Death in Cocos from shark attack

[HalcyonDaze]

I think the number for femoral artery is around 5 minutes. If it takes them 2 minutes to get you out of the water, you have 40% blood loss and with 40% blood loss your chances aren't great if you are already in ER. Out on a boat you're likely gone before the radio call is answered.

That reminds me of Dr. Steven Lynn's comments after he attempted to treat John Lennon's gunshot wounds in 1980 - "If he [Lennon] had been shot this way in the middle of the operating room with a whole team of surgeons ready to work on him... he still wouldn't have survived his injuries."

Part of the issue is that those of us in civilization are by now used to EMS being there when we need it and quick trips to the ER. In remote locations, that's not possible. If there was a seaplane gassed up at Cocos, with pilots and EMTs aboard ready to go, it wouldn't have helped in this situation or any other one where you have a matter of minutes ... and that's not something you're going to see in a place like Cocos or the Galapagos. About the only possible way to save someone's life in this kind of circumstance is to have a crew well-trained in first aid and with tourniquets right on the panga or perhaps in a BC pocket (I actually dive with someone who, since this incident, has started carrying a tourniquet on him while diving - Maritime Tourniquets).

Better yet, don't let a bite occur. I am still curious to know how long the shark was observed for prior to the attack and what efforts were made to discourage it beforehand. The accounts we have heard leave that open to interpretation - did they have several minutes to take action and the shark ignored their efforts, or did the DM see the shark coming several seconds beforehand but not have time to reach the victim?

 

[Miguel Mantas]

Just got back today from an excellent 10 day trip to Cocos. I use scubaboard to inform myself about my dive trips and I specifically looked here for infos on this topic before my trip, so I just wanted to give some short info back to the forum about the situation at cocos this week, for those people who are already booked to go or who are thinking about diving at cocos. My aim is simply to give some reassurance to those people.

Manuelita is now open again - we were the first group of customers allowed to dive it. We dived it once or twice almost every day. Night diving is still not permitted at the island.

National Geographic sent a team of researchers after the incident to record activity. The rangers have been closely following activity at the site and reopened it for diving.

The crew on our liveaboard (and I’m sure all the other boats do too) gave very clear instructions on ascending in groups, staying together on the dives and how to react around large animals coming in very close.

We had a diver on board with very little experience compared to the rest of the group. Our liveaboard allowed him to come on the condition he had (at his expense) a personal dive guide. This guide knew the sites and the animal activity, which is essential there. This solution benefitted the diver and the rest of the group.

The crew from our boat assisted in the emergency and sad passing. They knew exactly which tiger shark was involved as she was huge and also pregnant. We saw her during the week both at depth and at close range at the safety stops. On our second to last day we saw this same shark twice with what we assumed were her two new babies, though we are not experts and they could well have just been smaller sharks. We did not experience any aggressive behaviour from her or any of the other Tiger sharks or the Galapagos sharks during our trip.

My thoughts go out to the family and friends of the diver who lost her life.

Many thanks for the posting

As a friend of Rohina and the one who started her in diving, I appreciated the details...somehow it helps getting back to normality...

 

[drrich2]

The crew from our boat assisted in the emergency and sad passing. They knew exactly which tiger shark was involved as she was huge and also pregnant. We saw her during the week both at depth and at close range at the safety stops. On our second to last day we saw this same shark twice...

I'd think that'd be a little nerve wracking; the very shark you know killed somebody recently, coming in close during safety stops.

Richard.

 

[dmaziuk]

About the only possible way to save someone's life in this kind of circumstance is to have a crew well-trained in first aid and with tourniquets right on the panga or perhaps in a BC pocket (I actually dive with someone who, since this incident, has started carrying a tourniquet on him while diving - Maritime Tourniquets).

As I understand it, with massive blood loss you have to start pumping fresh blood, or at least saline, into the victim very soon. So add bags and bags of fresh o-negative, properly stored and so on. And that is if the cuts are where you can tourniquet them off.

 

[JohnnyQuest]

Yes, those are all good assumptions, but still assumptions. I'm just saying that it's odd that the topic was never brought up even in Undercurrent. It's the same with the Craig Dewit attack last year. Granted he isn't an American so he probably doesn't have DAN, but he had to have something equivalent. It's just very odd to me that the articles don't mention DAN or the equivalent. I dove with Craig on his boat, I've been to Cocos twice, Galapagos twice, Malpelo once, Socorro 3 times, and most other remote dive places on the planet. I've also see three accidents over the years (nothing to do with sharks) and in all three cases, on "very competent" boats, they absolutely refused to call DAN or even put the people on O2 until I insisted and wouldn't back down. It's a very bizarre phenomenon that I wouldn't believe had I not see it with my own eyes. I'm NOT insinuating that anything like this occurred. And I do NOT think that it did occur. My guess is that they truly did everything possible. I just think that it's the most natural question to ask and the most natural information for any dive publication to give in a situation like this. All they had to say was, "DAN was called immediately, but it was too late." That would satisfy me. But again more information will probably come out later on this very unfortunate occurrence.

 

[John Bantin]

I would assume she succumbed to her injuries within minutes of the incident due to blood loss. An Air rescue by helicopter would have taken at least an hour to reach the boat.

