title: Fatal attack by a juvenile tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, on a kitesurfer in New Caledonia (South Pacific).
abstract: We present a case of a non-provoked fatal shark attack on a 15-year old male kitesurfer in New Caledonia. The victim lost his board and was pulled by the sail along the water surface in a reef passage when a shark attacked. The shark inflicted at least two bites on the left leg, including a severe one around the knee, resulting in a quick hypovolemic shock that was fatal. The analysis of one of these bites indicated that a 2.8 m TL (est. length) tiger shark was responsible for this attack. The features of the attack are consistent with those of a predator response to a surface feeding stimulus.
authors.affiliation: French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 51 Rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris Cedex, France. Electronic address: eric.clua@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clua
authors.affiliation: Centre Médical de Koutio, Southern Province, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Pierre-Marie
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Bescond
authors.affiliation: New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman 2088, Australia.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009510:New Caledonia; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012754:Sharks; D012769:Shock / Q000209:etiology*; D013177:Sports
keywords: Inter-dental distance; Kitesurfing; Top predator; Unprovoked