It's official. The man attacked by a shark on a Cape Cod beach was attacked by a Great White shark and he lived to tell his story. After examination of the bite wounds and hearing the story of victim Chris Myers, officals have determined that the shark that bit his legs was one of the deadliest sharks on the planet.
"This conclusion was reached after examination of the injuries and testimony from (the victim)," said Reginald Zimmerman, a spokesman for the office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, as quoted by CNN.
Members of the State Division of Marine Fisheries and the curator of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History are almost positive that Myers was attacked by the type of shark featured in the movie 1975 "Jaws."
"You will never be 100 percent confident," biologist Gregory Skomal said of his final determination, as quoted by the Boston Herald."But I'm well over 95 percent confident. ... I'll probably even push it to 99 percent. I want to leave some room for error in case some strange new species is discovered off the coast of Massachusetts."
Chris Myers, 50, and his teenage son were swimming off Ballston Beach in Truro, Mass., on July 30, when Myers was bitten by something. They swam out to a sandbar about 500 feet from shore as they wanted to body surf.
The father and son noticed a dark outline of a shark come up between them. The shark then bit into both of Myers' legs, leaving four puncture wounds. He tried to fight back by kicking the shark in the nose. The two then swam back to shore, where he was met with emergency crews.
"It felt like I had my foot stuck in a refrigerator or a vise," he said last week from his hospital bed at Massachusetts General Hospital, as quoted by NBC. "I knew instantly that it was a shark."
Myers, from Colorado, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. He received surgery to repair torn tendons. He received 47 stitches. Myers was released from the hospital and is walking on crutches as he has a cast on one leg and bandages on the other.
Myers is lucky to be alive after the attack. "The shark decided I wasn't' tasty or something did happen and he let me go," Myers said at a press conference.
Ballston beach officials are considering adding more lifeguards to the area next summer.
"I think it's a good idea to have lifeguards," Selectman Jan Worthington said, as quoted by the Cape Cod Times. "It's not going to prevent an attack. If someone sees something in the water, there's time to get people out. I think we're going to see more (of this), not less."
For now, beach officials added extra signs warning bathers of the risk of shark attacks.
This summer, there has been an increased number of sightings of great whites in the Cape Cod area due to an unusually high seal population, which is the shark's favorite prey.
Great white sharks can range from 12 to 21 feet long and can weigh more than 5,000 pounds. They can live up to 30 years. These sharks are born hunters as they can detect one drop of blood in 25 gallons of water and can sense a tiny amount from up to three miles away from their victim.
