Massive shark devours 77-year-old

[Slim]

Massive shark devours 77-year-old

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041115.wshark1115/BNStory/Front/

Cape Town

A great white shark estimated to be at least five metres long attacked and killed an elderly South African woman Monday off a beach near Cape Town, officials said.

Tyna Webb, 77, who lived in the area, was swimming Monday off Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek when the massive shark circled her and then attacked, witnesses and officials said. About 15 people witnessed the attack.

â Å“All that was left was a little red bathing cap,â ? said Paul Dennett, who witnessed the attack from his home nearby.

Mr. Dennett estimated the shark to be at least five metres long.

Rescue workers using boats and aircraft to search for the woman's body later spotted the shark. Great whites often are seen in the area feeding off the large seal population.

â Å“The shark is bigger than the helicopter ... it is huge,â ? a crewman said.

Law enforcement officials advised people not to swim along the Cape of Good Hope.

http://images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGAM/images/20041115/wshark1115/shark2.jpg

 

[Ranger]

Oh My God...that is horrible...

 

[Big Foot]

Big shark = perpetually hungry shark I guess.

 

[Crazy_Eyes]

Big shark = Big Appetite....Man I could not begin to comprehend the panic i'd be feeling if I saw that thing swimming around me :'(

 

[Pikache]

That's nuts.

 

[NavyGrunt]

this is the stuff my dreams are made of....and ninjas.....and robots......vampires....werewolves.....and various combinations of them...

 

[bossi]

I got a chuckle out of the line "... decided not to tell the three girls a shark was sharing the water with them ...".

Full story - Dolphin pod protects swimmers

Dolphins saved us from shark, lifeguards say

Veteran lifeguard Rob Howes says the dolphins protected his group from the great white shark. Picture / John Stone

25.11.2004

By AINSLEY THOMSON

A pod of dolphins is being credited with saving a group of lifeguards from a circling great white shark.

Lifeguard Rob Howes, his daughter Niccy, 15, Karina Cooper, 15, and Helen Slade, 16, were swimming 100m out to sea at Ocean Beach, near Whangarei, when seven bottlenose dolphins sped towards them and herded them together.

"They were behaving really weird," Mr Howes said, "turning tight circles on us, and slapping the water with their tails."

Mr Howes and Helen Slade had drifted about 20m away from the others when a dolphin swam straight at them and dived a few metres in front of them.

"I turned in the water to see where it was going to come up, but instead I saw this great big grey fish swim around me," said Mr Howes.

The veteran lifeguard said it was undoubtedly a 3m-long great white shark.

"It glided around in an arc and headed for the other two girls. My heart went into my mouth, because one of them was my daughter. The dolphins were going ballistic."

The 47-year-old said the dolphins herded the swimmers - who are all members of the Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving Club - back together and circled protectively around them for another 40 minutes, fending off the shark ...

 

[Slim]

Wow...!

 

[Scratch_043]

This one disturbs me the most, I think:

The only reason he went public was "I didn't want anyone to get chomped [by the shark], so I couldn't be accused of not having made people aware there was a shark out there".

He sat on the info for THREE WEEKS before telling anyone, and when he did, it was only to save his own ass.

 

[shaboing]

i HATE sharks, lol. last time i was in florida there was like 10 attacks in a week or something so i wont swim in the ocean anymore unless i absolutly have to. i dont have a prob looking at them on the tv or whatever, but you will never see them coming till its too late if your in the water and i dont like that idea, lol

 

[atticus]

I'm never going swimming again. Even though I live in Alberta.

 

[Sgt_McWatt]

Wow the first one is so sad and I feel sorry for her.

However the second story is almost up lifting. That no matter how many animals we kill in our conquest to destroy this world and wipe out the human race they still protect us.
Regards,

 

[NavyGrunt]

Wow the first one is so sad and I feel sorry for her.

However the second story is almost up lifting. That no matter how many animals we kill in our conquest to destroy this world and wipe out the human race they still protect us.
Regards,

yeah....  ;D suckers.....

 

[Bograt]

Wow the first one is so sad and I feel sorry for her.

However the second story is almost up lifting. That no matter how many animals we kill in our conquest to destroy this world and wipe out the human race they still protect us.
Regards,

Don't let their smiles fool you. Dolphins are cunning and devious.

Dophins are evil. It wouldn't surprise me that in fact they were working with the white shark- acting as forward observers, directing the shark to the group of swimmers. There probably was some kind of equipment malfunction that caused the murderous group to call off the attack.

I used to work at Sea World of Texas. I know for a fact that the dolphins in the touch pool were planning to usurp and overthrow 2 latin american governments. Their plot was uncovered accidentally by the discovery of a spool of red thread, a spoon, and a Three Dog Night A track tape. I can't get into the details here, but what I can say is what they were planning would send shockwaves throughout the diplomatic and marine science communities.

