Great White Sharks banding together

[Chiefnj]

Teens see sharks kill mate
December 17, 2004

AN afternoon of fun with four mates ended in horror yesterday when two Great White sharks killed a teenager in a ferocious attack off an Adelaide beach.


Attack ... A great white pointer shark


Nick Peterson, 18, was riding on a small surfboard being towed by a dinghy just 400m off West Beach when the attack occurred about 3.15pm (CDT).

Mr Peterson had been "scurfing" - a popular trend which involves towing a surfboard behind a boat - when a Great White at least 4m long surged at him. He tried to fend off the shark but disappeared within seconds.

A second Great White then joined the attack, striking at the boat as three of Mr Peterson's former Sacred Heart College schoolmates tried to strike it with paddles. They raced back to shore, alerting Anna and Frank Criscitelli - who were about to launch their boat - of the attack.

Mrs Criscitelli said they screamed: "Help - help us ... our mate's been taken by a shark. Don't go out, don't go out - sharks, sharks."

Mrs Criscitelli, 31, of Glenelg, said she could not believe what she was hearing and initially thought it was a joke.

"They were screaming at us that their mate had been taken by a shark," she said.

"They said it spun him around their boat, under the boat and a second shark ripped him to pieces.

"They said it was as big and as wide as their boat".

Witness Chris Niemoeller was swimming about 50m from the boys when he heard yelling.

"I could see these two huge fins come out of the water," he said. "It was just ferocious.

"One minute he was on the surfboard and he tried to beat it off and the next there was just a pool of blood.

"It was over in three seconds. He didn't stand a chance - he was just gone."

Thivo Kulasingam, 32, and his wife, Thanujah Haran, 30, of West Beach, were standing in front of the West Beach Surf Lifesaving Club when the attack occurred.

"We could see the shark just circling the boat around and around," Mr Kulasingam said.

"Then the shark started banging up against the boat - the noise was so loud we could hear it from the shore.

"There were three guys in the boat and two of them grabbed some paddles and started to bash the shark away but it kept attacking."

Experts did not rule out that the larger Great White was the same shark that has been stalking Adelaide's beaches in the past weeks. The hunt, by air and sea, began about 3.30pm (CDT), supported by police patrols along the beach alerting beachgoers of the attack.

However the beach was not closed to public, police instead leaving it to beachgoers to make their own judgment on swimming. Sea Rescue Squadron Rear Commodore Fraser Bell said an attack involving two sharks was "unprecedented" and may result in further attacks.

"I've never heard of two white pointers attacking human beings in this way," he said.

"He's (the shark) had a taste and he'll come back for more."

"It's just an absolute tragedy. They were just boys out there having a good time.

"The weather's just perfect and they were just doing what young lads do."

Chief Inspector David Lusty, of Sturt police, said a witness found the undamaged surfboard shortly before 4pm. About an hour later, searchers began finding human remains between Henley and Grange jetties.

"It was quite horrific but also quite quick," he said of the attack.

Mr Peterson and his three friends had been out on the water for about 30 minutes when the attack occurred.

It is believed he headed to the beach after finishing work for the day as a paver.

The death has rocked the close-knit Sacred Heart College community - where all four boys attended school.

Mr Peterson, originally from Ardrossan, was so popular he was voted house captain last year and was a role model to other Year 12s.

SHC principal Chris Blake described the incident as a "tragedy".

"He was just a great young person," he said. "It is incredible. It is hard to believe. We are terribly, terribly sad."

SHC boarding director Richard Maddigan said Mr Peterson was a keen surfer who loved the water.

He is the second man to be killed by a shark in Australian waters within a week.

Mark Thompson, 38, was killed on Saturday by a shark while spear fishing at Opal Reef off Cairns in north Queensland.

The last fatal shark attack off an Adelaide beach was in 1991, when 19-year-old Adelaide university student Jonathon Lee was killed by a white pointer, while diving off Aldinga Beach, in the southern suburbs.

The search for the remains of the teenager will resume this morning.

The Advertiser

[Rain Man]

This is why we need a five-day waiting period on guns. How many would have died if those sharks had been carrying handguns?

[Joe Seahawk]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/WORLD/africa/11/16/shark.attack.africa.ap/story.shark.africa.ap.jpg

No Dolphins there to protect them now is there! (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=vn20041129032021768C801060)

[Hammock Parties]

*insert bigger boat joke here*

[Boon]

I thought maybe the band was getting back together.

[Ultra Peanut]

Great White? Band?

/insert "FIIIIIRE!" joke here

[NewChief]

Mark Thompson, 38, was killed on Saturday by a shark while spear fishing at Opal Reef off Cairns in north Queensland.


I've been scuba diving in that area, and I didn't think that great whites came that far north very often. I wonder if it was a great white that killed that dude as well or another kind of shark.

[CosmicPal]

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

[Pitt Gorilla]

My, my, my; I'm once bitten, twice shy, baby.

[Lzen]

Where exactly did this occur? I've never heard of Adelaide Beach.

[Braincase]

Where exactly did this occur? I've never heard of Adelaide Beach.

