INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Shark Attacks Inflatable Boat In Australia, Two Survive

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 01:57 PST, Oct 11, 2014

Two men in Western Australia survived a harrowing encounter with a shark, as the predator attacked their inflatable boat, nearly sending it to the bottom.

The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. local time, according to ABC News. The two men, whose names have not been released, were in an inflatable boat near Castle Rock, off Dunsborough on the south-west coast of Western Australia. When they encountered the shark, it attacked their boat, also described as an inflatable kayak, causing part of it to deflate.

The pair were able to row the boat to shore, according to Perth Now, despite the damage caused by the shark. The Department of Fisheries closed the beach shortly after the attack.

Australia is no stranger to sharks, or incidents involving them. Earlier this year, a British expat was killed in Byron Bay by a white shark attack, as The Inquisitr previously noted. More recently, another white shark attack claimed both of the arms of another surfer, who managed to survive the incident.

Western Australia recently put an end to a planned cull of sharks, which would have used baited drumlines to catch and kill the animals. A trial period for the cull took place over the course of three months, sparking international outcry and condemnation. Western Australia’s EPA recommended that the state not implement the planned three year cull, citing an uncertain impact on Australia’s shark population, particularly great whites.

White sharks have also been spotted engaging in usually unseen behavior in Australian waters recently. An unusual video depicting a large great white attacking a smaller shark circulated online, revealing a side of the animal’s behavior that is rarely observed. The two sharks were both baited near the boat, however, and the seeming act of cannibalism actually amounted to the smaller shark getting in the way of the larger animal. Later that week, another video emerged, also filmed near Australia’s Neptune Islands, which revealed two great white sharks battling over territory.

Though it is unclear which species of shark struck the boat, Western Australian police and the Department of fisheries are investigating the attack.

[Image via Dyer Island Cruises]

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