I just caught a quick blurb on the News this a.m. about an 8 year old boy who had his arm and leg bitten off by a shark in Pensacolaand who may not make it. I couldn't hang around to hear the full report but was wondering if anyone else did. Was he swimming in a remote area, lifeguarded beach or what? My children also heard this and are pretty freaked out about swimming in the ocean down south now, where we will be going next month. Did anyone hear how this happened?

We live in New Orleans, which is maybe 5 hours from Pensacola. My family took many trips to the exact place this accident occurred - Fort Pickens, which I believe is part of the National Seashore in that area.

Local newspapers reports indicate that the child was in waist deep water with either his dad or uncle nearby. The bull shark appeared out of no where and grabbed the boy's arm. The uncle or father (still not sure which) wrestled the shark to the shore and was joined by a ranger or lifeguard who shot the shark. They managed to pry the child's arm out of the shark's mouth. Someone immediately began giving the child CPR. The doctors reported that the CPR is probably what saved the child's life - even though no pulse was detected for nearly 30 minutes. It's all quite amazing that he lived. Please forgive me if my account is not exactly accurate - I'm typing all this from memory of several accounts I've read/seen/heard over the last few days. The child is having problems with kidney failure now, and they are not sure if he will make it. The arm was re-attached. Please keep your thoughts with this family.

The last word I heard is that Fla. has about 40 shark attacks a year, usually resulting in one or two fatalities.

Now, if you consider the millions of people who go swimming there every year, you quickly realize that you're more likely to be hit by lightning or die in a car crash than be attacked by a shark.

Of course, none of that will influence a child's thinking or fears, but them's the facts.

Meg, That is really heartbreaking. That poor family! I know the chances of that happening are very rare but I think I would have a hard time letting my children in the water after hearing this, even if they wanted to go.

There's an article in todays CNN.com about it, in the 'U.S.' section. Why don't you read it?

Thanks Hammerhead, I will.

There is a reason why Florida leads the world in shark attacks. If you ever take a helecopter ride over most any Florida Beaches you would be amazed by the number of sharks you see from the air so close to the shore and the swimmers. As in the film Jaws "You may never go back in the water again". Most attacks occur during dawn or dusk(just ask the surfers) when the sharks cannot see as well and that's when officials tell you not to swim. Sharks attacks are rare when compared to the number of swimmers but why take unnecessary risks. It's a tragedy no doubt, and maybe not unavoidable given the number of swimmers(law of averages) but still a shock. Just like the little girl who was killed recently by an alligator in Winter Haven, we've come to accept these attacks as a way of life in Florida but a shock and tragedy just the same. Our Prayers go out for the young Boy and his Family.

There's more discussion on this topic under the thread titled "Sharks, Mosquitoes, Oh Dear, Florida" if you are interested. There aren't 1 or 2 fatalities a year here, though there was another last fall in the area I live in, however, it was the first in many years.

It was the boy's uncle who wrestled the shark onto shore...an almost unbelievable feat under any circumstances, and even more so as this was a 200 lb, 7' shark. It was his aunt who knew CPR and continued to administer it for over 1/2 hour. Though the shark got a chunk of the boy's leg, it is intact still, with muscle damage. His re-attached arm has good circulation and both wounds look good (no infection) though he had some fever last night.

Reports this morning said that the EEG monitoring his brain waves are the same for him as would be for a person in a very deep sleep.....don't know if there is permanent damage at this point, but it sounds as if they suspect there is. Such a sad story. If you've seen his picture, he's cute as can be.

"How did this happen?"

There are lots of answers, from choices made about where to swim, to changes in shark population and behavior that may be linked to environmental changes. We hear about these unusual accidents because they are unusual and because someone believes that we should make future choices based on the information. They may or may not be right, but it's worth knowing where the sharks are, when they bite, etc.

One thing's for sure: he didn't get bitten by a shark because he _wasn't_ hit by lightning or struck by a car. To "Jaws," I always hate the logic that says "you have a better chance of being hit by lightning... or struck by a car .. or winning the lottery ..." The comparison is useless since the events are unrelated and one can't choose which catastrophe to have. No, we don't want a lot of unnecessary anxiety about swimming in oceans, but neither do we want to find out after the fact that shark attacks are on the increase and no one told us.

Thats the truth, Most! I never knew before reading these posts that sharks are more evident at dusk and dawn. You can bet that I will remember that now and never go swimming at those times!

A couple years back I saw a special on The Discovery Channel about sharks. Like xxx mentioned above, they showed footage of FLA beaches from a helicopter. You could see the crowds on the beach and people in the water. Very close to the swimmers, were a multitude of sharks circling around them. It was a stunning revelation. The narrator of the film said that attacks are rare. I don't think one should stop swimming altogether as a result of these rare attacks, but like curious, I will increase my chances of not being attacked by staying out of the water at dawn and dusk.

