Just did see this on TV and thought that I had seen his name in some results.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/22/earlyshow/main1156909.shtml
Guess he got lucky. Tigersharks are as bad as Great Whites…
I’ll be there in 3 weeks. I was planning on getting some solid swim time in. Now I feel safe. Kind of like lightning – never strikes twice. What are the odd of another shark attack so soon?
Wow - sounds like he got very lucky and the guy who swam out to help him was pretty brave as well.
At the bottom of the report it said the last shark attack was in Oct 2004 so I guess you have about 14 months.
I still can’t believe gets hit by a 10 foot tiger shark and only loses a pinky finger. Paint him lucky.
We were in Maui the past two years but didn’t go this year because the bf’s family moved. We swam everyday we were there. If we were there this year… I would not be swimming! Poor guy!
One thing I have to add is that he was swimming 300 yards off shore. That is too far for comfort. You can swim, but stay closer to the shoreline. Sharks live where there are deep drop offs. Also, don’t swim where it’s murky. Sharks have bad eyesight and think a swimmer or surfer is a turtle. One taste, like this case, and they don’t come back for more. He is a very lucky person who obviously has more left to do on this earth.
Tiger shark is the type that bit off that surfer’s arm a few years ago - Bethany Hamilton. Can’t remember what island she lives on. A northern island - they were surfing a break that they had to swim out 1/2 mile to reach, over a deep dropoff where the sharks hang out. Yikes.
Pretty much sums it up. Maybe if he wouldn’t have pushed the shark, he would have gotten away with just a big scare… never know.
Sure is: Sharks don’t finds us Humans to be very tasty.
Fedeb
Still want to learn how to surf?
Bob
Kauai, north of Princeville, Tunnels Beach
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Hey remember folks you are in their house, and we aren’t the top of the food chain when you are surfing or swimming. Interesting thing, I don’t know one surfer who talks about it much or eats shark meat ever. At least not in my circle of friends. That whole section of Maui and Kauai seem to be taking their licks lately for shark bites.
Attack victim was a triathlete. Most likly being in such good shape he made it through this one. Man Bitten by Shark Feared Another Attack By ALEXANDRE DA SILVA AP HONOLULU (Dec. 23) - The shark bit into Jonathan Genant’s left hand, then swam off. The swimmer gripped the wrist of his injured arm to slow the blood loss, flipped on his back and began to kick. But without the use of his arms, he could only drift.
Then it hit him: Would the shark come back?
“Help! Help!” Genant began yelling. Bodyboarders swam him back to Keawakapu Beach.
Genant, 29, a former triathlete, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday he often thought about how vulnerable he would be if a shark spotted him as he trained far from shore.
“If he had taken another strike at me, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Genant, who lost his left pinky and part of his ring finger when he was bit by the shark Wednesday morning.
The San Diego-based Web designer was alone when the shark attacked about 182 meters from the coast.
Fire Battalion Chief Alan Pascua said a helicopter had spotted a tiger shark that was between more than 3 meters long in the area.
Genant said he saw a white shadow moving underneath him. The shape turned gray when the shark turned upright on its belly and headed toward him, he said.
The animal opened its jaw. For a split second, Genant said he considered fending it off with a blow to the nose, but the shark’s mouth was too big and a punch would have plunged his arm directly into a row of sharp teeth.
Lifeguards closed the beach after the attack. It was the first shark attack in Hawaii resulting in injury since October 2004 when a man was bitten while spearfishing off Molokai.
Genant spent Wednesday night at a hospital. He said Thursday he feels a little pain and his hand is wrapped in bandages.
“It really was an incredible creature as frightening as it is,” Genant said. “It was his domain, and he was the boss, he was going to decide my fate … I’m lucky to get away as I did.”
Wow. The guy looks like he is OK except for the serious hand injury. Jeez. That’s terrible.
Tiger sharks- bad. for some reason I am good with every shark species except tiger sharks. They seem so…stupid, they are dangerous. Great Whites seem very dangerous but a bit more calculating. That is likely a mistake since the big ones are all dangerous.
I’ve become de-sensitzed by the “petting zoo” sharks in Belize. They are about as dangerous as my cat.
I’m glad this guy made it. Terrifying.
Yeah. Note to self: AVOID TUNNELS
Actually, I do. I must be getting over my irrational, (well, apparently not so irrational), fear of open water.
But, I’d like to learn on an overcrowded, popular break - so mebbe sharks will have eaten their fill by the time they get to me.
Also avoid any areas where there are a lot of bait fish aka din-din.
Hanalei Bay is a great swimming area. Shallow, calm, sand bottom and no bait fish to attract the bad fellas.
I’m going to remember this next time someone brags about how nice it is to live in Hawaii over the winter when its freezing here. We never have shark attacks here in the winter.
I know what you mean about the tigers; they will take a bite out of ANYTHING just to see what it’s about. It’s like they use their mouths like feelers or something. If you just happen to be out there, they’ll more than likely investigate it seems by tasting first.
The whites appear much more predatory and stalker-like; when they hit they are usually going for a killing/disabling bite. Every time I do a race down Santa Cruz/Monterey way I just hope that the numbers game (that and being a MOPer in the swim) go my way when the cannon goes off.
I rented the movie Open Water a few weeks ago; what a freak-out for the diving set. The seas and the oceans are a whole other world.
Bull sharks have attacked more people than any other type of shark. They can inhabit fresh water and have been found 150 miles inland in places like the Ganges, Mississippi and Lake Nicaragua. They can also swim in depths of less than three ft of water.
Wife and I participated in a bull shark feeding on the north shore of Cuba eight years ago. The dive masters were hand feeding 12 ft bull sharks. The sharks were taking food as gentle as does my lab retreiver. They would swim within a few feet of us and then away once they realized we had no food. My heart was in my mouth but it’s an experience I’ll never forget.