Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2014 Jul:25:67-70.
doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2014.04.005. Epub 2014 Apr 29.

Fatal attack by a juvenile tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, on a kitesurfer in New Caledonia (South Pacific)

Eric Clua  1 , Pierre-Marie Bescond  2 , Dennis Reid  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Fatal attack by a juvenile tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, on a kitesurfer in New Caledonia (South Pacific)

Eric Clua et al. J Forensic Leg Med. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

We present a case of a non-provoked fatal shark attack on a 15-year old male kitesurfer in New Caledonia. The victim lost his board and was pulled by the sail along the water surface in a reef passage when a shark attacked. The shark inflicted at least two bites on the left leg, including a severe one around the knee, resulting in a quick hypovolemic shock that was fatal. The analysis of one of these bites indicated that a 2.8 m TL (est. length) tiger shark was responsible for this attack. The features of the attack are consistent with those of a predator response to a surface feeding stimulus.

Keywords: Inter-dental distance; Kitesurfing; Top predator; Unprovoked.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types