How long does it take a helicopter to fly 350 miles to Cocos from Punta Arenas and can it do the return trip without refuelling? I think not.

 

[scubafanatic]

Just got back today from an excellent 10 day trip to Cocos. I use scubaboard to inform myself about my dive trips and I specifically looked here for infos on this topic before my trip, so I just wanted to give some short info back to the forum about the situation at cocos this week, for those people who are already booked to go or who are thinking about diving at cocos. My aim is simply to give some reassurance to those people.

Manuelita is now open again - we were the first group of customers allowed to dive it. We dived it once or twice almost every day. Night diving is still not permitted at the island.

National Geographic sent a team of researchers after the incident to record activity. The rangers have been closely following activity at the site and reopened it for diving.

The crew on our liveaboard (and I’m sure all the other boats do too) gave very clear instructions on ascending in groups, staying together on the dives and how to react around large animals coming in very close.

We had a diver on board with very little experience compared to the rest of the group. Our liveaboard allowed him to come on the condition he had (at his expense) a personal dive guide. This guide knew the sites and the animal activity, which is essential there. This solution benefitted the diver and the rest of the group.

The crew from our boat assisted in the emergency and sad passing. They knew exactly which tiger shark was involved as she was huge and also pregnant. We saw her during the week both at depth and at close range at the safety stops. On our second to last day we saw this same shark twice with what we assumed were her two new babies, though we are not experts and they could well have just been smaller sharks. We did not experience any aggressive behaviour from her or any of the other Tiger sharks or the Galapagos sharks during our trip.

My thoughts go out to the family and friends of the diver who lost her life.

When a terrestrial wild animal (bear, tiger, rabid dog, etc.) attacks or kills a human (goes rogue) the humans/authorities will identify it and put it down ASAP. So, if this particular 'rogue' human hunting shark's identity is known, why not take measures to also put this particular shark down?

 

[drrich2]

It's a different kind of animal. Rabid animals (doomed already) are driven to lash out and can inflict horrible infectious death. The concern is that bears and tigers, higher order animals (mammals) may become man eaters particularly given that those attacking people may be atypical of their species (e.g.: tigers injured with diminished ability to hunt). As land animals, they will likely encounter humans who didn't make an informed decision about the risks & benefits of being around them.

On the other hand, there are large animals that might potentially kill a human where that's not exactly atypical (even though often surprisingly rare). Get near a large saltwater crocodile in the wild, is it a surprise when it attacks? If you get near a wild rhino or bull hippo, what's likely to happen? If a black mamba bit and killed someone, would we label it a 'rogue snake?'

Now the question falls, how should we regard this shark? It's a primitive animal, even by fish standards. While sharks are smarter than the 'near mindless eating machines' they were historically billed as, I can't imagine they're on par with tigers or bears. The people who encounter it will be divers, not random passerby (not that divers agree to get killed by a shark just by choosing to dive).

The shark did behave in an atypical fashion, it seems. If large tiger sharks in general were prone to persistently attack divers, I imagine the live-aboards servicing Tiger Beach would have to find something else to do.

Is it a 'rogue shark,' or just a shark? I suspect the deciding 'vote' will fall if & when it goes after somebody else. Hope that doesn't happen.

Richard.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

The "rogue shark" idea was debunked a long time ago - they're predators and humans are entering their territory. There is not some magical ward placed on us that says "humans are not food" - in a situation where a shark is hungry and we look like something they could take, we are potentially on the menu. It's not a case where one individual suddenly decides humans are a preferred food source.

The difference with terrestrial examples is that usually when an animal becomes a problem, it's because it is hanging around an area that people use or a daily basis - a neighborhood, a campground, etc. Places like Cocos are different as they are wilderness environments that people choose to go into; in that setting predators are a feature, not a bug. There's a big difference between hiking in the middle of Glacier National Park and running across a grizzly bear versus going to take out the trash at home and running into one.

Now the question falls, how should we regard this shark? It's a primitive animal, even by fish standards. While sharks are smarter than the 'near mindless eating machines' they were historically billed as, I can't imagine they're on par with tigers or bears. The people who encounter it will be divers, not random passerby (not that divers agree to get killed by a shark just by choosing to dive).

I would agree that I wouldn't put a shark up in the same ranking as a big cat or a bear; however I wouldn't call them "a primitive animal, even by fish standards." Tiger sharks are very good at figuring out where your eyes are and will try to blindside you; I keep track of where they are lest they get the drop on me. They definitely show signs of being inquisitive (stealing cameras and other gear) and there's enough going on up there that they show individual behaviors. Some bony fish in contrast can be real Darwin Award contenders.

 

[InTheDrink]

I’m not sure the rogue shark theory has been totally debunked even if it is a rarity. In Egypt at Sharm in 2010 there were seven attacks in short order. They did a minor cull and blamed one attack on a Mako but the rest on a single female longimanus. I have no way of verifying this apart from the support of the theory by the leading longimanus marine biologist guide out there. It seemed this particular shark did get a taste for humans (or was very hungry or was set off by the sheep carcasses dropped by a passing cargo ship). In any event it’s rare but I’d not rule it out 100%.