A tourist wrestles shark in Australia to help protect some children who were swimming at the time. On Jan. 21, Time reported that Paul Marshallsea took on a shark that was headed toward some children who were splashing around in the water. His bravery is being applauded today and while some say that he made a "stupid" decision, Marshallsea may have saved the lives of those children, had the shark made it to them and attacked.
"The 62-year old grandfather from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, grabbed the 6.5 foot long (2 meters) dusky shark by the tail and shoved the bewildered beast out to sea. Once the shark was pointed away from the shoreline, other beachgoers helped lead the shark out to sea (sic)," Time reports.
When a tourist (or anyone) wrestles a shark to save the lives of others, it is undoubtedly heroic. As for the situation itself being dangerous, Marshallsea says that his adrenaline kicked in and he just went for it. His intention was not to hurt the animal in any way -- he just wanted to steer the animal out in to open waters -- for the people who were in the water and to ensure that the animal was safe as well.
"My instincts took over and I just grabbed the tail. I know it was dangerous but it almost looked beautiful – you have got to have respect for a beautiful animal," said Marshallsea.
The tourist wrestling the shark was caught on tape by an Australian TV news team. You can see it on the left.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
Comments