title: Features and motivation of a fatal attack by a juvenile white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, on a young male surfer in New Caledonia (South Pacific).
abstract: We present the case of a non provoked fatal shark attack on a 19-year old male surfer in New Caledonia. Several severe bites removed the right arm and all flesh from the right thigh, provoking a quick hypovolemic shock that was fatal. The information provided by a witness and the analysis of a partial bite on the right calf allowed us to identify a 2.7 m TL (est. length) white shark as responsible for this attack. The features of the attack are consistent with a young predator motivated by hunger and the development of its predatory skills.
authors.affiliation: DRRT, Haut-commissariat, BP115, 98713 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. eric.clua@gmail.com
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clua
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000473:pathology; D009510:New Caledonia; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D012754:Sharks; D012769:Shock / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult