Re: 03/22/2009 Luyolo Mangele ( South Africa ) ***Fatal***
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:42 am
Tiger shark may have killed surfer – scientist
2009/03/25.
THE Natal Sharks Board believes that a tiger shark may have been responsible for the fatal attack on Port St Johns surfer Luyolo Mangele , 16, on Friday.
Geremy Cliff , the executive officer for research at the Natal Sharks Board, said although there was a possibility that it may have been a Zambezi shark, he strongly suspected that a tiger shark had killed Mangele.
He said after taking measurements of the bite marks, it did not appear to be a large shark.
However, Cliff said he was sure that the shark which killed Port St Johns lifeguard Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe at Second Beach in January was of a different species.
Mangele, of Mthumbane township in Port St Johns, was the second local person to be killed in a shark attack at Second Beach this year, following the death of Bangilizwe.
Bangilizwe was also from Mthumbane township. Another Mthumbane resident, lifeguard Masiza Sibelele, was killed by a shark off Second Beach two years ago.
Sibelele was attacked twice, first in 2004 and again in 2007. His body was never recovered after he was attacked for the second time.
The attacks have triggered suspicions that traditional healers who conduct rituals and ceremonies at Second Beach may be attracting sharks. The healers allegedly throw raw meat and blood into the sea as part of their rituals.
A lifeguard told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that on Friday – the day Mangele was killed – traditional healers were seen leaving the beach in the morning.
Cliff said such rituals, if performed at the beach, had the potential of attracting sharks.
“I am not sure to what extent people are going to the beach and killing animals, and throwing blood and meat into the sea, but that does not help the situation at all,” Cliff said.
“If people go into the sea and start throwing blood, it’s likely to attract sharks.”
Zola Hewu , the municipal manager for Port St Johns Municipality, said by-laws prohibited such rituals being performed at Second Beach and other beaches.
However, in recognition of people’s beliefs, a beach had been set aside for such practices at nearby Ferry Point.
Hewu also told the Dispatch that traditional healers had been told to leave Second Beach on Friday morning, but he was not sure whether they had undertaken rituals or not.
A lifeguard for Wild Coast Guards, Sivuyile Dayimani, 19, said yesterday that during a patrol on Friday morning – hours before Mangele was killed – they found intestines at Second Beach that appeared to be from a goat or sheep.
They had also found candles and beans in the sand.
Solly Nduku, general-secretary for the National Unitary Professional Association for African Traditional Health Practitioners of South Africa, said they had advised their members not to continue performing such rituals at the beach, because they did not want to carry on with something that could endanger people’s lives. - By LUBABALO NGCUKANA, Mthatha Bureau
http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=303480
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2009/03/25.
THE Natal Sharks Board believes that a tiger shark may have been responsible for the fatal attack on Port St Johns surfer Luyolo Mangele , 16, on Friday.
Geremy Cliff , the executive officer for research at the Natal Sharks Board, said although there was a possibility that it may have been a Zambezi shark, he strongly suspected that a tiger shark had killed Mangele.
He said after taking measurements of the bite marks, it did not appear to be a large shark.
However, Cliff said he was sure that the shark which killed Port St Johns lifeguard Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe at Second Beach in January was of a different species.
Mangele, of Mthumbane township in Port St Johns, was the second local person to be killed in a shark attack at Second Beach this year, following the death of Bangilizwe.
Bangilizwe was also from Mthumbane township. Another Mthumbane resident, lifeguard Masiza Sibelele, was killed by a shark off Second Beach two years ago.
Sibelele was attacked twice, first in 2004 and again in 2007. His body was never recovered after he was attacked for the second time.
The attacks have triggered suspicions that traditional healers who conduct rituals and ceremonies at Second Beach may be attracting sharks. The healers allegedly throw raw meat and blood into the sea as part of their rituals.
A lifeguard told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that on Friday – the day Mangele was killed – traditional healers were seen leaving the beach in the morning.
Cliff said such rituals, if performed at the beach, had the potential of attracting sharks.
“I am not sure to what extent people are going to the beach and killing animals, and throwing blood and meat into the sea, but that does not help the situation at all,” Cliff said.
“If people go into the sea and start throwing blood, it’s likely to attract sharks.”
Zola Hewu , the municipal manager for Port St Johns Municipality, said by-laws prohibited such rituals being performed at Second Beach and other beaches.
However, in recognition of people’s beliefs, a beach had been set aside for such practices at nearby Ferry Point.
Hewu also told the Dispatch that traditional healers had been told to leave Second Beach on Friday morning, but he was not sure whether they had undertaken rituals or not.
A lifeguard for Wild Coast Guards, Sivuyile Dayimani, 19, said yesterday that during a patrol on Friday morning – hours before Mangele was killed – they found intestines at Second Beach that appeared to be from a goat or sheep.
They had also found candles and beans in the sand.
Solly Nduku, general-secretary for the National Unitary Professional Association for African Traditional Health Practitioners of South Africa, said they had advised their members not to continue performing such rituals at the beach, because they did not want to carry on with something that could endanger people’s lives. - By LUBABALO NGCUKANA, Mthatha Bureau
http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=303480
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