This week in sharks: Here’s our new reality!

Shark attacks are becoming so regular now that they’re on news websites every single week. Or are there just more news websites looking for shark attacks to report on every week, and the number of attacks is in fact the same as ever? Excuse the meta, but it’s hard not to wonder. Especially when “Shark attack” encompasses everything from someone getting a nibble on the hand/foot to someone losing a limb, or their life. Either way, it’s real, they’re in the ocean, and this is our new reality. Here’s three instances from the past few days to add to the paranoia:

– On the weekend, north of Zuma Beach, a Kayaker was attacked by a Hammerhead. Granted, Dylan Marks and Kyle Hudgins were fishing for yellowtail off their kayaks two miles off the coast when they noticed the 10-foot hammerhead circling. It disappeared for a few minutes, at which point Marks thought it’d be a good idea to dangle his foot in the water. Obviously, his foot was then bitten. Hudgins called 911 and Coast Guard rescuers brought them to shore. Marks was flown to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks and underwent surgery. Luckily, he didn’t lose his foot. Which all seems chill, except that Chris Low, director of Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab says hammerheads are coming closer to the Southern California coast due to El Nino patterns.

Source.

– On Friday in Oz, 65-year-old David Quinlivan was knocked off his surf ski at Black Head Beach (north of Forster) and bitten on the leg and foot. Being the only one in the water, he had little choice but to paddle himself in. Paramedics at the scene reported severe lower leg injuries, including cuts to his lower calf and a bite down to the bone on his left ankle. The Westpac Rescue chopper flew him from the beach to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital to undergo emergency surgery. NSW Premier Mike Baird said: “These attacks unprecedented, they’re extraordinary. They’re going to require action.”

Source.

– And just this morning… 42-year-old Justin Daniels was bitten on his hand and shaken from his board at Shelley Beach on the NSW Central Coast at about 6:15am. “It easily could have taken my hand or arm or come back for me,” Daniels told the ABC. “I am lucky. It was frightening.” Despite the attack taking place close enough to shore that it could easily have been a swimmer, Daniels said he had thoughts of Mick Fanning’s J-Bay encounter, given the fact he was knocked off his board and had to swim for it. Luckily his injuries weren’t life-threatening… but it certainly ain’t what you need during an early surf.

Source.