FORT LAUDERDALE Thousands of migrating sharks swam close to South Florida beaches over the past few days, prompting beach closures and sending two people to the hospital with minor bites. <\/p>\n
The beach at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park remained closed Monday after hundreds of sharks were sighted near swimming areas, many chasing fish \"very close to shore,\" said Mara Burger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Gulf Stream Park's beach was closed and reopened three times on Sunday, as lifeguards ordered swimmers from the water at the sight of sharks. <\/p>\n
Off Delray Beach on Saturday afternoon, Kurt Hoffman was dragging his arm in the water from his kite board when he suddenly felt pressure on his arm. <\/p>\n
\"It was less than a second,\" he said. \"It was a hit and a release. It felt like a bear trap. I pulled myself in pretty much like a rocket. And I pulled my feet up because I didn't want to get bitten again. All I see is blood running down my arm. I yelled 'Shark bite! A shark bit me!'\" <\/p>\n
Hoffman, whose company The Kite Doctor repairs damaged kiteboarding kites, suffered 15 to 18 puncture wounds across a seven-inch span. At St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, he was given antibiotics, in addition to treatment for his wound, because sharks' mouths team with bacteria. <\/p>\n
On Friday, a 9-year-old boy on a surfboard or boogie board was bitten on his foot and ankle, said Lt. Anthony Giarrusso, of North Palm Beach Fire Rescue. He was taken to St. Mary's for treatment. <\/p>\n
Every spring, a huge number of blacktip and spinner sharks migrate from their winter homes off Broward and Palm Beach counties north, with many going as far as the Carolinas. <\/p>\n
\"These two bites sound very much like what you'd expect around this time in South Florida,\" said Stephen Kajiura, associate professor of biology at Florida Atlantic University, who gathers data on the migration by air on flights between the Boca and Jupiter inlets. \"We have large numbers of sharks that are migrating through here.\" <\/p>\n
Blacktips and spinners reach a maximum length of six feet, not large enough to see a human being as prey. When they bite someone, Kajiura said, it is typically a case of mistaken identity in murky water. <\/p>\n
\"If you see a flash in the water, a hand or a foot, it looks like a little fish,\" he said. \"They're fish eaters, and they're going after all these little baitfish, it's not a surprise that we're seeing this this time of year.\" <\/p>\n
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