He Was Told Not to Put Hands in Water. Shark Explains Why

Florida fisherman bloodied by suspected bull shark after ignoring friend's advice
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2023 1:15 PM CDT

The fisherman only wanted to rinse his hands. But it was a move the Florida man will be cursing himself for after a shark apparently mistook his hands for a tasty fish. The unidentified man was fishing with a group in Everglades National Park on Friday morning when he leaned over the side of a boat to wash his hands in Florida Bay, against the advice of his friends. Almost immediately, a shark emerged from the water, latched on to the man's right hand and pulled him into the murky depths, as a viral video shows. The man appeared to quickly free his hand from the shark's mouth. As he fell, he tried to grab onto the side of the boat with the now-bloodied hand, leaving a streak of blood behind.

Submerged for only a second, he quickly surfaced with his sunglasses still on his face. "Get him! Get him!" his fellow boatmates shouted before helping the man back into the boat. The entire encounter lasted about five seconds. The man was treated by a park EMT before being airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center, per WPLG. The extent of his injuries is unknown. Park rep Allyson Gantt said it was likely a bull shark that had attacked the man, per ABC News. Bull sharks are known to act aggressively in the shallow-water lagoon of Florida Bay. They sometimes linger around fishing boats, targeting fish on anglers' lines, as well as those released from boats, a charter boat captain tells the outlet.

A fellow fisherman had warned the victim about putting his hands over the side of the boat just seconds before the attack, per TMZ. "Two seconds won't do anything," the man says in a video clip as he puts one hand and then the other into the murky water. A frightened shout follows. "PSA: please don't make the same mistake and please keep your hands and feel in the vessel," reads a caption on the video clip shared on Instagram. "While shark bites are extremely uncommon in Everglades National Park, we always recommend visitors take caution around park wildlife," a park statement notes, per ABC. (More shark attack stories.)

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