Shark bites swimmer’s hand, then foot as he kicks it away, CA officials say
A long-distance swimmer was bitten by a shark off the coast of California, fire officials say.
A boat captain called the Los Angeles Fire Department shortly after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, to report a swimmer had been injured by a shark, Capt. Adam VanGerpen told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
At the time, the 54-year-old was swimming from Catalina Island to San Pedro and was about 12 miles offshore, Lyndsey Lantz, an LAFD spokesperson, said in a phone interview.
The swimmer was participating in “some sort of a competition,” with a boat crew in tow, VanGerpen said.
Initially, VanGerpen said, the about 3- to 4-foot-long white shark bit the swimmer’s hand.
“Then, he went to kick it away, and it bit his foot,” VanGerpen said.
By the time fire rescuers arrived at the boat, the swimmer’s hand and foot had been bandaged, according to VanGerpen.
Fire rescuers transported the man, who had non-life-threatening injuries, back to shore by boat, and he was taken to the hospital via ambulance at about 3 a.m., Lantz said.
VanGerpen said shark bites are “very rare,” adding that he’s not seen one before in his 25-year career.
Shark attacks
Shark attacks are “extremely rare,” according to John Carlson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“You have a better chance of getting in a car accident and being injured on your way to the beach than you do actually when you get to go swimming,” he said in a video posted to NOAA’s website.
In 2024, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File investigated 88 shark-human interactions worldwide. Of those interactions, 47 were unprovoked shark bites.
If you see a shark in the water, however, don’t panic, Richard Peirce, former chair of the Shark Trust and Shark Conservation Society, told CNN.
“Don’t start splashing around – you’re just going to excite, incite and encourage the shark’s interest,” he told the news outlet.
Instead, maintain eye contact with the shark and read its body language. If the shark appears to be in “attack mode,” you should make yourself as large as possible, CNN reported. If it seems to just be swimming by, try to stay small.
If the shark attacks, experts told CNN you shouldn’t play dead.
“You must try and keep the animal in sight and very slowly and gently try and swim backwards and get into shallow water,” Peirce told CNN. “Again, you’ve got to be careful – large sharks can attack in very shallow depths.”
