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Man killed by shark near Vandenberg Air Force Base

October 23, 2012

A shark attacked a 38-year-old man who was surfing with friends off of Ocean Beach near Vandenberg Air Force Base earlier today. The man later died later from his injuries

A friend of the victim witnessed the attack, pulled the badly injured man to shore and called for help.

Emergency crews arrived and performed CPR, but shortly afterwards, the Santa Barbara County coroner’s vehicle arrived at the scene.

Even though Ocean Beach is located on the base, it is open to the public. The victim is not believed to be affiliated with the base.

On Oct. 22, 2010, a great white shark attacked a 19-year-old who was boogie boarding in the same area. Though his friends pulled him to the beach, he also died at the scene.

 


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If there were lions that were eating people hiking around the hills as often as the sharks are killing people, I think we might go and rid ourselves of the lion. Yet, people seem to think that it is ok to have sharks killing people and that it is ok? I don’t get it.


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Surfers along the central coast are all aware of “Whitey’s” presence, the sealife swimming around while surfing is indication enough. Swarming of sealife is a great indicator of an ecosystem charging-up for feeding time and departing for terra firma is in one’s best interest. The poor souls attacked at Surf Beach likely didn’t have any such warning, and the frequency of the fatal attacks there is unheard of in our time. Maybe the beach should be formally renamed “Shark Bait” notifying any and all takers of its waves that Whitey is ALWAYS looking for food (there).


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Anyone who enters the waters knows the risks involved. You are more likely to be involved in an accident on the way to the water than to be attacked in it.


However, the benefit outweighs the risk for many. There are wonders and adventures that can be found nowhere else.


My condolences to his family and friends.


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A scary way to go down. His buddy will have that picture in his mind for life.


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Calling all shark hunters. Someone please hook up with a reality show production company and go catch this shark. I don’t want to be his next meal.


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The shark is doing what it was bred to do. It doesn’t have a choice of where to live…it has to live in water. Being a carnivore, it eats meat. Being a BIG carnivore, it can take on BIG species.


Great white sharks are pretty spectacular in their ability to be a top predator in the ocean. However, they don’t have the thinking and strategical abilities of humans.


I agree with the person who said it must have been a horrible thing for his friend to witness. However, both the witness and the victim chose to enter an ocean environment where they KNEW there was a history of a very recent (2010) fatal great white shark attack.


As the carnies used to say, “You bet the nickle, you take your chances.”


I’m not trying to dismiss the loss of someone who was, by all accounts, a good guy. I’m just trying to say, let’s get real here. If you want to ensure you don’t get attacked by a shark, stay out of the ocean. If you go into the ocean and are attacked by a shark, don’t cry “foul!” and urge a vendetta against a magnificent creature that was just doing what it was bred to do.


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Almost exactly two years to the day. Interesting coincidence. Condolences to this man’s family and friends.


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Seasonal, maybe?


It is a tragedy, nonetheless.


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