Springbok angler hurt by shark
By Dave Savides
RICHARDS BAY – A Springbok angler had 63 stitches to wounds in his hand, calf and thigh after a bloody encounter with a 150kg ragged-tooth shark he caught at Cape Vidal.
KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife and the Wetland Authority, Peter Willoughby, 25, of Pretoria was apparently standing in waist-deep, discoloured water at about 7pm last Wednesday when he caught the shark.
In trying to unhook it, Willoughby was bitten on the hand and as he let go, a wave rolled the shark onto his body and he was bitten again.
Willoughby lost a lot of blood and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife staff immediately arranged for him to be taken to St Lucia, where Dr Jan Combrink treated him. An ambulance was also summoned but Willoughby chose to return to Cape Vidal.
“The young man was very lucky it was a raggie, which has sharp, pointed teeth rather than cutters,’ said EKZNW spokesman Jeff Gaisford.
“This provoked incident, as we refer to it, is the first of its kind along this coast.”
Both the Wetland Park Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife warned visitors to the coastal areas of the park as a general precaution not to enter the sea after sunset.
“Especially in places such as Maphelane, St Lucia and Cape Vidal, avoid swimming when muddy water from the Umfolozi River might have discoloured the sea.” – CNS.
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