A 65-year-old woman is recovering after losing approximately “20 pounds of flesh” due to a shark attack at Rockaway Beach Monday.
Rockaway Beach closed Tuesday after gruesome shark attack https://t.co/1UcFFfgT9z pic.twitter.com/JiqqifU4bc
— New York Post (@nypost) August 8, 2023
This beach is not known to have had any shark incidents since 1953, but the woman was swimming alone when lifeguards heard her screaming for help, according to the New York Post.
She was pulled ashore and had lost a large chunk of her left leg. Lifeguards applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until she could be rushed to the hospital.
Program Director at the Florida Program for Shark Research, Dr. Gavin Naylor, looked at pictures of the wound and said, “Definitely a shark bite.”
He added, “Looks as though it was a fairly clean single bite with some force. You can see the spacing between the teeth,” but could not determine the species without further examination.
Gary Metzger, Shark Research and Education Program Field Coordinator for the South Fork Natural History Museum noted the shark likely swam near the Queens beach in search of small schooling fish called menhaden.
He also noted that swimming alone in the evening is risky and “certainly is not advisable.”
“We advise people not to swim at dawn or dusk, largely because animals will move then, and predators will look for them and chase them down,” he went on.
According to Business Insider, the risk of being bitten by a shark is one in 3.75 million. That’s less than the odds of being struck by lightning, injured by fireworks, or having a stroke.
The most commonly known area for shark attacks in the United States is Florida, with Hawaii and California also being top areas for incidents.
Despite the low risk of another attack occurring at Rockaway Beach, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation closed the beach.
As a safety precaution, Rockaway Beach will be closed to swimming & surfing today, August 8, due to recent shark activity. Parks Enforcement & NYPD will be on patrol to keep swimmers out of the water. FDNY & NYPD will be doing aerial surveillance to monitor for sharks.
— NYC Parks (@NYCParks) August 8, 2023
According to the New York Post, they wished the victim well stating, “We hope for a full recovery for this swimmer.”
“Though this was a frightening event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare. We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted,” they added.