Police are investigating a possible shark attack near Sunset Beach, North Carolina, though it's not yet clear what type of animal is responsible for the bite that landed a high school senior in the hospital over the weekend.
The teenager, whose name was not released, told WECT-TV that he saw a 2- to 3-foot shark swim between his legs and bite his foot as he waded in the water on a Brunswick County beach Sunday. The boy's family members told the television station that he suffered a "sizeable" wound from the incident, but is expected to fully recover.
Brunswick County authorities, though, are still trying to determine whether it was actually a shark that bit the teenager. Police told the television station that the boy's injury did require stitches.
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Discovery News reported in June that experts had forecast an increase in North American shark attacks this year.
"Each year, more people are going into the water," George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, told the news site. "We're also seeing a rise in numbers of sharks on both coasts."
Burgess also pointed out that the healthy great white shark population is a good thing for the marine ecosystem.
"If something is wrong with the largest, most powerful group in the sea, then something is wrong with the sea, so it's a relief to find they're in good shape," he said. Conservation measures by U.S. regulatory agencies have also helped, Discovery noted.
People planning to visit the beach can take several measures to avoid shark attacks, according to Discovery News.
"Stay in groups," Burgess cautioned. "Sharks look for solitary prey. Also, stay out of the water between dusk and dawn, when sharks are most active. Go for a sunset walk on the beach and not a swim."
He also suggested that those entering the water should avoid sandbars, steep drop-offs, estuary inlets, river mouths, and lagoons, which are feeding areas for sharks because smaller fish and prey congregate there.
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