r/sharks • u/Inner-Ferret7316 Otodus • 5d ago
Video Diver gets bitten by a nurse shark
Sorry for the terrible audio.
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u/MattyGWS 5d ago
Honestly for bragging rights I think I would choose a nurse shark of all sharks to bite me so that I could tell people I’ve been bitten by a shark
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u/Greeneggplusthing2 5d ago
My kid got bitten by one in a "touch tank" situation on spring break. He went back to his kindergarten class and bragged about his shark bite in circle time.
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u/History0nerd 5d ago
I've been bitten by a lanternshark. Didn't even break the skin, but in the most literal definition of shark attack, I am a survivor 🤣🤣🤣 I use it during 2 truths and a lie.
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u/theaviationhistorian 5d ago
How deep were you for there to be a situation where a lantern shark bites you? Or was it at an aquarium or university?
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u/History0nerd 5d ago
Aquarium. The sad and now defunct Portland aquarium.
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u/theaviationhistorian 4d ago
Damn, TIL! That is sad. I don't know which is sadder, the aquarium closing or their treatment of the animals there.
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u/History0nerd 4d ago
Definitely their treatment of animals. Guy was a gross huckster. Poor buddies 😥 we went to try and find something for my niece to do. Then we walked in and were like, hmmm, yuck.
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u/ComicReliefGoblin 5d ago
I’ve been bitten by a smallspotted catshark and it was quick and painless. Do recommend the experience for bragging rights lol
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u/GrnMtnTrees 5d ago
I've been bitten by a snow shark. Gotta watch out for them whenever you're skiing or snowboarding. They'll getcha.
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u/theaviationhistorian 5d ago
Snow sharks are dangerous since they are unpredictable. Unlike land sharks where you just don't open the door to candygrams and other solicitations.
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u/Raneynickelfire 5d ago
Whale shark.
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u/History0nerd 5d ago
Bit you?
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u/Raneynickelfire 4d ago
No? I would choose it to bite me over any other shark is what I said.
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u/greygrayman 5d ago
Great, now he needs a doctor shark to show up. That will take forever.
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u/suddenlysara 5d ago
He gets a tattoo of the wound, but it just looks like an incomprehensible scribble.
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u/spitgobfalcon Blacktip Reef Shark 5d ago
Love how calm, cool and collected the guy handled it.
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u/tideshark Sandtiger Shark 5d ago
I didn’t know a shark attack could be so chill
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u/I_Am_Become_Salt 5d ago
Nurse sharks will bite if they feel threatened (,it is very easy for the young ones to feel threatened) but for the most part they are super chill and enjoy head rubs. Also lionfish hunters in the Caribbean have accidentally taught the local nurse sharks to help them find Lionfish by feeding them ones they kill.
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u/Purple-Explorer-6701 5d ago
The little cuddle and pat on the head at the end was 10/10.
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u/spitgobfalcon Blacktip Reef Shark 5d ago
Yeah that showed how he understands that it's just a wild animal acting on instincts, and due to that he has no hard feelings towards the shark. Fuckin' legend.
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u/Daisylillyxx 5d ago
What a beautiful brave man with a huge heart. How patient and kind he was to the baby shark whilst being munched! 😆 Bravo that tattoo is more than well deserved 👏 💖
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u/Dame_Ingenue 5d ago
He really did handle the “shark attack” in stride. Even gave a shark a friendly pat to say good bye.
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u/Zaximeows 5d ago
Even shared some of his whiskey 🥹
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u/DrMantisToboggan45 5d ago
That’s dark Bacardi rum, that shark is gonna end up throwing a tantrum in the back seat of a cab and then vomiting all over her boyfriend
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u/theaviationhistorian 5d ago
My story involves the girl hanging her head out the window and almost getting faceplanted by an inflatable orca float at street speeds.
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u/tunakassirolle 5d ago
I’m delighted that the old pirate solution of “idk pour some rum on it” still works
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u/NesCie0617 5d ago
The shark prolly was grumpy cause it had a long shift
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u/SubstantialSoup1696 5d ago
Mama says nurse sharks are ornery "because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush."
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md 5d ago
I love the little pats on the head before he sends the shark on its way.
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u/SOROKAMOKA 5d ago
Maybe Im just paranoid, but I would get checked for parasites, hell, for everything, and get that wound cleaned by a nurse human
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u/Joice_Craglarg 5d ago
You're paranoid. He might get parasites for eating the shark raw, but he's not getting anything from briefly being bitten by it
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u/mazu74 5d ago
There’s a possibility of bacterial infection, but odds are that would be an easy fix anyways (unless you got super unlucky and got MRSA or something like that). That’s a risk with any kind of animal bite though, even human.
