Surfer’s leg bloodied in possible shark attack in Northern California, second in weeks
A surfer at a beach south of San Francisco was injured in a possible shark attack last week, days after another apparent attack in Northern California left a man missing.
Police and paramedics responded to a report of a shark that had bitten a surfer at Linda Mar Beach, also known as Pacifica State Beach, around 3:45 p.m. Friday after the 52-year-old man said something bit his lower leg while he was surfing, according to the Pacifica Police Department.
The man, who was not identified, was able to get out of the water and call for medical help, according to police. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
A witness who shared a photo of a bloodied gash in the man’s left shin told news station KTVU-TV that the surfer called out from the water after he was bit.
Friends identified the man missing in a possible shark attack off Point Reyes National Seashore as Felix Louis Syl N’jai, a native of Gambia and avid kiteboarder.
The surfer told authorities he could not see what bit him and was unable to confirm whether it was a shark, but great white sharks have been known to swim in the area. In 2020, surfers reported seeing an 8-foot white shark swim underneath them off Linda Mar Beach.
Typically, shark attacks on humans are rare.
On Oct. 1, a 52-year-old man disappeared after friends saw him pulled underwater off Wildcat Beach on the Point Reyes National Seashore, about 30 miles northwest of Linda Mar Beach. Search and rescue crews spent days scouring the waters for the man, identified by friends and family as Felix Louis Syl N’jai, a native of Gambia who grew to call California home and became an avid kiteboarder.
Authorities said it has not been confirmed whether N’jai was the victim of a shark attack, but witnesses who were in the water reported seeing a shark around the same time.
If you have swum in the ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara or San Diego recently, chances are you swam next to a young great white shark.
Last year, there were only four reported shark attacks across California, and none was fatal, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, which keeps records on shark-human interactions worldwide.
Earlier this year, research on juvenile white sharks found that they’re more common at some California beaches than previously thought. The two-year study focused on beaches farther south, ranging from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and found that 1- to 5-year-old sharks swam alongside people 97% of the time at two different locations, usually without anybody noticing. No shark attacks were reported during the study’s timeline.
Anyone with information on the bite last week can call the Pacifica Police Department at (650) 738-7314.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
