Shark Attacks 2017: Kentucky Teen Bitten In Florida Escapes By Punching Shark

A teenage girl managed to escape a shark by punching it after it bit her in the leg in Florida, the Oskaloosa County Sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post Monday. Seventeen-year-old Caitlyn Taylor was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico in Destin when the shark grabbed her by the legs on Sunday.

Taylor, who was visiting from Louisville, Kentucky, was in waist-deep water when the attack happened and thought the shark was a dolphin as it approached. The teenager was able to punch the shark, though it managed to bite her in the leg before it turned her loose, officials said.

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Taylor was taken to the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center where she received 80 stitches in her right leg. Officials said it was unclear what type of shark was responsible, though witnesses estimated it to be about five feet long.

The attack was the fourth documented in Oskaloosa County since 1882, though none have been fatal.

Shark attacks have been steadily rising over the past few years, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History. George Burgess, curator of the Shark Attack File, said the increasing numbers were likely due to the rising number of humans entering the territory of sharks. Florida saw 32 attacks in total last year, while the United States as a whole had 53. The majority of the sharks responsible for attacks were blacktip and bull sharks, though none were fatal. September typically sees most of the attacks, followed by August and July.

In March, a surfer in Stuart, Florida was bitten by a shark about 40 yards from the shore in what authorities called “a typical case of mistaken identity.” The 58-year-old man suffered only minor injuries and didn’t require hospitalization. Capt. Tammy Marris of the Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue told WFTV that the shark likely mistook the surfer for prey when it bit him.