Teenager attacked by shark during lifeguard training in Florida as cases continue to rise
A shark has attacked a teenager while he was lifeguard training in Florida - marking the latest incident amid a gruesome rise of savagery by the apex predators in America and around the world.
Dempsey Manhart, 14, was bitten in the calf during a training camp in Ponce Inlet, a town on the north-eastern coast of the Sunshine State on Monday morning.
The teenager was practicing water entries when he landed on top of the shark, which responded by plunging its teeth into his leg. Manhart was rushed to the hospital where medics used 17 stitches to seal the wound.
'I dove onto it, and I hit the shark,' Manhart told Fox35. 'I hit it with my hands, and then I stood up, and it spun around and was like underneath my legs. And I think it bit me then when it was wrapped around my feet.'
'When it came under my feet, I was like hitting it, and then it swam away,' he added.
![A shark attacked 14-year-old Dempsey Manhart while he was lifeguard training in Florida - marking the latest incident amid a gruesome rise of savagery by the apex predators in America and around the world](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/09/19/87125851-13616857-image-a-7_1720549850668.jpg)
A shark attacked 14-year-old Dempsey Manhart while he was lifeguard training in Florida - marking the latest incident amid a gruesome rise of savagery by the apex predators in America and around the world
![Dempsey Manhart, 14, was bitten in the calf during a training camp in Ponce Inlet, a town on the north-eastern coast of the Sunshine State on Monday morning.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/09/19/87125845-13616857-Dempsey_Manhart_14_was_bitten_in_the_calf_during_a_training_camp-m-4_1720549143198.jpg)
Dempsey Manhart, 14, was bitten in the calf during a training camp in Ponce Inlet, a town on the north-eastern coast of the Sunshine State on Monday morning.
![Pictured: the Ponce Inlet, Florida beach where the shark attack happened on Monday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/09/18/87124795-13616857-image-a-1_1720547829583.jpg)
Pictured: the Ponce Inlet, Florida beach where the shark attack happened on Monday morning
Manhart said the incident would not deter him from his lifeguard training, and he would be back in the water as soon as his wound heals.
The terrifying ordeal came just two days after two separate bite incidents in nearby New Smyrna Beach.
A 26-year-old man was bitten on the foot while floating in an innertube Friday, and a 21-year-old man was bitten Thursday while playing football in shallow water.
It comes as scientists have revealed there was an 'unnerving' rise in fatal shark attacks in 2023 worldwide.
Researchers at the University of Florida found deaths due to the ocean predators doubled, with 10 reported fatalities - up five from the previous year.
Data showed the US had the most unprovoked attacks with 36 that accounted for 52 percent of the worldwide total, but only two were fatal.
The team determined that great whites, tiger and bullsharks were behind the majority of fatalities in 2023.
They added that the increased deaths are due to more people being in the ocean each year and a stronger emphasis placed on reporting bites and fatalities.
![A shark has attacked a teenager while he was lifeguard training in Ponce Inlet (pictured), Florida - marking the latest incident amid a gruesome rise of savagery by the apex predators in America and around the world](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/14/16/87124797-13616857-A_shark_has_attacked_a_teenager_while_he_was_lifeguard_training_-a-1_1720972531308.jpg)
A shark has attacked a teenager while he was lifeguard training in Ponce Inlet (pictured), Florida - marking the latest incident amid a gruesome rise of savagery by the apex predators in America and around the world
![Bull, tiger, and white shark attacks cause the most fatalities, but biologists say it's because they're larger than other sharks](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/09/19/80878059-13616857-Bull_tiger_and_white_shark_attacks_cause_the_most_fatalities_but-a-5_1720549261736.jpg)
Bull, tiger, and white shark attacks cause the most fatalities, but biologists say it's because they're larger than other sharks
![The number of global fatalities from shark attacks doubled in 2023, according to a new survey](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/09/19/80876699-13616857-The_number_of_global_fatalities_from_shark_attacks_doubled_in_20-a-6_1720549263704.jpg)
The number of global fatalities from shark attacks doubled in 2023, according to a new survey
Approximately 16 people endured shark bites in Florida and two were killed in California and Hawaii, according to a report by the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File (ISAF)
There was also one confirmed death each in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico, and New Caledonia, and additional attacks in Brazil, the Bahamas and South Africa, in addition to five others.
'This is within the range of the normal number of bites, though the fatalities are a bit unnerving this year,' said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's shark research program.
While the three sharks - great whites, tigers and bulls - are know as viscous predators of the sea, the researchers said that their size is why their bites are deadly.
Typically, when a shark misidentifies a human as its prey, it will swim away after a single bite, but because they are larger than other sharks, a single bite can be fatal.
Although the number of fatalities did increase in 2023, marine biologists said the rise in shark attacks is more likely due to population density, and as more people enter the water, the likelihood of someone being attacked by a shark increases.
So far in 2024, there have been 34 shark attacks - including nine provoked and one fatal attack - which have been publicly reported and verified, according to an online shark attack tracker.