Shark Attack Survivor Fought Off 12 to 15-Foot Tiger Shark Surfing in Kauai

Jade Eckardt
·2 min read
41

On Sunday, 50-year-old Kauai resident Kevin Kanehe was attacked by a "12 to 15-foot" tiger shark while surfing The Bowl at Hanalei Bay.

Kanehe managed to fight off the shark by sticking his finger in its nostril, Hawaii News Now reported yesterday.

According to his wife, Deanna, "The bite went to the bone above and below his knee, taking some chips off his femur, knee cap and tibia. His knee was torn up pretty bad and into his joint too."

Reporter Stephanie Lum posted the news segment above today and captioned it:

"50-year-old Kevin Kanehe is now recovering in the hospital after a nearly 15 foot tiger shark clamped down on his left leg Sunday in Hanalei Bay.

"His wife says the shark let go when Kanehe put up a fight and stuck his finger in the shark’s nostril. Doctors say had the shark completed its bite, Kanehe would have lost his leg.

"Kanehe underwent hand surgery today and had an operation on his leg Sunday. Doctors estimate it will take him a year to recover. We’ve posted a link to Kanehe’s gofund me on our website.

Deanna shared details on the GoFundMe page:

"The afternoon of Sunday OCT 15th Kevin was surfing Hanalei Bay and got attacked by a shark. He was paddling for a wave, sat up on his board to turn around and got hit hard from the left side.

"People that saw it have guessed 12-15 foot tiger shark. The jaws grabbed ahold of his left leg and Kevin used his hands to try to lift it off, one of his fingers went in its nostrils and then it let go."

A surfer named Jeff McBride helped Kanehe make it to shore.

She added that her husband intends to keep surfing:

"...Moments after it happened his thought was - 'if I lose my leg I’m going to get a prosthetic like Mike Coots so I can surf again.'"

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