A veteran surfer, bitten on the butt by a great white shark, drove himself to the hospital in South Australia.
Murray Adams, 64, was surfing at Blackspoint on Eyre Peninsula on January 9. The local teacher was approximately 218 yards off the beach when a white shark appeared.
Another surfer reported that Adams began waving his arms around 1 p.m., yelling “Shark! Shark!” The shark then bit Adams in the buttocks region.
Based on photos of the damaged surfboard, it likely saved his life by absorbing some of the bite force from the large shark.
Adams and the other surfer were able to paddle out together, climbing a near-vertical rock face to look for help.
With blood dripping from his wetsuit, Adams decided that it would be better to drive to the hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance.
His wife met him at the hospital, and the two were flown to Adelia for emergency surgery. Despite the serious injury, Adams was concerned about his fellow water users and reportedly sent the following message to friends: “Needs stitches but will be okay. Spread the word. No one goes in the water.”
Another teacher was killed by a shark last year.
Simon Baccanello, 46, was surfing on May 14 at Walkers Rock Beach on the Eyre Peninsula, around 50 miles north of Blackspoint.
A witness saw what he estimated as a 10-foot long shark with a white underbelly swimming near the shore before it attacked Baccanello from behind, dragging him underwater.
Searchers scoured the area but only recovered pieces of Baccanello’s board and parts of his wetsuit.
A surfer had a similar encounter at Elliston Bar in May 2014.
Andrew ‘Monkey’ McLeod, 35, was out surfing about one mile (2km) off Elliston Bar when he was thrown in the air by a great white shark. He was just about to catch a wave around 9:30 a.m. with his two mates when the attack occurred. He was able to ride his damaged board back to shore with no physical injury.
South Australia has had six shark attacks in the last few months.
Khai Crowley, 15, was killed on December 28 while surfing on the Yorke Peninsula.
Tod Gendle, 55, died on October 31 at Granites Beach on the Eyre Peninsula.
Pam Cook, 64, was bitten on the leg by a white shark on October 2 while swimming near a pier at Beachport.
Bridgette O’Shannessy, 32, suffered serious damage to her face after being hit by a white shark on November 10 as she dived at Port Noarlunga.
Across the water, a man was bitten by a shark in South Africa.
An unidentified angler was fishing on January 5 at Papiesfontein, North East of Jeffreys Bay when he inadvertently caught a sand tiger shark. As he was trying to release the shark, it bit him, causing severe injury.
The man’s friend applied a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from puncture wounds to the man’s hand and calf.
He was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Both 2024 incidents have been marked on the 2024 Shark Attack Map.
