Tiger Shark Attacked a Surfer in Kauai
On Sunday, a tiger shark attacked a surfer in Kauai, Hawaii. Kevin Kanehe was surfing in Hanalei Bay when he got attacked by a large shark. It’s estimated that the tiger shark was 15 feet long.
Kevin was paddling for a wave, and sat on his board to turn around when the shark attacked the surfer from the left side. The tiger shark attached the surfer and grabbed a hold of his left leg. The surfer did his best to fight it off. His wife stated that the 50-year-old surfer “used his hands to try to lift it off, one of his fingers went in its nostrils and then it let go.” Another surfer, Jeff McBride, helped Kevin get back to the shore after the shark attack.
Kanehe was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery right away on Sunday. His wife stated “The bite went to the bone above and below his knee, taking some chips off his femur, knee cap and tibia. His knee was torn up pretty bad and into his joint too.” She also goes on to say that if the shark had finished the bite, her husband would have lost his leg.
While some people might panic and think about their life flashing before their eyes, Kevin’s first instinct was “If I lose my leg I’m going to get a prosthetic like Mike Coots so I can surf again.” Once a surfer, always a surfer.
Shark Attacks in 2023
On Friday, there was another shark attack in California. A 52-year-old surfer was bit on his lower leg at Linda Mar Beach. This comes two weeks after another 52-year-old man, Felix Louis N’jai, disappeared after a shark attack.
While shark attacks are rare, we are seeing more of them. This could all be due to climate change, warmer water temperatures, and a lack of other food sources. Usually, once a shark realizes that the human doesn’t taste good, they let go and leave. According to the Tracking Sharks website, this year there have been 33 shark attacks in USA. Two of the attacks were provoked and one was fatal.
