Jessie Arbogast was the 8-year old boy from
Ocean Springs, MI whose right arm was ripped off by a
bull shark in the
Florida Panhandle on
July 6, 2001. Jessie and his aunt and uncle, Diana and Vance Flosenzier of
Mobile, AL, were on
Langdon Beach in the
Gulf Islands National Seashore, a part of the
Florida coast near
Pensacola.
Jessie was only in knee-deep water when he was attacked, but the bull shark is a vicious species known to frequent shallow water. The shark bit his right arm off and a chunk of his right thigh as well. His uncle, a
triathlete, wrestled the shark to shore. A
park ranger shot the shark several times in the head and pried its jaws open with a
police baton while a volunteer
firefighter retrieved Jessie's arm.
Jessie fell into a
coma. Three surgeons spent twelve hours
reattaching his right arm.
Brain damage was a serious concern for a time, but he avoided fatal brain swelling which is often associated with such severe
blood loss. He has also had follow-up surgery for
kidney dialysis (his internal organs were also damaged as a result of the attack) and for temporary
skin grafts of
pig skin on his leg.
The bull shark, weighing 200-250 pounds, was underweight for a shark of that species, leading scientists to speculate that the shark was starving or at least very hungry, perhaps prompting the attack. Bull sharks in that area feed on
sea turtles, which were
nesting in the vicinity at the time of the attack.
Circulating on the
internet is a letter, written by some
anonymous weasel fuck, which accuses Flosenzier of fishing for sharks that day and thus attracting the bull shark which attacked Jessie. There is, of course, no truth in that accusation.
Donations can be sent to: The Jessie Arbogast Medical Fund, account number 012428229, c/o Hancock Bank, P.O. Drawer 609, Ocean Springs, Miss. 39566.