Historical reference record — not independently verified
Shark incident at Lelepa Island Shefa Province Vanuatu — October 1961
What happened
A historical reference describes an event at Lelepa Island Shefa Province Vanuatu in 1961-10. Recorded activity: Paddling an outrigger canoe. Classification: Watercraft. Outcome: No injury.
What is known
- Location recorded in the historical reference: Lelepa Island Shefa Province Vanuatu.
- Date: 1961-10.
- Activity: Paddling an outrigger canoe.
- Classification: Watercraft.
- Outcome: No injury.
What remains uncertain
- No shark species identification is supported by the retained evidence.
- The date is intentionally shown with limited precision; no day is invented.
- The shark bit/overturned the canoe; this is a watercraft interaction.
- This restoration uses a supplied historical summary citing the general GSAF incident log, not a case-level primary document. It has not been independently verified.
Fact panel
- Date
- October 1961
- Date precision
- Month
- Location
- Lelepa Island Shefa Province Vanuatu
- Country
- Vanuatu
- Activity
- Paddling an outrigger canoe
- Incident classification
- Watercraft
- Outcome
- No injury
- Species
- Unknown
- Species confidence
- Unknown
- Coordinate precision
- Unknown
Location context
Historical locations can be approximate. No coordinates have been assigned from the place name, and this record does not imply a map marker or a current risk estimate.
Sources and verification
- Historical incident log (general reference) — Global Shark Attack FileSupports: General reference cited by the supplied historical summary; not independently checked against a case-level record.
Shark incident records can change as investigations develop. This page shows the current verification status and was last restored from supplied historical reference material on 2026-09-04.
The cited incident log is a general reference, not a linked case-level primary document. Source timestamps record when the supplied reference was imported, not an independent source retrieval or verification.