Swan River shark attack: Why bull shark could have targeted victim Cameron Wrathall

The bull shark behind today’s rare attack in the Swan River was most likely an expectant or recent mother with the species not known for attacking humans as prey. That’s according to prominent shark enthusiast Hugh Edwards, who said females were known to show protective behaviours around breeding and mating time — in the period around late spring and early summer. But while they can be aggressive he adds, there hasn’t been an attack in the Swan River in nearly 50 years and there have now only ever been seven known attacks on humans — and one on a horse — in Perth’s main waterway. And, remarkably, of the six previous cases most were on adolescents or young adults. Mr Edwards said the attack at Blackwall Reach in Bicton this morning was the first documented case in the Swan, since November 25, 1973. But much like this morning’s attack on swimmer Cameron ‘Wizard’ Wrathall, in previous cases people have primarily been bitten around the thigh area — due to the shark’s smaller size and the relatively shallow depth of the water. Mr Edwards said mothers tended to stay in the narrower paths of the river, so the location of the attack at Blackwall Reach was rare compared to previous attacks and sightings. “The people who have been attacked in the river have mostly been adolescents and most have been bitten on the leg which can be fatal,” Mr Edwards said. “Mostly, they’re involving pregnant or new mothers who attack in a rather protective manner rather than looking for a meal. “The attacks are mostly in the top reaches of the river. Up where the river becomes quite narrow. The opinion generally is that the female shark generally goes up there to give birth. “There have been other attacks, quite a number, including people who've disappeared in the upper reaches of the Swan River.” Bull sharks, also known as river whalers, can grow to 3.4 metres and can travel far up rivers thanks to their tolerance for fresh-brackish water and have been caught as far upstream as the Maylands Yacht Club. Female bull sharks can give birth to between one to 13 young in each litter, typically in late spring and early summer, according to the the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Mating also takes place at that time. PREVIOUS SWAN RIVER ATTACKS The only confirmed fatal attack in the Swan River occurred on January 31, 1923, when 13-year-old Scotch College student Charles Robinson was killed after he was attacked while swimming six metres from shore at Freshwater Bay near his school's boat shed. Since then there have been just a handful of attacks, including on January 31 in 1959 when 20-year-old Shenton Park man George Edwards Rudd was netting prawns off Mends Street Jetty in South Perth. He was standing with 60-year-old Jack Gloyn when a shark “shot towards him” grazing his shin with its tail. As the two prawners made their way back to shore, the shark reportedly followed them before circling Mr Gloyn. In February 1968, 14-year-old girl Ingrid Gersmanis was lucky to survive after she was bitten on the thigh during a late afternoon swim. Ms Gersmanis, now 67, told The West Australian today that the attack in Bicton brought back frightening memories of her attack and it did not come as a surprise. “There’s always going to be sharks in the river,” she said. “I don’t think it’s right to cull them or anything. They’re just part of the natural world and we just happened to be in their way.” And just 18 months later Graham Cartwright, 15, was about 12kms upstream when he was bitten on the left thigh on November 30, 1969. The teen was one of 20 Mount Lawley Sea Scouts sailing and swimming at the time of the attack. Graham reportedly used his right foot to shake off the predator, which left him with 4cm-deep teeth marks in a 22cm radius wound, an injury that required a five-hour long surgery to repair. A four-year-old horse named Captain Heroic also survived an attack in Swan River on November 14, 1968. The trotter was being exercised by Ivor Edwardes near the Swan Yacht Club when his horse was charged by a shark. While there has been no attack in the past 48 years, there have been many stories of lucky escapes after encounters with sharks. A 10-year-old boy wading in the river at Mosman Bay in 2003 fled in panic after noticing a fin and then seeing a shark swimming straight towards him. Lisa Hucker told The West Australian at the time that her son Mitchell and a friend were thigh-deep in the water looking for jellyfish and whitebait at Mosman Bay when they saw the shark. “They saw a fin and then the shark went under and came straight at them,” she said. “They turned around and ran and when they looked back there were only bubbles.” This encounter came just days after a sighting of a 1.8m shark near Burswood. Glenda Pearson caught the action in a photograph. She was among a group of people who watched the shark for about half an hour swimming back and forth “right at the edge of the water”. More recently, in 2018, young recreational fisher Max Sampson told how he had eye-balled a 2.3m bull shark. He was wading out into the water, not far from the Narrows Bridge, when he saw a dark shape 3m away, moving towards him. “When I realised it was a bull shark, I sort of jumped back in shock and fell into the water, but I then quickly stood up and hit the water a couple of times with my rod to try to scare it off,” he told the Sunday Times.