Vacationers from Louisville and shark experts are shocked by the wave of attacks in Florida over the weekend | News from WDRB

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — First responders and wildlife experts in the area are warning anyone heading to the beach in Florida this summer to be on the lookout for sharks.

The warning came after three people were bitten over the weekend, one of whom had to have part of her arm amputated. The attacks off the beaches of the Florida Panhandle prompted authorities to temporarily close several beaches to swimmers on Friday. The beaches reopened on Saturday with flags warning of the grave dangers.

“It’s rare, extremely rare, to have three victims in one day,” said Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson.

In Walton County, the sheriff’s office, fire department and state conservation agency worked together to patrol the water with boats and the shore with vehicles, the South Walton Fire District said in an update Saturday. Both of Friday’s attacks occurred in Walton County, an area stretching from Miramar Beach and Seaside to Seacrest and Rosemary Beach.

On Saturday, red and purple flags were used to warn swimmers of the dangers.

“Purple flags indicate the presence of dangerous marine life and single red flags indicate a high danger level,” the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post Saturday.

At this time of year, small fish are found in schools near the shore, which may have contributed to the attacks, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

Area 30A on the Florida coast is a popular vacation destination for Kentucky residents. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport offers nonstop flights to nine Florida airports on five different airlines. Depending on the day, there are up to 11 departures from Louisville to cities in Florida.

Over the weekend, Kayla Least, Maddy Potts and Cassidy Ratterman – all of Louisville – were there for a friend’s bachelor party about 40 miles west of the attacks.

“The locals made it seem like this was some kind of special case and hadn’t happened in 15 years,” Least said Monday. “Even our captain found it really strange that this even happened.”

The first attack occurred Friday afternoon when a woman was bitten by a shark near WaterSound Beach, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said. She suffered severe injuries to her abdomen and arm, and part of her arm had to be amputated, South Walton Fire Chief Ryan Crawford said at a news conference. She was flown to a trauma center.

Less than two hours later, firefighters responded to another beach about 4 miles east of the first attack “after receiving multiple reports of a teenager injured by a shark,” the sheriff’s office said.

Two teenage girls were in waist-deep water with a group of friends when they were attacked, the South Walton Fire District said. The two teens are from Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Mountain Brook city manager Sam Gaston told the news site Al.com.

The timing of the attacks — mid-afternoon — was also an anomaly, Adkinson said. Sheriff’s officials often warn people to watch for sharks early in the morning and at dusk, which are typical feeding times, he noted.

Matt Kolmann, a professor at the University of Louisville, has spent time researching sharks in Florida and agrees that Friday’s attacks are a rarity.

“Most people are attacked or bitten at dawn or dusk,” he said Monday. “That’s when the sharks seem to be most active.”

Kolmann said sharks are not looking for humans.

“Most shark attacks are not malicious,” he said. “Sharks didn’t really evolve to eat us, did they? And so I think most of the time it’s a case of mistaken identity.”

On Saturday, Walton County Sheriff’s officers patrolling the waters by boat spotted a 14-foot hammerhead shark near Santa Rosa Beach, which they said is not unusual. Sheriff’s officials say they do not know what type of shark attacked the swimmers on Friday.

Experts say shark attacks are rare. According to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, there were 69 unprovoked bites worldwide last year, 10 of which were fatal. That’s more than the recent average of six deaths per year.

Similar posts:

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.