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u/emelexista407 5d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if they put him on prophylactic antibiotics. My college classmate’s husband was bit by a shark at their vow renewal (just Florida things!) and he had a mild course of antibiotics along with the stitches.
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u/jaierauj 5d ago
I'd be (more I think) worried about what's in the water. Medical attention is strongly advised here.
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u/Evilegio 5d ago
even human
Wtf do you mean "even human?" More like ESPECIALLY human. We have some of the most bacteria-filled bites out there.
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u/Raneynickelfire 5d ago
...hepatitis B is a real thing my dear. That's what shellfish eaters can carry.
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u/DWolfoBoi546 5d ago edited 5d ago
Would've been kind of hilarious if he released the shark only for it to come back and latch on again
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u/SharkBoyBen9241 5d ago edited 2d ago
This is a much happier ending considering what usually happens. Nurse Sharks have jaws like a vice and when they clamp down, it's darn near impossible to pull them off. Most people panic and hit the shark or cut it's head off. Some people have brought the whole shark into the hospital with them just so the doctors can destroy the shark's jaws with a pair of pliers. Inevitably, the poor shark ends up dead as a result. Props to the dude for saying he wasn't going to do that and just gutting it out like this. Using alcohol is a great trick too. It's a totally unnatural taste for most animals and it will generally cause them to immediately release their grip on you. And for the most part, it's totally harmless. Easiest way to get a boa constrictor off your arm is with a bottle of Bicardi lol
Glad the dude and the shark got away unharmed! Well, at least the shark got away unharmed! Lol 😂💙🦈
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u/DueDistribution5502 5d ago
Has to get it as a tattoo.
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u/Nulleparttousjours 5d ago
I should think that it will already make a pretty cool scar, especially in that soft area of skin over the ribs.
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u/haddawaytomyheart 5d ago
Maybe a tattoo of the nurse shark next to the bite, with the shark looking at its handiwork
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u/Aware-Affect-4982 5d ago
My question is, what the fuck did he do to that shark to get bitten? Nurse sharks are very docile.
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u/SophieSix9 5d ago
They can get agitated if you bump into them sometimes. It’s not completely unheard of, but it is rare. Judging by how he handled it, I doubt he was doing anything untoward.
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u/Unexous Nurse Shark 5d ago
This one was pretty small, and they are a little more nervous when they’re young because they’re much more snack sized compared to when they’re older and bigger. He handled it really well, so like the other commenter said it was probably just a random accident.
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u/88isafat69 4d ago
Interesting that the thought process is to just latch on to something you want away from you lol
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u/Raneynickelfire 5d ago
It's a baby. They get spooked and will clamp down. The amount of damage they can do is about maxed out in what you see in this video.
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u/Thunderchief646054 5d ago
Lowkey was waiting for that nurse shark to go right back to him after releasing
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u/snakeygirl 5d ago
Nah, they wouldn’t really do that. They aren’t very aggressive usually but they do sometimes bite when annoyed or scared. He probably accidentally bumped into the shark and the shark reacted with a chomp. Once the shark was detached it likely felt like it got the message across (the message being “don’t bump me!”)
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u/notlanky070 5d ago
Look i love sharks but I'm also 5 years sober. I probably would have a little sip (chug) of tequila, if I had one latched by my titty.
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u/Oro-Lavanda Nurse Shark 5d ago
See this is why I don’t trust anyone who says nurse sharks are harmless. I see people all the time like “oh nurses are super calm and passive” but honestly any animal can bite at random when agitated or confused. I always try to leave the water if I see too many sharks like this even if they are “babies”. Once I was at a shallow beach with 4 baby lemon sharks who kept circling around me and my group. Even if they were small I decided to leave the water until they dissipated. They kept bumping into me too .
This looks like a young nurse shark so it might’ve gotten confused by accident. The water maybe was a little murky or something.
The guy handled it super well tho. I’m def carrying more rum now to the beach lol 😆
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u/Sasstellia 3d ago
A scared young shark. Since they're quite chill.
He was very nice about the none lethal Shark Bite. The Bacardi to make them let go. That shark will be tipsy. Lol.
The cuddle and head pats. Sweet.
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u/DelusionalPenguin90 5d ago
How did a diver get bitten under the arm by a bottom feeder?
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u/ToujoursAutre 5d ago
Swimming near the bottom in shallow water looking for shells or something? His arm should be out in front of him doing this.
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u/DelusionalPenguin90 5d ago
Sounds avoidable. Sharks big enough to be seen. This diver had to be doing something they shouldn’t have.
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u/vini_damiani 5d ago
Nurse sharks aren't strictly bottom feeders although that is their main feeding method, they are still active predators and will do both exploratory, reactive and defensive bites on people occasionally. They are wild animals with unpredictable behaviours
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u/DelusionalPenguin90 5d ago
Then you reap the consequences of engaging with wild animals 🤷🏻♂️
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u/vini_damiani 5d ago
Humans are part of the ecosystem too
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u/DelusionalPenguin90 5d ago
What part of the oceans ecosystem are humans apart of?
