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Shark kills swimmer in New Zealand
A wimmer in New Zealand died Wednesday after he was attacked by a great white shark on the country's west coast, authorities said.
The man was found dead in the water on Wednesday afternoon at Muriwai beach, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Auckland, New Zealand police said. The shark was still biting the man's body when he was found, it added.
FULL STORY
CNN Prime Time: Ex-stepmom talks about Wisconsin temple shooter; Loughner pleads guilty to Tucson shooting
Ex-Stepmom: Suspected shooter 'kind'
The former stepmother of the Wisconsin temple shooter talks to CNN’s Anderson Cooper about Wade Michael Page's life as a child, before he joined the military.
Loughner's mom cries as charges read
Kyung Lah shares what she saw in the courtroom when Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty to the mass shooting outside a Tucson, Arizona, supermarket.
Shark attack victim: ‘I was caught in a vice’
Piers Morgan talks to a man who survived an encounter with a great white shark off Cape Cod.
Gotta Watch: Up-close shark encounters
Forget “Jaws.” We’ve seen all sorts of real-life shark encounters in the last few weeks. Whether people are fishing, diving, or kayaking, sharks seem to be showing up everywhere. You’ve Gotta Watch these incredible videos. Have you ever had a close call with a shark? Let us know in the comments below.
Swimming with a shark
Two friends who were spear fishing off the coast of Australia got a nasty surprise when a great white shark came between them and their boat. See how many times the sharks circled the swimmers.
Dinner time
Fishers in South Carolina and Australia both had sharks appear out of nowhere to snatch a fish off their lines. It's hard to say what's better: the footage of the sharks or the reaction from the people fishing.
Shark week
Multiple sightings of great white sharks off Cape Cod have visitors worried. See the incredible shots of a great white shark stalking a kayaker.
Rocking the boat
Fishermen in Sydney captured unbelievable video of an 18-foot great white biting the smaller blue shark that was on their line. You’ve got to see this huge beast shoot out of the water.
Great white shark kills championship bodyboarder; did chumming attract beasts?
South African championship bodyboarder David Lilienfeld, 20, was killed by a great white shark Thursday in Kogel Bay near Cape Town as he caught waves with his brother, according to local news reports.
A shark estimated to be between 13 and 16 feet long bit off Lilienfeld's right leg, the reports said.
Witnesses saw the attack from the rocks overlooking the bay, which is part of the larger False Bay.
One of them was Lucille Bester, who said she saw the shark about 20 to 30 yards from Lilienfeld and others in the water but was too far away to catch their attention, according to a report from the Cape Argus on the website Independent Online.
"The next thing we saw the shark come from under one of the guys and grab him. The shark shook him and then let him go. The surfer was screaming – it was terrible!" Bester is quoted as saying.
“Then it took him again. And that was it. It took him under. The first time it took him, there wasn’t any blood. But the second time there was," Bester told the Cape Argus.
Fellow surfer Mat Marais saw the attack from the beach, according to the report.
This Week's Top Videos
Editor's Note: This post is a recap of the top five videos on CNN.com from the past week. So in case you didn't catch our best videos during the week, here is your chance to see what you missed.
The top videos on CNN.com this week featured a jaws-like shark swarm, a new high-tech Dreamliner, the story of a mother's dramatic reunion and some horrifying video of torture and death in Syria as the uprising there reaches the one year mark. Click below to see the videos that impacted so many others this week.
Sharks go on feeding frenzy
Sharks off the coast of Australia go on a feeding frenzy. Australia's Network Ten reports.
Syria: Torture captured on video
CNN's Arwa Damon reports on torture captured on video carried out allegedly by Syrian soldiers.
Child survives family's slaughter
In Syria, a rescue operation to retrieve bodies of a massacred family turns up a child who lived. Arwa Damon reports.
Mom reacts to son found after 8 years
Dr. Drew talks to Auboni Champion-Morin, whose son was found after being kidnapped 8 years ago.
Go inside Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner
Lizzie O'Leary reports on whether the new Boeing 787 is everything it's cracked up to be.
Overheard on CNN.com: Alas, no laser beams on hybrid sharks
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
"Oh great, next thing you know sharks will be walking on land and snapping peoples heads off."
