Swimmer shares harrowing story after shark attack during long-distance swim off US coast: 'I can just remember it feeling [like] pure muscle'

A swimmer off the coast of Los Angeles recently survived a shark attack, according to SFGate. 

What's happening?

A 50-year-old man was participating in a swimming competition eight miles off the coast of Catalina Island when the shark approached. The British swimmer, Chris Murray, had been training for six months to complete this swim.

"Just whack, straight into my leading left hand. I shook it off. It was wriggling around me a bit. I can just remember it feeling [like] pure muscle," Murray told CBS News Los Angeles. "I felt another attack clamp on my foot. I managed to hit it pretty hard with my heel. That dragged it off."

Murray was rescued by the pace boat accompanying him on the long-distance swim to Palos Verdes. At first, he was keen to continue, but that changed after he and his team realized the source of the attack. 

"They got the big search light, looked down, and they could see it circling. So, it was like, 'You've got to get out.'"

"He was transferred to one of our local fire stations by Los Angeles County Fire, and we took him to a local hospital in fair condition," said Lyndsey Lantz, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, per SFGate. 

Why are shark attacks important?

Shark attacks are rare, but they highlight how exposure to humans can increase animal comfort levels with humans and the likelihood of such encounters. Destruction of natural habitat combined with food incentives introduced by humans only exacerbate the problem. 

Sharks play a variety of vital ecosystem roles. They ensure prey species populations don't overwhelm a habitat. They cycle nutrients to be used further down the food chain. Sharks are also large enough that their bodies sequester carbon, and they keep it sequestered when they die and sink to the bottom of the ocean. 

Despite their clear importance, sharks have been in steady decline. 

What's being done about shark attacks?

Some conservationists are leaning on trophic rewilding, which introduces apex predators such as sharks into environments that could benefit from them. The Australian government has been funding other shark conservation initiatives in the face of excessive fishing. 

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Murray received 20 stitches to fix his hand following the shark attack, but he says he got off light.

"I don't know what the bite strength is of a shark, but it's powerful. Didn't sever any arteries, didn't sever any tendons," he said. " … I think it was actually relatively generous to me."

He also told CBS News, "The only thing I would say I felt was really annoyed." When asked if he would attempt the swim again, Murray didn't rule it out. "Never say never," he said.

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