{"id":442721,"date":"2026-05-24T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/442721\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T08:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T08:00:11","slug":"he-wouldnt-let-go-couple-fends-off-tiger-shark-in-frightening-encounter-while-kayaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/442721\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He wouldn\u2019t let go\u2019: Couple fends off tiger shark in frightening encounter while kayaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

MAUI, Hawaii (KHNL<\/a>\/Gray News) – A Maui couple came face-to-face with one of nature\u2019s strongest predators in the waters last weekend. <\/p>\n

Cheslei Akima and Alika Dickerson say they were paddling in the waters off Olowalu when the calm, serene afternoon turned frightening.<\/p>\n

They were more than a mile offshore when the encounter happened.<\/p>\n

\"ChesleiCheslei Akima and Alika Dickerson were paddling in waters off Olowalu when a tiger shark bit their kayak and refused to let go.(Cheslei Akima)<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, like 10 feet in front of the kayak, a fin sticks up, and I\u2019m thinking to myself, \u2018What is that?\u2019 And then it started coming at us,\u201d Akima said.<\/p>\n

According to the couple, it was a tiger shark that was larger than their 12-foot kayak. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe shark then, like latches on to the side of the kayak, and he\u2019s just shaking us, and he wouldn\u2019t let go,\u201d Akima said.<\/p>\n

Dickerson says he sprang into action and threw punches at the shark, but the first two strikes did not have an effect until the third.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the third time, it finally just let go. It sank a little bit and just splashed us with its tail, swimming away, and then I was just in shock,\u201d Dickerson said.<\/p>\n

The couple says they immediately headed back to shore, unsure if their Kayak was taking on water. The bite marks left on the kayak were proof of their terrifying encounter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just so crazy,\u201d Akima said.<\/p>\n

They have encountered sharks in that same area before, but nowhere near this aggressive.<\/p>\n

And there might be some science behind it, worth warning others.<\/p>\n

University of Hawaii Marine Biologists tracked shark behavior<\/a> around Hawaii for years and have found that Olowalu is actually a mating hub<\/a> for tiger sharks. The timing of their mating activities also overlaps with humpback season, indicating sharks are also feeding there.<\/p>\n

Akima and Dickerson encourage others who venture into Olowalu waters to be prepared. They also say the experience isn\u2019t stopping them from jumping back in the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cGotta get back,\u201d the couple shared. \u201cWe\u2019re actually determined to go back this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KHNL via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MAUI, Hawaii (KHNL\/Gray News) – A Maui couple came face-to-face with one of nature\u2019s strongest predators in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[226129,226130,226128,226137,226138,226139,226125,226122,111,139,69,226136,226124,226123,147,226126,226127,226133,226134,226135,37643,226131,226132,406],"class_list":["post-442721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-cheslei-akima-alika-dickerson","tag-cheslei-akima-alika-dickerson-tiger-shark","tag-cheslei-akima-and-alika-dickerson","tag-couple-fends-off-tiger-shark","tag-couple-tiger-shark-kayaking","tag-frightening-shark-encounter","tag-hawaii-marine-biologists","tag-maui-couple-fends-off-tiger-shark","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-olowalu-shore-tiger-sharks","tag-olowalu-tiger-shark","tag-olowalu-tiger-sharks","tag-science","tag-shark-behavior","tag-shark-behavior-hawaii","tag-tiger-shark-attack","tag-tiger-shark-attack-hawaii","tag-tiger-shark-attack-maui","tag-tiger-sharks","tag-tiger-sharks-hawaii","tag-tiger-sharks-maui","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}