In a tragic twist of fate, 30-year-old Adrein Dubosc, who devoted his life to educating people about sharks, was killed in a shark attack just off the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean this morning. His death came just two months after one of his best friends, Alexandre Naussac, 26, died in almost identical circumstances.
It’s also impossible not to draw parallels to the 2006 death of “Crocodile Hunter,” Steve Irwin, who was killed after being attacked by a stingray near Queensland, Australia while filming the television series Ocean’s Deadliest. Like Steve Irwin, Saint-Leu resident Adrein Dubosc, was a lover of deadly animals, dedicated to their protection and raising public understanding and awareness about them.
Adrein was an active member of Shark Watch Patrol, an organization devoted to reducing shark deaths on Reunion, an island that is known for its population of bull and tiger sharks. He often posted photos of the animals on social media, captioning them with informative facts about the predators.
At about 11 AM Saturday morning Adrein and two friends, all experienced bodyboarders, entered the water off a beach where there is an official ban on water sports. Adrein’s friends and family were reportedly among those who witnessed the horrifying scene as Adrien was attacked. According to a spokesperson for the local police, “The young man was in the water with two friends, when a shark attacked him, biting his right thigh, and his groin area. The victim was pulled out of the water, and emergency workers arrived very quickly. Despite cardiac massage, he died within half an hour of the attack.”
In the last six years there have been 21 shark attacks in the waters off the island of Reunion, nine of which, including Adrein Dubosc’s and Alexandre Naussac’s, have been fatal. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for shark attacks, with 15% of the world’s fatal occurrences in the last five years happening here. French authorities are attempting to control the shark population by patrolling and using nets to catch and kill about 100 sharks each year. Conservationists and animal activists argue that pollution is already killing enough of the animals, making these types of tactics unnecessary.
