11-1-8 QT News story - "A Bull Shark Took my Dog!"

[werewolf]

Bull shark took my dog

11.01.2008

By Megan Genrich

http://www.qt.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3760584&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

WHEN Jill Harrison was told her treasured pet pomeranian Rex might have been taken by a bull shark in the Bremer River, she thought it was a joke.

Five days later and still no sign of her four-year-old dog, Ms Harrison believes it may be true.

On Sunday morning, Ms Harrison and her partner were cleaning up the riverside at the rear of their Tivoli home when Rex went chasing ducks in the water.

"He was such an adventurous little dog, once he even swam across the river," Ms Harrison said.

"Sometimes he would disappear for an hour at a time, so we weren't too concerned when he didn't come straight back.

MS HARRISON heard splashing and then silence but thought it was the ducks.

It was not until the following afternoon when she and her partner walked through their suburb and spoke to neighbour Norman Morris, they realised Rex might have been taken by a bull shark.

"We've lived here a bit less than two years and we'd heard of the sharks, but thought it was a bit of a myth," Ms Harrison said.

Mr Morris said there was nothing fictitious about Bremer River bull sharks, which could grow to 3.5m in length.

After 17 years in the area and almost-daily fishing trips, Mr Morris said his closest encounter with one of the sharks was in his 3.75 metre boat.

"It was calm and serene and sailed straight past like a catfish in a pond," Mr Morris said.

He said the shark was a bit less than half the length of his boat.

Fishing from the bank, Mr Morris has caught a bull shark and he has seen them swimming in the river at Cribb Park, Colleges Crossing and Kookaburra Park.

A few years ago Mr Morris said he saw a cow floating down the river, which he believed was attacked by a bull shark.

He said the river was teeming with fish of late, another attraction for bull sharks.

While most residents were aware of the dangers of the Bremer River, Ms Harrison said people like her, who were new to the area, might not know.

She had seen the shark warning signs at Colleges Crossing, but had no idea it applied to other parts of the river.

The last time the QT reported bull shark attacks was in March 2005, when then 18-year-old Nathan Shaxson was bitten on the index finger while swimming in the river at Karalee.

Just weeks later, trainer Alan Treadwell was swimming his gelding Glen-burns Arm in the river, when a bull shark bit the horse on the rump and legs.

For four years, Professor Craig Franklin and CSIRO research scientist Richard Pillans researched bull sharks in the Brisbane River.

Prof Franklin said bull sharks were at home in both salt and fresh water, with most people not realising they lived freely in the river.

"Most sharks die in anything less than 50 per cent seawater, so the bull shark is clearly very unusual," Prof Franklin said.

Have you had any brushes with bull sharks in the Bremer River?

Or have you seen Rex the pomeranian?

Phone the QT on 3817 1708.

Well we have heard of it happened before, so I'm not really suprised if it is true. The other option at the moment is the large amount of rubbish floating in the water may have also tangled the dog up.

wwolfB)

[Ash]

:ohmy: Theres Bullies in the river? OH MY GOD!:laugh: :laugh:

[Angus]

Are any AFO members going to call that numner with an appropriate "DER"?

Angus

[kriso]

the ignorance of people these days still suprises me.

[Ash]

Did Terry find any small-dog shape like contents in his shark:dry: From the BRC?

[mackmauler]

thatll teach him for chasing ducks lol

[buzzid]

well dorg gorn!

buzz

[Cowfish13]

werewolf wrote:

"Fishing from the bank, Mr Morris has caught a bull shark and he has seen them swimming in the river at Cribb Park, Colleges Crossing and Kookaburra Park"

"She had seen the shark warning signs at Colleges Crossing, but had no idea it applied to other parts of the river"

My two favourite lines:P:lol:

[RX007]

it still surprises me with the amount of people that swim in kooka park and colleges. The reports i have seen on the size of sharks out there is amazing. A good friend of mine stopped skiing out at kooka after he found out about the sharks. i have a little rule that i dont swim in their pool and they dont swim in mine, and it is working well.

[blue_mako]

Haha, out of all the things that could have happened to the dog they came up with eaten by a shark. Why not bitten by a Snake, or lost in the bush?

Troy

[mackmauler]

noway troy, caught in a cast net and taken to darra, the lunchtime special

[pinkey]

ROFL.

[blue_mako]

mackmauler wrote:

noway troy, caught in a cast net and taken to darra, the lunchtime special

Nar, Chinatown.

Troy

[goldnugget]

Damn...I just had Chinese for dinner.

[kriso]

yeah gota dodge the "barking deere". thats what they call it.