Lightning bites twice: two sharks, same beach...12 years apart

Sharks don't take things personally, Mr Brody, says Dr. Elkins in JAWS 2 (1978) - who clearly hasn't seen JAWS the Revenge (1987) or heard about a Florida surfer who was bitten by two sharks, at the same beach, 12 years apart!

To quote the JAWS 2 re-release poster, for Cole Taschman, who is also a local charter fishing captain ("it's your charter, it's your party. It's my vessel") it was a case of one good bite deserves another as in this most recent shark encounter, he nearly lost his feet and life.

Taschman has been clear though that sharks are chancers and surfers know the risks of being mistaken for the likes of seals.

He said: "Sharks are opportunistic eaters unless they're in a frenzy. I looked like a dying something on my board."

Lightning bites twice: two sharks, same beach...12 years apart

Cole Taschman was severely attacked by a shark while surfing in Stuart, Florida. (Ana Peci)

His first shark encounter was aged just 16, when he was bitten by a 4ft blacktip reef shark pup, with this latest one attributed to a bull shark. 

The ocean is a shared environment, and many people use it knowing that they are taking a risk that they could be sharing it with a shark that may, or may not, want to check them out.

And we aren't using the headline-grabbing phrase 'shark attack' for stories like this as that creates an exaggerated perception that these incidents are frequent and deadly.

Even though We know the reality is that the vast majority of interactions between humans and sharks do not result in injury.

A shark bit down on both of Taschman's feet, leaving him with severe injuries and nearly costing him his limbs.

(Ana Peci)

Many sharks are naturally curious creatures, and when they do approach humans, it is often out of curiosity or by mistake. Most of these encounters end without harm—sharks swim by, investigate, and leave without any aggressive behavior.

In total, there's an estimated 70 to 100 reported shark bites globally each year, the vast majority are non-fatal and not predatory in nature.

When a shark does bite, it is usually a case of mistaken identity, where the shark confuses a swimmer or surfer - like Taschman - for prey such as seals or fish. Once the shark realises its mistake, it typically retreats.

Describing these incidents as 'attacks' misrepresents the shark's intentions and contributes to a false narrative of sharks as man-eating predators.

Taschman's original encounter was less severe, but this more serious one hasn't put him off going back into the surf.

Perhaps we'll mark the calendar for 2036, just in case.

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