A Fourth of July at the beach went awry due to a shark attack on South Padre Island, a popular tourist destination on the Southeast Texas Coast. Two people were bitten by a shark, and beachgoers were cleared from the water, officials said.
In addition to the two shark bites, two other people experienced shark encounters but were not seriously injured, Texas Parks and Wildlife stated in a news release.
The encounters were among six reported in the U.S. within about 30 hours this week.
The two Texas bite victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment, and one of those was flown to another hospital for further treatment, the Wildlife Department said. Game wardens, the South Padre Island Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and others assisted with crowd control.
Two members of a U.S. Border Patrol search, trauma and rescue team pulledone bite victim from the water and administered “life-saving” aid, the Border Patrol Laredo Sector posted on its Facebook page.
Shark encounters are uncommon in Texas, the Wildlife Department said.
“The shark was located at the south end of the island and was pushed out to deeper water, “South Padre Island Fire Chief Jim Pigg told Fox 9. “This is a very rare occurrence that happened on the beaches of South Padre. No further sightings or encounters in the last few hours, but we’ll maintain vigilance.”
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Two shark bites in "shark bite capital"
Two shark bites also were reported this week in New Smyrna Beach, in Volusia County, Florida. which has the dubious distinction of being considered the "shark bite capital of the world" year after year. Eight shark bites were reported by the county last year.
On Independence Day, a 21-year-old visitor from Ohio was bitten on his right foot while playing football in knee-deep water at around 4 p.m. , said Tamra Malphurs, interim director of the Volusia County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue.
Then, a little more than 24 hours later, a 26-year-old visitor from Sarasota, Florida was bitten on his left foot while wading in an inner tube in about 5 feet of water, Malphurs said. Neither of the injuries were considered life-threatening but both bite victims were taken to the hospital.
Texas victims and families speak out about shark encounter
One of the victims in Texas, Victoria Ramos, opened up with KHOU about her experience with the shark.
"I just feel, like this pressure, like someone punched me or someone pushed the back of my leg, and I turn around, and there's this shark, and he's turning around, and we're yelling, leaving the water. There's little bite marks on my calf, but I'm alright for now," Ramos recalled.
Videos circulating online show the shark swimming near the shore. Another beachgoer said he saw his son-in-law go under the water before jumping out and saying, "Shark, Shark, Shark!"
"That's when adrenaline kicked in. I started swimming after him,"Rayner Cardenas told local news about the bitten victim.
Shark encounters in the U.S. this summer
Several other shark attacks have been reported in the U.S. this summer.
A man in his 40s on a boat offshore of Amelia Island in Northeast Florida suffered a severe shark bite to his forearm and was rescued and airlifted to a hospital for treatment in late June.
That same month, a 14-year-old was attacked in North Topsail Beach, North Carolina, and "Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry died after being fatally injured by a shark in Oahu, Hawaii.
On June 7 alone, four people were left injured. Three were injured in shark attacks on Florida’s northern Gulf coast. One 45-year-old woman was critically injured along the beach in Walton County, Florida. Two teenage girls were injured while in waist-deep water about 4 miles away from the first incident. Also, on June 7, a 25-year-old woman was bitten by a shark off Oahu.
Why do sharks attack?
Last year, 69 unprovoked shark bites were reported worldwide, according to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History. That was an increase from the previous year but still considered within normal range, said Gavin Naylor, director of theshark research program, which tracks shark attacks worldwide.
More than half of those bites – 36 – were in the U.S., a little more than half the worldwide total, but five fewer bites than in 2022.
Naylor and other shark experts say shark bites are most often a case of mistaken identity when sharks mistake swimmers and surfers for fish. Surfers paddling themselves in the water may resemble fish, for example.
The Shark Attack file confirmed ten unprovoked shark-related deaths last year. Ten of those were considered unprovoked, four more than the five-year annual average. Two of the fatal attacks were in the U.S. The program considers a provoked shark attack bite when a shark is intentionally or unintentionally confronted.
Surfers and people participating in other board sports accounted for 42% of the incidents in 2023, the Shark Attack File reported. Swimmers and waders accounted for 39%, and snorkelers and divers for 13%.
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How to avoid a shark encounter:
Watch for signals in the water, such as large schools of bait near shore or big flocks of birds diving into the water, which could mean fish are in the water, and avoid those areas.
Other tips from the Shark Attack File include the following:
- Stay close to the beach
- Don't swim alone
- Don't swim at dusk or dawn
- Avoid wearing jewelry because it can resemble fish scales
- Avoid excess splashing
- Don't enter the water if bleeding from an open wound or menstruating
What should you do if you encounter a shark?
Maintain eye contact and move away, leaving the water if you can, according to the shark attack file. And if a shark tries to bite you, hit the shark in the eyes and gills or on the snout to push it away.
