The Science of Shark Attacks

As Laurie approached the buoys, her premonition became a reality. She was hit from the backside and knocked out of the water.

"The actual bite itself was excruciating, and the only way I can describe it is to say that when you have a piece of glass in your finger it's, it, you're very uncomfortable. Well you can imagine having a thousand pieces of glass in your backside."

As she struggled to push the Tiger shark away, her hands tore against the razor sharp serrated teeth.

"I raised my hands up in front of my face and I saw pieces of flesh hanging down to my palms."

Although Laurie's hands had only been in contact with the teeth for a second, the damage was enormous. Flesh was torn from the bone. Nerves and tendons were shredded. But nothing could prepare the surgeons for the full extent of her injuries. They found the entire right buttock missing. The teeth had bitten a hole 16 inches in diameter. Saving Laurie's life was a race against time. The shark's teeth had sliced through arteries and she needed over 20 pints of blood just to keep her alive. Three years on Laurie has made a full recovery, but like others who've come face to face with oceans greatest killer - she still bears the scars.

But why did the shark attack her? Was it because she was swimming on the surface or that women are at greater risk then men? It seems highly unlikely that sharks can distinguish women from men and there is certainly no statistical evidence to back this up. It is far more likely that she was attacked because she was thrashing about on the surface. Surfers get attacked the most. One reason why surfers might get attacked so often is that they spend more time in the water than any other user group. They spend more time in than bathers, divers and windsurfers together - they spend a huge amount of time in the water.

Like many teenagers who live on the island of Hawaii, Jesse Spencer spends hours in the ocean waiting for that next big breaker. On the afternoon of October 1st 1999, he was at his favourite surf beach paddling into deep water. He was about to learn of a shark's attraction to movement on the surface and their readiness to have a quick taste. Like most shark attacks, Jesse's strike came out of the blue.