Dylan McWilliams, who just over a year ago survived being mauled by a bear, was bitten on the leg by a shark while surfing on Shipwreck Beach in Poipu on the island of Kauai.
The Colorado ranch hand and amateur survivalist was on vacation backpacking across the island when he ended up at the popular surfing spot. He was on his boogie board approximately 30 yards from shore when what he said was a six to eight foot tiger shark bit down on his thigh.
“At first I panicked,” he told the Honolulu Star Advisor. “I didn’t know if I lost half my leg or what.”
Torrential rains over the weekend led to a “brown water” warning for much of the island, meaning murky waters that could increase the likelihood of a shark-related incidents. McWilliams was able to swim to shore.
“That was the scariest part,” he said of of the paddle back in. “I didn’t know where the shark was, and I didn’t know if he would come after me again.”
This was wasn’t the first — or even second — time that McWilliams had encountered a dangerous predator teeth-first while on an outdoor adventure.
In July, McWilliams was attacked by a large black bear while working as an instructor at an outdoors camp in Ward, Colorado. He needed nine staples in his scalp after a 280-pound black bear dragged him from his tent and attempted to carry him away.
McWilliams had previously been bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking in a canyon near Moab, Utah. The chances of being bitten by all three and surviving had odds of 893 quadrillion to one.
“I’m either really lucky or really unlucky,” he said.