–Rick
Researchers say they've found 57 animals that are a cross between two genetically different but closely related species of shark off the coast of Australia. Scientists say it may be an indication the creatures are adapting to climate change.
Scientists: Dozens of hybrid sharks found off Australia
Climate change is a bit controversial, and it always gets people talking. Many readers said they didn't believe that climate is the reason why hybrid sharks are being found, and some found the research flawed. There were also some who defended the study. FULL POST
Gotta Watch: Best viral videos of 2011
We've posted a lot of videos on CNN.com this year, but the ones that seem to be the most popular are the viral videos. From the hilarious barking cat to the incredibly talented mini-Nicki Minaj, 2011 has been jam-packed with some incredibly amusing videos. In the spirit of the end of the year, we at Gotta Watch put together the four most-watched viral videos on CNN.com in 2011. Enjoy!
Rejection is funny - This video out of Missouri proves that laughing truly is contagious. A letter that would make most of us mad seems to have a very different effect on a little boy.
Great white shark spotted off ... North Carolina?
Matt Garrett of Boston, Massachusetts, and a group of friends decided to go fishing off the coast of North Carolina over the Thanksgiving weekend and things were going swimmingly.
“It was our second time fishing. We went fishing the day before,” Garrett said, adding that he intended to enjoy a day of leisure. “I brought my golf clubs and fishing rods,” he said.
But as they navigated about 25 miles off Wrightsville Beach, something fishy happened.
"Everything was biting (at first), then all of a sudden nothing was biting at all. We knew something was up,” he said.
“Off in a distance we saw two big fins sticking up in the water. We thought it was a couple Atlantic Sunfish or two dolphins. As the two fins approached a little closer, we noticed it was a giant shark."
A great white shark.
Garrett said, "It was all amazement, seeing such a large living creature. It also doesn't seem real. It was very surreal!"
The shark T-boned the boat, turned around and slapped the boat with its tail, Garrett said.
Capturing it all on his iPhone 4S, Garrett said, “It didn't sink in until later that this was so significant," he said.
Paul Barrington of the NC Aquarium confirmed to CNN affiliate WECT that it was indeed a great white shark, a rarity for North Carolina waters, but not unheard of.
Barrington told WECT the shark was likely just being nosey. Garrett figured as much. "He nudged us with his nose and turned around and slapped the boat with his tail," he told the station.
Asked if he ever got out golfing, Garrett said, “I got out for nine holes and I assure you it wasn’t nearly as exciting.”
Surfer survives near shark attack on Oregon beach
An Oregon beach remained open but officials urged caution Friday, a day after a surfer survived a near-shark attack just off the shore.
Bobby Gumm, out surfing with friends about 200 feet from the beach, got the surprise of his life Thursday when he was suddenly launched into the air by an apparent great white shark, witnesses told local media.
“All the sudden I saw a 2-foot fin coming out of the water and it lifted up my friend in the air," Ron Clifford told CNN affiliate KPTV. Clifford was in the water when the incident happened. "I was scared for my life. I've never seen anything like that. It was like witnessing an almost murder," he was quoted as saying.
Chris Havel, spokesman for South Beach State Park where the incident happened, said warning signs were posted immediately after the incident.
“We acted on it right away because it was very obvious and proven, and it came from an experienced and knowledgeable person,” Havel told CNN on Friday.
Also there was the matter of a huge 23-inch chunk of the surf board missing.
Gotta Watch: They caught what?
Fishermen may sometimes tell tall tales about the enormous fish that got away, but you've never seen anything like this. These people really did get the catch of a lifetime - and got it all on tape. From animals that shouldn't even be in the water to 40-ton "catches," you've got to watch these unbelievable fishing videos.
FULL POST
Gotta Watch: Big - REALLY big - critters
Few things are as intriguing as uber large animals. Sure you've seen big dogs or cats, but we're talking about HUGE, rare creatures that make you want to do a double take. It's all on the heels of our most popular video yesterday, featuring footage of a one-ton crocodile. In case you missed it, it's at the end of our blog, but you've gotta watch other ginormous land and sea creatures.
