A woman was bitten by a shark at around 2am local time on Monday while “walking in knee-deep water” in New Zealand’s Riverton estuary, Southern District police said in a statement on Facebook.
The 21-year-old unidentified victim “suffered a significant laceration to her leg that required emergency medical treatment,” South District police said. A spokesman for Hato Hone St John Ambulance said the victim was “in a serious condition” and was “taken to Southland Hospital”, RNZ reports.
The victim’s mother said New Zealand Gazette that her daughter is in intensive care and that she is “well after the operation”, but still has “a long recovery ahead of her”.
“She is a very strong woman and I know she will get through this,” added the mother. “Recovery will be slow; however, in time she will be fine.”
Police said in a statement that “the time of day is a possible factor” in the attack. In addition, authorities speculate that the shark is a sevengill due to the presence of the species in the estuary.
The sevengill shark is also one of the country’s “more common coastal sharks,” according to New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
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“This shark has a bit of a bite and can be aggressive when provoked,” and can “survive in as little as a meter of water,” notes NIWA.
NIWA’s chief scientist, Dr Malcolm Francis, said that when a sevengill shark’s jaw is open, it looks like a “saw blade”. A shark has jagged teeth that are slanted to the side and have multiple sharp points.
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Riverton coastguard president Ross McKenzie told RNZ he was surprised by the attack. “As far as I know, this is the first shark attack of its kind in the estuary around Riverton,” McKenzie told the outlet. “I’ve been here for about 20 years and it’s the first time I’ve heard something like that.”
“But like I said this is the first one that I know of, I don’t know the history in years past,” McKenzie added. “But I don’t think there have been any shark attacks in this area. You’d hope for one out of the blue.”
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While McKenzie was surprised by the news, he told RNZ that local fishermen often see and catch sharks in Riverton, especially during the evenings.
According to a police statement, authorities are asking those entering the water to “follow safety guidelines and avoid late-night swimming.”
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Source: HIS Education