Shark attacks woman walking in knee-deep water after midnight in New Zealand
A New Zealand woman is recovering after she was bitten by a shark in shallow waters, officials said Monday.
The woman, 21, was bitten at about 2 a.m. local time on Monday, the Southern District Police said in a statement on social media. She was in "walking in knee-deep water" in an estuary in Riverton, New Zealand when the shark bit her. Police said the "time of day is a possible factor" in the incident.
The woman, who has not been identified, suffered a "significant laceration to her leg" and received treatment from emergency responders, police said. Local publication RNZ reported that the woman was transported to Southland Hospital in serious condition.
Police said it's possible that the woman was attacked by a sevengill shark. These types of sharks are "present in the estuary," the department said, and is one of New Zealand's more common inshore sharks, according to the country's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. The shark has serrated teeth and "is a bit of a biter, and may be aggressive when provoked," according to NIWA. It can survive in just a meter of water.
Riverton Coastguard president Ross McKenzie told RNZ that he was surprised to hear of the incident, saying that it was the "first shark attack of that kind in the estuary" that he was aware of. However, he noted that local fishermen saw and caught sharks often while fishing off the area's wharfs. He said that the sharks are more likely to be seen at night.
"You would reasonably assume you'd be safe wading around in knee-deep water, but you just don't know what's out there and it is their environment, not ours," McKenzie said.
McKenzie and the police department warned visitors to the area, which is a popular holiday destination, to be cautious in the water. People should avoid late-night swims and pay attention to their environment.
In general, shark attacks are rare, and unprovoked shark attacks have declined over the past decade, CBS News previously reported. In 2022, Australia recorded just nine unprovoked shark bites and zero unprovoked fatal attacks, according to the the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File. The file defines unprovoked bites as incidents when a human is in a shark's natural habitat and does not provoke the shark.
https://www.cbsnews.com/
12/19/2023 Female 21 Riverton New Zealand
2023 Shark Attacks the Latest Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents which include Fatal Attacks to minor injuries bites and attacks where the person fought an aggressive shark.
12/19/2023 Female 21 Riverton New Zealand
We have another tool we are building at https://sharkattacks.net
Return to “2023 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents”
Jump to
- All Years of Reported Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2024 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2023 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2022 Latest Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attacks 2022
- ↳ 2021 Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attack in 2021
- ↳ 2020 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2019 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2018 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents 2018
- ↳ 2017 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2017 or Attack
- ↳ 2016 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2016 or Attack
- ↳ 2015 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2015 or Shark Bite
- ↳ 2014 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2014 or Attack
- ↳ 2013 Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attacks 2013
- ↳ 2012 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 2011 Shark Attack and Related Incidents
- ↳ 2010 Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2009 Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2008 Shark Attacks ~ Shark Attacks 2008
- ↳ 2007 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2006 Reported Shark Accidents
- ↳ 2005 Reported Shark Incidents
- ↳ 2004 Reported Shark Encounters
- ↳ 2003 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2002 Reported Shark Bites
- ↳ 2001 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2000 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 1990 - 1999 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1980 - 1989 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1970 - 1979 Shark Attack and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1969 and Earlier Shark Attack Incidents