For goodness sake man, do not let the smile fool oyu. They call them Devil Fish for a reason.

 

[1feral1]

White Pointer Vs 15 yr old girl.

Back about 20 yrs ago, a female friend of mine, was 15, and off the coast of Queensland, of Surfers Paradise, was swimming, when a 13ft White Pointer (AKA White Death, Great White) was sighted.

She was unaware, and the beast was right behind her, only about 50 metres from shore. Finally she took heed to all the people yelling from the beach and a near by boat, and she seen the fin cutting thru the 3 metre deep water.

She told me she was so scared she almost started to plane while swimming to the shore, then the shark was right upon her, and brushed her as it swam by on its first pass, and with its abrasive skin, scraped her, braking her skin, and she began to bleed. As the shark came back for a 2nd pass the boat came over to her, and literally dragger her from the shark as it was less than a few seconds away from this time, was was sure to be a bite.

My friend Syb, was taken to the hospital and treated for shock, kept in over night and released. Even after 20 yrs, she realises how close she came to not making her 16th birthday. BTW, she is blonde and one of the most prettiest girls I have met   ;D   and currently a journalist (SGT) for Army News.

She still surfs.

Would you?

Anyways sharks here is just a way of life, and its better to swim on a crowded beach, so the odds are in your favour, if anything happens, it will be someone else. Last weekend on NSW beaches alone, over 6,000 people were rescued by Life Savers. Yes, and today here in the south, its the first day of summer, and it will break 37C today, after yesterdsay's top of 42C in the western subs. The overnight low was 26C.

As for sharks vs you and me, there are a few rules which I live by, and these are as fol:

1.   Never swim at the mouth of a river
2.   Never swim alone
3.   Never   swim in the early morning or evening (always between 1000-1600)
4.   Never swim in murky water or after a good rain
5. Never swim if dogs and other animals are in the water; and finally
6. Listen to your 6th sense, if you feel creepy, get out immediatly

After work today, I will be off Lilli Pilli Point at the end of the road enjoying a swim in the local shark protected (netted) swimming area, for a few laps to cool off after yet another scorcher.

Below is a cutting from Sep 2000 which I kept. Its a white Pointer attack in WA, off of Perth. There has been about 6 more fatals and numerous non-fatals in Australian waters since this bloke was killed.


Cold beers,

Wes

 

[Bograt]

Wesley,

I don't know how you guys do it. With the spiders, snakes, blue ringed octopi, and dingos I think I would be living in a oxygen filled bubble. Seriously, if it isn't the sharks that get you, it is either the salties or skin cancer.

(Have I touched upon every Aussie stereotype?)

 

[atticus]

Wesley,

I don't know how you guys do it. With the spiders, snakes, blue ringed octopi, and dingos I think I would be living in a oxygen filled bubble. Seriously, if it isn't the sharks that get you, it is either the salties or skin cancer.

(Have I touched upon every Aussie stereotype?)

You missed the crocidiles.

 

[1feral1]

Wesley,

I don't know how you guys do it. With the spiders, snakes, blue ringed octopi, and dingos I think I would be living in a oxygen filled bubble. Seriously, if it isn't the sharks that get you, it is either the salties or skin cancer.

(Have I touched upon every Aussie stereotype?)

'Tis truly a freaky place, and even in our house we have had three nasty poisonus spiders inside in the past year. All whitetails. Do a search for 'whitetail spider australia'.  Very nasty indeed.

Shaking ones shoes is a daily thing, plus shaking the laundry on the line when bringing it it, plus never walking barefoot on the grass at night in the summer.

Try also searching for 'sydney funnelweb spider' and 'mouse spider'.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[I_am_John_Galt]

Hey, Wes!

You write this:

she is blonde and one of the most prettiest girls I have met  ;D 

And then attach a picture of some balding, middle-aged, cheesy-mustachioed guy!!!  What's wrong with you? 

More seriously, I worked in Hong Kong a few years ago and they had a rash of shark attacks ... they kept attacking on beaches that were protected by, um, "shark-proof" nets: do they regularly use those (or anything better) in Oz, too?  I seem to recall them talking about something electrical (for the Triathlon swimmers) during the Sydney Olympics ... not sure how they didn't electrocute the athletes, though ...

 

[1feral1]

All around Syd, there is plenty of these netted beaches, and the electrical thingos can be fitted to SCUBA tanks, and even surfers. The price will come down and be affordable for all sooner or later.

Like bears in the forrest, sharks are just a awy of life here.

Cheers,

Wes