Mini Jaws Attack: Provoked 2 ft Nurse Shark Attached to woman's arm while taken to hospital in Florida
A 23-year-old woman who was bitten by a shark off the coast of Florida was taken to the hospital with the two-foot long animal still attached to her forearm.
The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at a hospital in Boca Raton on Sunday and expected to be released the same day.
The baby nurse shark suffered a worse fate and died before the fire rescue arrived on the scene, with one witness telling the Sun Sentinel the animal had been provoked.
The 23-year-old remained calm after she was bitten off the coast of Red Reef Park on Sunday afternoon, and little blood was involved in the accident.
A lifeguard, police officer and fire rescue were on the scene, but the shark's ridged teeth remained firmly lodged in the woman's arm.
She was taken to Boca Regional Hospital in an ambulance with a splint to support the dead animal's weight, and should be released today, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Eleven-year-old witness Nate Patrick told the news site he saw the woman and her friends 'holding the shark by its tail' and 'messing with it' before the animal lashed out.
He defended the nurse shark, which can grow up to 14 feet, and said: 'Sharks are the most humane thing ever. So it wouldn't bite them if they hadn't been messing with it.'
Nurse sharks are slow-moving and have strong jaws along with razor-sharp, serrated teeth.
According to National Geographic, the animals will bite defensively if they are stepped on or bothered by humans.
They are common off the coast of Florida, and the National Park Service warns: 'The bite reflex is such that it may be some minutes before a quietly re-immersed nurse shark will relax and release its tormentor.'
The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at a hospital in Boca Raton on Sunday and expected to be released the same day.
The baby nurse shark suffered a worse fate and died before the fire rescue arrived on the scene, with one witness telling the Sun Sentinel the animal had been provoked.
The 23-year-old remained calm after she was bitten off the coast of Red Reef Park on Sunday afternoon, and little blood was involved in the accident.
A lifeguard, police officer and fire rescue were on the scene, but the shark's ridged teeth remained firmly lodged in the woman's arm.
She was taken to Boca Regional Hospital in an ambulance with a splint to support the dead animal's weight, and should be released today, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Eleven-year-old witness Nate Patrick told the news site he saw the woman and her friends 'holding the shark by its tail' and 'messing with it' before the animal lashed out.
He defended the nurse shark, which can grow up to 14 feet, and said: 'Sharks are the most humane thing ever. So it wouldn't bite them if they hadn't been messing with it.'
Nurse sharks are slow-moving and have strong jaws along with razor-sharp, serrated teeth.
According to National Geographic, the animals will bite defensively if they are stepped on or bothered by humans.
They are common off the coast of Florida, and the National Park Service warns: 'The bite reflex is such that it may be some minutes before a quietly re-immersed nurse shark will relax and release its tormentor.'
Music: "Broken Reality" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Sun Sentinel, Daily Mail, CBS
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