Hawaii attack survivor tells tale of finicky shark

Hawaii attack survivor tells tale of finicky shark

HONOLULU - A surfer who put his fingers into the mouth of a shark to pry himself free during an attack believes the fish took no further interest in him because it didn't like the taste of his leg.

Todd Murashige, 40, spoke with reporters at The Queen's Medical Center on Thursday, two days after he was attacked in waters off Oahu.

Murashige said he was sitting on his board relaxing and didn't see the shark before it bit him on his right thigh.

"I didn't see it at all. It just seemed so surreal, like it wasn't real, just head of a shark right there in my lap," he said.

"I stuck my fingers into his mouth to try to pry him off, but I didn't feel any teeth. I think I was grabbing onto his gums or the lip part," he said.


Murashige said the shark didn't pursue him, and thinks it was a test bite, "because he never came back to me, and really aggressively never really bit me and shook me. He just took a test bite and it wasn't too good tasting."

After freeing himself, Murashige managed to get back to shore on his board, which was missing a piece from the bite, by paddling and catching a wave. He also had the help of a fellow surfer.

Once on solid ground, a towel was used to tie off the wounded thigh and a call was placed to 911.

"While I was lying on the shore, I thought I was going to black out," Murashige said. "I told myself if I black out, I'm going to die. That's what I really felt in my gut, so I called my wife and I called my mom."

Since he didn't see the shark's body, Murashige said he didn't know what kind it was or how big it was. But based on the size of its head — Murashige raised his hands about the width of his shoulders — he suspects it was a tiger shark.

Dr. Kevin Christensen said Murashige lost a lot of blood, with the wound going almost all around the thigh, but there were no broken bones and his prognosis is good.

"I anticipate he'll walk again," Christensen said.

But will Murashige surf again?

"I want to get back to walking first and maybe go from there," he said.

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Odd News-Australian surfer says he was towed by shark

Odd News-Australian surfer says he was towed by shark

By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer

CANBERRA, Australia - A large shark entangled itself in a surfer's leg rope in Australia and began towing him and his board out to sea, the surfer said Tuesday.
John Morgan, a 51-year-old surf shop owner from the east coast tourist town of Byron Bay, compared his terrifying 170-foot ride off a local beach to being towed by a jet ski.

He said he was about 330 yards from shore and paddling out when the 10-foot shark swelled up from underneath him Sunday afternoon.

"It freaked me out," Morgan said. "It bumped my leg rope and next thing it tangled itself in the leg rope and started charging out to sea with me in tow."

"To say it was like being towed by a jet ski might be an exaggeration, but it was really fast," he added.

Morgan said he clung to the board until the shark suddenly freed itself and disappeared. The rope was not damaged and remained attached to the board and his ankle.

Morgan said he was not sure what kind of shark it was.

"He was probably as freaked out as I was," Morgan said.

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