A 23 year old surfer, Sean Pollard, had an arm and his other hand ripped off in a shark attack at a beach near Esperence in Western Australia yesterday. He was flown to Perth hospital by the Flying Doctor Service.
He was surfing alone about 150 metres out from the surf break. After getting permission from the Federal government, two baited drum lines were set an hour after the attack and two Great White sharks were caught and killed.
But now there is a suggestion that it may not have been a Great White after all, Sean Pollard later told police he was attacked by two Bronze Whalers, sometimes known as Copper sharks.
But a shark expert said he doubted that was true and believed the Great Whites were more likely to be responsible.
Bronze Whaler
Great White
Sean is a member of a local football community. In a post on Facebook, the club said "Our thoughts are with Polly and his family from everyone at South Bunbury Football Club - we are with you all the way mate."
Wylie Beach is an unpatrolled beach 10 kms from Esperance and popular with surfers. The WA government has plans to introduce shark barriers at 22 beaches, although Esperance is not on the list.
If it turns out that two innocent sharks were wrongly accused and killed unnecessarily, it's a tragedy, but when something like this happens, vengeance is a natural reaction.
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