Nurse sharks don’t usually bite – unless, of course, they’re provoked. Now, social media is fuming after a nurse shark lost its life when it bit a South Florida beachgoer in what appears to be self defense.
The 2-foot shark sunk its teeth into a 23-year-old woman’s forearm after a group of beachgoers was spotted harassing the creature at a Boca Raton beach. The woman emerged from the water with the creature still attached to her arm.
“Sharks are like the most humane thing ever,” said one of the onlookers, 11-year-old Nate Pachter. “So it wouldn’t bite them if they hadn’t been messing with it.”
Nate also said he and his cousin saw the group “holding the shark by its tail.”
Nurse sharks are common in Florida waters and usually pose no threat to swimmers. Clamping bites can result from “a diver or fisherman antagonizing the shark with hook, spear, net or hand,” according to the National Park Service.
The woman, who remains unidentified, was treated at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. She was reported to be in stable condition, but many social media users are upset and angered over the shark’s death.
“This genuinely enrages me,” wrote Facebook user Swati Sharma. “It takes a LOT for a nurse shark to bite, and based on witness reports, you were clearly antagonizing it. And now it’s dead.”
Many users carried the same mindset as Sharma. Some of them felt the headline on the original story should have been rephrased to highlight the nurse shark’s ordeal, rather than the plight of the woman.
Other users said the shark was simply following its natural instincts and should not have been punished for defending itself.
“Hard to feel bad for someone who screws with an animal in their habitat,” wrote a Facebook user on the Sun Sentinel’s Facebook page.
“She basically killed the shark. No remorse. She deserved it…” wrote another.
Hey fun fact, if you mess with a shark, it'll fight back. Why can't people just leave them alone?
— Caitlin Eliason (@caitlineliason) May 16, 2016
Don't antagonize sharks.
— Dr. Carrie Wells (@HuppieMama) May 15, 2016
