Two people were injured this Wednesday by separate shark attacks off the coast of Long Island, New York;
His life is not in danger, according to the authorities, but these incidents add to others in recent months that illustrate an increase in attacks and can spread fear on US beaches during the summer.
A 49-year-old Arizona man was bitten on the wrist and buttocks in shallow water off Seaview Beach around 6 p.m., Suffolk County police said.
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Earlier that day, 20 miles away, a shark bit a man on a
paddle board
near Smith Point on Fire Island.
[The girl attacked by a shark in Florida tells how she saved her life: “I hit him in the head and put my fingers in his eyes”]
The man was knocked off his board at 7:30 a.m. and suffered a
four-inch gash to his leg,
according to Suffolk County spokesman Steve Bellone.
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The man
punched the shark and a wave pushed him back to shore and away from the animal.
It was a tiger shark about four feet long.
The beach was reopened later on Wednesday.
[One seriously injured after being attacked by a shark in California]
The incident at Smith Point came 10 days after a lifeguard was bitten by a shark at the same location.
"It's a sharp pain," described the man, who will return to work next week, according to the New York county spokesman.
The lifeguard was playing the victim in training when he was bitten in the chest, the NBC Newss station in New York reported.
It was the
first recorded shark attack
since Smith Point Park opened in 1959.
According to Suffolk County,
shark attacks on Long Island are extremely rare.
Only 12 have been confirmed
in New York, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
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There were two non-fatal attacks on Fire Island in 2018, at least one of them by a tiger shark, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Then there were a lot of Atlantic tarpon in the area, which are prey for sharks, and
it is believed that
the bites were not intentional,
depending on the department.
Increasingly frequent attacks
Shark attacks increased worldwide in 2021 after three consecutive years of declines, but the closure of beaches in 2020 due to the pandemic could be making the numbers seem more dramatic than they are, according to researchers.
The United States is the country with the most attacks.
In 2021 they added 47, which represents
42% of those that occurred the previous year.
And in recent weeks
, five attacks have been reported in New York and Florida,
which tops the list of the most serious cases.
The authorities believe that it could be the new normal due to the advance of urbanization.
Researchers at the International Shark Attack File recorded 73 unprovoked incidents last year, compared to 52 in 2020.
"If the water is cloudy, then the animal does not have good vision," expert Luis Román told Noticias Telemundo.
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In the Pacific there have also been recent attacks.
A few weeks ago, a surfer was attacked by a shark at Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove, California.
The man suffered serious injuries to his stomach and leg.
Shark attacks are rare in California, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Since 1950 there have been 203 encounters between humans and sharks.
With information from
NBC News
and
AP
.