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Australian surfer Kai McKenzie's leg washes up after shark attack (www.bbc.com)

submitted 3 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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The severed leg of a surfer who was attacked by a shark has washed up on an Australian beach, with doctors now racing to see if it can be reattached.

Kai McKenzie, 23, was surfing near Port Macquarie in New South Wales (NSW) on Tuesday, when a 3m (9.8ft) great white shark bit him.

He managed to catch a wave into shore, where an off-duty police officer used a makeshift tourniquet to stem his bleeding, according to authorities.

His leg washed up a short time later and was put on ice by locals before being taken to hospital, where a medical team is now assessing surgery options.

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[-] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 67 points 3 months ago

shark didn't even eat it... talk about insult to injury

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 52 points 3 months ago

I once heard a shark expert say that most of the time when sharks bite humans, it's not because they want to eat them, it's because that's kind of how they sense the world. Sort of "hmm... wonder what this tastes like? *CHOMP* Nope. Not shark food." I'm guessing that even applies when the leg is bitten completely off.

[-] mecfs@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago

Yep. Most attacks by great whites are shark “children” just learning about food trying different stuff.

[-] Iceman@lemmy.ca 22 points 3 months ago

Aw, that’s so cute.

[-] tomten@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago

Yeah sharks don't like the taste of people but they generally have poor eyesight so they mistake surfers etc splashing on the surface for food or as you say just curious.

[-] 0ops@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago

So they're sea puppies

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

They don't. Our silhouettes get mistaken for seals or something fatty and delicious underneath, but the bite is just fibreglass, bit of meat, and immediately bone. There's a few sharks in Australia that will keep going—like the bulls and nurses—but sharks like the great white will deliver a devistating "curiosity" bite and that's usually it. Usually they are not near beaches, but will be there to chase food in the area in desperate times, especially around headlands or spits.

In surf lifesaving training as a teen, we were taught to get off the board, showing true form, and blow bubbles to disorientate, curing any curisoty. To my knowledge, that's never failed, but it's not like anyone's keeping record. In the situation if there's no wave to take in, it's the best known option to reducing chances of being bit.

I'd like to say how rare it is for that species (deep sea) and that size to be that close to a shore, let alone to attack 1 of tens of thousands that surf in Australia daily; but idiots will still call for a shark cull so they don't have to worry about their toddlers splashing in ankle deep water.

Last time it happened a few years ago, the surfer that got attacked condemned the culling, because surfers know rhat they're 50–150m out in the middle of other animals homes. Well past where all the breaking/rolling waves take action, which sharks don't go into—not even dolphins, really. Obviously it will happen to a very unlucky person every now and again. People that far out from the shore respect the ocean and everything within very much.

Edit: saltesc = saltwater escape. Grown up in Australian ocean.

[-] SoJB@lemmy.ml 10 points 3 months ago

Possibly tourist “shark watch” charters chumming up the shallow water? This is the theory many locals have for the increased incidence of shark attacks in Hawaii.

[-] Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 months ago

None of the shark tours I'm aware of operate in shallow water. Anywhere that's good for surfing is terrible for hanging around in a cage and the sharks are much more reliable in deep water.

And if they were chumming in shallow waters they'd be pretty easily caught. If they're close enough for chumming to influence the sharks around surfers they're very visible from shore.

this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024

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