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German Woman Killed in Shark Attack Off Canary Islands

A Spanish Salvamento Maritimo (Sea Search and Rescue agency) vessel escorts a 'cayuco' boat with 28 migrants, arriving at La Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro, on September 14, 2024. (Photo by Antonio SEMPERE / AFP)
A Spanish Salvamento Maritimo (Sea Search and Rescue agency) vessel escorts a 'cayuco' boat with 28 migrants, arriving at La Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro, on September 14, 2024. (Photo by Antonio SEMPERE / AFP)
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German Woman Killed in Shark Attack Off Canary Islands

A Spanish Salvamento Maritimo (Sea Search and Rescue agency) vessel escorts a 'cayuco' boat with 28 migrants, arriving at La Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro, on September 14, 2024. (Photo by Antonio SEMPERE / AFP)
A Spanish Salvamento Maritimo (Sea Search and Rescue agency) vessel escorts a 'cayuco' boat with 28 migrants, arriving at La Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro, on September 14, 2024. (Photo by Antonio SEMPERE / AFP)

A German woman died after she was attacked by a shark while swimming beside her catamaran in high seas between Spain's Canary Islands and West Africa, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The woman, aged 30, was travelling on a catamaran that had sailed southbound from Gran Canaria island on Sept. 14. She was attacked by a shark that bit off one of her legs, the police said.
Coastguards flew from Gran Canaria to the area, 514 kilometers (320 miles) south of the island, and evacuated her, but she died from the wound in the helicopter.
Even though a few shark species are large and aggressive enough to hunt animals the size of humans, actual shark attacks and fatalities are rare around the world. The Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File (ISAF) identified 14 shark-related fatalities around the world in 2023.
ISAF has recorded only six confirmed shark-related incidents in Spain's history.

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EU Countries Take 1st Step to Weaken Protected Status of Wolves

A young wolf stands in the enclosure of the Falkenstein National Park Center. Armin Weigel/dpa
A young wolf stands in the enclosure of the Falkenstein National Park Center. Armin Weigel/dpa
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EU Countries Take 1st Step to Weaken Protected Status of Wolves

A young wolf stands in the enclosure of the Falkenstein National Park Center. Armin Weigel/dpa
A young wolf stands in the enclosure of the Falkenstein National Park Center. Armin Weigel/dpa

Safeguards to protect wolves in the European Union could be weakened in future after member states agreed on Wednesday on the first steps towards easing these measures.

Weakening the protection of wolves aims to facilitate the culling of those deemed a threat to livestock.

Until now, wolves have been highly protected in Europe. In some regions, however, people question whether the status quo is still justified as the number of wolves is growing, dpa reported.

The wolf's protection in the EU is tied to the 1979 Bern Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.

EU ambassadors in Brussels agreed to propose a change to the body in charge of the wildlife protection treaty, EU diplomats told dpa.

Amending the Bern Convention is a first step which could pave the way for the European Commission to propose EU legislation to change the protected status of the wolf at a later stage.

The wolf's comeback in Europe is highly controversial.

Currently, wolves receive strict protection status under EU law with provisions allowing for local authorities to take action, including shooting wolves in case of conflicts with rural communities and farmers.

While some EU countries, including Germany and France, are in favor of easier culling, nature conservation groups campaign for different approaches, like better herd surveillance, night confinement and more guard dogs.

Having been extinct in large parts of Europe until the 1960s, there are currently around 19,000 wolves in the EU, according to conservationists.