A beachgoer faced a Jaws-esque experience this week when a shark bit her off the coast of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The woman was swimming near The Sea Pines Resort on Tuesday when the shark chomped down on her leg. She was initially treated by lifeguards on the beach before being rushed to Hilton Head Island Airport and airlifted to Savannah, Georgia, for treatment. The injury is not life-threatening, but the extent of her injuries are unknown. The attack came only weeks after a massive great white shark was spotted off the coast of Myrtle Beach, only about 200 miles north. The adult great white shark is nicknamed Contender, and is the largest-ever shark tagged in the Atlantic Ocean by global nonprofit organization OCEARCH. It is unclear if Contender bit the woman on Tuesday, or even the species of shark that attacked. Contender stretches nearly 14 feet long and weighs over 1,600 pounds. Shark attacks are extremely rare, and the odds of being bitten are only about 1 in 11.5 million. Great whites can weigh up to 4,200 pounds at full maturity, can live 70 years, can swim up to 35mph, and can dive to depths of nearly 4,000 feet. It is a myth that sharks eat humans: they are more likely to mistake a person for their natural prey, like seals. Some scientists have warned that higher ocean temperatures—a result of climate change—have pushed shark species to the cooler northern waters, increasing the odds of shark-human encounters.
Read it at The U.S. Sun
