A white shark also known as a great white would be the most likely candidate lurking in Southern California waters, he added. Burgess noted that the projected increase in attacks is due to the shark population recovering from historic lows in the 1990s.
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Dr. Humberto Sauri says Maria Korcsmaros was alert and remarkably calm when she came to the emergency room with multiple cuts and fractured ribs.
The Corona resident’s excellent physical fitness is helping her survive the brutal attack, said doctors at a press conference this morning at Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana.
The woman attacked by a shark off the coast of Newport Beach was identified Tuesday as Maria Korcsmaros, a 52-year-old fitness trainer and mother of three who was training for a competition when she was attacked. But they had not been able to confirm it because there were no shark sightings or witnesses to the attack.
Officials said they are not certain about the species of shark that bit Korcsmaros.
As part of training for a half-Iron Man competition scheduled for July 10 in Canada, she was swimming about 1.5 miles off the Newport Beach coast, according to medical center officials, who besides crediting her awesome survival to physical fitness pointed to Korcsmaros remaining calm throughout the ordeal. “It’s giving us insight into how these big sharks make decisions”, Lowe said.
Doctors will seek to prevent any infections from the bite, which they said left teeth marks from Korecsmaros’ shoulder to her pelvis. She was expected to survive, but it was too early to know whether she will regain full use of her arm.
Scientists believe the white shark population off California has been increasing, Lowe said. Lifeguards in a boat who saw her struggling about 100 yards offshore found her gushing blood, doctors and fire officials said.
Lifeguards searched the water for signs of sharks but “have not spotted a shark or any significant marine life activity”, Newport Beach spokeswoman Tara Finnigan said.
The ban on entering the water stretched for several miles from the Balboa Pier to the city limits at Crystal Cove State Beach.
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One stretch of shoreline that was closed immediately after the attack was reopened on Tuesday afternoon, but the beach where the attack took place remains closed.
