Laetitia Brouwer (left) is the name of the 17-year-old teenager who died on Monday after being bitten by a shark off the coast of Esperance, South of Perth, Australia. It happened at a location called K
Laetitia Brouwer (left) is the name of the 17-year-old teenager who died on Monday after being bitten by a shark off the coast of Esperance, South of Perth, Australia. It happened at a location called Kelp Beds, or "Kelpies", a popular surf break in a remote area also used for camping and four-wheel driving.
Laeticia, known as 'Teesh', had been surfing with her father and sisters when the incident happened during their Easter holiday. After the shark bite the girl’s father had paddled over to help his stricken daughter, dragging her to shore with the help of another teenager. Local media reported two sightings of a “medium-sized” great white shark in the area in the week leading up to the fatal attack, coming as close as 150 metres from the shore.
Shark attacks, that is unprovoked bites of humans by sharks. always receive a lot of publicity. This holds in particular for the Great White shark (GW), the shark with the most fearful reputation. The GW feeds on marine mammals with seals as a favorite. Attacks on humans are believed to be often ‘mistakes’ tiggered by the silhouette of a swimmer or surfer, resembling that of a marine mammal such as a seal. Usually the accidents occur in the surf zone or in murky water when the shark bites and then leaves; most victims do not even see the shark. GWs spot a passing figure on the surface from below and then launch a rapid vertical attack on its alleged prey which som