Shark attacks woman in knee-deep water during midnight stroll on New Zealand beach

A New Zealand woman is recovering after a shark attacked her in knee deep waters, according to law enforcement officials from the South Pacific island.

The woman, 21, was bitten shortly after midnight on Monday, according to a statement released by New Zealand’s Southern District Police said in a statement on social media.

She was “walking in knee-deep water” in an estuary in Riverton, New Zealand when the fierce predator bit her.

Police said the “time of day is a possible factor” in the incident since sharks are nocturnal and prefer to hunt at night.

They said the victim, who has not been identified, has a “significant laceration to her leg” and was treated received by emergency responders. RNZ, a New Zealand news site, reported she was taken in serious condition to Southland Hospital.

New Zealand officials said they suspect the victim’s injuries came from a sevengill shark, which are “present in the estuary.” The sevengill shark is one of the island’s more common inshore sharks, according to the country's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

It can survive in just a meter of water, has serrated teeth and “is a bit of a biter, and may be aggressive when provoked,” NIWA says.

RNZ interviewed Riverton Coastguard president Ross McKenzie, who told the New Zealand news outlet that the incident was the “first [known] shark attack of that kind in the estuary.”

But he also said there had been some instances in which local fishermen saw and caught sharks while fishing off the area's wharfs.

His comments also confirmed police assertions about this incident in that he confirmed sharks are more likely to be active at night. 

“You would reasonably assume you'd be safe wading around in knee-deep water, but you just don't know what's out there and it is their environment, not ours,” McKenzie said. 

The coast guard and law enforcement community advised tourists and locals alike to be cautious as the Christmas holiday nears, warning to stay out of the ocean in the dark.

While shark attacks are uncommon, ADN has covered many attacks that have occurred in the past two years.

Last year, Australia has endured nine such attacks, none of which were fatal, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.

Another rare whale shark sighting happened earlier this week off Catalina Island in California, according to a report published by Los Angeles news affiliate, KABC News.

A Torrance man spotted the shark, prompting police to warn that such predators can easily be mistaken for friendly whales.