A man died April 24 after being bitten by a shark in New Caledonia, while a swimmer in Hawaii is healing up after being bitten by a tiger shark.
Dr. Jean-Christophe Viver, 53, was practicing downwinding, in which a person travels from point to point by surfing small swell and wind on the high seas, on his paddleboard. At some point during the trip, he entered the water and bitten on the leg by a shark.
Toward the end of the day, a boater saw Dr. Viver floating on his paddleboard and alerted emergency services. Medical personnel examined the body and determined that Dr. Viver died of a heart attack possible due to exsanguination.
A bite mark found on the thigh indicates a 13-foot (4m) tiger shark severed the femoral artery.
“Passionate always about the water world, he had been practicing in New Caledonia since 1992. He was the official vet of the Lagoons Aquarium for 15 years in addition to his activities at his clinic. Over the past 10 years he has treated more than a hundred turtles in care at the aquarium and contributed to the welfare of thousands of animals. Sincere condolences to the family.” The Aquarium Des Lagons Nouvelle-Calédonie said in a statement.
Another water goer succumbed to a tiger shark and two others disappeared in late February.
An unidentified male, 57, was swimming off Ile Maitre Feb. 28. The man was later found with a bite to his shoulder and a severed leg, from what authorities believe was a 13-foot (4m) tiger shark. Two days later a fisherman was bitten on the calf by a black tip shark. On Feb, 24 a swimmer disappeared, and on March 2, a navigator was also lost after entering the water. Authorities in the southern province carried out a cull and killed 24 tiger and bull sharks in the month of March.
Hawaiian swimmer bitten on the leg by shark
A 73-year-old unidentified woman was participating in an ocean excursion tour off Kukio Bay April 20 when she was bitten by a shark.
The woman was a part of a six-man canoe, with a group of 17 people (two swimming, six in canoes and eight on stand-up paddleboards) when a jet skier approached the group and warned them of a shark.
Around 8:50 a.m. a woman was bitten from behind on her left knee by an estimated 10-foot (3m) tiger shark. She was placed in a canoe and taken 200 yards back to shore before being transported to North Hawaii Medical Center and is currently in stable condition.
Tiger sharks are known as the trash cans of the sea and have been known to test-bite inanimate objects to see if they are prey. Unfortunately, this can prove fatal when a large shark bites a human.
All locations have been marked on the 2021 Shark Attack Map.