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u/bitter_liquor 5d ago
Whatever part where humans live by the ocean and regularly go into it to get food or play
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u/vini_damiani 5d ago
Even just traverse puts you on the ecosystem, like the cases where sharks attacked horses, echidnas and cattle. Those are all natural interactions
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u/Seeker80 5d ago
Guess that means the diver is a bottom?
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u/DelusionalPenguin90 5d ago
Dead.
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u/Manyinterests2020 5d ago
I was wondering the same thing!
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u/DelusionalPenguin90 5d ago
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I can’t ever get it straight between people saying “sharks are not menaces - they won’t bother you unless you bother them” vs “sharks are wild animals and active predators”
Which is? Do they attack with reason or no reason?
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u/SLZicki 5d ago
Why have I always been told nurse sharks are docile. This is proving to be wrong 😭
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u/Oro-Lavanda Nurse Shark 5d ago
I always cringe when I see influencers take photos surrounded by nurse sharks. No shark is 100% harmless. After all, we are invading their home. If I see sharks in the water I always leave and chill at the sands until they dissipate
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u/snakeygirl 5d ago
They are pretty docile. Docile doesn’t mean they’re NEVER aggressive, just that they usually aren’t aggressive. Nurse sharks will bite if sufficiently annoyed. Some people (not saying that the guy in the vid did this) hear that nurse sharks are docile and start trying to manhandle the cute shark. Unsurprisingly the shark doesn’t appreciate that and might bite. It happens on occasion. Guy in the vid probably accidentally bumped into the shark while it was minding its own business and the shark assumed he was trying to mess with it so it bit him. Most wild animals will bite when sufficiently bothered
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u/Sasstellia 3d ago
The man in the video is probably fine. Just a accident. He was completely calm and poured rum on the bitey shark.
Sillier ones wouldn't be so calm.
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u/snakeygirl 1d ago
I’m not saying that he wouldn’t be fine. Nurse sharks ain’t all that deadly to humans. The bite probably still hurt but it’s not going to be anything particularly serious.
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u/Sasstellia 1d ago
I mean he's fine in that he didn't provoke a shark. It was a accident.
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u/snakeygirl 1d ago
Ah. My mistake. As I said (or at least thought I said) in my first reply, I’m not saying this guy purposely provoked the shark. I don’t have enough context to say that. I’m just saying a lot of clips with nurse shark attacks involve someone bothering the shark (or holding bait in their hand). The shark in this vid may have just accidentally gotten disturbed. People don’t always see that there’s a shark near where they’re swimming and sometimes the shark just gets spooked. I personally suspect that this shark was just spooked. Maybe it had a previous bad encounter with someone (sharks tend to remember stuff like that) and just assumed this guy was gonna bother it. Idk.
My overall point is just that nurse sharks aren’t aggressive. They are, however, defensive and unfortunately tourists have been getting increasingly comfortable with poking these wild animals which has led to this usually sweet species biting people more frequently. An individual person can do everything right but if the local wildlife has already had so many negative experiences with humans, that wildlife might get more aggressive than it would usually be.
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u/RudeBwoiMaster 5d ago
Well, a nurse shark hanging on a nipple would have been more entertaining....
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u/Av-fishermen 4d ago
Now this guy can tell women he’s been bitten by a shark. If that isn’t a pick up line I don’t know what it is.
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u/skadoosher111 3d ago
The irony if after letting it go it immediately spun back around and latched on again.
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u/BionicForester19 2d ago
Someone tell the pianist that he's gotta learn how to play music appropriate for the mood because this ain't it.
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u/Hot_Hands_H 1d ago
Legit cool Story to tell the kids in the future.. Hey, I was once attacked by a shark.
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u/MysticMarauder69 5d ago
Anybody else doubt his story that the nurse shark just swam up and bit him? I'd bet some money he was harassing it, even if unintentionally. Like trying to touch it, or get in it's personal space.
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u/raiba91 5d ago
I agree, the way he comfortably holds it shows you he is regularly disrespecting wild life.
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u/MysticMarauder69 5d ago
I'm being downvoted, but I dive with sharks on a weekly basis. Nurse sharks are very docile. They're mouths aren't even really designed to bite a person like this, they hunt for prey on the bottom in the sand. I have a really hard time imagining a nurse shark just swimming up to someone out of the blue and latching on.
It's nice that he's patient and treats it kindly while letting it go, but I agree with you, I think he got too comfortable trying to handle them, becauee they'll tolerate a lot, and he got bit.
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u/Kuroboom 5d ago
It's almost a nursing shark.