Avila Beach, Calif.
Authorities imposed a swimming ban at a popular California beach after a 15-foot great white shark killed a swimmer last week. Deborah Franzman, 50, was on a morning swim near a group of seals when the shark bit her leg. Rescuers pulled her ashore, but she bled to death. Paul Schiro closed his kayak rental stand, saying seals and sea lions congregating nearby had turned Avila Beach into a “shark smorgasbord.” Great whites sometimes mistake humans for marine mammals, their natural prey. Still, one expert said, “the risk they present to us is exceedingly, infinitesimally low.” Of 93 shark attacks off the state’s coast in the last 53 years, 10 were fatal.
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