Two shark attacks about a week apart off of Oahu this month has people wondering why the incidents seem to be happening more frequently.
A local shark expert says there are two reasons, reports the Honolulu Star Advertiser, a boom in the population of tiger sharks and a jump in feeding activity among pregnant females as this is the time of year tiger sharks have their pups.
“It is possible that pregnant and postpartum female tiger sharks are feeding more frequently than other individuals, as these hungry females try to replenish their diminished energy reserves,” said shark expert Carl Meyer with the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology in the newspaper article. “However this is just an unproven hypothesis at this point.”
Meyer said an increase of people in the water is a more probable reason for the uptick in shark attacks. He warned shark attacks happen all months of the year, but the number of attacks is low compared with the greater number of people in the ocean.
The first attack this month happened on Oct. 9 as 25-year-old Colin Cook was surfing Leftovers on the North Shore and a 10-12 foot tiger shark bit his left leg, according to Surfer Magazine. A week later on Oct. 17, a 44-year-old man was bit above the ankles as he was swimming back from Mokulua to Lanikai Beach, reported CNN. He was sent to the hospital in critical condition.
One of the victims, Cook, is already recovering and taking steps with his remaining leg, and reportedly said he hopes to ride the waves again in a year after his recovery, according to Hawaii News Now.
Hearing Cook’s determination to swim again, Isabella West, a freshman studying marine biology from Arizona, said she was excited for him. “Its really cool,” she said. “He loves surfing so much that even losing a limb isn’t going to stop him. I don’t know if I would have the courage to do that after that happened.”
According to Cook’s father who talked to Hawaii News Now, the tiger shark appeared out of nowhere, “like a truck,” said Cook, and grabbed his left leg to pull him underwater.
Cook grabbed onto his board to stay afloat as the shark began to pull him back. He was able to pop up above water again and with his left hand he pushed the shark away, suffering injuries to that hand, and punched the shark in the nose with his right hand.
Cook was then pulled to shore where a bystander used the surfboard leash as a tourniquet to control the bleeding, which saved Cook’s life. EMS workers took an alert Cook to a trauma center, where his leg was amputated above the knee, according to Hawaii News.
The day after Cook was attacked, he stood up and took a few steps surrounded by friends and family. He took a few more the following day, according to Hawaii News Now. According to a GoFundMe page, Cook was moved on Oct. 16 from the trauma center to a rehabilitation center.
“He’s already a role model,” said Dallin Lakita, a freshman studying exercise and sports science from Laie. “The fact that he’s walking already... and pushing forward instead of being held back. I feel like he should keep up what he’s doing.”
Cook will not able to run his surf shop as he begins to learn to walk again. His close friends opened the GoFundMe page to support him, aiming to hit $50,000 to help Cook with the medical costs, rehabilitation therapy and a prosthetic leg, which can be found on https://www.gofundme.com/surfcolin.
Students think some things might be hard for Cook to adjust to, and one of those things can be fear. “It’s the fear of doing what you love again,” said Kaysen Nakatsu, a freshman looking into nursing from Pearl City. “Get over that fear.”
According to Hawaii News Now, upon hearing of the attack, his relatives flew in from all over the country to support him. Originally from Rhode Island, Cook had lived on the North Shore for years, living his dream by opening a new fiberglass surfboard shop recently, said his GoFundMe page. Cook told Hawaii News Now that he was determined to surf again and to run his surf shop as early as next year.
Students gave some words of encouragement to Cook. “Don’t give up on life,” said Joshua Meyer, a freshman studying art from Miliani. “Keep going because people are watching. Just continue to build yourself and try for those goals.”