Australian grandmother beats off attacking shark

I like what she says in the very last line in this story.



Short video here...

BBC News - Australian grandmother beats off attacking shark


An Australian grandmother has survived a shark attack by repeatedly punching and kicking the animal after it "ripped off" part of her body.
Paddy Trumbull, 60, suffered deep bite wounds and lost a huge amount of blood in the incident while snorkelling near the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland.
Doctors say Mrs Trumbull is fortunate to be alive after suffering such a ferocious mauling.
At hospital, she joked about now having to get a "remodelled bottom".
Speaking from her hospital bed to local media, she said that while snorkelling from a chartered boat with her husband and others, she felt "the most almighty huge tug" and "knew immediately what it was".
Paddy Trumbull, lying on her stomach, lost 40% of her blood in the attack

"I turned around and I saw this huge shark."
Mrs Trumbull said: "I then thought 'this shark's not going to get the better of me' and I started punching it on the nose, punching, punching, punching.
"And then it got me under the water, but not much because I started kicking at its neck."
She said she had "a bit of a tug of war" with the 1.5m (5ft) shark, knowing that it had ripped her flesh as she could see blood, but she felt no pain.
She was pulled on board the boat and given first aid, before being airlifted to Mackay Base Hospital where she underwent surgery.
Surgeon Mark Flanagan said: "We can estimate that she lost about 40 per cent of her blood volume from the degree of shock that she had when she came in, and the fact that we required to give her several units of blood."
Mrs Trumbull said she was happy to be alive. "I think they're going to get me a counsellor on Monday, to sort of sort it out, and I have to have a new, remodelled bottom, so that's a positive.

Interesting story - yet its strange how people will play about in shark infested seas. I remember distinctly a case off the SA coast where several Zambezi Grey (Bull Sharks) were seen beyond the third breaker. And a group of surfers wouldn't get out of the sea when they were told to over loudspeakers.

The inevitable happend!

The Bull Shark is the worst of the lot

Ron The Hat Clay said:

The Bull Shark is the worst of the lot

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I have to disagree, tiger sharks are far worse.

Wolfman Woody said:

I have to disagree, tiger sharks are far worse.

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Ditto,

The Tiger shark is the most unpridictable, a few years back we had a series of fatal attacts, six people were killed here in one summer

Tiger Shark, Bull shark, they are both unpredictable and dangerous.

The Bull Shark, also known as the Zambezi Grey, Lazy Grey, or Zambi was found to be responsible for more shark attacks off the Natal coast than any other species.

One simple rule for swimming in shark infested oceans.

DON'T - Ever!!

I get the cringes when I watched hundreds of people mucking about in the surf in places like Bondi Beach or Durban Beach, knowing that beyond those breakers are Bull and Tiger Sharks looking for a hole in the flimsy shark nets they stick up so that they can have a nice bit of manflesh!

Whereever you go in the world where there are warmer oceans, you will hear of shark attacks. There are regualr attacks every year off the Natal coastline, yet people will still put their lives at risk by swimming or surfing in such seas.

If you must swim in shark infested seas, don't go near the sea before 11-00am or after 3-00 pm.

And don't trust sharknets!

They should be banned as they play havoc with inshore fish species.

In the Royal Navy when I was in (the 50's early 60's) it was considered ok for "hands to bathe" when the weather was fine regardless of where you were.

Once on anchoring off Bahrein with temperatures off the scale they announced hands to bathe, I being a scaredecat (wise really because I knew the dangers) remained on the bridge. Within three or four minutes of the first one diving off the side I counted 7 or 8 sharks circling them and the ship as did others on the lower decks (I was on a cruiser) and warning were shouted, arms waved and the safety boat picked up those that never noticed or heard. These sharks were big, very big and I have no doubt they would have attacked given the time.

Again, in Aden on transit from Singapore to Malta one of the stokers got a bit sozzled on his saved up rum ration (we had neat rum as it was a small crew of about 35, the last of the fleet tugs) and dived over the side, not a thing to do in Aden because the harbour is heaving with sharks that feed on the waste thrown overboard and dumped by the locals. Within a minute of him going in we heard the screams as he was attacked by a shark which we later discovered had ripped out the whole of his thigh muscle and part of the bone. He was eventually transferred to Haslar but his leg had to be removed at the hip and he almost died from the infection from the bite, 'Thumper' Thorpe was his name, how could I ever forget?

The thing is "It's their world" not ours, and they are at the top! And have been for millions of years!

The main thing is that humans are a much bigger threat to sharks. I remember hearing the ratio between humans killed by sharks and sharks killed by humans is up to 1:22 million (the number change according to different estimates on the illegal fishing), which means more than 100 million killed sharks a year.

Global Shark Attack File home page
Atlantic Shark Populations Shrinking Fast: Scientific American
A Shark Tale: Are These Mighty Ocean Predators in Trouble?: Scientific American
DNA Testing to Help Sharks Keep Fins: Scientific American Podcast