News and Events

Dateline 13-10-08

PART 2

Later on, it was clear that victim (Slovenian spear diver with just killed

fish on his diver’s belt) was bitten for lower part of the leg and

suffered serious wound. Fortunately, he received immediate medical care

and was transported by Croatian army helicopter to the Central Hospital in

Split were surgeons performed few complicated operations in order to save

his leg. Then I was notified that surgeons were able to recover small

teeth fragments from victim’s wound. Fortunately, teeth and jaws

characteristics of sharks are my exact subject of investigations and from

tip of one tooth (of only one centimeter in length) it was not difficult

to identify it as great white shark tooth, possibly from lower jaw. That

was a sort of surprise, as this attack was actually the third confirmed

record of great white shark in the eastern Adriatic since 1974, when last

attack, even fatal, occurred. The last record occured in 2003, also in

wider area of the island of Vis, when at open sea, a female specimen of

5.70 m in length and 2-2.5 tons of weight was caught in tuna purse seine.