Lost fisherman credits shark for saving his life

A Kiribati fisherman and father of six who spent about three and a half months adrift at sea in a wooden boat has credited a shark with saving his life, AFP reports. Toakai Teitoi drifted in the central Pacific for 15 weeks before he was rescued by a Marshall Islands fishing vessel last week. The fisherman has since claimed that a 6-and-a-half foot shark is the hero that led him to safety. According to AFP, Teitoi said he had woken up on the afternoon of Sept. 11 to “see the shark circling the boat and bumping the hull.” “He was guiding me to a fishing boat. I looked up and there was the stern of a ship and I could see crew with binoculars looking at me,” Teitoi said. Having captured “[Teitoi’s] attention,” the shark reportedly then swam away, AFP adds. According to Australia’s Herald Sun, Teitoi’s troubles began in the Kiribati capital of Tarawa in late May, where the fisherman was attending a ceremony during which he was sworn in as a policeman.