Bungan Beach closed after bull shark stalks dead dolphin
A bull shark has closed a beach north of Sydney after following a rotting, washed-up dolphin carcass in shallow waters.
A Surf Life Saving NSW drone spotted a bull shark at Bungan Beach in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches at about 12.40pm on Thursday, forcing the beach to close.
In the images published on social media, it can be seen that the dead dolphin washed ashore and the shark lurked in the background.
Sydney photographer Cameron Bloom said: “Luckily the lifeguard at Bungan pulled me out of the water and told me that the 2.5m dolphin just up the beach was surrounded by a large (possibly) bull shark on the shore.” he said. Video of the scene featuring Daryl Braithwaite’s music One Summer.
The remains of the dead dolphin show chunks of flesh clinging to its exposed bones, possibly from several previous bites from sharks.
“I will not be surfing Bungan today,” Asher Ginsburg wrote on social media.
“The big shark is following him on shore.”
Bull sharks, a terrestrial species that prefers brackish waters and frequents Sydney Harbor in January and February, are suspected to be responsible for a recent spate of attacks following a period of heavy rain.
Nico Antic, 12, died in hospital in January, days after being injured by a bull shark after jumping from a rock near Nielsen Park in Vaucluse.
Andre de Ruyter, 27, lost his lower leg after being attacked by a shark in Manly on January 19, a day after Antic.
Earlier the same day, a shark knocked an 11-year-old boy off his surfboard at Dee Why.
Swiss national Livia Muhlheim, 25, was attacked in November after her GoPro took a photo of her swimming with dolphins at Kylies Beach, south of Port Macquarie. Her boyfriend, 26-year-old Lukas Schindler, was also injured in the attack.
Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
