HONOLULU (HAWAII)- A 61-year old man from Oregan, USA, was bitten on the leg by a tiger shark last week in off Kihei, Hawaii. He was the fourth victim of shark bites in the past few weeks in Hawaiian waters.
Hawaiian experts are still guessing why there have been so many attacks in a short period of time in one area. According to marine biologists it is almost certain that all the attacks were done by tiger sharks.
Tiger sharks
Early november a diver was bitten by a 15 feet long tiger shark on the right leg. At the end of october a tourist from California was injured while fighting off a shark. And before that, a tiger shark bit into a paddleboard giving its rider a good scare.
Recent studies of tiger shark populations didn’t show any unusually high numbers in the area. So the why remains a mystery.
Snorkeling
The 61-year-old visitor from Oregon was snorkeling with two others. They rode paddle boards to a spot more than 250 yards off the Kihei coastline. The man said he felt a tug and looked down to see his leg in the shark’s mouth.
When the shark released his leg, he started swimming towards shore. When his leg was bleeding too much he climbed on his paddle board. He and his companions got the attention of a crew from Wailea Canoe Club.
After the attack, Maui officials closed a two-mile section of shoreline for the day.