A man in his 60s has been airlifted to hospital after being mauled “to the bone” by a great white shark on the NSW mid north coast.
David Quinlivan, 65, was bitten on his left ankle while on his surf-ski at Black Head beach, north of Forster, just before noon on Friday.
He managed to paddle to shore where he was able to get help. Due to the remote location, four-wheel drive ambulances were needed to reach him.
Quinlivan was treated on the beach by paramedics for a lower-leg bite. His injuries were initially described as “reasonably superficial, but a Westpac helicopter spokesman said they went “to the bone”. He was airlifted to Newcastle’s John Hunter hospital in a stable condition.
Quinlivan identified the shark as a great white, the spokesman said.
There have been a number of shark attacks on the east coast of Australia this year, which have led to calls for a cull.
Scientists who study sharks have pointed out there is no evidence that shark numbers are increasing around Australia’s coast and that while 2015 is on course to be a bad year for shark attacks, the chances of interacting with a shark while in the ocean is still incredibly small.
