On December 30, a tourist was bitten by a shark in Brazil around 2 p.m. local time.
The Paulo Campos was in the surf zone with his 7-year old son at Lion’s Beach when he was bitten on the left leg. The water was cloudy and the 4-foot (1.2m) shark, believed to be a small lemon, grabbed Campo’s calf. After the musician punched the shark, it released his leg and swam away.
The 49-year-old had superficial injuries and was taken to the hospital by family members. The wound appeared to be similar to scratches as the lemon shark’s teeth were rather small.
Lemon sharks are not know to be aggressive and this incident is most likely attributed to a misidentification in the cloudy rough water.
In December of 2015 Marcio de Castro Palma da Silva lost his arm to a tiger shark in the protected marine reserve off Brazil’s northeastern coast of Fernando de Noronha.
Barney Lankester-Owen heard the cries of the victim’s wife and rushed out to aid the 33-year-old snorkeler. Owen assisted the injured man out of the water and the two walked around 500 yards (457m) for help.
“I’d like to thank the people who helped me including the British tourist Barney. All those people are the reason why I’m here today doing as well as I am in the circumstances and have a second chance in life.’” Silva said in a statement.
There have been a total of 101 shark attack bites in 2016, 8 of which were fatal; 44 were reported in the US, with 32 occurring in Florida. Twenty-four have occurred in Australia, three of which were fatal.
All locations have been marked on the 2016 shark attack bites tracking map.
Updated:01/11/16
