Fisherman beheaded by shark in Mexico, experts call it rare attack

A great white shark recently beheaded a fisherman in Mexico, in an incident that made headlines around the world because of the unusual nature of the attack. Experts have now claimed that the man was possibly a victim of “mistaken identity”. The incident occurred on January 5 in Tobari Bay along the Gulf of California off Mexico, when Manuel López was diving into the ocean to collect molluscs wearing scuba-like equipment. live science,

“What happened is unfortunate, but we have to work, because this is what we live on,” Jose Luis Reina, president of a local fishing cooperative in the area, told Mexican news outlets. El Imperial,

“There are many colleagues who avoid going out, but there are also many who take risks,” he said.

Two other fishermen, who were on a support boat at the time of the attack, saw the shark “tear off its head and bite both shoulders”. live science Report.

Greg Skomal, a marine biologist at Boston University, told the outlet that he’s never heard of such an attack.

“Shark bites on humans are as rare as they can be,” said Chris Lowe, director of the shark lab at California State University in Long Beach.

Experts said sharks rarely bite people and when they do, they grab onto the feet of prey such as seals. But as soon as they find out that it is a person, they leave it.

Calling it a case of mistaken identity, Gavin Naylor, a marine biologist at the University of Florida, said, “If sharks are agitated and hungry, they make a rash decision and bite a potential prey item.”

This incident was the first shark attack of 2023 newsweekAdding that last year a diver was killed by a shark in the same area.

Great white sharks are most commonly seen in the Gulf of California between December and January, when pregnant females come to the area.