Got to be Australia. Great Whites are native to the Great Barrier Reef area.

[Rain Man]

Adelaide is on Australia's southern coast, about 30 percent of the way between Melbourne and Perth, more or less. It's about a zillion miles from Cairns, which makes it kind of funny that they're talking about the two attacks together. It's like saying that sharks attacked people in Florida and California.

[NewChief]

Adelaide is on Australia's southern coast, about 30 percent of the way between Melbourne and Perth, more or less. It's about a zillion miles from Cairns, which makes it kind of funny that they're talking about the two attacks together. It's like saying that sharks attacked people in Florida and California.

More like Alaska and the Baja, but year.

[Craash]

Source: (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/16/australia.shark.ap/index.html)

Shark hunted after horrific attack
Friday, December 17, 2004 Posted: 3:00 AM EST (0800 GMT)

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- South Australian authorities have said they will kill a shark that tore apart a young surfer near a popular city beach as his friends reportedly tried to save him by beating the animal with oars.

The South Australia state government's acting leader Kevin Foley said a single 5-meter (16-foot) great white shark was believed responsible for the savage attack on 18-year-old Nick Peterson.

Earlier, authorities said they thought two sharks were involved.

Although great whites are a protected species, Foley said the government would destroy the shark because it was a threat to swimmers.

"The government's position is quite clear," Foley told reporters.

"Any large shark, in close proximity to the beaches of our state, particularly the city of Adelaide, should be destroyed. Officers are authorized to take whatever necessary action to ensure the destruction of a shark posing risk."

Adelaide is the state capital of South Australia and home to around 1 million people.

Rescuers on Friday found what they believed to be human remains in waters close to where Peterson was killed, South Australia's Sea Rescue Squadron spokesman Fraser Bell said.

The teenager was attacked after he fell from his surfboard while it was being towed behind a motor boat Thursday at West Beach, close to Adelaide.

His friends pounded the shark with oars in an attempt to make it release Peterson, The Australian newspaper reported, citing witnesses.

The shark ripped the young man apart, Bell told reporters. "Apparently it tore him in half," he said.

Two 16-year-old boys who witnessed the attack were receiving medical treatment for shock.

Despite the attack, West Beach was not closed, though police warned swimmers to stay within limits patrolled by lifeguards.

Several people visited the beach early Friday, media reported, but very few ventured into the water despite warm weather and calm seas perfect for swimming.

A group of Peterson's friends held hands as they walked across the sand.

The fatal shark attack was the third in recent months in Australian waters.

A 38-year-old man was killed by a shark while spearing fish on the Great Barrier Reef off northeast Australia on Saturday.

And two sharks attacked and killed a 29-year-old surfer off the Australian west coast in July. Experts said at the time said that sharks were not known to hunt in pairs.

Keeper of Australia's national Shark Attack File and operations manager at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, John West, said attacks would always occur in Australian waters and that the number of attacks did not appear to be on the rise.

He said it was uncommon for the victim to be eaten.

"Being killed and then eaten by a shark is not common at all. Most shark attacks relate to a single bite and a majority of them are let go," West told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

[Calcountry]

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."
Sharks must die.

[Craash]

Sharks must die.


I agree. Sharks freak me out. I'm a child of the 'Jaws' generation.

[Chris Meck]

They're just an animal; they do what they do.

They're an apex predator, and it's smart to be aware of that and be careful when you're putting yourself in their territories. Just like you would be careful if you were in known bear country.

There's a few incorrect assertions made in various posts here I'd like to clear up (sharks are my hobby-GW's in particular):

Great Whites can be found almost anywhere short of the polar regions. Unlike most sharks and nearly all fish, the Great White keeps a consistent body temperature; a fact that has only become known in recent years. Essentially, it's warm blooded. This makes it far less vulnerable to temperature changes.

Seals are their favorite food; anywhere there are a lot of seals, there's likely to be Great Whites. Guess what reaction you trigger when a Great White sees a guy on a surfboard from below? They'll also pursue Tuna schools, etc-which is typically what they're hunting in Mexican waters.

It's true that they rarely 'feed' on an attacked human. Typically, it's a case of mistaken identity(JMO). 40% of people attacked by Great Whites are killed, which means that 60% of humans attacked by a 2,000 lb predator survive. This would indicate that the shark changes its mind after the first bite.

There have been cases of dolphins 'protecting' swimmers from aggressive sharks, such as the recent occurrence in Australia-but don't count on it. There have also been a lot of attacks when dolphins were present and then split when the shark showed up.


Chris

[Craash]

As long as they aren't native to my KC pool, I'm golden.

[LTownChief]

now that would suck:

"One minute he was on the surfboard and he tried to beat it off and the next there was just a pool of blood"

on a serious note, that is sad. Sharks suck, but they are fascinating.

[MichaelH]

I agree. Sharks freak me out. I'm a child of the 'Jaws' generation.

Me too! The summer that Jaws came out, my sister took me to see it while we were at the beach. I was 7 at the time, and to this day, I never go in above my waist.