Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents News Articles on Shark Bites

Surfer bitten by shark near Humboldt Bay expected to fully recover

A man who was bitten by a shark while surfing off the Northern California coast said the great white came "out of nowhere."

Jay Scrivner, 45, of Eureka, told the Associated Press in a phone interview from his hospital bed that the nearly 10-foot shark bit his thigh and his board Sunday as he surfed near Humboldt Bay.

He told the news service on Monday that he was lying on his board, paddling in a familiar spot when he was bitten.

Scrivner said that "out of nowhere" he saw the shark's teeth and nose. After he was bitten, he took a swing at the great white and let out what a friend nearby described as a primordial yell, the AP reported.

"I couldn't believe it happened," Scrivner said. "When I turned away from the shark, I said, 'Did I really get bit?' Your mind doesn't believe it."

Scrivner says he did a quick inventory of his body and found everything intact. He was aided by other surfers, who wrapped his wound and kept him warm.

http://www.latimes.com/

Shark attacks surfer near North Jetty

A man surfing near the North Jetty was bitten by a shark Sunday morning.

The surfer -- whose name was not released Sunday -- is expected to recover after getting bit on the thigh at Bunkers, a popular surf spot near Humboldt Bay.

According to witness accounts, the attack occurred at about 8:45 a.m. People on the beach at the time were able to stop the bleeding with towels as emergency personnel responded.

Despite the gate leading into the area being closed due to the government shutdown, a Bureau of Land Management caretaker was able to open it allowing an ambulance to access the man.

Bunkers was the site of Humboldt County's most recent shark attack when surfer Scott Stephens was attacked by a great white in Oct. 2012 and lived to tell the tale.

http://www.times-standard.com