Woman Bit by Shark While Swimming at South Padre Island

A swimmer was bit on the foot by a shark while in knee-deep water at South Padre Island Saturday, according to the Valley Morning Star. The woman, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, told authorities she was swimming when she felt a sharp pain on her foot.Beach patrol responded to a call for a marine bite about 6 p.m. near beach access 14 and the woman was hospitalized a shortly after, beach patrol director Jim Pigg told the newspaper. Pigg said it was possibly a 3 to 4-foot blacktip shark based on the size of the bite, the newspaper reported. "The teeth are so sharp even little bites like that are going to do some damage," Pigg said. "I wouldn't be concerned about it. I went and swam the next day."South Padre Island Fire Chief Doug Fowler said emergency room doctors confirmed it as a shark bite, according to the newspaper. "This is a really rare instance, and the people I've talked to can't remember another time in their lives when this happened on the island," Fowler told KGBT-TV. "We take it very seriously -- the safety of our beach goers and we work really hard in order to try to ensure their safety."  Continue reading...