recent sightings in the area.

I can’t think of any action sport, or any other sport in general for that matter that has as much interaction with wild animals. Surfing is unique in that way and that is part of what makes it beautiful. Unfortunately, these types of deadly encounters take place on the rare occasion and remind us all to be as cautious as we can to avoid things like surfing near river-mouths, being out in the water when it’s dark, and coming out if you begin to bleed. Sharks have much more of a reason to fear us then we do them. Being aware and taking precautions will help lessen the already microscopic chances of having a shark make a mistake and grabbing a chunk.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the victim.

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Tags: Sharks

Posted by Shaun on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 in Surfing.

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