Shark Bite in the Bahamas

[kelemvor]

Saw this on facebook.

Dentist shares grisly photos from shark attack in the Bahamas

The dentist's wife, Sharron, said the attack 'was an episode and not an incident.'

'The ocean remains the shark's environment,' she wrote on Facebook. 'We respect that, and only spear what we eat.

'This was not the shark's fault, it was just a "perfect storm."'

A local nurse helped stitch the dentist up, as there is no physician on the island.

The family will remain in the Bahamas for the rest of their vacation.

'A few gaps here and there, but by and large, all the pieces are together,' Cutbirth said. 'All in all, no complaints — a very lucky person.

'All men should have a few well placed scars on their face, don't you think?'

Sounds like this dude might give chuck norris a run for his money on the badass scale. Gets bit several times. Has a friend stitch him up instead of going to a hospital. Finishes his vacation.

I'm not sure if spearing results in the attack being called "provoked" or not. Maybe someone can help me out there.

Beware, graphic photos of the bites at that link.

Be careful when spearing!

 

[Cali_diver]

I am pretty sure a dying fish on your side could and would provoke this attack. I would be more curious to know if they do shark feedings near by as well.

 

[seeker242]

I'm not sure if spearing results in the attack being called "provoked" or not. Maybe someone can help me out there.

Attacks on spearfishers are considered "provoked" by the The International Shark Attack File.

 

[iamrushman]

"The dentist's wife, Sharron, said the attack 'was an episode and not an incident."

well that's one way to look at it.

 

[drrich2]

What's the difference?

 

[mmmbelows]

Sounds like this dude might give chuck norris a run for his money on the badass scale. Gets bit several times. Has a friend stitch him up instead of going to a hospital. Finishes his vacation.

Wish there were more people like him in this world. Rub some dirt into it and go have a beer!

Next time dive with this on your weight belt.

 

[diversteve]

I am pretty sure a dying fish on your side could and would provoke this attack. I would be more curious to know if they do shark feedings near by as well.

Not AFAIK - Green Turtle Cay is about 80 miles from Freeport where Unexso does their feeds but the whole length of Abaco Island is between them so any ambitious shark would have a much longer swim around it first.

The other feed off Nassau is even further - I think it's about 200? miles south off this map.



Not sure if you've ever been there but there's just a lot of sharks in the Bahamas - I've seen more there than most Caribbean "shark" spots. I'd say most dives at several different islands seeing 1/2 dozen is pretty typical per dive - at some 3-4x that. Not counting the feed sites since I've never been near either one.

 

[JohnnyC]

The blood on the leg makes it look much worse than it is. Aside from one or two of the bites on his face that split his upper lip pretty good, they're all pretty superficial, and the ones on his leg, while bloody, aren't too bad. Not to say I'd want to swap places with him, but he's lucky in that, even taken together, they're pretty minor injuries. Got a good story though, especially with those gnarly scars.

The one thing that worries me about not going to real medical care is infection. Shark bites are pretty dirty, and most shark bite victims have a pretty long road to full health because of the infection potential. There's a doc in Florida that's doing a big study with different types of sharks from all over the Caribbean, collecting bacterial samples from sharks to get a better idea of how to combat post-bite infection. Pretty interesting stuff!

Starts about halfway through.

 

[scubadada]

Of course the sharks are around the hunters. When I'm lucky, the sharks are still around when I pass through the hunter zone, I'm always happy to see them. The hunters and the sightseers, like me, generally dive in separate groups as we drift dive

 

[Cali_diver]

@diversteve I figured as much since it is a huge draw to the area. I doubt if it would make much of a difference anyway. A fish in distress is a fish in distress.