Aussie Surfer’s Shark Survival: Did the Shark Even Attack?

Marine life lover Juan Oliphant says that the shark accused of attacking Mick Fanning was actually trying to escape.

Soon after the heroic tale of Australian surfer Mick Fanning fighting a shark with his fists went viral, a marine life lover came out in the shark’s defence.

Calling it the shark’s  ‘escape’ and not ‘attack’, Juan Oliphant, a passionate shark conservationist, posted an analysis of the shark’s actual movement at the time of the incident on Instagram.

He wrote that ‘Mick Fanning was not attacked by a shark in the finals. The sharks tail fin is what was thrashing at the surface pointing in a downward angle. The shark got tangled in his surfboard leash. The shark then got freaked out and bolted down with Mick attached to it via the leash. Once the leash broke Mick was okay. If it was an attack the shark would have come in hard for a bite on Mick or his board in a upward angle.’

He added that ‘the shark was coming to investigate and see what Mick was and if his leg rope had not got tangled the great white underneath him may have gone unnoticed.’

Oliphant felt that ‘this should be a positive media piece about how sharks don’t see people as food and that this was just an entanglement accident not an attack.’

After watching the videos I believe Mick Fanning was not attacked by a shark in the finals. The sharks tail fin is what was thrashing at the surface pointing in a downward angle. The shark got tangled in his surfboard leash. The shark then got freaked out and bolted down with Mick attached to it via the leash. Once the leash broke Mick was okay. If it was an attack the shark would have come in hard for a bite on Mick or his board in a upward angle. The shark was coming to investigate and see what Mick was and if his leg rope had not got tangled the great white underneath him may have gone unnoticed. This should be a positive media piece about how sharks don't see people as food and that this was just an entanglement accident not an attack. I do have to give Julian @julian_wilson some serious credit for doing the right thing if it was an attack and paddling to help Mick out. Mick @mfanno I hope this incident does not have u looking at sharks negatively. Please come out with @oneoceandiving and @oceanicramsey to learn about shark biology, behavior, and how important sharks are to ecosystem. This photo was taken with my @aquatech_imagingsolutions for my 5d mark 3 @canon_photos @canonusa

A photo posted by Juan Oliphant (@juansharks) on Jul 19, 2015 at 4:25pm PDT

Watch the Aussie surfer’s shark survival video here.