Surfer in Serious but Stable Condition After Shark Bite in Western Australia

A man in his 50s was hospitalized Monday after being bitten by a shark at Glenfield Beach in Western Australia, the state government and local ambulance service said.

Authorities received a report of a 'shark incident' around 9:45 a.m. local time (0145 GMT) at the beach, just over 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Perth.

The man was in a 'serious but stable condition,' Australia's national broadcaster, ABC, reported, citing local health authorities. Beachgoers were advised to take extra caution in the area.

The bite is the latest in a series of serious shark encounters in Australian waters, renewing attention on beach safety and shark behavior.

Australian scientists believe increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures are shifting sharks' migratory patterns, which may be contributing to a rise in attacks.

In January, a 12-year-old boy died after he was bitten by a shark while swimming in Sydney Harbour. Between May and June, three divers were fatally mauled in separate incidents—two in Western Australia and the third in Queensland.

Also in June, a woman was mauled by a shark at one of Australia's most popular beaches in Sydney. The woman, a schoolteacher, later recalled swinging a 'left hook' at the predator before it dragged her underwater.

She was placed in an induced coma and had part of her left arm amputated after the June 13 attack.

Since 1791, there have been around 1,300 shark incidents around Australia, of which more than 260 resulted in death, according to a database tracking human-shark encounters.