Kimon Bisogno’s remains were found at Plettenberg Bay Beach, South Africa on September 29, 2023, after a shark bit her. Kimon was not even waist-deep in water when a great white shark, thought to be nearly 13 feet long, attacked her. 

Eyewitnesses say, “The water turned red.” There was screaming for about 5 seconds, and then Kimon was dragged underwater. “I just heard lots of screaming and saw people running out of the water. I guessed it was a shark attack but I was quite a way away and then the lifeboat turned up,” the eyewitness said. “I then heard a woman had been attacked while swimming only two or three waves out so it was quite shallow but it was said nothing could be done to help her.”  Rescuers and Police forces were on the scene in less than five minutes but they were too late. 

Great white sharks are often found in waters around South Africa, but never have they been sighted so close to the Western Cape. Experts say that this attack was because of a “sardine feeding frenzy.” That means that in the winter, sardines use cold water to breed. So sharks use the cold water to feed.

Great white sharks have been in 28% of animal attacks. That is the most of any species. However, despite the chances of rising insanely fast, experts say that you should not be worried about it when swimming. Also, the South African government released a sentence about the incident. It wrote “This was a very unusual attack. While you have every right to be worried, you shouldn’t. There have been 37 shark attacks since 1997 in our country. If we live in fear, we will not thrive.” 

It comes down to the person. Do you want to risk it? Do you consider it a risk?