How shark attack victim's ordinary act ended in horror – as Sydney Harbor is revealed as a shark 'love nest'
A marine biologist has highlighted the common act that put a Sydney woman in danger after she was attacked by a bull shark and taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Lauren O'Neill, 29, was bitten on the right leg in Elizabeth Bay around sunset on Monday and will undergo surgery this afternoon.
The incident has raised questions about why Ms O'Neill was swimming in the shark-infested harbor as night fell.
'My first reaction is: why is there someone in the harbor at night?' said marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck on Sunrise on Tuesday.
Lauren O'Neill is now in a stable condition after being mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour. This afternoon she will have surgery on her right leg
Lauren O'Neill, shark attack victim, climate change activist who volunteers with a number of different groups and helps the homeless
'It is not advisable. It is an area with a lot of shark activity. “We need to recognize where the best places to swim are, and where they might not be,” he said.
Mr Chlebeck said there was a long history of shark bites in Sydney Harbour.
He said slaughterhouses once dumped waste in the harbour, adding that sharks retained a “generational intelligence” that told them it was a good place to feed.
“These are areas that sharks know to go to. We know there is shark activity in the harbour. People need to be made aware of the risks,” he said.
'During the day, in full sun, these are times when sharks are less active.
'Their sensors are on high alert in the evening and early morning. Those are the times when I would avoid swimming in the harbour.'
Bull sharks use Sydney Harbor as a love nest for mating before migrating thousands of kilometers along the coast to far north Queensland in search of food.
Sydney Harbor is home to many bull sharks, including this 2.7 meter monster caught and released in 2020
James Murray reeled in a monstrous three-metre bull shark while fishing at Birchgrove in Sydney Harbor last July
Mr Murray said it took 25 minutes to reel in the bull shark before he measured, tagged and snapped his catch (pictured)
They prefer water temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, slightly deeper water during the day and shallower water at night. They are more active at dawn and dusk.
Tagging and tracking over the past 15 years has shown that bull sharks use all parts of the harbour, from the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers to the Central and North Harbours.
The NSW government says people should avoid swimming in canals and river or harbor mouths, and stay away from murky, dirty water after heavy rainfall, as well as areas where baitfish and diving birds congregate.
Monday night's attack came just months after fisherman James Murray pulled in a huge three-metre bull shark from Birchgrove Harbour.
The catch was tagged before being released back into port.
Two years earlier, a 2.7-metre bull shark was found in the harbor near where kayakers enjoyed a paddle and drunken partiers jumped into the water from boats.
A vet and her neighbors have been praised for saving Mrs O'Neill's life after the horrific attack.
Michael Porter had just returned home from work when he heard faint cries for help through his open window.
“It was horrific, I've never experienced anything like it,” he told Nine's Today program on Tuesday.
Mr Porter said Ms O'Neill was swimming outside a 'harbour pool with nets' and 'swam around the boats'.
“Lauren, the victim, attempted to pull herself up from the edge of the harbor pond in an attempt to enter the secure enclosure,” he said.
'Her leg was dragging behind her a bit, there was red blood behind her.
'It was all completely surreal and I honestly still haven't processed it all.'
He was soon joined by several other neighbors, including 'hero vet' Fiona Crago, who applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding.
The victim's significant wounds meant there was 'blood everywhere' and although she was in little pain, she struggled to stay conscious before paramedics arrived and rushed her to nearby St Vincent's Hospital.
“Fiona is a hero and I believe she saved her life,” Porter said.
The young woman was attacked near a jetty in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney Harbour
A woman will undergo surgery after she was bitten by a shark while swimming in Sydney Harbor in Elizabeth Bay. The photo shows paramedics treating the woman on Monday evening
“I'm not sure what would have happened, but it wouldn't have been good.”
Ms O'Neill studied science at the University of Sydney and works for the NSW Government in the Department of Climate Change.
Since 2012, when she was 15, she has volunteered for various charities and organizations.
Bull sharks, tiger sharks and great white sharks are among the three species responsible for the most deadly sharks in the world.
In February 2022, British Simon Nellist was killed by a 4.5-metre great white shark at Little Bay in Sydney's south-east.
It was the first confirmed death from a shark attack in Sydney in 60 years.