Woman loses both hands trying to “interract” with shark on Caribbean beach

A 55-year-old woman tragically had both her hands bitten off by a shark she was trying to photograph while on vacation in the Turks and Caicos islands. The Canadian woman was reportedly trying to photograph a six-foot-long shark in the shallow waters at a beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands when the marine predator attacked her.

Alerted by her screams, the unnamed woman’s husband rushed into the water and bravely managed to scare the shark away and bring the victim ashore, but she had already suffered severe damage to both her hands. The attack occurred on February 7 and the victim was treated at a hospital before leaving the island for better medical care. Unfortunately, doctors could do nothing to save her mangled hands, both of which needed to be amputated.

According to a statement by the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) in Turks and Caicos, the Canadian tourist had “attempted to engage with the animal” in an effort to take pictures of it, seemingly oblivious to the danger she was exposing herself too. The woman, who had been snorkelling when she was bitten, was taken completely off-guard by the shark’s attack and ended up paying a terrible price.

Photos of the woman taken immediately after being taken ashore by her husband show her surrounded by horrified family and fellow tourists, with her wrists covered in cloth to stop the bleeding. After being treated in the Caribbean, the woman was transported to Canada to receive additional treatment.

Although it’s almost impossible to know if the attack was provoked or unprovoked, it’s worth pointing out that shark attacks are very rare in general. Chris Stefanou, a New York fisherman and conservationist who tags sharks, told the New York Times that the woman’s smartphone might have played a part in the attack.

“Sharks, or any predatory animal in the ocean, can confuse that as like a bait fish,” Stefanou said. “The shark didn’t just see a human: ‘Ooh, I’m hungry, I want to go take a bite.’ That did not happen.”

To avoid shark attacks, DECR suggests swimming in designated areas, avoiding murky waters, and never swimming alone. Staying away from sharks when you can spot them helps as well.

Culled from www.odditycentral.com