Shark Attack!

Sydney, Australia, March 15, 2007:

A man who caught a 4-foot shark with his bare hands off an Australian beach said on Wednesday he only tried the feat because he was drunk on vodka.

Vacationing American Ron was fishing off a jetty at Louth Bay, a town on South Australia state's Eyre Peninsula 870 miles west of Sydney, when he spotted the bronze whaler shark swimming in the shallows, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

"I just snuck up behind him, and eventually I went for the big grab and I fluked it and got him," Ron said.

"He was just thrashing around in the water...starting to turn around and try to bite me and I thought 'well, it's amazing what vodka does'," Ron said.

The shark bit a hole in Ron's jeans, but he was uninjured. His trademark mustache was also kept clear of any harm.

"It's not something I'd recommend to do. When I sobered up I thought about it and I said, 'I'm a bit of an idiot for doing it'," Ron said.

Many species of sharks are common in Australian waters, and there are an average of 15 shark attacks per year in the country -- roughly one person each year is killed by a shark.

Posted by Bittle at March 15, 2007 07:39 AM