Something bit man in North Carolina river — it could have been a shark, officials say
A man was bitten in the Neuse River in North Carolina last week — but the creature responsible remains a mystery.
The man was boating in the river with his young daughter late Wednesday afternoon when something in the water bit him on his lower leg, Stanley Kite, Craven County EMS director, told McClatchy News on Monday.
His daughter called 911 and said she was taking him to the Cherry Branch ferry docks to get help, Kite said. When they got there, he was bleeding from the leg and a Havelock ambulance took him to a hospital.
Travis Fulcher, ferry master for the N.C. Department of Transportation who was working at the dock Wednesday, told WCTI there was “a considerable amount of blood” in the boat when it arrived.
The man’s family had fashioned a tourniquet to his leg, he told the TV station.
“His daughter was around maybe 13 or so,” Fulcher told WCTI. “She did a great job calling EMS. She stayed calm during what is really a stressful situation.”
Officials haven’t confirmed what bit the man and no one saw the creature in the water.
But bull sharks, which can grow to 10.5 feet, have been spotted in the Neuse River, according to North Carolina Sea Grant. The river, which is the longest in North Carolina, flows from the Piedmont into the Pamlico Sound on the coast, according to the N.C. Division of Water Quality.
The water turns brackish around New Bern, and Kite told the New Bern Sun Journal it’s “not unusual” to see sharks that far inland.
Bull sharks can tolerate fresh or brackish water and tend to attack large prey, N.C. Sea Grant says. They’re considered the most dangerous to humans, but attacks are rare, the National Wildlife Federation says.
Kite said Monday he didn’t have any updates about the man’s condition or any other information about him.
But Fulcher told WCTI he seemed “relatively OK” when the ambulance took him to the hospital.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Something bit man in North Carolina river — it could have been a shark, officials say."
