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03/31/2007 Larry Olsen (Florida)

Shark Attack Survivors News Archive for Shark Attacks in 2007.
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03/31/2007 Larry Olsen (Florida)

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Two people bitten by sharks at St. Lucie County beaches
Click-2-Listen
By Allyson Bird

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Two people were bitten by sharks between 2 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. Saturday on St. Lucie County beaches.

The first was a 9-year-old boy who was bitten on his foot at Waveland Park, said St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Whitaker. Witnesses took the boy to a local grocery store, where paramedics picked him up and took him to Martin Memorial Medical Center.

The second was 30-year-old man who was bitten on his ankle at Normandy Beach, Whitaker said. Rescue workers took him to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/ ... shark.html
Last edited by sharkbait on Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Surfer recovers after shark bite

By Charlie Reed
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
Posted April 3 2007


Stuart – Longtime surfer Larry Olson -- one of two people bitten by sharks last weekend on Hutchinson Island -- knew he should not have gone into the water at Normandy Beach.

Before paddling out Saturday, he noticed the two surefire signs that sharks were nearby: schools of bait fish and diving pelicans.



LocalLinks

Olson couldn't resist the 4-foot swells, though he now regrets that decision.

"The signs were there," Olson said Monday from Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart, where he had endured a three-hour surgery for the bite to his right ankle.

He estimates the shark that bit him was between 3 and 5 feet and weighed about 25 pounds. He thinks it might have been a blacktip.

"He was just being a shark," Olson said. "He didn't do anything wrong. I love and respect sharks."

The 37-year-old Port St. Lucie resident is expected to make a full recovery and hopes to get back on his surfboard in about three months.

"I'm dying to go surfing again," he said. "Next time I'll just pay more attention."

Experts agree.

"But the reality is a lot of folks don't honor the obvious warning signs," said George Burgess, director of the University of Florida's Program for Shark Research.

Or they just don't know them, he said.

Along with diving sea birds and jumping bait fish, sharks also are attracted to troughs between sandbars and certain inlets, he said.

They are seen more often along Florida's east coast in the spring and fall, as they migrate north and south for the respective seasons, Burgess said.

An hour before Olson's run-in with a shark, a young boy was bitten in the right buttocks and upper leg just nearby at the Martin-St. Lucie county line.

Another shark bite was reported in Volusia County on Sunday, Burgess said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... -news-palm
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Nice Weather Leads To More Shark Bites


Some nice weather in Central Florida has meant several shark attacks across the state over the past few weeks.

One surfer was bitten at Hutchinson Island, WESH 2 News reported.

After 22 years of surfing four to five days a week, Larry Olsen said he knew he was bound to be bitten.


Olsen heard about some good waves at Normandy Beach on Hutchinson Island on Saturday. He grabbed his board and a buddy, and then he hit the surf.

"We got about 10 feet from the beach, maybe, on our way back out when I felt the slam on my leg, and I knew instantly it was a shark," Olsen said.

Turning around, Olsen said he saw a black tip shark that was about 3½ feet long.

"When he grabbed me, he kind of spun me around a little bit, and I looked back, and that's when I could see him with my leg in his mouth, and we wrestled for a couple of good seconds before he freed himself from me," Olsen said.

Fellow surfers wrapped his leg to stop the bleeding. His wife, Maggie, and their two children rushed to the hospital. They were relieved when they found out he would be OK.

"He's going to have a nice bragging scar for his friends, a nice battle wound," Maggie Olsen said.

His bite is the second on Hutchinson Island in the past week and the third there in the past month. In every case, the victims were swimming on unguarded beaches.

Biologist Mark Perry said, especially with the rush of spring breakers, be sure to swim near a lifeguard, who can warn when sharks are nearby, and steer clear of murky water where you see a lot of fish.

"Bait fish, if they're in the water in large schools, there's something feeding on it, you can guarantee it. So the best thing to do is, if you see a lot of fish, get out of the water. Let them pass on by," Perry said.

Olsen said he checked and didn't see any fish or sharks before he went surfing. He figured he has had his once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

"Yes, I'm dying to go surfing again. I would be out there today if I could," Olsen said.

Olsen took a deep bite to his foot. He suffered some tendon and nerve damage, but doctors said he'll make a full recovery.

Also last weekend, a shark bit a 7-year-old boy from Seminole County, who was standing on a sandbar in the water off New Smyrna Beach. He received 60 stitches and should be OK.

http://www.wesh.com/news/11519830/detail.html
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Two apparently bitten by sharks in separate incidents in St. Lucie


By staff report
Posted at 4:01 p.m.
Updated at 7:17 p.m.
March 31, 2007
ST. LUCIE COUNTY -- Two people were apparently bitten by sharks in separate incidents in the county Saturday afternoon.
A 9-year-old boy was apparently bitten in the foot around 1:30 p.m. at Waveland Beach Park on Hutchinson Island, not far from the Martin-St. Lucie County line, said Catherine Whitaker, a fire district spokeswoman. The boy was taken from the beach to a nearby convenience store, where rescue workers picked him up.


The boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment and his condition was not immediately available.
In a separate incident, a 30-year-old man was apparently bitten in the ankle around 2:20 p.m. at Normandy Beach on Hutchinson Island, Whitaker said. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/ar ... 45,00.html
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