Friday, December 18, 2009

Great White shark leaves two giant teeth behind after attack

A Great White shark left two giant teeth lodged in an oar after attacking an Australian lifeguard boat. The boat was off Hawks Nest, 125 miles north of Sydney, and in waters known to be a breeding ground for the man-eating sharks.

The allure of an oar jutting out from the boat proved too much for a young Great White and it sank its teeth into the wood with a "great thump".

Greg Ross, 41, one of the five-man crew, said: "It just dragged the oar backwards through my hands. The attack was an amazing sight, just like something out of Jaws. I was glad it tried to take a chunk out of the oar and not my leg."



He added: "The oar was quite big so the shark must have thought it was a seal and gone in to kill it.

"After it swam up to the boat I heard a huge thump as it struck the oar. The shark was more than three metres long so it was a strong beast although it was almost certainly a youngster."

He said he saw blood in the water as the shark swam away minus two of its teeth. Mr Ross said he would give the teeth to his 12-year-old daughter as a souvenir of the crew's near-miss.

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