Not All Publicity Is Good
Given that this is above the fold on just about every news site, including Australian Broadcasting, and it is a local story, I guess I should say something.
Rule Number One when swimming in the Gulf of Mexico: Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Swim With Bait Fish. If you notice a lot of 6 to 12 inch fish in the water around you, get out of the water. The reason there are a lot of fish swimming by is that something is chasing them.
CNN Reports: a 14-year-girl died as a result having her leg bitten off by a shark estimated to be about 11 feet long. The incident occurred approximately a quarter mile off the shore of a beach near the Sandestin Resort in South Walton County in the late morning. This is about 15 miles East of me.
Bull sharks 10 feet long and larger are often in the area and if they find a school of bait fish they start biting. They aren’t consciously attacking swimmers, they are simply moving through the water biting whatever enters their mouth. A bull shark eats everything: fish, dolphins, turtles, surfers, tourists; if it’s in the water, it’s what’s for dinner.
There are also hammerheads in the area that can get that big, but the bull sharks are the most common biters in this area. They don’t cruise on the surface, but along the bottom and will enter bayous, even fresh water rivers.