FULL POST
Shark fin soup one step closer to being banned in California
A Chinese delicacy moved closer to extinction Tuesday in California as the state Senate passed a bill banning the sale of shark fins.
The Senate voted 25 to 9 to ban the possession, sale or trade of the key ingredient in shark fin soup. The bill will go to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk for approval.
Shark fins are often acquired through the controversial practice of finning, in which a shark's fins are cut off and the rest of its body is tossed into the ocean. California, home to 1.1 million Chinese-Americans, is one of the largest importers of shark fins outside Asia.
Supporters of the bill hailed the vote as an important step toward protecting an increasingly rare species.
"This hugely important victory in the California Legislature comes not a moment too soon," said Leila Monroe, staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
[cnn-video url="http://cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2011/09/04/lu-stout-shark-fin-ban.cnn"%5D"With sharks being killed by the tens of millions every year just for their fins, scientists, many Asian Pacific-American leaders and jurisdictions around the country and world agree: The very best way to protect sharks from disappearing from our oceans forever is to ban the sale and trade of shark fins."
Critics said the bill unfairly targeted the Chinese-American community because it only restricts the sale of shark fins, which are used almost exclusively in Chinese cuisine. The bill does not apply to other shark products like oil or meat.
"I think what is most insidious about this particular bill is that it sends a very bad message, not only to us in California but to the rest of the world, that discrimination against Chinese-Americans is OK," Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Lawmakers on Tuesday also approved a second bill that added several key provisions, including an exemption for taxidermists to possess shark fins and giving restaurants more time to use up what they have of the ingredient, the Los Angeles Times reported.
It is unclear what position Brown might take. He has not publicly stated whether he supports the bill.
Two mauled in shark attacks off Russia's east coast
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.
Gotta Watch: Shark Week!
Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" is upon us. In honor of the yearly tradition we have compiled our favorite shark videos.
Synonymous with summer, "Shark Week" has become a staple of many people's summer vacation. Who knew that a string of programming that started in 1987 as filler in between network seasons would turn into a yearly phenomenon followed by millions of diehard shark enthusiasts? Nothing to scare you away from the beach like a week full of endless shark footage, right? Take a trip through shark alley and check out our favorite shark encounters.
Great white shark attacks boat – A great white shark off the coast of Australia chomps on a boats propeller, giving the pair of boaters quite the scare.
Great white jumps on to research boat
Shark researchers in South Africa didn't have to go far Tuesday to find a specimen - a 10-foot great white shark leaped into the back of their boat. And rather than a story of the big one that got away, this is a story of a big one they couldn't get rid of.
The boat, from Ocean's Research in Mossel Bay on South Africa's southern coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, was chumming in the waters around Seal Island and monitoring the activity of four sharks as part of an ongoing study, researchers reported on their blog.
“Next thing I know I hear a splash, and see a white shark breach out of the water from the side of the boat hovering, literally, over the crewmember who was chumming on the boat's port side,” field specialist Dorien Schroder wrote on the blog. He pulled the crewmember to safety while others jumped out of the way of the 1,100-pound shark.
California leopard shark deaths trouble scientists
More than 100 leopard sharks have washed up dead over the past month around California's San Francisco Bay Area, according to a conservation and research group working with scientists to determine a cause.
At least four of the spotted creatures are being examined by a Department of Fish and Game pathologist now, said Sean Van Sommeran, executive director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. Three of the sharks undergoing analysis have signs of infection in their digestive and nervous systems, Van Sommeran said.
"Leopard sharks are typically very tough and are rarely susceptible to getting sick," he said. "So this is alarming. The infection seems to come in through the nose and affects their eyes, blinding them and half-paralyzing them so that they cannot keep themselves from coming up on the shore with the tide."
He said it's possible that the canals in which the sharks sometimes swim are polluted with stagnant water where bacteria can thrive. If it's a matter of cleaning the water, that can be accomplished by installing aerators or other equipment.
Because the sharks live in salt water, there is no threat to the human water supply, he stressed.
Van Sommeran said it's likely that more than 100 sharks have been affected. An untold number may still be in the water or have already decomposed.
The day's most popular stories
The five most popular stories on CNN.com in the past 24 hours, according to NewsPulse.
