A surfer who suffered serious injuries after being bitten off the popular Waikiki Beach in Hawaii was attacked by an eel, experts believe.
The authorities feared he was the latest victim of a shark, hours after another man was rescued at Lanikai Beach on Oahu, the third largest of Hawaiia’s islands.
But following an examination of the bite marks, state officials said it could be a much rarer eel attack.
Dan Dennison, an agency spokesman, said they were waiting to interview the man about the incident.
The surfer was hurt on Saturday. Both men were taken to hospital in a serious condition.
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Hawaii’s coral reefs are home to a variety of eels, including some with large mouths and long, sharp teeth. They are not usually dangerous or aggressive unless provoked, the Maui Ocean Centre’s website says.
Mr Dennison said this was the first time he had heard of a possible eel attack in the waters around Hawaii. The state does not keep records of such bites, as they do for sharks, he said.
In the earlier attack, witnesses said a tiger shark bit a 44-year-old man swimming off Lanikai Beach at around noon.
He was attacked about 50 to 100 yards from shore, according to the Honolulu Fire Department. A local man helped him to shore on an outrigger canoe, she said.
It was the sixth confirmed shark attack in Hawaii this year, and the second in as many weeks on Oahu. A man lost his leg when a tiger shark bit him at North Shore less than two weeks ago.
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In April, a shark killed a woman while she was snorkelling off the island of Maui.
Fourteen shark encounters occurred in Hawaii in 2013, and two were fatal. Two people escaped injury because the sharks bit the surfboards, not them.
In 2014 there were six shark encounters, but three involved no injuries. None of those attacks were fatal.
George Szigeti, the president of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said that the weekend’s bites were isolated but that people should be aware of the dangers in the ocean.
“As an island state we are surrounded by the ocean, so it is important that both our visitors and residents take precaution to understand ocean safety and take precaution when entering the water,” he said.