ACTIVITY: Fishing
CASE: GSAF 1894.07.15.R
DATE: Reported July 15, 1894
LOCATION: The incident took place in
the Mediterranean Sea at la Badine,
Hyères, France.
43°07'12"N, 6°07'54"E
NAME: M. Théophile Giraud
DESCRIPTION: A male from Hyères
NARRATIVE: See newspaper article on
the next page.
SPECIES: Not identified, but the shark was alleged to be 1.8 metres in length.
CASE INVESTIGATOR: Chris Moore, Global Shark Accident File
© Global Shark Accident File, 2015. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.
Le Gaulois (Paris)
July 15, 1894, page 3
Wikipedia
Translation by Mark Radcliffe
SHARKS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
A resident of Hyères, M. Théophile Giraud, was fishing off the beach at la Badine
two days ago when he noticed a flurry of activity in the water just a short distance
from where he was swimming. Curious, he started to head in the direction of the
commotion, armed with just a simple iron bar.
Suddenly, and to his horror, he saw a sea monster heading straight for him!
The fisherman managed to keep his composure and prodded the beast with the
point of his alpenstock* to fend it off. But the creature - a shark one metre eighty in
length - turned towards him again.
The struggle between man and shark continued for at least an hour.
By either diving, or at times holding on to a rock, M. Giraud managed to avoid the
jaws of the shark. Those jaws, with their three rows of teeth, bit down on the
swimmer’s iron bar. In the end M. Giraud succeeded in severing the beast’s head
from its body and he brought the still quivering head back to shore.
*A long iron-tipped staff used by hikers and mountain climbers (i.e. a long-handled axe).
© Global Shark Accident File, 2015. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.
© Global Shark Accident File, 2015. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.