Body of missing Ohio mother found: The mother-in-law of a 25-year-old woman found dead in a septic system provided investigators with details where the corpse was located, police said Wednesday.
Only 14, Bangladeshi girl was lashed to death: Hena Akhter's last words to her mother proclaimed her innocence. But it was too late to save the 14-year-old girl.
Parents sue over photos of slain daughter: The parents of a murder victim are suing Facebook after a paramedic pleaded guilty to photographing their daughter's corpse and posting the image to the social networking site, according to court documents.
High radiation levels near nuclear plant: The chairman of the Japanese company that owns the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant said Wednesday it has no choice but to decommission four of the plant's six reactors.
Leaping sea creatures: Do we need bigger boats? Has Aquaman's telepathic message been scrambled? Are the buddies of "Jaws" seeking revenge? Actually, many ocean animals jump out of the water when either chasing prey or trying to elude a predator.
Leaping sea creatures: Do we need bigger boats?
Last Friday, a 300-pound eagle ray leaps onto a boat off the Florida Keys. On Sunday, a 375-pound mako shark jumps onto a boat off Texas.
What's up with the leaping sea creatures? Has Aquaman's telepathic message been scrambled? Are the buddies of "Jaws" seeking revenge? Are we going to need bigger boats?
Actually, "many ocean animals do jump out of the water when either chasing prey or trying to elude a predator," Timothy J. Mullican, vice president of zoological operations at the Georgia Aquarium, said in an e-mail to CNN. And the eagle ray and mako shark are both known jumpers, he said.
But plopping on a boat is far from the usual result, he said.
In the Florida case, "the presence of the boat may have spooked the eagle ray, or it may just be a one-in-a-million intersection of boat and animal," Mullican said.
And off Texas, "the shark could have conceivably been accelerating through the cloud of 'chum,' broken the surface and unfortunately found a boat occupying the space where it was going to land," Mullican said.
On landbigfish.com, fishing guide Dennis Dobson also provides a few ideas why free fish - those yet to taste the hook - jump. Females may be trying to loosen eggs for spawning, he says, and both sexes may be trying to rid themselves of parasites. Or, he writes tongue in cheek, they may be just "flipping the fin" to fishermen.
If that's the case, then some fishermen have figured them out. They count on their catch leaping aboard. The book "Fish Catching Methods of the World" describes how fishermen in several countries rely on fish behavior instead of hooks and nets.
And leaping aquatic creatures aren't only found on oceans, rivers and lakes. I know this from personal childhood trauma. That goldfish gasping for oxygen on my childhood bedroom floor didn't jump from its bowl with a death wish, my parents assured me. That was just what fish sometimes did.
And while last weekend's two incidents were obvious shockers for those on board the two boats, imagine if a great white shark plopped onto your bow. That's exactly what happened to some German tourists off South Africa a few years ago. Get their view here.
In South Africa, the great white got away. And the Florida ray was set free. But things didn't end so well for the Texas mako or my goldfish.
[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/03/30/vo.tx.shark.boat.khou"%5D
Gotta Watch: Plane's crash water landing, eagle ray pins woman and shark surprise
It's water, water everywhere. From a plane's incredible crash water landing to a 300-pound eagle ray that smacked a woman during a tourist boat trip, today's Gotta Watch videos are all about water. And just when you thought it couldn't get any wackier, there's a fisherman's dream: a 400-pound shark.
Plane's plunges into ocean – A plane tries to land in St. Petersburg, Florida, but hits the ocean and flips over just short of the runway. The spectacular sight is all caught on tape by two friends just trying to enjoy the day at a nearby racetrack.
[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/03/30/plane.crash.water.landing.wfts"%5D
Shark attack blogger draws supporters from across the world
Shark attacks happen. But when was the last time someone attacked by a shark blogged about the horrific experience and the struggle to recover?
Meet 38-year-old Nicole Moore, a mom and registered nurse from Orangeville, Ontario, whose blog "My Story of Survival" has comments from people across the globe. The blog was originally intended to update friends and family about what happened, and how she was doing. But it's attracted attention around the world.
Moore was vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, in late January and went into the ocean to wash off sand after playing volleyball. Waist-deep, she felt a tug on her arm.
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