shark news stories on Newser

Florida Mom Saves Daughter From Shark

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:26:55 CDT

A Florida teen nearly lost all the holidays of her life when a shark dragged her from her surfboard. Sydney Levy, 15, suddenly slipped from her board as she paddled with her mom in the Atlantic off New Smyrna Beach. When she managed to climb back on, she noticed her...

Shark Attack Fatalities Spiked Last Year

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:13:05 CST

Shark attack deaths saw a significant spike last year, reaching their highest number in almost 20 years. None of the deaths, however, occurred in the US, which has seen decreasing shark attack numbers in recent years. A new report tallies 75 shark attacks around the world in 2011, and notes...

Shark Kills Another Swimmer on 'Most Dangerous Beach'

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:52:00 CST

Yet another swimmer has been killed by a shark on a South Africa beach considered the most dangerous in the world. The victim this time was a 25-year-old swimmer who was standing up to his waist in water at a beach in Port St. John's. The shark nearly severed an...

Scientists Find Dozens of New Hybrid Sharks

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:36:49 CST

Shark Week will have some new additions this year: Scientists found the first hybrid sharks in the world—57 of them—off the coast of Australia. The animals are a cross between the Australian blacktip shark and the common blacktip shark, and their existence may show that sharks are adapting...

Why Aussie Sharks Are Attacking

Kevin Spak — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:36:05 CDT

Australia has seen a slew of shark attack deaths lately, with three killed in the past two months, giving rise to fears that a “rogue shark” has developed a taste for human flesh, and is now relentlessly attacking Jaws-style. But that’s preposterous, scientists assure LiveScience . “The chance of an individual...

Fisherman Nabs Cyclops Shark

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:51:13 CDT

I've got my eye on you, cyclops shark. But you appear to be the real thing—or so say experts who have examined the one-eyed creature cut from the belly of a pregnant shark hooked out of the Gulf of California on a sport fishing expedition. "This is extremely rare,...

Oregon Man Surfs on Shark 's Back

Rob Quinn — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 06:19:00 CDT

A surfer off the Oregon coast briefly rode the waves on the back of a great white shark—and lived to tell the tale. Doug Niblack says he was on his longboard when he hit something hard and suddenly found himself standing on the back of a thrashing shark he...

Aussie Dies After Shark Bites Off Legs

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 09:12:50 CDT

An Australian bodyboarder met a gruesome end today when a shark attacked, biting off his legs and killing him as some 30 other surfers lingered in the water in western Australia. Authorities closed the beach near Dunsborough immediately, and are still searching for the shark, reports the AP. "We had...

Great White Shark Spotted Among San Diego Surfers?

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:33:05 CDT

Last week's shark sighting in San Diego wasn't an isolated occurrence: There have been three confirmed sightings in the past week, and CBS 8 has a pretty insane picture that, at least one expert confirms, shows a shark swimming in the waves alongside surfers. A lifeguard, on the other hand,...