Bull shark nearly bites off man's leg in Maharashtra's Vaitarna river; locals kill fish
Mumbai, Feb 14: A bull shark, the species which can live and breed in freshwater, nearly bit off one leg of a 30-year-old man in the Vaitarna river in Maharashtra's Palghar district, prompting his fellow villagers to kill the fish, a forest official said on Wednesday.
The encounter with the fish with razor-sharp teeth took place when a group of residents from Manor village, out to collect wood and for fishing, entered the river.
A large fish sprang up a surprise attack and grabbed the left leg of one of them, identified as Vickey Govari. Hearing his screams, the others pulled him to the shore, he said.
In their bid to save their friend, they began hitting the fish, eventually killing it, the official said.
However, the fish, later identified by wildlife experts as a bull shark, had ripped off the calf muscle of Govari's left leg, leaving the shin bone exposed.
Govari was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he is receiving medical care for the serious injuries sustained to his leg, he said.
The bull shark was about seven feet long and weighed nearly 130 kg, said Pawan Sharma, who is the founder and president of non-profit RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare) and also the honorary wildlife warden with the state forest department.
The Mangrove Cell, which takes care of the marine and aquatic wildlife wings of the forest department, will look into the matter, Sharma said.
Bull sharks are usually found in the sea but there are reports and evidence of them being found in creeks, rivers and dams several kilometres away from saltwater due to reasons like reduction in prey base due to excessive fishing, being victims of bycatch, degradation and habitat loss, he said.
Bull sharks are considered a vulnerable species as per the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and are among the top protected species of sharks that are facing extinction worldwide, he added.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
