Death in Cocos from shark attack

[ChrisDarke]

The tiger shark in that clip isn't what I would consider aggressive - certainly curious, but not aggressive. The problem with sharks is that "curiosity" sometimes involves tooth marks, and a jaw built to crack sea turtles can do a lot of damage to a human even with a glancing blow. A couple years ago I picked up a fresh tiger shark tooth on a dive; at the bar later I was running my fingers along my prize when some lime juice hit the pad of my thumb and I painfully realized it was covered with cuts almost deep enough to bleed.

However, the fact that it's at night would make what's left of my hair stand up; tigers are ambush predators and the closer they get without being tracked the more likely it is they might try something cute. For reference, here's an encounter I had off Jupiter, FL with a ~10 ft female in reduced viz; she wasn't aggressive but "Sassy Cassie" lived up to her moniker:


I would be interested to know what the extent of the wounds were; the most recent article describes the woman as receiving "deep lacerations to both of her legs" and the divemaster suffered "a serious wound to one of his legs." I have seen tigers come up at us from below; typically we spot them coming and they break off. I can see how the shark might have attacked the woman first and then the divemaster caught an open-mouthed blow to the leg while driving it off.

I did talk to a couple of researchers about this incident, including one based in Costa Rica - that's actually one of his BRUV (Baited Remote Underwater Video) images from Cocos in the most recent article. Another researcher who was formerly on the International Shark Attack Files staff said he was aware of only one other fatal attack by a tiger shark on a diver in a group, although the details were questionable.

Yeah I never meant to imply this one was aggressive, just that they are certainly bold, and Manuelita is one of their regular feeding grounds, and my own experience with one at night... (certainly made my hair stand up and you can see the speed at which I back off!)

 

[scuba mike1]

Undersea Hunter has been posting Instagram pictures of Tiger sharks from their liveaboard trips. The last post of a Tiger shark was seven days ago. They were aware that dangerous sharks were in the area and promoting their business with them. One of these can even be the culprit. They could have taken extra steps to avoid potentially dangerous outcomes but at the same time there are not enough details to speculate. Sharks are too unpredictable especially this species.

Instagram post by Undersea Hunter • Nov 28, 2017 at 12:50am UTC

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

I usually would, too. I should've clarified that the lemon shark coming toward me appeared likely to bump right into me. I didn't think it would hurt me, but while not huge, they are not little. Wanted to keep the mouth a little further away...

Richard.

Richard, you were in much more danger than you appreciated. I dive jupiter looking for and seeing lemons all the time. In their natural (unfed by people) state they are very stand-offish towards people and invariably retreat if you approach them. For a lemon to swim at you for a bump is truly perilous. It is a sign of a shark that has been repeatedly fed and expects food from people and is an aggressive act. The shark could have easily mistook your extended hand for food--just look at how the shark cowboys up there act. You post is proof of what we all knew would happen, the creation of a risky environment for all divers because of these feeds.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Undersea Hunter has been posting Instagram pictures of Tiger sharks from their liveaboard trips. The last post of a Tiger shark was seven days ago. They were aware that dangerous sharks were in the area and promoting their business with them. One of these can even be the culprit. They could have taken extra steps to avoid potentially dangerous outcomes but at the same time there are not enough details to speculate. Sharks are too unpredictable especially this species.

Instagram post by Undersea Hunter • Nov 28, 2017 at 12:50am UTC

What extra steps to avoid potentially dangerous outcomes would you have taken if you were the operator? As a diving client, what would you suggest or expect? While they know tigers are in the area, I don't think they had any reason to believe that this dive would be any different from all the other weeks they are out there and there has not been an incident prior to this one at Cocos. Additionally, given how many trips are taken out to Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, the relative instance of an event is relatively low. The only way to guarantee that this would not happen would be to not allow the divers to dive at all which I don't think is realistic for the trip they were on.

As divers, we go down to see life, and for some of us, those are pelagics and sharks. For some others, it's coral, macro, fish, etc. I don't think we can blame any operator for promoting their business with the life that we can possibly see when we go diving with them. It is up to us to make the decision on whether we like what they are offering and whether we are willing to take that risk and go diving there to see it.

 

[drrich2]

For a lemon to swim at you for a bump is truly perilous.

The lemon didn’t appear to deliberately come at me so much as I happened to be in its path and while it might well have angled off, I didn’t choose to wait and see. There was no discernible urgency on the shark’s part, nor did I have to react suddenly or with substantial force. In other words, I thought it might bump into me, but I didn’t get the sense it was trying to bump me to see what I was.

Richard.

 

[DanBMW]

People dive in Cocoas for only one reason and that is to dive with large sharks. She knew the risk and accepted it. There will not be a law suit. ( CORRECTION : A law suit will be frivolous !)

 

[EricTheDood]

I will tell you from personal experience from operating a liveaboard, they work and the other passengers hate them.

What's the range of the Shark Shield? Do you they keep sharks away completely or merely prevent them from getting too close?

 

[Altamira]

People dive in Cocoas for only one reason and that is to dive with large sharks. She knew the risk and accepted it. There will not be a law suit.

Put Next-of-Kin with a lawyer, and I would not put money on your last sentence.

 

[OceanEyes]

Put Next-of-Kin with a lawyer, and I would not put money on your last sentence.

This headline appeared in this afternoons online edition of the NY Daily News.

Fiancé of NYC equity exec mauled to death by shark focuses on 'mourning' before taking legal action

 

[outofofficebrb]

@OceanEyes @Altamira

If there is a case, it will be interesting to see what the suit will be for. Also, I'm guessing she signed some form of indemnification and hold harmless clauses and released them of substantial or possibly even all liability/negligence while also acknowledging all risks of scuba diving, including injury and death, in joining the liveaboard. At least, these are all the ones I have seen and/or signed while diving with dive shops and liveaboards.