Shark attacks are big news and hearing of them in the media can often prompt a moment’s hesitation when entering the water. But the chances of being killed by a shark are extremely small, and the odds will only improve further as we better understand the factors that motivate these tragic events.
“IS IT SAFE to swim here?”
Fourteen-year-old lifesaver Damon Kendrick remembers being irritated at being asked this by a neighbour one Sunday in February 1974. “What do you mean, is it safe to swim here?” he replied, although he knew exactly what she meant. A man had been bitten by a shark here, at Amanzimtoti, 24km from Durban in South Africa, the previous month. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence,” Damon told his neighbour, explaining that not only were shark attacks extremely rare, but the beach was well protected by shark nets.But just four days later, Damon, who is now 57, woke up in hospital with the memory of doctors telling him that they’d had to amputate. He lifted the sheets and saw that his lower right leg was gone. He’d been bitten during lifesaving drills at the beach he was so confident posed no danger. Over the next 13 months, another three people had run-ins with sharks there, highlighting the fact that mesh nets are much less effective than many people realise.
It would be great to think that in the many years since Damon was bitten, we’d learnt enough about shark attack mitigation that these sorts of encounters no longer occurred, but that’s unfortunately not the case. Paul Gaughan, a community paramedic in Esperance, Western Australia, has attended to two shark-bite victims since 2014, the most recent last April. “The 17-year-old girl had been dragged from the sea, pulseless, with her left leg missing,” he told me. “I still live in hope that I won’t have to attend anything like this again, but I know it’s a real possibility.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March -April 2018 من Australian Geographic Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March -April 2018 من Australian Geographic Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Loveday Internment Camp, SA A
DURING WORLD WAR II, civilians n Australia deemed \"enemy aliens\" - mostly those of German, Italian and Japanese descent were housed in internment camps.
THE STORYTELLERS OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
More than 100 dedicated Master Reef Guides are sharing the GBR's most important stories with visitors in a bid to inspire its greater protection.
A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER
Does last summer's mass coral bleaching event sound a death knell for Australia's beloved Great Barrier Reef? \"Not on my watch!\" is the message coming from he army of heartbroken, but resolute, marine scientists who've responded to the crisis by doubling down on their research.
AROUND AUSTRALIA IN 44 DAYS
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first aerial circumnavigation of Australia. Aviator Michael Smith retraces the flight in his unique amphibious flying boat, Southern Sun, starting and finishing at RAAF Base Point Cook, on Melbourne's Port Phillip, taking in 15,000km of vast, diverse and stunning coastline in between.
CLEAR-CUTTING KOALA COUNTRY
More than 3000sq.km of forests on NSW's Mid North Coast have been earmarked for the Great Koala National Park. But there's still work to be done before this proposed reserve becomes the safe haven koalas desperately need.
MORE THAN QUOKKAS
Sure, you can't avoid those cute little marsupials that made Rottnest Island world-famous, but there's so much more to life on this ocean-ringed jewel off the Western Australian coast.
A WILD POLO TUSSLE
It's an event reminiscent of a Banjo Paterson poem. For 35 years, in the High Country 200km east of Melbourne, city polo players have gathered annually at Cobungra, Victoria's largest cattle station, to vie with a rural team for the Dinner Plain Polo Cup.
Ancient know-how meets a modern challenge
Contemporary marine park management is infused with traditional knowledge to tackle new threats on the Great Barrier Reef.
LOOKING FOR TJAKURA
The search is on across Australia's deserts for a culturally important vulnerable lizard.
RESCUING THE CHUDITCH
After intensive planning, recovery for this endangered marsupial species is being stepped up to secure its future.