It was a small shark and a small bite, but a memorable event for one unlucky man when a nurse shark latched on to his arm in Florida and refused to let go.
An unidentified man was filmed with a 3- to 4-foot long nurse shark attached to his arm. The video, originally shared to TikTock, identifies the location as Jenson Beach, Florida on Aug. 30.
In the video, a man is seen walking around with the shark attached to his arm as passerbys offer tips on how to remove the shark.
According to the man who posted the video, the shark cradler was taken to the hospital and the shark removed. Although there is no official confirmation about the shark’s fate, it is most likely dead.
Witnesses in the video say the man was swimming when the shark latched onto his arm. While nurse sharks are considered docile, they often bite when provoked and may refuse to let go.
Ervin McCarty had a similar encounter in 2017 that was caught on video. McCarty was snorkeling Sept. 2 off Marathon City in the Florida Keys with several friends. One person in the group shot a grouper which was lodged in an underwater hole.
When McCarty swam down to remove the grouper, a small nurse shark bit and latched on to his abdomen. Although he struggled to remove the shark, it did not release its bite. Eventually the group used a knife to slice into the shark’s gills, even though the shark continued to hold on. The shark finally let go after it was eviscerated but then bit McCarty one last time.
In 2016, another nurse shark had a death grip on a 23-year-old off Boca Raton.
An unidentified woman was bitten on the right forearm by a small nurse shark and was taken to the hospital with the shark still attached to her arm.
Witness said they saw the woman’s friends harassing the shark and grabbing its tail.
Several Instagram models have also been bitten by nurse sharks while posing for photos with them in the Bahamas. Most wounds are considered relatively minor.
All locations are marked on the 2020 Shark Attack Map.
