Shark attack!
My fiancé Ryan became a local celebrity last week after he was bitten on the leg by a shark while going for a sunset surf at Trigg Beach on the Perth coast. The odds are 1 in 2.7 million if you live in Australia, apparently.
At 5:45pm last Wednesday evening I received a call -
“Don’t worry,
I’m ok, but…
I’ve been bitten by a shark.”
Naturally, I had a minor freakout, but Ryan insisted he was ok and drove himself to hospital. When I met him there he was in good spirits, having been fast-tracked into the emergency triage area. After unsuccessfully fishing around in his leg for what appeared on the X-ray to be a shark tooth, the doctors patched Ryan up and sent him home with a prescription for antibiotics.
Shark news is big news Down Under, so Ryan’s brush with death was featured by all the major news outlets. Local news anchor Rick Ardon scooped a sizzling *exclusive* TV segment, reporting the story live from the surf.
International readers, if you’re wondering what the quintessential Aussie bloke sounds like, Ryan is it. Ryan also featured in Perth’s main tabloid, the West Australian, on page 3, no less. How’s that nice leg inset.
Scientists are now assessing the bite marks in Ryan’s wetsuit and pictures of his wounds to work out what type and size shark it might have been. At the moment we have been told it could be around a 2 metre (6.5 foot) shark going for a ‘test bite’ to see if Ryan was worth eating. We’re still waiting for the final opinion.
We’re very grateful to the medical staff at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital emergency department for their attentive care, and for Australia’s public healthcare system - the only out-of-pocket expense was the antibiotics.
Ryan is extremely lucky to have come away with just bite marks. New South Wales surfer Kai McKenzie lost a leg after being attacked by a 3 metre (10 foot) great white shark this week. McKenzie’s leg washed up to shore later and he has now undergone surgery to reattach it. A neighbour of the 23-year-old surfer has set up a GoFundMe to help pay his rehabilitation costs.
Though fatal shark attacks are relatively rare, several West Australians have perished in recent years. In 2023, 16-year-old Stella Berry died after being mauled by a bull shark in the mouth of the Swan River near Fremantle Harbour, and in 2021, 57-year-old Paul Millachip was eaten by a great white shark while swimming at Port Beach, also near Fremantle.
Australian wildlife is hardcore.
Nevertheless, there’s a far greater chance of dying from a falling coconut or a car crash. This is what Ryan tells me, as he primes me for his return to the surf once his leg has healed…
To support my work, share, subscribe, and/or make a one-off contribution to DDU via my Kofi account. Thanks!
What a great story, good to hear no serious damage 🙏
Sadly not enough politicians go surfing, on second thought that may cause a shark extinction event. Glad your bloke came away with all his bits and hope for his speedy recovery.
P.S. Can we please have some of that Global Warming in Melbourne?