Man Loses Foot After Hawaii Shark Attack

A man in Hawaii lost his right foot after he was bitten by a shark while surfing off the coast of the island of Oahu.

Mike Morita, 58, had been surfing in the Kewalos Basin in Honolulu, just before 7 a.m. on April 9 when the shark attacked, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said in a statement. Other surfers near Morita saved the man's life by creating a makeshift tourniquet with their surfboard leashes, which they tied around his injured right leg.

The man was rushed to shore where emergency responders transported him immediately to a hospital. The family of the victim revealed on a GoFundMe page that his right foot was amputated due to his injuries.

The species responsible for the attack is believed to be a tiger shark measuring around 8 feet long, Honolulu news station KHON2 reported. Tiger sharks are one of the "Big Three" shark species responsible for most shark attacks on humans, alongside great whites and bull sharks. They have a reputation for being more aggressive than most other species but do not actively hunt humans.

Shark expert James Sulikowski, a marine biologist at the Sulikowski Shark and Fish Conservation Lab at Arizona State University, told Newsweek that these types of interactions are extremely rare. But when they do happen, there are a few factors to consider.

"Historically, surfing, and that type of activity, is the second most prone to have an interaction with a shark. So, it's not unusual for a surfer to interact, and have an encounter with a shark," Sulikowski said. "My understanding is that the shark was about eight feet long and most likely a tiger shark. And I can say, by the size of that shark, that it wasn't there to reproduce. So the reason that the shark was in that area was to feed.

"The surrounding conditions are going to be really important here. Were there food sources for the shark—turtles for example? If you look up at a turtle's silhouette, it looks a lot like a person on a surfboard. And for a tiger shark that feeds primarily at the surface, for them, it's an opportunity to eat and if they see a turtle is not moving, it's an easy target," he said.

"And that's a lot of what happens in these situations is that it's the wrong place at the wrong time. And what happened, unfortunately, is a result of that."

This recent incident is not the first shark attack to occur in Hawaii in recent months. Morita's attack marks the fourth one to occur in Hawaii this year.

The attack was especially perplexing to fellow surfers as it happened by Ala Moana—a body of water where sharks are not usually seen.

Before this, there hadn't been a shark attack in the Kewalos area since 2002. Scientists believe that a recent bout of wet weather may have contributed to the attack, KHON2 reported.

"This shark wasn't lurking behind the coral reef waiting to attack. That's not the case. The shark was there for a purpose. And that's their environment. That's where they live. That's their home. And they have to eat and that would be a part of this process is that humans are in sharks environment, in an area where sharks are feeding and at certain times, we actually look like food," Sulikowski said.

Morita is still in the hospital and will receive a second bout of surgery following the attack, according to the GoFundMe page.

It is not the first time shark attacks have resulted in amputations. Although rare, sometimes shark bites are so severe that it is necessary. In July 2022, a 17-year-old high school cheerleader from Perry, Florida, had her leg amputated after being attacked by a shark.

"[This shark's] bite radius is going to be at least 10 inches. So, if you think about that, and their teeth are razor sharp because they have a system where their teeth are constantly falling out, and they are producing new teeth, like a conveyor belt," Sulikowski said. "They're always razor sharp, and on our skin, even our bones, it is like a hot knife through butter compared to their teeth."

Hawaii has some of the highest shark attack numbers in the United States, coming second to Florida. According to the International Shark Attack File, there have been 187 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks in Hawaii since records began in 1837.

Update 04/13/23, 8:56 a.m. ET: This article was updated to note that the shark's bite radius was about 10 inches.

Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about shark attacks? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.