Shark bites 11-year-old boy at Volusia beach
An 11-year-old Lake Wales boy was bitten on the foot by a shark at a Volusia County beach Thursday, a Volusia County Beach Safety official said.
The shark bite marks the county’s third in 2020.
The boy, who has not been publicly identified, was standing in waist-deep water when he was bitten by an unseen shark, Capt. Tamra Malphurs said in a statement.
He sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was not taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Malphurs did not name the beach where the bite occurred.
Volusia County has earned the nickname “shark bite capital of the world” for the high number of shark bites that occur at its beaches yearly, especially during heavy tourist season in the summer and early fall, with many reported instances occurring at New Smyrna Beach.
Beach officials and researchers say that despite sharks’ fearsome reputation, humans are more dangerous to sharks than vice versa, with shark fishing and the disruption of sharks’ natural habitats threatening shark populations in Florida and elsewhere.
krice@orlandosentinel.com
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