German diver attacked by shark - Isla del Coco, Costa Rica

[DandyDon]

German Diver Dodges Shark Attack in Isla del Coco Costa Rica - Costa Rica Star News

A 30-year-old German tourist that was participating in a scuba diving expedition at Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, had the scare of a lifetime when a tiger shark went after him.

According to the report given by a witness to local news site CRHOY, the foreigner was diving along with other tourists in the sector known as Manuelita at around 10:40 on Saturday, April 28, when a shark went after the tourist but luckily got a hold of his diving equipment.

The European quickly reacted and was able to get rid of the gear and swim to the surface.

Park rangers were notified of the incident and immediately offered attention to the group. The young man was shaken up by the experienced but miraculously suffered no injuries.


The group of divers began their return to Puntarenas this Saturday afternoon.

Manuelita, Isla del Coco is one of the preferred destinations by scuba divers due to the abundant marine life present in the area.

Back in November 2017, a 49 year-old U.S. tourist died as a result of a tiger shark attack in this same area, in what was the first incident of this sort that has taken place in the Island, and as a matter of fact one of the very few that have been registered throughout the years in Costa Rica (5 in the last 400 years according to the International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum of Natural History), where there is a much higher chance of winning the first prize of the lottery than being attacked and killed by a shark.

Tiger sharks returned to the waters of Isla del Coco in the year 2012, after almost 30 years of not been seen in this area. The tiger shark (galeocerdo cuvier) receive this name because of the tiger-like stripes on juveniles, and it is known to be a voracious hunter they can reach a size of 10 to 14 feet and can weight anywhere from 850 to 1,400 pounds, the size relative to a 6 foot man.

According to National Geographic, “These large, blunt-nosed predators have a duly earned reputation as man-eaters. They are second only to great whites in attacking people. But because they have a near completely undiscerning palate, they are not likely to swim away after biting a human, as great whites frequently do”.

 

[Cowfish Aesthetic]

Given the minuscule number of historic shark attacks on non-spearfishing divers, is two attacks in five months too few to call a pattern?

 

[Snoweman]

More details would be most welcomed. I'm not going to lie. I have to wonder if it's the same shark.

 

[Cowfish Aesthetic]

More details would be most welcomed. I'm not going to lie. I have to wonder if it's the same shark.

I can't decide whether that would be better or worse.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

It will be interesting to know whether the circumstances match up with the fatality back in November. Last month at the Blue Wild Expo I spoke to a friend of mine who currently leads shark-diving charters off Palm Beach and has done Tiger Beach trips in the past; he's made one trip out to Cocos in the past couple years as part of a film crew. He noted that the tigers were around and would approach when he broke off from the group; based on a couple sources that seems to have been a factor in November's fatality. They did see tigers on the night dive at Manuelita, which put my friend on edge. Given that the guy works with rattlesnakes and gators for his day job that's saying something.

Given the description, this recent incident sounds something like what happened in this clip shot off South Africa:

 

[HeliMech]

Given the description, this recent incident sounds something like what happened in this clip shot off South Africa:

Okay that was a ittle horrifying...

*cancels Blackbeard's trip in Nov. *

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Okay that was a ittle horrifying...

*cancels Blackbeard's trip in Nov. *

That clip was a pretty good example of what not to do. I've had tigers get close - biting a strobe, once when I went over the top of one - but I never have let one get an unguarded shot in at me like that. Maybe the diver was intentionally trying to put his BC and tank between him and the shark, but what the tiger saw was that he had his back turned. That bite looked ridiculously casual on the shark's part and it didn't seem to be making much if any of a predatory effort, but just the same it could have caused a lot of damage.

Depending on where you're going with Blackbeard's, I wouldn't worry too much. I haven't heard of them experiencing issues with big tiger sharks.

 

[drrich2]

Given the minuscule number of historic shark attacks on non-spearfishing divers, is two attacks in five months too few to call a pattern?

On the other hand, when a rare event occurs twice in fairly rapid succession in the same place, it could be seen as all the more concerning.

Richard.

 

[scubafanatic]

It will be interesting to know whether the circumstances match up with the fatality back in November. Last month at the Blue Wild Expo I spoke to a friend of mine who currently leads shark-diving charters off Palm Beach and has done Tiger Beach trips in the past; he's made one trip out to Cocos in the past couple years as part of a film crew. He noted that the tigers were around and would approach when he broke off from the group; based on a couple sources that seems to have been a factor in November's fatality. They did see tigers on the night dive at Manuelita, which put my friend on edge. Given that the guy works with rattlesnakes and gators for his day job that's saying something.

Given the description, this recent incident sounds something like what happened in this clip shot off South Africa:

That diver really should buy a lottery ticket!

 

[JohnnyC]

In the military this would probably trigger a safety stand down.

In this case, I wouldn't be surprised if the rangers killed the shark. The guides know the sharks around there. It wouldn't be difficult to target a specific animal if it's the same one that killed the tourist.