Florida Man Airlifted to Hospital After Posing for Photo With Shark
A Florida fisherman took too long posing with a shark for a photo and the creature took a chunk out of his leg.
Footage of the incident has gone viral on social media, showing Shawn Meuse getting attacked by the lemon shark while in the Boca Grande.
While on a torchlit beach, Meuse has the shark by its nose as he poses for a photo. His friend then comes up behind and grabs the shark’s tail which causes it to whip around and chomp on Meuse’s leg. He screams out in agony as the shark wriggles back into the ocean. Meuse can later be seen sitting in the surf with his leg bleeding as his friends shout, “Oh my God, Oh my God.”
“We just finished taking the hook out of his mouth. We were gonna go release him, and the shark just turned and bit me,” Meuse tells WINK.
According to the New York Post, the Boca Grande Fire Department received a panicked call from one of Meuse’s friends who said, “We have a tourniquet on his leg. He’s got a towel on it, trying to stop the bleeding. He’s awake.”
After being airlifted to the Gulf Coast Medical Center, Meuse has remained buoyant and even said he can’t wait to get back to shark fishing.
“I’d go back today if I could leave the hospital,” Meuse tells WINK. “It’s, you know, it’s unfortunate, but it’s something that happens when you go. Luckily, he only took a little bit of me and not a lot. So, you know, I’m one of the fortunate ones. And you know, I’m a shark bite victim. A lot of good stories now.”
While Meuse is expected to make a full recovery, a Canadian tourist earlier this year was not so lucky when she had both of her hands bitten off while on vacation at Thompson Cove Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands on February 7. She was also trying to take a selfie with the animal when the shark attacked her.
If there is a moral here, it’s that it’s not a good idea to try to take photos with wild sharks.
