Swimming has been banned in the Sea of Japan off Russia's Far Eastern Primorye Territory after two shark attacks in the past week have left two people hospitalized, Russian media report.
The first attack occurred Wednesday when a 25-year-old man lost both arms up to the elbow, Pravda reported. He was hospitalized in serious condition but expected to survive, according to the report.
Witnesses said the shark was about 13 feet (4 meters) long with large fins, according to the Pravda report.
The second attack occurred in a nearby area Thursday when a 16-year-old boy suffered severe wounds to his legs, RIA Novosti reported. The boy was hospitalized in Vladivostok, the report said. The boy's diving suit prevented the shark from taking his legs, according to a Moscow Times report.
Authorities suspect the same shark was responsible for both attacks, according to the Pravda report.
Alexander Sokolovsky, a candidate of biological sciences at the Far Eastern Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Pravda that recent storms may have made the waters off Russia's eastern coast more desirable for sharks.
"After a typhoon, the waters here become even better for sharks. The sharks are very sensitive to ecology, but the water here is clear," Pravda quoted Sokolovsky as saying. "They come here for food. When there is a shortage of their common food - fish and squid - they swim here searching for bigger food - seals, for example. Maybe the shark took those two people for seals."
Great white sharks have been spotted in the region before, but these are the first attacks Sokolovsky has seen in 51 years in the area, according to Pravda.
Authorities were putting together a team to find and kill the suspect shark, according to the RIA Novosti report.
I wonder if Sarah Palin was able to see this from her house.
that made me lmao
I wonder if you realize that quote was from Tina Fey on SNL and was never said by Sarah Palin. Probably not, as liberals would never bother themselves with facts. Oh BTW, how's that president of yours enjoying his most recent vacation? What is this now...32? At least he knows how to do something well. Unfortunately it has nothing to do with being a leader.
Yes Dan, she actually said of Russie, "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska"
That doesn't change the fact that she's an idiot and Troy's joke was still hilarious.
@ Dan – The actual quote may have come from Tina Fey, but Palin did indeed on multiple occasions try to claim foreign policy experience based on her proximity to Russia. Also, Obama has taken a very low number of vacation days compared to Bush or Reagan. Keep in mind that Presidents don't really get days off. He's doing most of the same stuff from a different location.
Really? Google "Sarah Palin Russia quote" and the third hit is the youtube video of it. Yeah she doesn't say "from her house", but when asked what her foreign experience is she says "russia is our neighbor and you can see russia from land here". That really isn't better. Don't throw out insults while blatantly misrepresenting the facts yourself.
So explain how Sarah Palin was wrong. You can see Russian land from Diomede Island which is part of Alaska. Sounds to me like she was stating a fact. Compare that to your president who said, "I've now been in 57 states — I think one left to go." —at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon, May 9, 2008. Talk about an idiot.
"Sharks in the ocean, bears in the wilderness" and Republicans in America.
Looks like the oceans and forests are safer.
We don't have a chance on land, sea or at home.
whoops another liberal loser that the shark forgot to eat!
Hey Josh...Bears and Sharks don't like to eat cry babies...
How was this identified as the same shark? The average person would never be able to determine that. And what's the point of killing the shark? It's doing what all sharks do
They said the authorities suspected it was the same shark; they don't know for certain. They're probably making that assumption because sharks don't usually attack people, and to have two attacks in the same region by two different sharks in such a small time frame probably seems less logical than one shark. Occam's Razor or something like that.
Kill the Shark ? That's stupid...
Sharks aren't usually found in the shallow waters that people tend to be in. There is a small chance a shark would drift into these areas, and an even smaller chance that two sharks would. This is probably the logic they used.
Probably from bite marks. Since sharks so rarely bite humans, bite marks of a similar size and shape generally indicate you're talking about the same shark. Sharks who have bitten a human are also more likely to do it again.
And how will they know which shark to kill? Just keep killing them until the guy's arms turn up? Seems inefficient and it will leave a lot of dead sharks just lying around. I mean, shark is damned tasty, but is there really a market for all that sharky goodness if people run around just cutting off the fins and tossing the rest back?
Actually, it is doing what few sharks do, not what all sharks do.
Sharks generally don't bite people, and if they do it once, they rarely do it again. Some scientists suspect (and I am not making this up, it's actual research) that people don't get eaten by animals more often because people taste bad.
The scientists who can determine if it were the same shark or not are not "average". That's what makes them scientists you dolt.
Swimming in the ocean off of Russia? Sounds chilly.
go into the water, get bit by a shark, blame the shark.........brilliant as always
Look for "news" on CNN, comment on "news" story and expect knowledgable and intelligent banter...good job....Next!!!
A shark wounds two people and will be hunted down, killed, the angler a hero. In the process, other sea life will be caught and killed.
George Bush starts a bogus war that kills over 10,000 people and nothing happens.
I think 10,000 is a little on the low side.
When will you people just STFU about that? What's next, go back and dig up Polk's body and kick him repeatedly in the butt for the Mexican American War? You gonna start screaming about all of Obama's civilian casualties from his war in Libya, too?
I think we should kill 10,000 sharks and then we can compare facts and figures...anyway, I heard GW doesn't like seafood.
Here's your tissue, blow your nose, there you go...
Joe, you are an idiot!
Killing the shark is what, some kind of justice??? Why kill the shark? Dolphins kill more people a year than sharks do. Should we kill them off too? People are sooooo stupid. If we keep killing sharks that screws us big time. Reefs would die due to over population of other sea life which in turn would kill all other sea life. Which makes an empty ocean. An ocean where diseases grow or a toxic ocean. New Diseases that make people zombies or extremly ill. Also, I am sure that one shark is not going to be the only one slain either. They were swimming in the sharks domain. The shark did nothing wrong. It bit into what it thought was dinner. It let go after it realized it was not food. Let the shark live. If sharks wanted to eat humans anyone that enters the ocean would be dead.
"Dolphins kill more people in a year than sharks do". Astounding! And how, pray tell, do these dolphins kill all these people? Flipper them to death? Pahaha...
Yes, I would like to see the scientific study that details these demonic dolphins of doom and their reign of terror on the high seas.
CNN must really have nothing better to do today as if anyone in this great country really cares if a couple of ruskies get eaten, mauled or mutilated by sharks? I just don't get what passes for news or is considered newsworthy.
God forbid a shark attacks a human in their environment, we better kill every shark in the entire ocean.
I say good for the shark! We have less than a dozen fatalities each year from shark attacks world wide yet literally millions of sharks are killed each year for various reasons. Without sharks, other species' populations will explode leading to undesirable environmental consequences. What we need is a little culling of humans to bring things back in balance. GO SHARKS!
no bad shark there wiiill be noone left
stupid shark should be smart enough to see if its a seal or a human being
Stupid human, not stupid shark.
This is just the beginning. Sharks will attack and kill one Russian a day until Putin changes his idiotic stance on Syria.
Sharky Sharkingham III, I just want to pet you. You sound so snuggley.
Thanks! That's a picture of me at the top. I'm such a ham for the camera. You sound yummy! I mean that in a strictly non-predatory way too...of course.
LMFAO! Thanks, I really needed that laugh!
Get a room...or a tank
Fish tank
Why kill it? Like it says... It probably mistook the people for a seal. Just doing what sharks do.
Notice it did not *eat* them. It probably thought "Yummy seal!" took a bite and thought "Oh-oh. Not seal-ey. Bleck" and swam, off.