A woman on her honeymoon was bitten by a shark in the Bahamas December 8.
Sarah Illig was swimming with nurse sharks while her husband Evan Carroll filmed the interaction.
The 25-year-old was enjoying the last day of the trip as she swam in the crystal-clear water of Compass Cay.
Unfortunately, her mask obscured her peripheral vision as she swam with her arms extended and she didn’t see the large nurse shark as it approached.
“I felt a whoosh of water, something clamped down on my arm and I assumed my husband was playing a prank on me,” she said.
“Less than a second later I realized how much it hurt and looked past where my goggles were blocking my side vision to see the shark (bigger than myself) latched on to my arm.”
She quickly swam away and was helped out of her water by her husband, who administered first aid to the wound.
Thankfully, she didn’t need stitches.
“We kept it dry, applied Neosporin and wrapped it every night. The spot it’s in hurts if I move it around during the day and it’s often sore at night,” she said.
Even with the pain, she holds no ill will toward the shark.
“I don’t blame the shark! It’s never the shark’s fault considering we are invading the place where they live,” she said.
The incident has encouraged her to learn more about sharks and how she can use the experience to help others understand how import they are to our environment.
This is the seventh shark attack bite in the Bahamas this year.
Dutch celebrity biologist Freek Vonk was filming a scene for a new television program when he was bitten on the right arm February 1.
On March 1, adventure blogger Mareen was bitten on the hand by a nurse shark in Compass Cay . The model was surrounded by sharks as she floated on her back and was nipped on her right hand.
The following day, George Keywood was bitten on his left hand and calf while spearfishing off Great Exuma.
On June 2, Tiffany Johnson lost her arm to a tiger shark. The 32-year-old was snorkeling when she felt a bump and turned to see a large tiger shark latched on her arm.
Michael Massy was bitten on the hand while spearfishing July 26.
The following day a female snorkeler was bitten on the foot.
There have been a total of 101* shark attack bites in 2017, 8 of which were fatal*; 48 were reported in the US, with 33 occurring in Florida** and two in Hawaii. Fifteen have been reported in Australia, one of which was fatal. Five unconfirmed worldwide and not included in the total count.
All locations have been marked on the 2017 Shark Attack Bites Tracking Map.
*Two may be scavenge. **One report may have been outside of Florida waters.
