I lost my leg in a shark attack

Empty beaches, families destroyed and one lingering question: could the giant shark that many believe has taken the lives of three West Australian swimmers in recent weeks return to strike again?

WA has been stunned by the fatalities, with a great white thought to be responsible for the deaths of 32-year-old Texan diver George Wainwright off Rottnest Island, the disappearance of Bryn Martin, 64, at Cottesloe – his swimmers were found with damage consistent with an attack – and the mauling of 21-year-old bodyboarder Kyle Burden at Bunker Bay.

REAL LIFE: My shark attack survival story

Few besides the victims’ loved ones are more haunted by the tragedies than Zac Golebiowski. It’s been five years since he lost his right leg to the jaws of a giant white pointer off WA’s southern coastline – and he still hasn’t come to terms with it.

‘I locked myself inside for the first couple of years trying to process it,’ admits Zac, shyly.

‘I’m a bit better now but there are still plenty of: “Why me?” days and I hate people staring at me.

‘I miss feeling the grass between my toes and simple things like breaking into a run or getting out of bed and going to the toilet,’ rues the plucky survivor from Margaret River, who lost his plastering apprenticeship and his adolescence during an overcast December surf session in 2006.

Surprisingly, the 20-year-old bears no grudge against the shark, but with at least 14 recorded deaths and attacks on the west coast in the past seven years, he believes it’s possible one shark might be responsible.

Brave: Zac Golebiowski lost his leg to a shark, but is now riding the waves again.

In Busselton, 220km south of Perth, Melissa Edwards reluctantly lets her two kids play in the shallows of the Indian Ocean, but watches them like a hawk.

The mum has become well versed on shark attacks since the death of her husband Nic last year and is convinced a rogue shark with a taste for humans is haunting the coastline.

‘I absolutely believe one shark could have killed more than one person,’ says the young widow, who lost the love of her life to a great white while he was surfing in Cowaramup Bay.

‘Rogue sharks are not unheard of around the world, like the one which returned each year to Hong Kong, killing two to three people at a time.’

In WA, three men have lost their lives recently to shark attacks over a seven-week period and beachgoers are terrified.

‘I’m very sad each time I hear of a new attack,’ Melissa says.

‘I think of the family they leave behind and I feel every emotion they’re going through because I’ve been there.

‘It frightens me and the community I live in. There is no clear direction about how to stop the attacks and I wish there was because I don’t want to lose another family member.’

Closed: A beach at Gracetown, 270km south of Perth, was closed in 2004 after surfer Brad Smith was savaged in a shark attack.

Veteran Aussie shark hunter Vic Hislop, who was recruited by the Hong Kong government to track and kill the shark that menaced Silverstrand Beach in the early nineties, also says one shark may be to blame for all the attacks.

‘I believe that one shark could be responsible for 14 deaths and attacks around Perth over the past seven years,’ says Queensland-based Vic, whose outspoken views have put him at loggerheads with marine scientists for years.

‘In Hong Kong you could set your clock by them, returning to the same bays to target humans in the same fashion, and it’s no different at Cottesloe from late October into November. Sharks swim between the flags too!’

After 45 years of tracking, capturing and examining the stomach contents of great whites, the renegade seaman says he feels for all victims’ families.

‘I’m driven by families like the Wrights from Port Lincoln, who lost Jevan in 2000,’ declares Vic.

‘His mum listened to the gravel driveway for years afterwards waiting for her son to drive home, while his dad Geoff still drives to the beach where his boy was taken.’

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Zac remembers every second of his grisly encounter and prays each attack since is pain-free for victims.

‘There was very little pain at the time, just a numbness,’ he says.

‘Everyone’s dying lately so I feel lucky to have my life. The ferocity of the recent attacks is horrifying and I know it’s weird but I feel like I’m waiting for news of the next survivor.’

Within a year of losing his leg Zac returned to surfing, but remains confined to a bodyboard.

He prefers to hit the waves with a friend and justifies his return by one hope: that a shark won’t strike the same person twice.

‘Sometimes I’m really spooked when I’m out, but the ocean is the one place I can feel as normal as everyone else,’ he says.

‘I don’t have to lug out an extra body part. I’m free!’