French woman who survived Catlins shark attack 'wrenched' its jaws from her legs

Thursday, 27 April 2017

A French tourist who survived a shark attack wrenched its jaws from her legs, a local surfer says.

Catlins Surf School owner Nick Smart said the woman, who had been bodyboarding in Southland's Curio Bay when she was attacked about 2pm on Thursday, told him about it from her bed in Dunedin Hospital.

'They were all out in a group, all close together, with dolphins around them. They saw something in the water and just thought it was another dolphin. Then it came up and bit her,' Smart said.

'She reached around and the shark was clamped on her leg. She physically wrenched the shark's mouth open with both hands and it swam away.'

**READ MORE: 

* Why there are lots of sharks down south and what to do if you spot one

* French woman survived Catlins shark attack

* French woman attacked by shark in Southland**

The shark was believed to have bitten her legs up to her lower thigh.

Smart said he was surprised she said it was a small shark given the extent of her injuries.

'It just goes to show how deadly even small sharks can be.'

The victim, who is believed to be in her 20s, was recovering well from surgery on Friday, he said.

Honorary consul of France in Dunedin, Christiane Kasarherou-Leurquin, visited her in hospital on Friday afternoon.

'I have just checked and she is doing OK,' she said.

The woman, who had been touring around New Zealand with her boyfriend, appeared happy despite her ordeal.

'I checked to see if she needed anything, but she doesn't need anything.'

THE ATTACK AND RESCUE

Casey Keen said on Thursday that the woman, who was bodyboarding with friends, was left with two deep puncture wounds above her knees and several 'slashes' on her body from three bites.

The woman was conscious during the attack. She remained calm as her friends dragged her out of the water, he said.

The group she was with used blood-soaked towels to bandage her wounds. Her full-body wetsuit was in tatters.

'She was very lucky no arteries were damaged,' Keen, a surfer, said.

He heard about the attack when a neighbour ran into the house he was staying in to call emergency services.

Almost a dozen people helped apply pressure to the woman's wounds and reassure her when he arrived at the beach.

'She was handling it really well. She had limited English, so I was mostly communicating through her friend, but she stood up at the end of it so that's a good sign.

'It was good to see everyone working together to help her.'

Keen said although the attack was an eye-opener, all surfers knew 'in the back of their minds' that they could be in danger when in the ocean.

Although he was taking the night off surfing, he said the attack would not keep him out of the water.

'You've got to get back out there.'

The area was a popular spot for surfers and dolphins, but 'not so much sharks,' he said.

Smart was also at the scene on Thursday when he saw something was 'not right' from his nearby home and noticed a person running up the beach screaming for help.

He said adrenaline took over and he jumped in his car and sped to the scene.

Smart had rented bodyboards to the woman and her friend earlier on Thursday. He said she and a group of friends, including her boyfriend, had splashed in the water for a while before it all 'seemed to go wrong.'

The group were 'obviously distressed' afterwards, he said.

The Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust flew the woman to Dunedin Hospital.

Graeme Gale, of the helicopter trust, said the woman was conscious and talking, and it was a 'very straightforward job'.

The pilot did not notice any sharks in the water, he said.

The paramedics reassured the patient during the 40 minute flight back to Dunedin.

Riverton Surf School owner/operator Jess Terrill said on Thursday that the attack was unusual for the Southland surfing community.

'In Western Australia it would be pretty usual. It's what you would expect there, but not here in New Zealand.'

BROADNOSE SEVENGILL SHARK LIKELY RESPONSIBLE

A shark expert said it was likely a broadnose sevengill shark responsible for the attack.

'They're very common in shallow beaches and in surf zones in Southland and New Zealand's southern zones at this time of year,' Department of Conservation marine scientist Clinton Duffy said. 

'The sevengill should probably be taken a little more seriously – they do present a bit of a risk, and often there can be more than one of them.'

Known to grow up to 3 metres long, Duffy said sevengills were 'opportunist' feeders that supplemented their main diet of fish with seals and carrion.

'Normally they're just curious, when they're investigating objects in the water they will either bump or bite them.

'If it tastes good they'll come back for another bite.'

Duffy said they presented less of a risk to humans than other sharks.

'They're a much more sluggish species than others and can be deterred a lot more easily – if it was a [great] white shark that attacked, I'd expect it would be a whole lot worse.'

Duffy said although there were generally 'one or two' similar attacks every year, New Zealand had one of the lowest shark-attack rates for coastal countries in the world.

CURIO BAY SHARK ATTACK IN 2014

A 28-year-old man was bitten three times by a shark in the area in 2014 and had to punch his way free.

The surfer was on his board about 50m out from Porpoise Bay Beach, near Curio Bay, and was bitten three times from his thigh to his calf.

He under went surgery after the attack.

The attack was a shock to everyone in the Catlins area, Smart said.

'Mate, it's the first time there has ever been a shark attack in the Catlins and there has never been a shark attack in this bay,' he said at the time.