I've seen lots of sharks while I was scuba diving and I can't imagine that the reason for the dawn/dusk attacks is that they don't see as well. I don't believe sharks see all that well to begin with. The reason there is more attacks at that time would be because most fish feed early and late in the day.

The following website has a ton of information--how, where, when, the risk, reducing the risk etc. It dispelled one myth I've always heard and believed...that if dolphins are present, sharks are not. Not so. They both dine at the same restaurants... As to night or dusk attacks, they attribute it to their being more active then and having "competitive sensory advantage". The site added some other cautions which had never occurred to me.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm

I'm not sure if I buy into the dusk/dawn theory. Sharks, for the most part, come in to shallow waters following prey. I think it's a combination of two things: 1) the tides, and 2) if small fish are running close to shore.
Look, as sad as the attack is, it IS a rare occurance. I've been scuba/snorkeling all my life (re: a LONG time, but who's counting years), and I've been up close and personal with a number of sharks. None of them have shown much interest in me when I'm in their element. Now, the problems occur when the swimmer (or surfer) is splashing around on the surface. That's like ringing a dinner bell for any hungry sharks who are trolling for food. They think those splashing hands are whiting jumping out of the water. Things like this will happen. There's no way to safeguard against it (you can't always tell when the prey fish are running offshore.) I don't think we need to boycott the beaches of Florida (although that might help improve traffic down that way.)

To Most:
I must disagree with your comments about how useless the "more likely to get struck by lightning" numbers are.
You are correct that these types of numbers are not mutually exclusive....any number of these things could happen to the same person, etc. But the reason they're still valid comparative references is the sheer (miniscule) size of the numbers.
If you add up all the unlikely "catastrophe statistics" you can think of (winning the lottery jackpot, struck by lightning, killed by a shark, etc) you'll STILL come up with an infinitessimally small number.

On the other hand, 'bad luck' befalls us all eventually. We all get sick, many are in car accidents during a lifetime, victims of crime, etc etc.
But the point of the shark numbers is that if you're going to alter your vacation itinerary because you have a one in 14 million chance of being killed by a shark, you sure as heck better stay out of all cars, never go near people in public who might cough on you, etc etc.

Jersey:
Sorry but: The odds are higher than that unless you live in Iowa and don't go swimming in the Ocean. Not 1 in 14 million.
I'm told there are some 30 shark attacks per year in Florida. The state population is something like 16-20 million. Thats about a 1 in 700,000 chance each year. Average automobile fatalities is about 1 in 10,000 each year. The average person spends 500-700 hours per year in a motor vehicle. How many hours on average do they spend swimming in the ocean off Florida? If the average Floridian(man, woman, child-everyone) spends 7 hours in the ocean there odds of getting attacked by a shark would be the same per hour as getting killed while they were driving in their car. The longer you are in the water, the higher the odds get.
I am not saying stay out of your car or stay out of the water. I am saying it does make sense to drive carefully and be aware that there could be sharks in the water. As a scuba diver in California I have had 1 friend killed and 2 others attacked by sharks over the years. It doesn't keep us out of the wster but we dammed well take precautions. For one, we get the hell out of the water when we see a shark.

Safe driving.

Except that you really should add in the number of swimming tourists to the calculation. I would wager a large number of the tourists spend quite a bit of time in the water, and Florida gets a lot of tourists. Also consider this - yes, the odds may be greater that you will get struck by lightening, but the odds of anything go up as you undertake certain behaviors. For example, if you drive faster, you are more likely to have an accident. In the same way, if you swim off the shores of Florida, you are more likely to get attacked by a shark than if you swim off the shores of Virginia, or in fact most anywhere else. I saw the news photos of the sharks swimming offshore (not small ones in my opinion). I am not an alarmist (in fact, I used to have quite an interest in sharks), but it does make you think a little before spending a lot of time in the water.

One small nitpick, Dan. there are lots of sharks off the coast of Virginia. They're just not as easily seen because the water isn't as shallow or clear as in Florida. Yeah, there are probably MORE sharks off Florida (becuase of the warmer water), but there are still LOTS of sharks up and down the coast. Also, the deeper the water, generally the larger the sharks. For instance, great whites are much more prevalent up north (they like deep water; bigger prey.)

Another nit-picking. Our local media here in Northwest Florida report the boy was in knee deep water at dusk. I heard the tape recording of the 911 call -- the uncle actually thought the shark had bitten the arm AND LEG off, but the leg was not bitten all the way off. There was no pulse or blood pressure for 30 minutes. He lost so much blood that potentiall all his organs were affected. He was actually more alert after the surgery (recognizing family) than now. With this kind of blood loss and its effect on the vital organs, it is quite likely that he will decompensate as the toal damage is seen.

We are leaving Thursday for Florida and will be staying in Marco Island, Florida. Have two children ages 5 and 6. Just curious about shark attacks in that area. thanks. My heart goes out to that little boy and his family. I do hope he gets well.