Deep Dark Water - Shark Attack StoriesIts Not Safe.               Shark Attack Chronicles.

Date: August 28, 2008 11 AM
Location: Marina State Park near Monterrey California
Shark: Great White

More evidence to the fact that God is good, surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle and he got an unusual one! The 24-year-old had gone surfing with four of his friends at Marina State Park just off of the shores of Monterrey, California, enjoying a day of the sport he loved.

“[It] came out of nowhere. There’s no warning at all. Maybe I saw him a quarter second before it hit me. But no warning. It was just a giant shark,” Endris said. “It just shows you what a perfect predator they really are.”

“It was so powerful and graceful and it was so fast and effective. He lifted me out of the water and bit down twice on me - once while I was in the air and once while I was going back into the water. He bit the same area, like an inch away and gave me another row of teeth marks.”

The predator attacked Todd while he was sitting on his board, its huge jaws trying to lock around both the surfer AND his board. Apparently the shark couldn’t hold that bite and disappeared for another strike. This time with Todd laying on his board, it clamped around Endris’ torso, pinning him to the board between its jaws.

The board must have protected Todd’s internal organs, but the second strike absolutely shredded his back, peeling the skin back, he says, “like a banana peel.” Its hard to imagine what’s going through Todd’s mind at this point, but he claims that he never felt like he was going to die.

The shark stayed aggressive and came in for a third offensive, attempting to swallow Todd’s right leg. Ignoring the pain and shock, Todd kicked the shark repeatedly with his left leg until it released him.

Endris braced himself for another assault…

But what should have been absolute disaster turned into a good thing as several dolphins surrounded the victim. They had been swimming near the surfers most of the day and now suddenly they had formed a protective barrier between Todd and the shark. This gave Endris enough time to get back on his surf board and find a wave to take him into shore.

Later, Endris told Surfing Magazine, “You know the funny thing, bro, is that the only thing that was awkward is there were dolphins really close to us the whole time we were out there. They were swimming around us and swimming in front of and underneath us in a couple feet of water. And after I got hit - apparently from what the other guys said - is the dolphin all swarmed around behind me as if they were protecting me.”

Its very interesting how throughout history dolphins have stepped in to protect humans from sharks. Some biologists like to think that dolphins, being one of the most intelligent mammals, like to help the helpless.

Date: September 8, 2008 12 PM
Location: Canberra, Australia
Shark: Unknown

John Morgan, a 51-year-old surf shop owner got the surprise of his life while long boarding at an Australian local beach near the tourist town of Byron Bay. More than 300 yards offshore and paddling out further, Morgan’s afternoon was suddenly interrupted by a 10-foot-shark which suddenly appeared from right underneath him.

Fortunately for the surfer, the shark did not attack him or try a “test bite”, which often occurs in other shark-related incidents. But unfortunately, the shark caught itself in Morgan’s leg rope! Entangled, and presumably slightly enraged or annoyed, the shark charged out to see in an attempt to free itself, towing the surfer along in the ride of his life.

Can you imagine being stuck behind a shark taking you on a quick trip to the middle of the ocean?

“To say it was like being towed by a jet ski might be an exaggeration,” said Morgan, “but it was really fast.”

The shark eventually left its cargo behind and Morgan escaped a close call, catching a wave back into shore.

Date: September 9, 2008 Afternoon
Location: Kaaawa, Oahu
Shark: 12 foot Tiger Shark

I guess he didn’t like the way I tasted, said Todd Murashige, a 40-year-old surfer in describing his recent encounter with what authorities believe to be a Tiger shark. “I didn’t see it at all. It just seemed so surreal, like it wasn’t real, just head of a shark right there in my lap.”

“I stuck my fingers into his mouth to try to pry him off, but I didn’t feel any teeth. I think I was grabbing onto his gums or the lip part.”

Although Murashige didn’t feel any teeth with his hands, he certainly felt them sinking into his thigh. The shark bit once and after the surfer pried the jaws from his leg. He felt like the shark just took a “test bite”, because he wasn’t that aggressive after the initial attack.

“You never think that you’re going to be the one,” he said.

A stranger, Aren Souza of Punalu’u, who also had been surfing at Crouching Lion, came to Murashige’s aid, and the two paddled to shore, leaving a trail of blood in the water from “the chunk of flesh just hanging there” that used to be Murashige’s healthy thigh.

“While I was lying on the shore, I thought I was going to black out,” Murashige said. “I told myself if I black out, I’m going to die. That’s what I really felt in my gut.”

And this is where, he thought, that his life might end. Lying on the beach with a large piece of thigh muscle missing and bleeding profusely, he tried to call his wife and his mom. He said that he didn’t want to leave a message, but his wife called back.

“Its bad,” he said, “really bad.”

Murashige spent Tuesday night in Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition, having surgery to treat the deep wound in his thigh. Dr Kevin Christensen reported that Todd had lost a significant amount of blood, but the the prognosis is good.

Since then, Todd has been reliving the attack repeatedly in his mind and isn’t sure if he’ll try and surf again.

“I want to get back to walking first.”

Date: April 28, 2008 Afternoon
Location: Pacific Coast of Mexico
Shark: Tiger Shark

A 24-year-old surfer and bartender, Adrian Ruiz, from San Francisco, California was on a surfing trip to the Pacific Coast of Mexico with a good friend, Brent Helms. They could never have expected the unfortunate ending.

The two surfers actually saw the Tiger shark in the water before the attack, joking to themselves about keeping their hands and toes out of the surf. Shark attacks are so rare in the area, and in general, that they couldn’t have thought it would target one of them. In fact, several of the residents in the area remarked that a shark attack hasn’t happened there before. Other sources say that no one has been killed by a shark on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in over thirty years.

Ruiz was hit in the thigh by the shark, which took a large bite which reached from the hip to the knee, completely exposing the femur. His friend dragged him to the shore where he attempted CPR on Ruiz, but it was too late. Ruiz never regained consciousness due to the severity of the would and the lack of medical help in the area.

I know I’m going to die …

Adrian said he knew he was going to die, according to his boss and the owner of the nightclub where Ruiz worked. Most people that came into contact with him loved him, though, and one coworker nicknamed him “smiley”. Apparently he was a great friend and seemed to be a fun-loving, free-spirited soul who loved life.

Surprisingly, Mexican authorities strung up nets in the area in a vain attempt to try and catch the predator. This has ignited a small controversy with environmentalists who are worried about indiscriminate killing of all kinds of marine species in the area. Can you really even hope to catch the same shark?

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle, NY Daily News, Timesonline.com