Wobbegong identified as Manly shark attack culprit

The creature that caused a shark scare at Manly Beach after a surfer was bitten on Wednesday night has been revealed.

• First Interview: Mike Ruttkowski opens up about Manly shark bite

THE creature that caused a shark scare at Manly Beach after a surfer was bitten on Wednesday night has been revealed.

It was a wobbegong.

The shark latched on to Mike Ruttkowski’s right foot while he was paddling 15m from shore, just off the Manly Life Saving club at South Steyne, soon after 6.30pm.

An example of a wobbegong in Manly. Likely not the same one that attacked the surfer. Picture: Ian Donato

“It felt like my foot was caught in a steel trap,” the 28-year-old German, in Australia on a working holiday, said.

After Mr Ruttkowski, an architect drom Dusseldorf, reached the beach with blood streaming from the cuts, volunteers from the surf club rang the shark bell to warn other surfers to get out of the water.

The surfer, was left with a number of small incisions on the top and bottom of his foot.

His foot was badly swollen.

Mike Ruttkowski resting at home after he was bitten by the shark. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

Mike Ruttkowski’s foot following the bite. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

The Manly Daily sent photograph’s of Mr Ruttkowski’s wounds, which included multiple cuts to the top and bottom of his foot, to the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ shark biologist, Vic Peddemors.

This morning Dr Peddemors said the pattern of the wounds was characteristic of those made by a wobbegong.

“Wobbies love the flat rocks, and weeds and feed on small fish, but can become defensive if they are disturbed.

“(Nearby) Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve is a well-known haven for wobbegong sharks and is one of the target species for snorkellers and scuba divers to see there. It’s therefore not surprising that this was the species involved in this interaction.”

Dr Vic Peddemors from the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Picture: AAP Image/Lucy Hughes Jones

Dr Peddemors said more often than not people are bitten by wobbegongs, which can grow to 3m and weigh 70kgs, when they stand on them.

But the biologist suggested that the shark may have “got a fright” by seeing Mr Ruttkowski’s foot in the murky, sandy water, and bit it in self-defence.

Mr Ruttkowski said something had grabbed and pulled at his foot as he paddled towards the beach.

“There was a lot of pressure. It felt like my foot was caught in a steel trap.

“It was wriggling around and felt like it was tangled around my foot.

“I shook it off and looked down and there was a lot of blood in the water.”

Mr Ruttkowski said he did not see what bit him.

Manly Beach closed the morning after the attack. Picture: Steve Howard.

“It was pretty scary. It all happened so quickly.”

Paramedics treated him in the back of an ambulance. They cleaned his wounds and bandaged his foot.

They did not take him to hospital but suggested he visit a doctor to have the wounds examined.

Lifeguards closed the beach and conducted jet ski patrols yesterday morning before opening the beach again around lunchtime.

Dr Peddemors encouraged water users to download the DPI’s SharkSmart app which helps people to minimise their chances of an interaction with a shark.

Further information about sharks can be found at the department’s website www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/sharks/