Photos provided by the mother of a child bitten by a sea creature in Virginia Beach.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Four people were bitten while swimming in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach last week.
When Skylar Snowden looks at a photo of a victim’s injuries, she has no doubt that it was a shark bite.
“Yeah, that looks pretty clearly like a shark,” Snowden said.
Snowden is the senior curator of fishes, invertebrates and herpetology at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, so she knows a lot about sharks.
The ocean off Virginia Beach is home to sandbar sharks, tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks and bull sharks, she said. It is not known which shark sank its teeth into the 10-year-old last week, but Snowden is certain it had no evil intentions.
“Almost everyone who is bitten by a shark survives,” she said. “There’s a reason for that. After a bite, the shark realizes it has made a mistake.”
It could be our own mistakes, she said, inviting the sharks in. Snowden warns that one should not do the following:
- Do not swim at dusk or dawn as these are the sharks’ peak feeding times.
- Do not wear shiny watches or jewelry – sharks may mistake these for fish scales.
- Do not wear swimwear with bright contrasts such as black and white or orange and black – sharks will notice.
- Do not swim near schools of fish or dolphins
“Dolphins are definitely not as innocent as everyone says,” Snowden said.
Dolphins and other marine creatures can also bite or sting.
When walking on the sea floor, make what is known as the “stingray shuffle.” The shuffling of your feet creates vibrations in the sand that signal the stingrays to move away. Also keep an eye out for jellyfish and, of course, sharks.
“If you see one coming towards you, don’t react. So stay completely calm,” she said.
This may be easier said than done, but remember that they are not after you.
“If we were really on the sharks’ menu, we would never go into the water,” Snowden said. “We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
