A woman got a bit too close to a bull shark and paid the price. The animal bit both of the woman's hands off after she tried to take a selfie with the fish.
The incident happened at Thompson Cove Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The woman was on vacation in the Caribbean when she noticed a bull shark just a few feet away. She thought that it was the perfect time for a photo. But she ended up paying a hefty price for her attempt to get a selfie with the creature.
The shark bit off her hands. One arm had to be amputated below the wrist and the other halfway up her forearm. She's returned home to Canada where she'll need a lot of therapy and recovery to adjust to her new normal.
The incident reportedly happened on Friday, February 7, according to a Facebook post.
The government reported, "The individual was taken to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre where she was stabilized. And later flown off the island for further medical care. Upon confirmation of the incident, the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources (DECR) issued a beach closure notification from Thompson's Cove Beach to Froggies ATV, Blue Hills in an abundance of caution. The beach was reopened on Sunday, February 9th at 1 pm. After it was determined that the shark had moved to deeper water."
Shark Bites Off Woman's Hands
They continued, "The shark was estimated to be approximately 6ft in length, however, the species is yet to be confirmed. Further to the investigation, it has been determined that the tourist had attempted to engage with the animal from the shallows in an attempt to take photographs."
"Some people believe feeding sharks is great for business or will increase tips from customers, and some even mistakenly believe that conditioning sharks to take speared lionfish will somehow teach them to hunt lionfish out of reef crevices. But teaching sharks to take food from divers only really endangers both humans and sharks," the Cayman authorities warned.
The International Shark Attack File mentioned that shark attacks are on the rise.
"The more sharks and people there are in one place, the greater the chance of them bumping into each other," explained Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research.
