A tourist grabbed a shark for a selfie and got bitten near Fernando de Noronha on Brazil’s northeast coast.
The naive young woman was at Baia do Sueste Beach February 6 when she spotted the shark in the surf at the marine park.
The 35-year-old grabbed the young sharkling out of the water and held on to it as it thrashed around. Undeterred, the woman, only identified as J.B.M., fought to keep her grip.
However, the shark pup fought for its life and latched onto the woman’s right hand.
J.B.M. tried to pull the shark free as it twisted and contorted its small body, holding on with the small teeth in its mouth.
Another person eventually assisted the woman and helped her remove the shark before she quickly tossed it back into the water.
The woman was taken to the São Lucas Hospital-Copacabana where she received approximately four stitches.
Apparently, the area is a marine sanctuary and the woman and her husband were fined around $3,200 each for molesting the protected shark.
On New Year’s Eve, another swimmer was bitten by a small shark while swimming at Lion’s Beach in the same archipelago.
Paulo Campos suffered a minor wound to his left leg from what is believed to have been a small lemon shark pup.
The minor wound was insignificant because the pup’s teeth were not yet developed. It is thought the shark bite was accidental because lemon sharks are not normally known to be aggressive.
There have been a total of 10 shark attack bites in 2017, none of which were fatal; 3 were reported in the US, with all occurring in Florida. Three occurred in Australia, none were fatal, and one with no injury.
All locations have been marked on the 2017 shark attack bites tracking map.
