Shark Attacks in Cozumel

[Augustus]

i think he is referring to this george

t was "very likely' a shark, said George Burgess, a senior biologist at
the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville and director of the
International Shark Attack File, which documents shark attacks worldwide,
dating to the 1700s

From what I remember at the time Geroge Burgess called it a tiger based on bites.

 

[drrich2]

Sorry; wrong thread. Deleted.

Richard.

 

[El Graduado]

I believe I found the earliest recorded shark attack in Cozumel. In book III, the fourth decade of De Orbe Novo, published in 1521 by Peter Martyr D’Anghera, the report of Juan de Grijalva’s voyage to Cozumel in 1518 was summarized, and included the statement that the cacique of Cozumel had “the toes of one of his feet cut off; this was due to a ferocious shark which snapped them off at one bite while the cacique was swimming.”

 

[Coralcop]

I wish Banarep would relate his version of what happened to Ms. Eggemeyer since he was the alleged instructor at the time of the event. I remember in the late 90's, after hearing of the incident for several years, a person saying he was the American instructor published the account in an online scuba blog. Up until that time the official Cozumel cause of death was a "boat accident". The story sounded credible.

 

[drrich2]

...“the toes of one of his feet cut off; this was due to a ferocious shark which snapped them off at one bite while the cacique was swimming.”

In a case like that I wonder whether it was really a shark, or a barracuda? Seems to me a barracuda would be better able to take off some digits in one blow.

Richard.

 

[El Graduado]

I assume the cacique who lost his toes to a "large fish incident" had grown up swimming in Cozumel waters and would have known the difference between a barracuda and a shark. Since he told the Spaniards it was a shark that bit him, I would tend to believe him.

 

[ggunn]

It seems to me that a shark would be much better equipped to amputate a limb or appendage (just typing that made me cross my legs) than would a barracuda. A barracudas teeth are very sharp, but they are like needles and spaced pretty far apart. A shark's teeth are triangular with serrated edges and they meet at their bases.

 

[drrich2]

It was a guess. Some years back I watched a t.v. program where a barracuda 'hit' a yellow snapper and sliced it in two, very cleanly, almost like an overhanded very sharp sword blow might do, ate half, then came back and got the rest. It was my understanding some of a barracuda's teeth are set up so they can 'slice' with a head-on strike.

Seems odd a shark large enough to snap off the toes of a foot without shaking its head side to side would not get more foot, but that's speculative on my part. As for the guy knowing the difference between shark and barracuda, granted, but things get lost in translation and retelling, and if it hit his foot, he may not have gotten a good look at it. Remember, this guy would not have been wearing a dive mask when his foot got hit, likely didn't see it coming, and had more on his mind afterward than fish I.D.

It very well may have been a shark; I'm not calling odds, just suggesting a different possibility.

Richard.

 

[lardo5150]

Going off track just a bit, cause after reading this post, out of curiosity I wanted to see what type of sharks have been spotted here.
I know of nurse sharks, reef, I think someone mentioned a hammerhead?
Has a tiger ever been witnessed in Coz?

 

[jacked_72]

Well, they're talking about a tiger shark attack in Cozumel, so yes.