A Kane'ohe man attacked by a shark off the Crouching Lion restaurant Tuesday afternoon is on the mend and "thinks he's going to be able to keep his leg," said the surfer who helped him.

Aren Souza, who came to the aid of the victim — known to others who surf at Crouching Lion simply as Todd — said he thought "if I didn't hurry up, he's going to die."

Souza spoke with the man, who is in his 40s, by phone yesterday at The Queen's Medical Center and gave an update on his condition as well as new detail about the incident.

"There doesn't seem to be any nerve damage," Souza said. "They're going to check his wounds in a couple of days."

The victim was about three-quarters of a mile offshore in the same area as Souza when he was attacked. Todd and Souza, 26, paddled their boards in and Souza was able to wrap the wound with a towel, hail a passing truck and call 911.

Souza said the attack was over in seconds. The shark struck, the victim yelled and was pulled under water before Souza could even look to see what happened, he said.

"I see thrashing and that's when I see a shark fin for a split second, then the whole underwater thing, then he's up and he gets on his board and tells me, 'I was bit,' " Souza said. "It was too fast to even process."

Souza said he thought the shark had attacked from below, reaching up and over with its jaw, clamping down and pulling Todd into the water. He said Todd confirmed that when he talked to him yesterday.

Souza said he learned later on the beach that Todd had pried the shark's jaws open and that it had bitten him twice, on the thigh and on the calf.

Firefighters at the scene had credited Souza with saving Todd's life, but Souza said Todd was the calm one, telling Souza what he had to do.

Other people in a truck stopped and helped move Todd out of the water and elevated his leg on a log, Souza said.

"Luckily Todd was Todd because he's telling me he's got a towel and I should wrap his leg," Souza said. "He knew what to do and that's good because he was calm the whole time."

Souza said he hadn't taken the attack seriously at first because Todd seemed OK. But once he saw the wound, he knew he had to move quickly.

Souza, of Punalu'u, who has surfed the spot for 13 years, said he has seen sharks there on two occasions and both times someone was bitten: Tuesday and on Aug. 28, 2007.

In 2007 he got out of the water when he saw the shark and learned about the bite later. On Tuesday he said he didn't see the shark until it had attacked.

"It's just weird," he said.

Late yesterday, city lifeguards removed shark warning signs posted at the entrance to the surf spot, known as "Crouching Lion" and "Crouchings," and at Kahana Bay and Swanzy beach parks, according to Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city's Emergency Services Department.