A young girl was likely bitten by a shark June 11 in the water in Southwest Florida, authorities said.
According to local news site WINK, 9-year-old Leah Lendel was snorkeling offshore at a beach near Boca Grande. Witnesses heard her screaming, just feet away from her mother, who was holding two other children, WINK reported.
First responders treated The girl at the scene and airlifted to a hospital in Lee County, Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said.
“All I know is it was a young child that was apparently swimming on the Gulf side of the beach,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “They were playing in the water, and I think she has severe injuries to her hand. I’m not sure if the hand is still savable.”
While an encounter has not been officially verified, it is tarpon season in Florida near Boca Raton, and sharks often come in large numbers to feed.
As tragic as the bite was, and despite Florida’s reputation as the Shark Bite Capital of the United States, it’s important to remember that shark bites are rare, and incidents have been dropping.
Forget the movies. Sharks rarely want to bite you
Graphic from Florida Museum of Natural History shows a declining number of shark bites in 2024.
Although reports of shark bites can seem frequent and injuries can be horrific, shark bites are extremely rare, many shark bites are relatively minor, and fatalities from shark bites even more so.
The number of shark bites in the U.S. declined 32% in 2024. According to the International Shark Attack File, there were only 47 unprovoked shark bites last year, compared to 69 in 2023. Four of them resulted in fatalities — one of them was actor and surfer Tamayo Perry, killed by a shark while surfing in Hawaii — but that was also down from recent years.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, most shark bites are unprovoked —meaning they didn’t come from a human initiating the interaction— and usually happen when a shark mistakes part of a person for a fish in low-visibility conditions or just accidentally bumps into a person and reacts.
Sometimes a shark may bite to protect their space, like a dog protecting its yard. Very few bites are from predation.
The yearly global average of unprovoked shark bites on humans around the world is about 67, the Florida Museum said, resulting in an average of six deaths. That bite average can be a bit higher, comparatively, in Florida.
Florida saw 14 reported incidents, slightly down from 16 the year before. But that was half the total of 28 in the U.S.
New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County is the unofficial shark bite capital of the world, and eight people were bitten in that county last year.
The last fatal shark attack in Florida was 24 years ago when 38-year-old kiteboarder Stephen Howard Schafer died from massive blood loss after being bitten by at least one shark off Stuart Beach.
A USA TODAY article reported that the odds of dying as a result of a shark attack in the U.S. is 1 in 3,748,067.
Safest Florida beaches: In a summer of sharks, these Florida beaches have seen the fewest shark bites of all time
If you see a shark near you in the water, stay calm
Few sharks naturally feed on humans. If you spot one moving through the water near you while swimming or wading, remain calm and move away quickly without splashing too much. Stick close to the rest of your group or other swimmers and divers. Sharks are less likely to attack a “school” of humans than a single person.
“Hit-and-run bites happen near beaches, where sharks try to make a living capturing fish,” the Florida Museum said on its page about avoiding sharks. “In pounding surf, strong currents, and murky water, a shark may mistake the movements of humans, usually at the surface, for those of their normal food, fish. The shark makes one grab, lets go, and immediately leaves the area. Legs or feet are often bitten; injuries usually are minor and deaths rarely occur.”
If you have been spearfishing or gathering and you’re holding your catch, let it go and move away, the Florida Museum said. The shark is much more interested in the sound and smell of the fish than it is in you.
The museum said that if a shark is acting overtly aggressive, try to back up against any nearby reefs, pier pilings, or other structures that can help reduce the angles from which it can attack. If nothing is nearby, get back to back with whoever is swimming with you.
If you are attacked by a shark, punch it in the nose
Again, most shark bites are accidental and instinctual and a violent, proactive response may be the best way to fend them off.
“If a shark attacks, the best strategy is to hit it on the tip of its nose,” the museum said, “This usually results in the shark retreating.”
It worked for 19-year-old Oklahoman Damiana Humphrey, who was bitten while swimming with family off the coast of Galveston, Texas in May 2024.
“As I was turning, a shark grabbed a hold of my hand,” Humphrey said. “I looked down and there was a shark attached to my hand, so I guess I started punching it. That part is kind of blurry to me.” The shark, reportedly about four to five feet long, let go and swam away. Humphrey escaped with four severed tendons in her hand.
In June 2024, in Del Mar, California, Caleb Adams, 46, was bitten by a shark and said he repeatedly punched it “inside its mouth.” The year before, Ella Reed, 13, swimming at a Fort Pierce, Florida beach, pounded on a shark that was biting her torso and leg until it swam off.
Repeated punches are likely to get less effective, the museum said, and keep in mind that you’ll have water resistance softening your blow.
But you should only try it if bitten or attacked. When a shark swam between Virginia resident Elisabeth Foley‘s legs while she was swimming near Watersound Beach in the Panhandle in 2024, she said she tried punching it and was attacked. She lost a hand and suffered bites to her torso.
If a shark bites you, go for the eyes
“If a shark actually gets you in its mouth, we advise to be as aggressively defensive as you are able,” ISAF’s George Burgess said. “‘Playing dead’ does not work.”
“Avoid using your [bare] hands or feet if you can avoid it; if not, concentrate your blows against the shark’s delicate eyes or gills,” said R. Aiden Martin, the ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research director until his death in 2007. Then, “get out of the water as quickly and efficiently as you can,” keeping it in sight in case it attacks again.
“Pound the shark in any way possible. Try to claw at the eyes and gill openings, two very sensitive areas,” Burgess said. “Once released, do all you can to exit the water as quickly as possible because with your blood in the water, the shark very well could return for a repeat attack.”
“You should not act passively if under attack as sharks respect size and power,” the museum said.
If you get bitten by a shark, try to control the bleeding immediately
Even before you get out of the water — or take someone who has been bitten out of the water — you should “make every effort to control bleeding,” Aiden said. “Apply direct pressure to any open wound to staunch the flow of blood. Avoid using a tourniquet unless rate of blood loss is life-threatening.”
If you have been bitten, get medical attention even if it’s just a scratch
“Since sharks’ mouths often swarm with a nasty community of infectious microbes,” Aiden said, “treatment by a physician is always indicated even if the wounds seem relatively minor.”
Where did Florida shark attacks happen in 2024?
Volusia County had the most shark bites, with eight, more than half of the state total, in line with the county’s five-year annual average of nine.
Contributors: Kim Luciani, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida, Tomas Rodriguez and Chad Gillis, Fort Myers News-Press
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida shark bite: Can you punch an attacking shark? Yes, and you should