A shark which attacked a champion surfer during a tournament in South Africa at the weekend was a “small” Great White which probably did not intend to kill him, experts have said.
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In this image made available by the World Surf League, Australian surfer Mick Flanning is pursued by a shark, in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, Sunday, July 19, 2015.
I WOULD like a dollar for every time the fantastic footage of Mick Fanning fighting off a shark will get aired again.
“I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope, and I was kicking trying to get it away”, Fanning told Fox Sports.
“I would like to see something be brought into place by either councils or State Government to try and at least regulate the amount of sharks that are coming through”, he said.
He was then taken away by an emergency boat without an injury following the death-defying stunt.
Now before you swear off swimming forever and cancel that beachside vacation, World Surf League Deputy Commissioner Renato Hickel offered the following sentiment as to how rare an attack such as this might be: “This is the first time in professional surfing history…I never experienced and nobody ever experienced a situation like that, where a surfer is attacked by two sharks right when a final starts”. I’m lost for words to be honest.
She said she’d be forever grateful to fellow Australian surfer Julian Wilson, who paddled towards Fanning when he realised his mate and rival was in trouble.
Is it just me or are we seeing more and more shark attacks lately.
Fanning’s mother, Elizabeth Osborne, described the horror of watchingthe incident unfold live on television in Australia. I searched the area for about 40 minutes afterwards but the shark was nowhere to be seen.
Fanning and Julian Wilson were immediately pulled from the water by a nearby safety boat. “But it looks to me that this was an investigation by the shark rather than an attack”.
Cliff said of the surfing competition encounter. I’m halfway between crying and laughing because he [Fanning] got so lucky.
Commentator Ross Williams said there are occasionally shark sightings in and around events, but an actual attack was very unusual. Later on, while safely away from the predator, a visibly shaken Mick Fanning is seen bent over in relief at the narrow escape.
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Penna said any return to the water from Fanning would have significant consequences with the next leg of the men’s world tour not scheduled until the Billabong Pro in Tahiti on August 14.
