Lifeguard to the rescue…

A Nurse Shark near Ambergris Caye, Belize 11-22-2003
Picture credit: Joseph Thomas
 
A Fort Lauderdale Lifeguard, Szilard Janko, rescued/saved a Nurse Shark a few days ago.
But it only just made our local News here this morning.
Janko carefully removed a fishing line and hook from the 2 foot shark and then released it.
The grateful animal he said, swam away, “without saying a word,” not realizing that not many would have done  what this kind man just did!
Two weeks ago a woman in Boca Raton was bitten by the same type of shark.
The woman went to the hospital with it still attached to her.
The woman lived, the shark did not.
What is being repeated daily after these incidents here, is that the debris in our Oceans is a disaster which helps create the Environment for many of these ” accidents ”  in Florida to occur.
You may have read or seen some of my older postings here about Ocean Trash, it is out of control world wide and the animals are the ones who are suffering the most.
Overfishing, garbage in the water, pollution and people are problems that our Global Marine life simply cannot handle any more.
An interesting tidbit is that 2 weeks ago,  while driving along the shoreline, up in Flagler Beach, we had spotted this same type of shark just behind a young boy paddling on a surf board,  not far from the shore.
It appeared to be circling behind the young boy, who may have been unaware of its presence, we think.
When we drove back later, no sign of the boy, or any trouble.
This particular Shark is easily recognized by its 2 smallish, round dorsal fins.
They like to feed in shallow waters and often are seen lying on the bottom near shore.
Regardless of the apparent recent abundance of Shark sightings here in Florida, they remain, as do all Marine life here, at the mercy of our whims.
We are sloppy and careless with their Ocean homes, the great waters of the world.
When we show so little respect for their Environment, what does it say abut us?
Thankfully, in this latest case, there was a young hero who took the time and care to ensure that at least this time, this story would end well for the Shark, as he was the lifeguard to the rescue…
 
Places to learn more:

Nurse shark trapped in reef by fishing line rescued
Underwater video shows off-duty lifeguard rescuing shark trapped by fishing line
Nurse Shark: Wikipedia