A man was allegedly bitten by a shark on Cape Cod on Monday afternoon. The attack occurred at Ballston Beach in the Outer Cape. Witnesses said the man was body surfing about one-third of a mile from the beach. Rescue personnel were called to the beach at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Cape Cod Times reports.
Video posted to YouTube shows paramedics carrying the man off the beach. He has a dressed wound on his lower leg, and appears to be giving a "thumbs up" to the camera.
According to the Cape Cod Times, the beach remained open as officials assessed the situation.
The man who was allegedly attacked by a shark on Cape Cod yesterday was identified as Chris Myers, a father of two who was pulled under by a shark while body-surfing with his teenage son. According to police, Myers was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for severe injuries below the knees of both legs. He is expected to live.
“It was pretty deep. You could see muscle and bone,” Truro police officer Scott Holway told ABC News. “It was like his flesh had been ripped.”
Witnesses said that they had seen a large dorsal fin appear in the water right before the attack.
On Tuesday the Boston Globe reported that Ballston Beach would remain open to swimmers despite the ongoing investigation. Truro Town Administrator Rex Peterson told the newspaper that although officials have yet to confirm that it was a shark attack, signs warning of recent shark activity would be posted on the beach.
Greg Skomal, a senior biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, told ABC News sharks have become more visible on Cape Cod this year due to an increase in the population of gray seals, upon which the marine predators feed.
This is not the first incident involving a shark to occur this summer in Cape Cod. Earlier in July, what was initially called a great white shark stalked a kayaker off Nauset Beach.
A photographer snapped a picture of the man looking back at the shark's fin behind him.
On Friday, an 18-foot great white shark was also sighted in waters off the coast of Chatham, Mass.
Elsewhere in the world, several surfers have died from shark attacks in Western Australia and La Reunion this year.
According to the International Shark Attack File, there were 12 deaths from unprovoked shark attacks around the world in 2011. However, although shark attacks often make news, some activists point out that humans are a greater threat to sharks than sharks are to humans.
A statement by the File's director, George Burgess, estimates that 30 to 70 million sharks are killed in fisheries each year. Shark populations face danger from finning, bycatch and fishing pressure, according to advocacy group Oceana.
Video posted to YouTube shows paramedics carrying the man off the beach. He has a dressed wound on his lower leg, and appears to be giving a "thumbs up" to the camera.
According to the Cape Cod Times, the beach remained open as officials assessed the situation.
The man who was allegedly attacked by a shark on Cape Cod yesterday was identified as Chris Myers, a father of two who was pulled under by a shark while body-surfing with his teenage son. According to police, Myers was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for severe injuries below the knees of both legs. He is expected to live.
“It was pretty deep. You could see muscle and bone,” Truro police officer Scott Holway told ABC News. “It was like his flesh had been ripped.”
Witnesses said that they had seen a large dorsal fin appear in the water right before the attack.
On Tuesday the Boston Globe reported that Ballston Beach would remain open to swimmers despite the ongoing investigation. Truro Town Administrator Rex Peterson told the newspaper that although officials have yet to confirm that it was a shark attack, signs warning of recent shark activity would be posted on the beach.
Greg Skomal, a senior biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, told ABC News sharks have become more visible on Cape Cod this year due to an increase in the population of gray seals, upon which the marine predators feed.
This is not the first incident involving a shark to occur this summer in Cape Cod. Earlier in July, what was initially called a great white shark stalked a kayaker off Nauset Beach.
A photographer snapped a picture of the man looking back at the shark's fin behind him.
On Friday, an 18-foot great white shark was also sighted in waters off the coast of Chatham, Mass.
Elsewhere in the world, several surfers have died from shark attacks in Western Australia and La Reunion this year.
According to the International Shark Attack File, there were 12 deaths from unprovoked shark attacks around the world in 2011. However, although shark attacks often make news, some activists point out that humans are a greater threat to sharks than sharks are to humans.
A statement by the File's director, George Burgess, estimates that 30 to 70 million sharks are killed in fisheries each year. Shark populations face danger from finning, bycatch and fishing pressure, according to advocacy group Oceana.
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